Features
Published: 9/1/20
Wounded Warriors
For thousands of injured or infirm Union soldiers, the Invalid Corps provided a means to extend their military service.
9
Published: 6/1/20
Fortunate Sons
Panic by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton meant dozens of New England college students spent the summer of 1862 learning to be cavalrymen.
Published: 6/1/20
Mission to the James
Inside Abraham Lincoln’s secretive visit to Ulysses S. Grant’s headquarters at City Point, Virginia, in 1864.
9
Published: 6/1/20
Disputed Glory
The 54th Massachusetts Infantry performed heroically in the attack on Fort Wagner. Why did so many northern newspapers argue otherwise?
Published: 3/7/20
Abolitionists at War
Read how anti-slavery reformers’ reaction to the Civil War helped transform the conflict into one for emancipation—and provoked their movement's collapse.
11
Published: 3/7/20
The Great Dissenter
The rise and fall of Clement Vallandigham, the Democratic congressman who became the Lincoln administration’s most strident opponent.
11
Published: 3/7/20
Little Mac’s Big Fall
An inside look at the decision to remove George B. McClellan from command of the Army of the Potomac.
Published: 12/1/19
Holiday Toasts and Homesick Rebels
While Christmas was a joyous time in many antebellum southern homes, it was inconsistently celebrated in others. Read how the Civil War changed Christmas in the South.
Published: 12/1/19
The Barbara Frietchie Caper
What happened when Confederate troops marched past the house of Barbara Frietchie in Frederick, Maryland, in 1862? It depends on who’s telling the story.
Published: 12/1/19
Andersonville
Images, photos, and statistics tell the story of life and death Andersonville, the Civil War's most notorious prison.
12
Published: 9/1/19
“The Real War Will Never Get In The Books”
Top historians debunk five of the Civil War’s most enduring myths.
10
Published: 9/1/19
Civil War Cinema in New Deal America
A look at how early 20th century Hollywood both shaped and reflected the popular understanding of the Confederacy, slavery, and Abraham Lincoln.
Published: 9/1/19
The Man with the Magic Pencil
A look at the work of F.O.C. Darley, who was widely considered to be the finest illustrator in the country by the outbreak of the Civil War.
11
Published: 6/1/13
Badge of Honor: Becoming a Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide
Think getting into Harvard is tough? Try gaining entry into Gettysburg’s elite cadre of licensed battlefield guides. Here’s a look inside the grueling guide test that so few pass, despite years—even decades—of trying.
Published: 5/1/13
The Paradox of the Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is celebrated as one of the greatest speeches in American history, yet eyewitness accounts of the event are wildly contradictory.
Published: 5/1/13
The Long Roll of Fire
The 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry marched to Gettysburg in July 1863, where they played a crucial role in repulsing Pickett's Charge.
Published: 5/1/13
Faces of Gettysburg
View the images—and stories—of a select few who were swept up in the epic engagement at Gettysburg.
Published: 5/1/13
Mad Dan Sickles
Major General Daniel Edgar Sickles was an American original—in the very worst sense. Read how "Mad Dan" turned every disaster into self-promotion.
6