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July of 1863 represented a significant turning point in the American Civil War. The capture of Vicksburg represented final victory in the campaign in the west, cementing Union control of the Mississippi river, while victory at Gettysburg shifted the momentum of the war in the east. Given the importance, and staggering costs, of these battles, it should be no surprise that the nation has largely forgotten a much smaller, yet still important battle the same month, nearly seven thousand miles away from the US capitol.
In 1891, British humorist Jerome K. Jerome wrote that “Whenever five or six English-speaking people meet round a fire on Christmas Eve, they start telling each other ghost stories.”
Three classic episodes of The History Guy about how the Christmas season survives even tragedy.
The “Great Sedition Trial” uncovered shocking connections at the time with the German reich that we were fighting, and challenged the idea that the nation was of a single mind during the war. It also challenged exactly how far the national commitment to freedom of speech and opinion reached, especially in extraordinary times.
