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Photo Essays
Stories of the Civil War as told through series of captivating images
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Published: 5/27/24
Sailing in the Air
“If we may believe the poets and fabulists, the idea of sailing in the air is no new one. Every school-boy knows the story of Daedalus and his son Icarus,...
14
Published: 11/23/23
Thanksgiving Day
“It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do...
10
Published: 9/15/23
Hints to Soldiers
The Soldier in Our Civil War, a multi-volume work about the Civil War published in 1893, showcases many of the illustrations that appeared during the conflict in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. The...
11
Published: 5/24/23
Elmer Ellsworth’s Civil War
On May 24, 1861, 24-year-old Elmer E. Ellsworth—colonel of the 11th New York Infantry—was shot and killed by the pro-secessionist proprietor of the Marshall House, an inn located in Alexandria,...
10
Published: 12/16/22
The Holiday Season During War
How did Americans observe Christmas and the New Year during the Civil War? Illustrated newspapers, like Harper’s Weekly and Frank Leslie’s, published many illustrations throughout the conflict that showed readers how their fellow countrymen marked...
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Published: 7/21/22
First Bull Run
On July 21, 1861, Union and Confederate forces clashed just north of Manassas, Virginia, in the war’s first major land battle. The engagment brought together inexperienced northern and southern volunteers,...
11
Published: 4/14/22
Assassination Artifacts
“That is the last speech he will ever make.” So remarked John Wilkes Booth on April 11, 1865, after listening to President Abraham Lincoln deliver remarks outside the White House....
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Published: 1/14/22
The Emancipation Proclamation
On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation—which declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free”—went into effect. Drafted the previous summer, and...
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Published: 10/15/21
The Mountain Campaigns in Georgia
Published in 1890, The Mountain Campaigns in Georgia—a slim volume devoted to telling the story of the battles fought in the war’s western theater along the Western & Atlantic Railroad—boasted a...
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Published: 7/18/21
The 54th Massachusetts at Fort Wagner
On July 18, 1863, Union troops commanded by Brigadier General Quincy Gillmore launched an attack on Fort Wagner, the Confederate bastion that protected Morris Island, located south of Charleston Harbor—part...
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Published: 3/17/21
St. Patrick’s Day, 1863
On March 17, 1863, Irish Brigade commander Thomas Francis Meagher hosted elaborate festivities to mark St. Patrick’s Day. The celebration featured a number of races and prizes—and, as one Union soldier...
12
Published: 10/16/20
John Brown’s Raid
In October 1859, abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in hopes of obtaining the necessary weapons to arm a successful slave insurrection throughout...
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Published: 8/7/20
Road Trip: Petersburg to Appomattox
Few regions offer a denser concentration of Civil War history than Central Virginia. The historical significance of the region is reason enough to visit, but the fact that you can retrace...
9
Published: 7/16/20
U.S. Army Surgical Kit
In 1918, physician William Keen, who had served as a Union army surgeon during the Civil War, reflected on the surgical conditions he and his fellow military doctors faced in the...
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Published: 12/20/19
The March to the Sea
Following his successful campaign to capture Atlanta in September 1864, William T. Sherman set his sights on Savannah. On November 15, Sherman’s force of approximately 62,000 men cut free from...
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Published: 10/7/19
The Overland Campaign
In May and June 1864, General Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Potomac pushed doggedly toward the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, in the Civil War’s bloodiest military...
12
Published: 6/29/19
The Seven Days Battles
Between June 25 and July 1, 1862, George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac and Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia battled on the outskirts of Richmond. The fate...
9
Published: 5/23/19
The American Civil War Museum: A Photo Tour
The new American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia, had its grand opening May 4, 2019, and we were there to see it. The new facility, which boasts 6,000 square feet of...
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