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Civil War Mourning Customs
By Karen Abbott (W&M contributor) Nearly 700,000 men died in the Civil War, more from disease than from battlefield wounds (“bowels are of more consequence than brains” was a common jest”) and...
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Death by Crinoline
Cartoon in Punch Magazine, which frequently lampooned crinoline. By Karen Abbott, W&M Contributor In addition to smallpox, cholera, and consumption, Victorian era denizens had to consider the...
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The Strange Journey of Napoleon’s Penis
By Karen Abbott (W&M Contributor) In 1821, the year of Napoleon Bonaparte’s death from stomach cancer, his penis embarked on a journey that rivaled its owner’s bloodthirsty trek across Europe. It...
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Uncommon Soldiers: Women in the Civil War
Sarah Emma Edmonds served in the Union army as Private Frank Thompson. By Karen Abbott (W&M Contributor) In the fall of 1862, at an Union army encampment along the Rappahannock River, a corporal in...
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Gadgets and Gimmicks of the Civil War
Civil War playing cards, circa 1862. During the first few weeks of April 1861, even before the smoke of Fort Sumter had faded, the greatest assemblage of hucksters in the nation’s young history began...
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12 Days of Books: Lovely Little Lies
by Karen Abbott (Wonders & Marvels contributor) “History is a set of lies agreed upon,” Napoleon Bonaparte famously said, and that adage stayed with me throughout the three years I spent...
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Tales of the Blockade Runners
Nina (left) and Lucy Ann, two dolls that may have been used to smuggle quinine during the Civil War. by Karen Abbott In April 1861, as soon as President Lincoln declared a blockade of 3,500 miles of...
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“Welcome to the Battle” (21st Century Style)
Me with some new Confederate friends, July 24, 2011. By Karen Abbott (Regular Contributor) July 21, 1861, saw the first major battle of the Civil War: The Battle of Bull Run (called Manassas in the...
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Editor’s Corner: Books We love
Holly Tucker, Editor-in-Chief Remember in Harry Potter when the owls drop thousands of letters on the front porch, down the chimney…everywhere? That’s sometimes how it feels at my house. As Editor of...
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Private & Confidential: Female Spies of the Union
Are you as obsessed with spies as we are? As we admitted on Sunday, here at W&M we can’t get enough intrigue. To satisfy our curiosity, we’ve teamed up with regular contributor Karen Abbott to...
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Private & Confidential: Female Spies of the Confederacy
At Wonders & Marvels, our inaugural Books We Love feature has allowed us to indulge our passion for espionage. Last week began with dossiers on two female Union spies who play a central role in...
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Origins of the “Secesh Cleopatra”
By Karen Abbott (Regular Contributor) Oddly Conspicuous It was an oddly conspicuous act for a girl purporting to be a spy: On May 23, 1862, Belle Boyd, newly 18 and possessed of a “little rebel heart,”...
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Death by Crinoline
By Karen Abbott (Regular Contributor) Perils of the Era Cartoon in Punch Magazine, which frequently lampooned crinoline. In addition to smallpox, cholera, and consumption, Victorian era denizens had to...
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