America at War

The death of George Armstrong Custer and the destruction of the Seventh Cavalry is a touchstone for the Indian Wars. It is the one event that in many people's mind, is the touchstone for the post-Civil War conflicts with Native Armericans. We will focus on that in this episode of the podcast. The campaign to hem in the Sioux to their reservations was to be facilitated by a multi-prong advance. Rat...

We are moving to the center of the country with this episode. Before the beginning of the Civil War through the decade of the 1870s, the Army was busy in the center of the country. This episode will serve as bridge between the end of the Civil War and the Sioux and Lakota Wars of the 1870s. As settlement stretched west, there were clashes between native peoples and the Army. In a familiar story, d...

This is our last episode concerning the Nez Perce War of 1877. In the aftermath of Big Hole, the Nez Perce continued east, traveling through the newly established Yellowstone National Park. As it became clear that they were not welcome in Crow Country, the Nez Perce decided to head north to Canada and sanctuary. After exiting Yellowstone, the Nez Perce swung north, clashing with the Army at Canyon...

We continue our narrative on the Nez Perce War, concentrating on what happened at Big Hole Montana. After successfully eluding the army in Montana, they camped in the Big Hole valley, thinking they were safe. They were not. Colonel John Gibbon was in pursuit. In what could best described as a massacre in the making, Gibbon attacked the Nez Perce encampment early in the morning of August 9, 1877. A...

We continue the Nez Perce War with this episode. After the various missteps and mistakes by General Howard, the Army struck the Nez Perce again at the Battle of the Clearwater. While it could be seen as a victory, the Nez Perce escaped, leaving their household goods behind. A council among the Nez Perce leaders resulted in a reluctant decision to head east, over the Lolo Trail, to their friends in...

We are continuing our story of the Nez Perce War of 1877. In this episode, we will concentrate on the start of hostilities. With emotions running high, Joseph and his band left the Wallowa's of northeast Oregon for the now reduced Nez Perce reservation. When they gathered at a place called Tolo Lake, emotions got the better of three young men who murdered some ranchers along the Salmon River. The...

With this episode, we continue the story of the Nez Perce War of 1877. With the onset of the colonization of the Pacific Northwest, tensions gradually rose between the Tribes of the Northwest and these newcomers. Once the border between British Canada and the United States was agreed to, the U.S. quickly organized the Pacific Northwest. Isaac Stevens was appointed territorial governor and Indian a...

As we move to the Pacific Northwest from California, it is time to consider the Nez Perce War of 1877. The conflict captured the public's imagination, much like the Modoc War, of a Tribe wanting to establish a home, but not allowed. To understand the full measure of the Nez Perce War, this episode and the next will focus on the roots of the Nez Perce culture and homeland as well as the challenges...

Once a year I post a short episode on the state of the podcast. It is an overview of where we are and where we are going. No someone who enjoys history? Tell them about this podcast! We could use some more listeners.  Have a question, comment, concern, or compliment? Contact us at americawarpodcast@gmail.com . You can also leave comments and your questions on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/a...

In this episode we will be concluding our series on the Modoc War of 1872-73. With the Modoc on the run, they retreated to a stronghold on the toe of a lava field, providing a bastion to protect their families from the U.S. Army. It took time to gather soldiers and supplies and did not attack until January 1873. It failed. In an attempt to break the impasse, negotiations led by General Canby were...

This is part two of a three episode arc on the Modoc War of 1872-73. With an increasing number of Euro-Americans settlers coming into the Klamath Basin astride the Oregon/California border after the end of the Civil War, tensions rose. Modoc's feared a loss of access to their homeland and it became an issue with both parties. It put increasing pressure on the Lost River band of the Modoc Tribe to...

We are moving into our season on the wars of the western frontier. We are starting on the Pacific coast with the Modoc War of 1872-73, California's only large post Civil War conflict with a native people. This episode sets up the events of the war. The Modoc homeland, in the far reaches of Northern California in the Klamath Basin, was under pressure with waves of immigration that occured in the af...

We are now moving beyond the Civil War and examining the armies role in the western United States. In the decades after the Civil War came to an end, the regular army was sent west. After 1865, with the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the Homestead Act, settlement of the west accelerated. Unfortunately, as the western states began to wholesale colonization, it brought them into con...

The period from the end of the Civil War until 1877 was known as Reconstruction. As the name suggests, it was the country's attempt to reconstruct and, perhaps, transform the South. The hope was to not only stitch the country back together again, but provide the freedmen a step up, to integrate the formerly enslaved population back into society. Tensions between Congress and the President led to a...

We have reached the penultimate episode of our series on the Civil War. We briefly touch on the surrender of the Confederate field armies but devote most of our time to looking at issues related to the winners and loosers of the war. It is fair to say that Lincoln won the war, but lost the peace. We don't explore all of the issues that led to the defeat of the Confederacy, but we concentrate on th...

In this episode, we concentrate on the siege at Petersburg, VA. With Grant unable to destroy the Army of Northern Virginia in the 1864 campaign season, instead he maneuvered Lee's Army into Petersburg for an extended siege. While Lee's army was able to fight another day, as Grant extended the siege lines around Petersburg, Lee's forces were stretched far too thin. In the spring of 1865, Lee was ho...

In our last full episode devoted to the western theater, we know turn our attention to Sherman's next act, his march through the Carolina's. When he completed his march across Georgia, the thought was to reunite with Grant. Instead, Sherman wanted to march through the heart of the Carolina's to the border of Virginia. Imperiling Lee's supply line. Grant agreed to the idea. Sherman marched through...

Once Atlanta was secured, Sherman considered next steps. Sherman mulled over an idea - marching through Georgia. After deliberations with the Lincoln Administration and General Grant, Sherman convinced them to back his plan. He wanted retribution and to demonstrate what the Union could do. In a severe blow to Confederate morale, Sherman wrecked the economy of Georgia. Rather than contesting Sherma...

In this episode we journey east. In the aftermath of the disaster at Cold Harbor, Grant turned his eyes toward Petersburg, the critical supply hub for the rebel capital at Richmond. While giving Lee the slip, Grant's tired troops bungled the capture of Petersburg. A siege ensued. In the meantime, in an effort to siphon troops from the siege line, Jubal Early launched a raid on Washington, DC. Whil...

In our last episode we covered Sherman's march to Atlanta. In this episode we cover the siege and fall of Atlanta. Dissatisfied with General Johnston's penchant for retreat, Confederate President Jefferson Davis replaced him with John B. Hood. Hood was the polar opposite of Johnston - aggressive to the point of recklessness. Upon taking command, Hood tangled with Sherman in attempt to stop his adv...

In this episode we head west and focus on General Sherman's march on Atlanta, Georgia. After the victory at Chattanooga, moving into the Confederate heartland and neutralizing Atlanta seemed a prudent next step. Over the summer of 1864, General Sherman and his opponent, General Johnston maneuvered, retreated, skrimished, and occasionally fought from Tenneesee to Atlanta. Johnston prudently chose t...

In this episode we continue our coverage of Grant's overland campaign. After the wilderness and Spotsylvania Grant continued to move south with Lee moving in concert with him. After being stopped at North Anna, Grant continued south and wandered into the battlefields of McClellan's campaign in 1862. Grant and Lee met again at a place called Cold Harbor. Lee entrenched. Grant attacked. While Grant...

Grant's overland campaign began in 1864 as he moved south to engage Lee's forces. Grant was determined to destroy Lee's Army. While outnumbered, Lee adroitly moved south in concert with Grant, engaging the Army of the Potomac, first, at a place known as the wilderness, a tangle of undergrowth that was fought over the year before where it was known as Chancellorsville. Grant attacked Lee's forces a...

As we mentioned in our last episode, we are ready to start 1864, the last full year of the Civil War. We will focus on Ulysses S. Grant's assumption of command of all armies that the Union could field. After years of searching, President Lincoln finally found a general he could work with. Grant, unlike his presecessors, was not only ready to commit the Army of the Potomac to battle, but pursue Lee...

 A short episode that will focus on what is next now that we are ready to start focusing on the last full year of the Civil War - 1864. Have a question, comment, or compliment? Contact us at americawarpodcast@gmail.com . You can also leave comments and your questions on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/americaatwarpodcast/ . Thanks for listening!