150 years ago this month, Union and Confederate forces met in some bloody fighting in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Stonewall Jackson distinguished himself in the field, in fighting that demonstrated the importance of good maps and accurate military intelligence.
In April of 1862, both the Union and Confederate leadership considered New Orleans to be an important strategic location. The battle that took place there involved chains in the river and a Mayor who refused to surrender, even after Union forces had won the battle. WKU Military Historian Jack Thacker and Glenn LaFantasie of the WKU Institute for Civil War Studies talk with WKU Public Radio in the latest of our ongoing series of reports marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
As taxpayers face tomorrow's income tax filing deadline, WKU Historian Dr. Jack Thacker says income taxes were first established in the United States during the Civil War. He says the federal government used income taxes as a way to help pay for the war effort.
The Battle of Shiloh, one of the most pivotal and bloody battles of the U.S. Civil War, started 150 years ago today.
WKU Military Historian Jack Thacker and Dr. Glenn LaFantasie of the WKU Institute for Civil War Studies say Shiloh changed the way many military leaders and the general public viewed the war.
Dr. Glenn LaFantasie of the WKU Institute for Civil War Studies is involved in a software mapping project that could become very significant to future historians. The WKU Historian has been to Shiloh in recent months, helping to map that historic Civil War battlefield.
As their husbands, sons and fathers went off to fight on the front lines, women who stayed behind had to keep the family going however they could. In this third part of his three-part series Women in the Civil War, Joe Corcoran speaks with WKU Civil War historians Dr. Jack Thacker and Dr. Glenn LaFantasie about the new gender roles women were forced to take on and how those changes are still being felt today.
The casualty numbers of the Civil War were staggering for both the Union and the Confederacy. They would have been much higher without the thousands of women who volunteered as nurses in hospitals and homes.
One of the best kept secrets of the Civil War is the number of women who disguised themselves as men so they could fight on the front lines. In the first of his three-part series Women in the Civil War, Joe Corcoran speaks with WKU Civil War historians Dr. Glenn LaFantasie and Dr. Jack Thacker about these forgotten warriors.
WKU Military Historian Dr. Jack Thacker and WKU Civil War Historian Dr. Glenn LaFantasie say the battle between the Monitor and Merriman (also known as "the Virginia") had an impact beyond the outcome of the American Civil War.
WKU Historians Glenn LaFantasie and Jack Thacker say many people have overlooked the importance of logistics and organization in conducting the Civil War. They talk with Dan Modlin of WKU Public Radio...
WKU Civil War Historian Glenn La Fantasie and WKU Military Historian Jack Thacker say the signficance of these battles in Northern Tennessee may have been more important than some people have thought in the past.
Bowling Green, KY – Civil War Historians Dr. Jack Thacker and Dr. Glen LaFantasie say President Lincoln looked at the state of Kentucky as a key pivotal area as he tried to address slavery issues in the days leading up to the start of the Civil War. Lincoln considered Kentucky to be a key strategic location, in part because of its access to the Ohio River.Dan Modlin has more on the story.........
