Podcast
Portraits of Blue & Grey: The Biographical Civil War Podcast
Hosted by Recorded History Podcast Network · EN
Portraits of Blue & Grey, hosted by Christopher Moore, is a biographical Civil War podcast that examines the lives of the most prominent, interesting, and influential figures of the United States Civil War Era.
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Confederate Intelligence and Espionage, Part 1
Jun 16, 202401:15:35Tap to summarizeThis episode surveys Civil War intelligence-gathering and espionage on the Confederate side. We look at the cavalry's role, the Confederate Signal Corps and Secret Service, and introduce a few Rebel spy stories. Part 2 will examine some of the best-known Confederate spies and a few of the strange operations pursued by the Rebel Secret Service.In this Episode:12:10 - Jedidiah Hotchkiss, Shenandoah Valley Cartographer16:30 - Confederate spy Antonia Ford21:30 - Union General Grenville Dodge, Grant's spy master24:00 - Sam Davis, the South's Nathan Hale29:45 - Will Talbot, Virginia cavalryman caught spying in Maryland31:10 - Frank Stringfellow, top-gun Confederate spy41:30 - The Iron Scouts and the Beefsteak Raid47:00 - Confederate Secret Service53:45 - UK blockade policy59:20 - Confederate Signal Corps; encryption1:03:00 - George "Lightning" Ellsworth, Rebel telegraph tricksterEmail the show at CivilWarPodcast@protonmail.com. Thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →Copperheads
Jan 1, 202401:38:09Tap to summarizePresident Lincoln called them "fire in the rear." Northern anti-war Democrats--called Copperheads--advocated for a peaceful resolution of the war and sharply criticized the Lincoln Administration's restrictions on civil liberties in the North. This episode explores the Copperhead movement, introduces a few prominent Copperheads, and evaluates their arguments against Lincoln and the war. 11:00 - Copperheads in the Press. 16:00 - Marcus "Brick" Pomeroy. 29:00 - Copperheads in Politics; Ohio Rep. Clement Vallandigham. 34:00 - Ohio Rep. Alexander Long; Censure and Expulsion in the House of Representatives. 44:00 - Indiana Rep. Daniel Voorhees. 50:00 - NY Mayor and House Rep. Fernando Wood; NY Police Riot. 59:00 - NYC Secession? 1:04:00 - 1864 Democratic Party Convention. 1:10:00 - Lincoln Administration Constitutional Restrictions; Suspension of Habeas Corpus; Martial Law; 1st Amendment Violations. 1:24:00 - Knights of the Golden Circle. Thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →Civil War Espionage - Union Spies 2
Jul 3, 202301:01:30Tap to summarizeThis is the second half of our look at Union intelligence operations and spies during the American Civil War. This episode finishes up the discussion of Col. George Sharpe's Bureau of Military Information and the big influence Col. Sharpe had on intelligence during and after the war. We then introduce several charismatic Union spies--including Richmond socialite Elizabeth Van Lew, former slave Mary Bowser, actress Pauline Cushman, and Canadian master of disguise Sarah Edmonds. We also meet "the Tsar of the Underground"--counter-intelligence specialist Lafayette Baker--and explore his role in the Lincoln assassination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →Civil War Espionage (Part 1 - Union Spies)
Jun 11, 202300:55:42Tap to summarizeThis episode explores Civil War espionage, starting with the intelligence operation and spies on the Union side. Allan Pinkerton, Kate Warne, Timothy Webster, and Col. George Sharpe feature prominently in this episode. A follow-up episode will be out soon finishing up our look at Union spies with figures like Elizabeth Van Lew, Lafayette Baker, Mary Richards Bowser, Pauline Cushman, and Sarah Emma Edmonds.A future show will discuss Civil War spies on the Confederate side.Thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →The Red River Campaign - Part 3
Jan 22, 202301:06:03Tap to summarizeThe third (and final) episode of our series on the Red River Campaign finishes up the action in Louisiana. We look at the Union withdrawal, an unorthodox cavalry-vs-navy battle at Blair's Landing, the Camden Expedition, and some nifty impromptu dam-building by a Wisconsin engineer named Lt. Col. Joseph Bailey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →The Red River Campaign - Part 2
Jan 9, 202300:55:42Tap to summarizePart 2 of the Red River Campaign explores the Battle of Mansfield and follow-up Battle of Pleasant Hill--which proved to be the pivotal confrontations of the campaign. Then, we digress into some Civil War trivia.Look for Part 3, which will wrap up the series, in the near future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →The Red River Campaign - Part 1
Nov 14, 202201:37:19Tap to summarizePart 1 of our Red River Campaign episode explores the dichotomy between political generals and hard-nosed professional soldiers before surveying American Civil War action in Louisiana. We also get to meet Union General (and former Speaker of the House) Nathaniel Banks and U.S. Navy hero Admiral David Dixon Porter--along with Rebel Generals Richard Taylor and Kirby Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →The New Mexico Campaign: Good Intentions, Bad Logistics, Ugly Results
May 1, 202201:30:51Tap to summarizePortraits of Blue & Grey makes its triumphant return with a look at the New Mexico Campaign's good intentions, bad logistics, and ugly results. While we're at it, we'll explore civil war in Ol' Mexico, Napoleon III's imperialist opportunism, and figure out how a Habsburg archduke briefly became Emperor of Mexico."General Sibley. He looks dead." I definitely should have re-watched the movie before recording the episode.If you have questions or comments about the show, you can reach us at blueandgreypodcast@gmail.com.Thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →The St. Albans Raid (Guest-Starring Jesse James)
Aug 13, 202101:19:47Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we start with what was supposed to be a short discussion of the James Gang--particularly their involvement in the Missouri guerilla fighting. Then, we look at one of the most unusual happenings of the Civil War: the Confederate raid on the sleepy town of St. Albans, Vermont. As Civil War raids go, though, the St. Albans Raid stands out. And not so much because of the setting but because the purpose of the raid was good, ol' fashioned bank robbery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →The Dahlgren Affair and the 1864 Union Raid on Richmond
May 4, 202101:21:22Tap to summarizeBy early 1864, POW populations in Civil War prison camps had exploded, and conditions in the camps were abysmal. In an attempt to liberate captured Union soldiers held at nearby Belle Isle prison, Gen. Judson Kilpatrick and Col. Ulric Dahlgren plan a daring raid on Richmond. When the raid doesn't go as planned, suspected ulterior objectives lead to the Dahlgren Affair -- one of the most enduring controversies of the Civil War.Historians still debate whether the Dahlgren Affair was a sinister, under-handed plot or a U.S. Civil War version of a false-flag operation. The truth remains a mystery, but we'll do our best to get to the bottom of it in this episode of Portraits of Blue & Grey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →