Showing posts with label William and Mary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label William and Mary. Show all posts

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Upcoming W&M Alumni Magazine Article!

I am excited to announce that I will be writing an article for the William and Mary Alumni Magazine about the Civil War service of the College's students, faculty, and alumni. The article is part of a three-part series that explores William and Mary's role in the Civil War. My article (part two of the series) will be released in the magazine's Fall 2011 issue. The Summer 2011 issue (cover shown here) examines what happened on the William and Mary campus before and during the conflict. The text and photography are both very well done and I recommend the piece highly to those who are interested in the topic.

Examinding the role of William and Mary's people during the Civil War is a subject near and dear to my heart. I have spent several years researching the topic and wrote my master's thesis about it when I was a graduate student at the University of Richmond. What fascinates me most is that despite William and Mary's rich Civil War history, the topic is very little known, even to William and Mary alumni. My sense is that there are possibly two reasons for this. First, the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg in the 1920s immersed the community (including the College) deeply in its colonial history. In the opinion of many, that leaves little room to interpret other periods of the community's history, including the Civil War era.

Second, since the Civil War was such a dark time in the College's history (considering all of its physical, emotional, and financial destruction), perhaps people purposely wanted to forget about it. People tend to prefer remembering the "good times," which could also explain the focus on Williamsburg's colonial history (when the College and town were both in their prime).

Whatever the reason, the time has come to better remember and commemorate William and Mary's Civil War history. As the South's oldest college, William and Mary produced several people who played instrumental roles in shaping the course of the Civil War. I hope that my upcoming article can help facilitate interest in the topic. Within the next few months, I also hope to make a big announcement about an ongoing project related to this topic, so stay tuned!

Friday, April 15, 2011

William & Mary in the Civil War

I had the pleasure recently of being interviewed for an article in The Flat Hat, The College of William and Mary's student newspaper. Written by W&M student Jill Found, the piece (entitled "War! Forgotten in Williamsburg") explored the College's role during the American Civil War, and why that aspect of its history is not better remembered. The article in its entirety is posted here.

I have spent years researching this era of William and Mary's history and find it to be quite fascinating. Unbeknownst to many, several historically prominent individuals who had a significant impact on the war (Winfield Scott, John Tyler, John C. Crittenden, James Murray Mason, etc.) were all William and Mary alumni. Along with alumni, William and Mary students and faculty served in several different military or political capacities during the war, mostly for the Confederacy.

I wrote my master's thesis about the Civil War service of the College's students, faculty, and alumni when I was a graduate student at the University of Richmond and have written and published at different times on the topic. In the coming months, I will also hope to provide updates about future plans to publish material in this area. In the meantime, thanks to The Flat Hat and to Jill Found for putting together such a great article!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

W&M's OTHER Confederate General

Following my last post about Brig. Gen. Edwin G. Lee, I was asked about the identity of the OTHER William and Mary alumnus who served as a general in the Confederate Army. His name was William Booth Taliaferro (1822-1898), and he was a Gloucester County, Virginia native who served as a military officer, attorney, judge, and state legislator during his long career. General Taliaferro is shown here in a Civil War-era photograph. The following is some biographical information on him from Wikipedia:

"William Booth Taliaferro (who pronounced his Italian surname as "tah'-liver") was born in Gloucester County, Virginia, to a prominent family of English origin who settled in Virginia in the 17th century. He was the nephew of James A. Seddon, who would become Secretary of War for the Confederate States of America under Jefferson Davis. Taliaferro attended Harvard University and William and Mary College, graduating from the latter in 1841.

Taliaferro joined the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War, fighting in both the 11th and 9th U.S. Infantry regiments. After the war, Taliaferro entered public life, serving as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and as a prominent backer of James Buchanan's presidential campaign in 1856. He also continued his military service as commander of a division of the Virginia state militia; he commanded at Harpers Ferry following the raid of that town's arsenal by John Brown.

Taliaferro became commander of Virginia's state militia following Virginia's secession in 1861; he later took command of the 23rd Virginia Regiment as a colonel. He fought several engagements in 1861 and by the end of the year had ascended to brigade command, where he led Confederate forces at the Battle of Greenbrier River, in what is now West Virginia.

Taliaferro's Brigade came under Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's command at the end of 1861. He remained with Jackson for some years, rising to division command in 1862. Taliaferro was seriously injured at the Battle of Second Bull Run (Second Manassas), but returned to the field in the time for the Battle of Fredericksburg, his last battle under Jackson.

Taliaferro was a strict and aloof commander who alienated many of his troops. There is at least one known circumstance when one of his troops actually assaulted him, though Taliaferro was unscathed. Taliaferro chafed under the command of General Jackson, complaining to his political colleagues in Virginia about Jackson's tactics and treatment of the men. Jackson later protested Taliaferro's promotion to brigadier general, while Taliaferro was still under Jackson's command; however, Jackson respected Taliaferro's leadership and military ability and did not continue to stand in his way. Jackson later would select Taliaferro for temporary divisional command in specific engagements.

After Fredericksburg, Taliaferro was given command of the District of Savannah. In this capacity he led troops at the Battle of Fort Wagner on Morris Island, a battle that has since been depicted in the movie Glory. Taliaferro was commended for his service in that battle.

In 1864, Taliaferro was given command of all forces in the Eastern district of Florida, which made him the overall commander at the Battle of Olustee that February. He subsequently returned to South Carolina, where he was made commander of all forces in that state. Taliaferro was still in command when Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman entered the state from Savannah. Taliaferro returned to Virginia when the Army of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida surrendered later that year.

After the war, Taliaferro lived in Gloucester County. He served again in the state legislature and as a judge and sat on the board of the College of William and Mary and the Virginia Military Institute. He died at his home, "Dunham Massie", aged 75, and is buried in Ware Church Cemetery, Gloucester County, Virginia. His collected papers are located at the College of William and Mary's Swem Library."