Capital District Civil War Round Table Podcast

George Boutwell was a state legislator, the youngest Governor of Massachusetts, the first commissioner of the internal revenue, congressman, treasury secretary, and US senator. He was also a staunch antislavery advocate, close ally of Abraham Lincoln, and champion of black civil rights. Throughout his seven decades of public service, Boutwell left an unmistakable mark on American history. How is it then that you've likely never heard of him? In the latest episode of the History Tavern Podcast, I spoke with Jeffrey Boutwell about his new book Boutwell: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy.

Churchill Archives Centre Director Allen Packwood talks about his new book Churchill's D-Day: The British Bulldog's Fateful Hours During the Normandy Invasion. Countless historians and commentators have criticized Churchill arguing the British Prime Minister delayed and obstructed the plans for the Normandy invasion. Packwood and co-author General Richard Dannatt, offer a fresh perspective on Churchill's experiences and actions leading up to D-Day.

Matthew Christopher Hulbert dropped by the History Tavern to talk about his book Oracle of Lost Causes: John Newman Edwards and His Never-Ending Civil War. John Newman Edwards was a popular newspaperman and a historian who grew up devouring heroic tales of knights and soldiers. He was also a Confederate and unapologetic supporter of the Confederate and Southern cause long after the Civil War ended.

Kylie Hulbert dropped by the History Tavern to talk about her book The Untold War at Sea: America's Revolutionary Privateers. Lacking a functioning Navy, the Continental Congress turned to privateers to wage war against the British on the high seas. In covering their story, Hulbert highlights the global nature of the struggle for American independence and the cultural exchanges produced by the war.

David Gellman talked about his book Liberty's Chain: Slavery, Abolition, and the Jay Family of New York.

William Blair talked about his new book The Record of Murders and Outrages: Racial Violence and the Fight Over Truth at the Dawn of Reconstruction where he examines the role the Freedmen's Bureau played investigating widespread racial violence across the South during Reconstruction.

Kent Masterson Brown talks about Meade's actions during the Gettysburg campaign and his abilities as an operational commander.

Emancipation was an uncertain process and one that enslaved people had to pursue throughout the Civil War. Or as Embattled Freedom author Murrell Taylor writes, "Freedom had to searched for and found." In this special re-released episode, listen to my discussion with Amy Murrell Taylor at the 2019 Civi War Institute Summer Conference.

Dr. Jeanne Abrams talked about her book A View From Abroad: The Story of John and Abigail Adams in Europe. John and Abigail's time in Europe helped define what it meant for them to be American. They detested the excesses of European aristocracy and the rule of a hereditary monarch. Instead, the were unwavering republicans.

In 1946, World War II vets took a stand against the corrupt political machine that ran their small Tennessee town for over a decade. In order to restore democracy, the vets had to take up arms against the government and ultimately won the first armed rebellion since the Revolution.

Dr. David J. Silverman talked about his book This Land is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Trouble History of Thanksgiving.

Dr. Paul Finkelman discussed the debates over slavery at the Constitutional Convention, Thomas Jefferson’s legacy as a slaveowner and perpetuator of slavery, and the roles John Marshall, Joseph Story, and Roger Taney played in protecting slavery as justices on the United States Supreme Court.

Dr. Gary Gallagher talked about his new book The Enduring Civil War, the way Civil War history is covered, monuments, his favorite Civil War movies, and much more.

Historian David T. Dixon talked about the life of August Willich, a Prussian nobleman turned communist revolutionary who became an unlikely American Civil War Hero.

City of Albany historian Anthony Opalka talked about the Albany fire of 1848. The fire destroyed nearly 600 buildings and killed several people.

On August 4th, 1892, Abby and Andrew Borden were brutally murdered in their Fall River home. The crime was shocking and grisly. Lizzie Borden was acquitted of having committed the murders despite an abundance of evidence. Former Borden Bed and Breakfast tour guide and creator of the website Lizzie Borden: Warps and Wefts Shelley Dziedzic takes us on a deep dive into the case.

The defeat at Gettysburg left Lee's army hobbled and in desperate need of returning to to friendlier territory south of the Potomac River. Heavy rain, however, flooded the Potomac, delaying Lee's retreat. Historian Richard Schaus talks about this understudied aspect of the Gettysburg campaign and whether Meade pursued the Army of Northern Virginia aggressively enough.

Cory Pfarr - Longstreet at Gettysburg by History Tavern Podcast

Artist and author Mark Dunkelman dropped by the History Tavern Podcast to discuss his book Gettysburg's Unknown Solider: The Life, Death, and Celebrity of Amos Humiston.

Dr. Theresa Kaminski dropped by the History Tavern Podcast to talk about her new book Dr. Mary Walker's Civil War: One Woman's Journey to the Medal of Honor and the Fight for Women's Rights.

D-Day historian and author of Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 Joseph Balkoski talked about the years of preparation for the invasion of Europe and the fighting that took place on Omaha Beach.

Author Christopher Leahy talked about his new book President without a Party: The Life of John Tyler. Though Tyler is often remembered for his unremarkable presidency, he had long career in politics which included stints as a Virginia legislator, U.S. Congressman, Governor of Virginia, and U.S. Senator. He was involved in many of the seminal legislative battles of the nineteenth century including debates over slavery, the national bank, the protective tariff, and federally-sponsored improvement programs. He also fathered 15 children, including one born when he was 70 years old.

Historians Joan Waugh, Paul Kahan, Chris Mackowski, and Gary Gallagher discuss the history and memory of Reconstruction, Grant's presidency, and Grant's memoirs.

Historians Joan Waugh, Daniel T. Davis, Gary Gallagher, and Chris Mackowski discuss the history and memory of Ulysses S. Grant's military leadership and drinking.

While leading his men in a charge against a heavily fortified Confederate position, Chamberlain was struck in the right hip. The bullet splintered the hip bone, cutting into his bladder and urethra before it lodged just behind the left hip joint. Chamberlain endured many painful surgeries and eventually succumbed to the wound 50 years later. Dr. Matt Farina, a retired pediatric cardiologist and member of the Capital District Civil War Round Table, talked about Chamberlain’s wound and the medical treatment he received.

New York Times best-selling author Chris DeRose talked about the shooting of Phillip Barton Key and the subsequent murder trial of Dan Sickles. His latest book Star Spangled Scandal: Sex, Murder, and the Trial that Changed America covers those events in a flowing narrative that reads as much like a modern crime drama as it does a historical work.

Civil War Institute Director Peter Carmichael talked about his book "The War for the Common Soldier: How Men Thought, Fought, and Survived in Civil War Armies." Carmichael discussed his unique approach in analyzing soldier letters, desertion, pragmatism, and the annual Civil War Institute Summer Conference at Gettysburg College.

Author Joseph Collea talked about his book New York and the Lincoln Specials. In the winter of 1861, President-elect Lincoln traveled across New York State on his way to Washington, D.C., as the secession crisis unfolded. In 1865, Lincoln's body retraced that route before burial in Springfield. Collea covers both journeys including Lincoln's reception in Buffalo, Albany, and New York City in 1861 and the outpouring of support for the deceased president in 1865.

Ronald Kirkwood talked about the central role the Spangler Farm played in the Battle of Gettysburg, Civil War amputations, and the environmental toll the battle took on the Spangler property.

Mark Will-Weber talked about the influence the use of alcohol had on the Civil War and the history of presidential drinking. Was secession fueled by alcohol, did Lincoln drink, did Grant drink too much, was FDR really a beer drinker? Weber talks about this and much more in this podcast recorded at Albany Distilling Company.

A special audio documentary podcast about the Battle of Gettysburg featuring authors Tom Huntington, Eric Wittenberg, James Hessler, and Garry Adelman. From the ghosts of Chancellorsville, to Buford's actions on July 1st, to Sickles decision to advance his line on July 2nd, to Pickett's Charge, and everything in between.

Recorded at the 2019 Civil War Institute Summer Conference on the campus of Gettysburg college, this episode features Dr. Rachel Shelden and Dr. Amy Murrell Taylor. Rachel Sheldon talked about her book Washington Brotherhood: Politics, Social Life, and the Coming of the Civil War. Shelden's book focuses on the personal relationships forged by Washington politicians during the tumultuous 1850s. While much of the country remained divided over slavery, elected officials, insulated by the fraternity-like atmosphere of Congress, failed to recognize the gravity of the secession crisis. Amy Murrell Taylor discussed her brand new book Embattled Freedom: Journeys through the Civil War's Slave Refugee Camps. Taylor's book explores the long struggle for freedom many enslaved people faced during the Civil War and the "massive dislocation" the war caused.

Author Christopher Klein talked about his book When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland's Freedom. "Just over a year after Robert E. Lee relinquished his sword, a band of Union and Confederate veterans dusted off their guns. But these former foes had no intention of reigniting the Civil War. Instead they fought side by side to undertake one of the most fantastical missions in military history: to seize the British province of Canada and hold it hostage until the independence of Ireland was secured."

National University of Ireland Galway Professor Enrico Dal Lago talked about his book "Civil War and Agrarian Unrest: The Confederate South and Southern Italy." Dal Lago places the American Civil War in the global context by comparing and connecting it to the Great Brigandage in Southern Italy in the 1860s. While historians have spent years covering nation-building and social revolution in nineteenth-century Europe, Dal Lago offers a fresh perspective of the American Civil War by linking it to the agrarian uprising that occurred in Southern Italy during Italian unification.

Naval historian Chuck Veit talked about his book Natural Genius: Brutus de Villeroi and the U. S. Navy's First Submarine. Veit discussed the history of submarines and the remarkable life of French inventor Brutus de Villeroi, the man responsible for building the U. S. Navy's first submarine in 1861.

Tim Wiles, the former director of research at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and current director of the Guilderland Public Library, talked about his time in Cooperstown, the Doubleday Myth, Troy native Johnny Evers, the story behind 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game,' the services offered at the Guilderland Public Library, and much more.

University at Albany Professor David Hochfelder talked about his book The Telegraph in America: 1832-1920. The telegraph was a "revolutionary technology" that had "far-reaching effects on American life." Hochfelder discussed Samuel Morse, the use of the telegraph in the Civil War, the rise of Western Union, and the decline of the telegraph.

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park historian Patrick Schroeder talked about Zouave units in the Civil War, the Appomattox campaign, and Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House.

Harold Holzer talked about his new book Monument Man: The Life & Art of Daniel Chester French. French was "one of America's most prolific sculptors of public monuments," creating The Minute Man in Concord, Harvard University's John Harvard, and most famously, the statue of Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial. Holzer discussed French's work, the controversy surrounding public monuments, the Phillip Sheridan statue in Albany, and the Lincoln Forum.

Author Gene Barr talked about his book "A Civil War Captain and His Lady: Love, Courtship, and Combat from Fort Donelson through the Vicksburg Campaign." Union soldier Josiah Moore met Jennie Lindsay just before he left for war in 1861. Through the course of the war, they exchanged 75 letters which Gene Barr chronicles in this touching account of their love story.

Gerrit Smith biographer Norman K. Dann discussed his book Practical Dreamer: Gerrit Smith and the Crusade for Social Reform. Recorded from inside Gerrit Smith's Land Office, the topics include Smith's activism, philanthropy, his involvement in politics, and his relationship with John Brown.

Author and Grant Cottage tour guide Robert Conner discussed his books General Gordon Granger: The Savior of Chickamauga and the Man Behind "Juneteenth" and The Last Circle of Ulysses Grant. Recorded from Grant Cottage Civil War Weekend, the podcast covers Granger's life, his difficult relationship with Ulysses Grant, and Robert's work at Grant Cottage.

Town of Malta historian Paul Perreault discussed the life and death of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth. Ellsworth was born in Malta, New York, and later became close with the Lincoln family. He gained fame touring the country with the Chicago Zouaves and when the Civil War broke out, he raised a regiment of New York City firefighters. Ellsworth would become the first officer killed during the war after being shot trying to remove a Confederate flag from a hotel in Alexandria, Virginia.

At the Civil War Institute Summer Conference at Gettysburg College, Round Table Podcast host Nick Thony interviewed Judith Giesberg and Susannah Ural. Dr. Judith Giesberg discussed her book Sex and the Civil War: Soldiers, Pornography, and the Making of American Morality. Dr. Susannah Ural talked about her book Hood's Texas Brigade: The Soldiers and Families of the Confederacy's Most Celebrated Unit.

Mike McCarthy discussed his book Confederate Waterloo: The Battle of Five Forks, April 1, 1865, and the Controversy that Brought Down a General. Five Forks was one of the last battles of the Civil War, but Union General Gouverneur K. Warren’s battle to regain his reputation after being relieved of his command during the battle, raged for years after the war and pitted Warren against the men who removed him: Grant and Sheridan.

Author and historian Chris Mackowski discusses the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, the contentious relationship between Grant, Meade, and Sheridan, and Emerging Civil War.

Long time Capital District Civil War Round Table member and living historian Matt George discussed the 134th New York, the history of the Round Table, and his tenure as a baseball coach in the Capital Region.