Author Archives: bradmeisel

The first lesson I learned from my Research Project was to begin with scholarly secondary sources.  Scholarly books and articles provided me with a extensive contextual understanding of my topic before I began searching for primary sources.  Since I was … Continue reading →

This week, I searched for articles in newspaperse on microfilm pertaining to Thomas Nelson Conrad and Daniel Mountjoy Cloud.  I looked through the Carlisle newspapers from June and July of 1857 and 1858 to find information about the two men’s … Continue reading →

In order to locate records concerning Thomas Nelson Conrad and Daniel Mountjoy Cloud, I searched the online catalogue of the National Archives Record Administration (NARA), which is located in College Park, MD.  My searches returned no results for Cloud, but … Continue reading →

In order to find pictures of Thomas Nelson Conrad and Daniel Mountjoy Cloud, I searched for them in Dickinson’s House Divided engine.  In doing so, I successfully located sketchings of men. (http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/5454, http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/5422).   On the Dickinson Chronicles I found an old … Continue reading →

Post on Newspapers in Databases             When I began using electronic databases to conduct research on Daniel Mountjoy Cloud and Thomas Nelson Conrad, my first step was to search for their names.  Searches for Cloud’s name yielded no results in … Continue reading →

I read Conrad’s 1892 autobiography “A Confederate Spy: A Story of the Civil War,” in order to get a sense of his activities during the Civil War.  It is possible that Conrad may have confabulated or exaggerated certain aspects of … Continue reading →

I read John Buckless’s book Spies of the Confederacy in order to learn more about the Confederate Secret Service.  Buckless references Cloud and Conrad and briefly states that they were college roommates.  If this claim could be proven, it would establish that … Continue reading →