“I shut my eyes for two hours.”-John Basil Turchin (born Ivan Vasilyevich Turchaninov, 1821–1901)

In this long overdue episode of The Civil Weird Podcast, we unravel the story of Gen. John Basil Turchin, a Russian-born soldier who fled the autocracy of the Tsar and found himself in Abraham Lincoln’s army. Once an officer in the Imperial Guard, Turchin carried with him the brutal lessons of European warfare, lessons that would explode into controversy in Athens, Alabama, in 1862.

When his Union brigade occupied the Confederate town, chaos followed. Accused of letting his men “do as they pleased,” Turchin’s actions marked a first in the "war without gloves" in the western theater of the Civil War, when moral restraint gave way to the total destruction that would later define Sherman’s march.

Beside him stood his wife, Nadine Turchin, a radical diarist, leader, and fierce believer in her husband and liberty; she chronicled the war with intelligence and passion. Together they challenged the old order: a foreign-born general and his outspoken wife, fighting not just for the Union but for a new kind of justice.

Was John Turchin a war criminal, a radical abolitionist, or simply the first man to see that it would take "conquest, not conciliation" to end slavery once and for all?

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This episode, we delve into the Civil Weird tale of QMSgt. Leroy L. Key. Born in Mississippi to a slave-owning family, he broke away before the war and settled in Illinois—a decision that would shape his future in surprising ways. During the Civil War, Key fought in two regiments, one infantry and one cavalry. He was then captured in what was called the “Frozen Fight” in Jonesville, VA. After his capture, Key became the organizer and de facto leader of a group of Union prisoners known as the “Regulators.” They took it upon themselves to put an end to the brutal reign of the “Raiders,” a gang that preyed upon the most vulnerable among their fellow inmates. Key and his fellow Regulator captains not only dismantled the Raiders’ power structure but also established a rudimentary system of prisoner-led justice—and execution. After surviving Andersonville and the war, he returned to Mississippi. He worked as a lawyer and served in the Freedmen’s Bureau, helping formerly enslaved people secure basic rights and protections during the tumultuous Reconstruction era. Tragically, Key’s life was cut short; he died at age 39 from a possible suicide in Springfield, IL, where he left behind a wife and 8 children. Let’s make it Civil Weird!

In this episode of The Civil Weird Podcast, we dive into one of the strangest and most chaotic battles of the American Civil War: the Battle of the Crater. This bizarre and deadly confrontation, set amidst the siege of Petersburg in 1864, saw Union forces attempt to break Confederate lines by detonating a massive underground explosion—only to descend into confusion and horror in the resulting crater. We’ll explore the battle’s unconventional tactics, unexpected outcomes, and eerie atmosphere that set it apart in the annals of Civil War history. We also spotlight the personal story of Lewis Martin, a brave soldier from the 29th United States Colored Troops who endured unimaginable suffering during the battle. Losing his right arm and left leg and sustaining additional gunshot wounds, Martin’s journey of survival and sacrifice is both harrowing and inspiring. Today, his legacy continues. After being laid to rest in an unmarked grave for decades, Martin is now resting in power in a government-marked grave at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. Join us as we uncover the weird, the wild, and the human elements of this unforgettable chapter in Civil War history. Let’s make it Civil Weird!