Restored to Light: The Civil War and Other Military Conflicts
Here you will find a very brief overview of America’s military conflicts along with over a thousand original 19th century photographs of the soldiers who fought and of some of the battle scenes. Coverage will include the Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, various Tribal Wars, the Mexican War, the aftermath in “Bloody Kansas,” and the Civil War itself. For those interested, several other conflicts are touched on in various degrees of detail: the Waterloo Battle, Custer’s defeat at the Little Big Horn and snippets related to the Crimean War, and both the First and Second World Wars.
Topic Sections
Section #11Other Military Conflicts
About the author
Robert E DraneAfter earning an MA Degree in Literature from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Bob Drane embarked on a 35 year corporate career between Quaker Oats and Oscar Mayer. He became a recognized leader in new product development, leading the team that invented the Lunchables © brand and teaching Innovation for over a decade in the UW Graduate School of Business. After retiring his interest turned to studying and writing about early American history and also collecting original 19th century photographs. The result is this website which he hopes will enlighten visitors about the nation’s origins in an accurate and easy to follow fashion.
Our Books
Restored to Light: The Civil War and Other Military Conflicts
Here you will find a very brief overview of America’s military conflicts along with over a thousand original 19th century photographs of the soldiers who fought and of some of the battle scenes. Coverage will include the Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, various Tribal Wars, the Mexican War, the aftermath in “Bloody Kansas,” and the Civil War itself. For those interested, several other conflicts are touched on in various degrees of detail: the Waterloo Battle, Custer’s defeat at the Little Big Horn and snippets related to the Crimean War, and both the First and Second World Wars.
Restored to Light: American Life in the 1800’s
This book will introduce our diverse population, from the common men and women of all races and classes, to the more prominent figures who shaped our beliefs and values and growth as a nation. You’ll learn about our homes, schools, churches and ever changing modes of transportation. How our small towns become large cities with vibrant market-places. How capitalism and industrialization provide an economic boom and open many new ways to earn a living beyond agriculture. Also about our evolving political parties and their leaders, and trace their efforts to deal with various foreign and domestic conflicts while competing for power.
Since America’s history is marked by tragic flaws as well as towering strengths, you’ll explore the brutal experiences of the enslaved African-Americans, the root causes of racism and gender inequality, and our ruinous propensity for violence. Finally, we’ll end with a fun look at the history of our entertainment industry.
Prelude to Civil War
This book examines the key events in American history from the 1607 arrival of the British colonists through the 1775-81 Revolutionary War, the creation of a new nation at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, its amazing rise to global prominence by 1840, followed by internal insurrection and warfare in 1861. It argues that the seeds of Disunion are evident from the beginning, once the South bets its entire economic future on the ongoing expansion of a slave-based agricultural economy. This conflicts with the North’s commitment to a modern industrialized model along with its passage of racist “black codes” aimed at “cleansing” all negroes from its domain. Up until 1845 “political compromises” allow both regions to prosper, as America’s landmass crosses the Mississippi River. However, tensions accelerate after the 1846-47 Mexican War opens new western territories coveted by both sections. Southern demands to open new slave plantations are met by Northerners committed to preserving all new land for “free white men and free labor.” This outcome would end the South’s ability to auction off its inventory of “excess slaves,” the principal source of its total wealth. Efforts to find a compromise fail and Lincoln’s victory in the 1860 election (with 39% of the popular vote) results in a slavery ban in the west, secession by the South and the Civil War.