Edward T. Cotham, Jr

Events

162nd Anniversary of the Battle of Galveston Tours
(Jan. 4-5, 2025)

On Saturday, January 4 and Sunday, January 5, 2025, Ed will again be conducting a variety of tours relating to the January 1, 1863 Battle of Galveston and other Civil War events in Galveston. As in the past, the Galveston Historical Foundation is the official sponsor for these tours.

Ed Cotham leads his annual Battle of Galveston walking tour in January 2020

Eventbrite Site to Make Reservations for Walking Tours

Click here to make reservations for walking tours

Lunchtime Talk at Ashton Villa on New Book

The Galveston Campaigns

The Twenty-One Critical Decisions That Defined the Operations

(Univ. of Tennessee Press, 2024)

Tuesday, January 14, 2025 · 11:30am - 1pm CST

1859 Ashton Villa

2328 Broadway Avenue J Galveston, TX 77550

Eventbrite link to make reservations through Galveston Historical Foundation

Eventbrite site to make reservations through Galveston Historical Foundation

160th Anniversary of Juneteenth Panel at Texas State Historical Association Meeting in Houston

On Feb. 27, 2025, at 10:30 am, I will appear on a panel with my friend Sam Collins III and Ms. Opal Lee, "the Grandmother of Juneteenth," at the Texas State Historical Association Convention in Houston.

Information on the Juneteenth Panel at TSHA Convention

Jefferson Civil War Symposium (Saturday, August 2, 2025)

Ed will be speaking in historic Jefferson, Texas, on his new book Critical Decisions of the Galveston Campaigns: The Twenty-One Decisions That defined the Operations. For more information see:

Jefferson Historical Society and Museum

Ed leads the first Civil War tour inside the Hendley Building on the Strand in Galveston (now occupied by the Galveston Historical Foundation)

Ed leads a walking tour in Galveston and points out damage from a shell fired during the Battle of Galveston

Ed Cotham at the Wreck of USS Hatteras holding the CDV Image of the Captain of the Vessel

Ed Cotham studies Blueview survey image at the wreck of USS Hatteras

Reviews and Awards

History

Decisions of the Galveston Campaigns: The Twenty-One Critical Decisions that Defined the Operations

Decisions of the Galveston Campaigns: The Twenty-One Critical Decisions that Defined the Operations

A Busy Week in Texas: Ulysses S. Grant's 1880 Visit to the Lone Star State

A Busy Week in Texas: Ulysses S. Grant's 1880 Visit to the Lone Star State

In the spring of 1880, Ulysses S. Grant, former general-in-chief and two-term president of the United States, stepped ashore at Galveston and began what turned out to be a seven-day whirlwind visit to Texas. Because of his past accomplishments and the chance that he might be nominated to serve an unprecedented third presidential term, Grant was the most famous and eagerly awaited celebrity ever to visit the Lone Star State. The general visited Galveston, San Antonio, and Houston, where he was greeted by thousands of cheering Texans.
Grant's visit to Texas was the subject of extensive coverage in newspapers across the nation, providing a unique time capsule for modern readers. The detailed reports of parades, banquets, receptions, and social activities not only document what Grant did at these functions, but also provide a record of what the thousands who came to see him said and did. The elaborate banquet menus and the word-by-word transcriptions of after-dinner toasts and speeches provide a fascinating window into social activities that are no longer an active part of modern life.
This book tells the story of Grant's busy week in Texas, allowing the reader to see Texas the way Grant experienced it. The book also includes a tour guide that will allow readers to literally retrace the general's footsteps to the sites of many historic buildings that still exist today.

Juneteenth: The Story Behind the Celebration (State House Press)

Juneteenth: The Story Behind the Celebration (State House Press)

Juneteenth: The Story behind the Celebration

The Southern Journey of a Civil War Marine: Henry O. Gusley's Illustrated Note-Book
(University of Texas Press, 2006)

Released January 2006 by University of Texas Press
Reviewers have said this about the book:

"Journals of nineteenth-century U.S. Marines are rare, and Henry Gusley's is a truly outstanding account of the shipboard experiences and observation of an enlisted marine...Edward Cotham's scholarship in the introduction and in annotating the journal is outstanding, and he has drawn on the appropriate sources. This is one of the best jobs of editing in the field."
Joseph G. Dawson III, Professor of History at Texas A&M University

"I found Gusley's notebook fascinating, informative, and ultimately moving...Civil War historians will find the information about the inner workings and day-to-day life aboard U.S. naval vessels patrolling the Gulf of Mexico and the major river systems of the Trans-Mississippi interior highly informative...This book should also find a popular audience. Bright, literate, constantly upbeat, and good-humored despite the many difficult circumstances he found himself in, Gusley is good company for his readers."
Patrick Kelly, Associate Professor of History at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Sabine Pass: The Confederacy's Thermopylae (University of Texas Press)

“Ed Cotham has provided for posterity a fine rendering of one of the more amazing battles in American History. Not only was the Battle of Sabine Pass a heroic scale Texan victory, but Cotham tells that larger-than-life story with historical context and clarity that makes the story of Dick Dowling and his stalwarts that much more amazing.”
Dr. Don Frazier, Chairman of the History Department at McMurry University and Executive Director of the Grady McWhiney Research Foundation

Battle on the Bay: The Civil War Struggle for Galveston
(University of Texas Press, 1998)

"Devotees of American Civil War literature should find their horizons broadened and their understanding of the war enhanced by this book."

—Donald S. Frazier, author of Cottonclads

"Cotham is to be commended for writing an entertaining, superbly
researched, and compellingly written book. Readers who find Battle on the Bay
interesting may also want to consult the author's two other works, Sabine Pass:
The Confederacy's Thermopyl and The Southern Journey of a Civil War Marine:
The Illustrated Note-Book of Henry O. Gusley. If Battle on the Bay is any
indication, this trilogy of books should be a must read for anyone interested in
the Civil War."

Andrew Duppstadt

Chapter on Union Naval Strategy in Texas

The Seventh Star of the Confederacy (University of North Texas Press)

Ed Cotham's essay is titled "Nothing but Disaster: The Failure of Union Plans to Capture Texas" One reviewer wrote:

"Howell has managed to gather eighteen of the very best Texas Civil War historians for this fine publication that is certain to attract considerable attention. It surpasses similar edited versions of the war in Texas and may well be one of the very best books on the subject."—Jerry Thompson, professor of history, Texas A&M International University