About this episode: 

Shots had been fired and mobilization in both North and South began. Many believed it would be over in six months.  Only a few anticipated a four-year struggle which would bring political, military and social change. Changes that few could even begin to imagine. In the first months of the conflict, the pieces on the military chessboard were being placed and opening moves calculated. Like so many conflicts over the course of time, there was excitement in the air and opportunity for glory. For this episode, the story of a naïve Union and Confederacy at the beginning of the American Civil War. When death in battle spawned poems and song and when the conflict was still a rebellion and long before it became a social revolution. These are the events of June 1861 and the events that led to the first land battle of any consequence. These are the stories of the early days of the war and the Battle of Big Bethel.    

 

  

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Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:

Stephen A. Douglas

Benjamin Butler

John B. Magruder

Ebenezer W. Peirce

D. H. Hill

 

Additional Resources:

Map of the Battle of Big Bethal, June 10 1861

 

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Thank you to our sponsor, Celebrity Word Scramble. In collaboration with Fred Kiger, they have published a Civil War edition of the Celebrity Word Scramble series. Included in the book is 16 pages of Civil War facts, stories, and insights written by Fred Kiger.

Get your copy of the book here

 

Thank you to our sponsor, The Badge Maker - proudly carrying affordable Civil War Corps Badges and other hand-made historical reproductions for reenactors, living history interpreters, and lovers of history.

Check out The Badge Maker and place your orders here

 

Thank you to our sponsor Bob Graesser, Raleigh Civil War Round Table's editor of The Knapsack newsletter and the Round Table's webmaster at http://www.raleighcwrt.org

 

Thank you to our sponsor John Bailey.

 

Producer: Dan Irving

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