Ill Literacy, Episode 181: From Dakota to Dixie (Guest: Jonathan W. White)

In Episode 181 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Jonathan W. White, co-editor of From Dakota to Dixie: George Buswell's Civil War. Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined once again by Jonathan W. White, Professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University, to discuss his latest book, co-edited with Reagan Connolly, From Dakota to Dixie: George Buswell's Civil War. They chat about who George Buswell was, his interesting service record in the Civil War, and the uniqueness of his diary of the period. They pay particular attention to the Dakota War in Minnesota and the Dakota Territory in 1862, in which Buswell served, as well as the execution of 38 Dakota men at Mankato at the end of the conflict, the largest officially sanctioned mass execution in American history, of which Buswell was an eyewitness. They also discuss Buswell’s tenure fighting in the Deep South as an officer in the 68th U.S. Colored Infantry, his views of the men under his command, and the impact the experience had on him.  Get the book here: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/10075/