Standing Firmly by the Flag

E. Potter James

Description

From a pool of barely nine thousand men of military age, Nebraska—still a territory at the time—sent more than three thousand soldiers to the Civil War. They fought and died for the Union cause, were wounded, taken prisoner, and in some cases deserted. But Nebraska’s military contribution is only one part of the more complex and interesting story that James E. Potter tells in Standing Firmly by the Flag, the first book to fully explore Nebraska’s involvement in the Civil War and the war’s involvement in Nebraska’s evolution from territory to thirty-seventh state on March 1, 1867.

Although distant from the major battlefronts and seats of the warring governments, Nebraskans were aware of the war’s issues and subject to its consequences. National debates about the origins of the rebellion, the policies pursued to quell it, and what kind of nation should emerge once it was over echoed throughout Nebraska. Potter explores the war’s impact on Nebraskans and shows how, when Nebraska Territory sought admission to the Union at war’s end, it was caught up in political struggles over Reconstruction, the fate of the freed slaves, and the relationship between the states and the federal government.

Sujets

• Histoire
• USA
• United States of America
• Local history
• Midwestern United States
• History of the Americas
• American Civil War
• États-Unis
• Guerre de Sécession
• Nebraska

Informations

• Publié par: Bison Books
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780803244900
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 7 Mo

Extrait

j a m e s e . p o t t e r

Standing Firmly by theFlag

Nebraska Territory and theCivil War, 1861–1867

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University of Nebraska Press|Lincoln & London

©2012by the Nebraska State Historical Society All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America

Publication of this volume was assisted by the Virginia Faulkner Fund, established in memory of Virginia Faulkner, editor in chief of the University of Nebraska Press.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Potter, James E. (James Edward),1945– Standing firmly by the flag: Nebraska Territory and the Civil War,1861–1867/ James E. Potter. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8032-4090-2(pbk.: alk. paper)1. Nebraska—History—Civil War,1861–1865. 2. Nebraska—History—19th century. I. Title. E 518. P 672012 978.2'02—dc232012021979

Set in Swift.

To my colleagues at the Nebraska State Historical Society

The patriotism of those who assist our country now, when she is defending the Constitution and the Union against traitors and rebels, and who stand firmly by that flag and those institutions which have descended to us from the hands of Washington, will be held in grateful remembrance by the great and good everywhere.

—Nebraska governor Alvin Saunders, Message to the Territorial Legislature, December2, 1861

c o n t e n t s

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List of Illustrations| ix Preface| xi Acknowledgments| xix

Introduction: Nebraska Territory on the Eve of War |1 1.1861: “Civil War Is upon Us” |15 2. 1862: “Nobly Did the First Nebraska Sustain Its Reputation” |45 3. 1863: “Let Us Battle . . . for ‘The Constitution As It Is, and The Union As It Was’” |77 4. 1864: “You May Expect a General Indian Outbreak in All This Western Country” |117 5. 1865: “Peace Will Soon Again Bless the Land” |167 6. 1866: “A Change of Government . . . Is Being Freely Discussed” |225 7. 1867: “Nebraska Has a Singularly Bright and Prosperous Future” |265 Epilogue: The New State and the Old Soldiers |283

Notes|293 Bibliography|335 Index|347

i l l u s t r a t io ns

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Maps 1. The First Nebraska Regiment’s theater of operations, 1861–64|29 2. Post of Plum Creek, ca.1865|151 3. The central and northern Plains,1865|169

Figures 1. “Volunteer!”Nebraska Advertiser(Brownville) |22 2. Pvt. John Hutton, First Nebraska Volunteer Infantry |38 3|. Pvt. James Hutton, First Nebraska Volunteer Infantry 39 4. Alvin Saunders |43 5. Gen. John M. Thayer |52 6|. Counterattack of Wallace’s division at Fort Donelson 55 7. Pvt. Jacob Coffman, Second Nebraska Volunteer Cavalry |70 8|. Augustus Harvey 87 9. J. Sterling Morton |90 10. Officers of the Second Nebraska Volunteer Cavalry |94 11. Headquarters, Second Nebraska Volunteer Cavalry |98 12|. The Battle of White Stone Hill 100 13|. Nancy Jane Fletcher Morton 144 14|. Fort Mitchell 148 15|. George L. Miller 160 16. Clement L. Vallandigham |164