Civil War Times

‘THEY HAVE OUR RANGE…’

When former Union officer Elijah Fearing Hobart booked his cruise on the canal boat Flying Cloud, he was hoping for a few hours of relaxation and respite from the war. His cruise ran directly into the Calico Raid, and he was shot dead.

Hobart was born in 1821 at Hingham on the Massachusetts coast, and traced his lineage back to the Mayflower’s landing at Plymouth Rock. Both of his grandfathers had fought in the Revolutionary War. He moved to Boston at age 15 to learn the engraving trade. Becoming a proficient engraver, he moved to Albany, N.Y., and worked engraving bank notes. In the late summer of 1861 he determined to recruit a company for Federal

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Civil War Times

Civil War Times4 min read
Words And Meanings
ANYONE WHO EXPLORES Civil War–era history should pay close attention to how people at the time understood and used key words. “Freedom” ranks among the most important of such words. Americans of the 21st century almost always address questions relati
Civil War Times12 min read
Forever Salvaged
I first visited with the two “Monitor Boys” when they were still 240 feet below me, resting in the one-mile column of water that defines the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, which is under the auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini
Civil War Times2 min read
How A “man Of Such Promise” Failed
On the first page of Conflict of Command, George Rable posits, “People have largely made up their mind about George McClellan—and not in the general’s favor; nor do they seem amenable to rethinking their position.” He then spends 336 pages essentiall

Related Books & Audiobooks