The Titanic’s ‘low-lying’, silent distress rockets explained

One of a few remaining mysteries about the Titanic saga is the inaction of the nearby ship, the Californian. Her officers were watching the sinking Titanic for more than two hours and yet did nothing to help, although they saw the rockets that the stricken liner was firing. This article explains what weather phenomena could have affected the visibility and audibility of the rockets in such a way that confused the Californian's officers. It also discusses similarities between the inaction of the Californian and the inaction of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston in the Battle of Seven Pines that took place in 1862 during the American Civil War.

Introduction

This introduction sets the stage and provides an overview of the content in the book. It starts by outlining the plurality of meanings that have been ascribed to freedom historically, from the ancient world through to today. It describes how it was invoked by both sides of the American Civil war, by both supporters and critics of imperialism, and both for and against the creation of welfare states. The principle project of the book is outlined—to provide a broad range of perspectives on this value from historians, philosophers, and activists. Finally the introduction considers recurring themes—issues that came up independently across all the conversations.

Indian Territory

American Indians residing in Indian Territory fought for both the Union and the Confederacy in the American Civil War. When war came to the region in 1861, the Five Nations—Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole—made choices derived from their cultural, political, and economic interests as sovereign nations. Military action ebbed and flowed through Indian Territory over four years, which displaced significant portions of the population at different times. At war’s end the Natives found themselves on opposing sides, both between and within the individual nations. The external as well as internal civil war deepened tribal divisions and caused substantial physical destruction and considerable human suffering.

The Oxford Handbook of the American Civil War

This volume integrates the military and social histories of the American Civil War in its chapter organization. Its contributors use war and society methods: a holistic approach to understanding war and its consequences that incorporates the topics and techniques of a variety of historical subfields. Each chapter narrates a military campaign embedded in its strategic, political, and social context. Authors explore the consequences of a military campaign for the people who lived in its path and provide analysis of how an army’s presence reverberated throughout society in its region of operation. The volume yields a number of important insights about the impact of military campaigns, including the scale of movement, deportation, and depopulation among civilians; how the refugee experience and military action shaped emancipation as a process; the extent of guerrilla warfare; resistance to federal authority in the Great Plains and the Southwest; locations of localized total war; the implementation of military conscription in the Confederacy; a campaign’s consequences for cities, rural areas, and the natural environment; and the synergy between war and politics. Chapters consider the role of weather, topography, logistics, and engineering in the conduct of military campaigns.