Firsthand Accounts
Published: 6/2/25
Eyewitness to the Overland Campaign
Experience the Overland Campaign of 1864 through the eyes of John R. Pillings, a corporal in the 86th New York Infantry.
Published: 5/28/25
Rebs on Yanks
Read quotes by Confederate soldiers that reveal the diversity of their feelings toward their Union counterparts.
Published: 5/26/25
The Waste of War
Explore the physical and emotional toll of the Civil War through the powerful poem "April 30, 1864" by Charles G. Halpine.
Published: 4/28/25
Extra Voices: Please Write!
Read comments from Union and Confederate soldiers about their intense desire to receive news from family and friends back home.
Published: 4/7/25
Killed at Shiloh
Read a moving letter to the parents of a Union soldier killed at Shiloh that the "Dead-letter Office" tried to see delivered properly.
Published: 3/18/25
Please Write!
First-person quotes from Union and Confederate soldiers about their deep desire to receive letters from home.
Published: 3/3/25
Cleaning Ironclads
A look at the process used to clean the ironclad monitor-class warships that made up the Union's South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
Published: 1/13/25
Extra Voices: Narrow Escapes
Read first-hand quotes by Union and Confederate soldiers about the close calls they and their comrades had in combat during the Civil War.
Published: 1/2/25
Narrow Escapes
A sampling of first-person quotes by Union and Confederate soldiers about the close calls they had in combat.
Published: 1/1/25
An Eventful New Year
Explore a letter from a Union officer that documents an Emancipation Day celebration in New Bern, North Carolina, on New Year's Day, 1865.
Published: 12/30/24
The Loss of the “Monitor”
Explore the tragic story of the USS Monitor's loss in a storm off Cape Hatteras through the first-hand account of seaman Francis B. Butts.
Published: 12/16/24
How a Man Feels in Battle
How did men experience combat during the Civil War? A Union veteran of the Battle of Bull Run offers his thoughts.
Published: 10/28/24
Death of a Loyal Brother
Read the poignant letters of a Byron B. Wilson, a Union soldier in the 4th Vermont Infantry, to his sister during the Civil War.
Published: 10/20/24
Eyewitness to Ball’s Bluff
Discover first-hand accounts of the Battle of Ball's Bluff through the letters of Richard C. Derby, a Union soldier in the 15th Massachusetts Infantry.
Published: 10/2/24
Accidental Deaths
A sampling of first-person quotes about accidental deaths during the Civil War.
Published: 9/30/24
A Spy’s Demise
In 1865, the United States Sanitary Commission, a private relief agency that supported sick and wounded soldiers during the Civil War, published a volume of Union soldiers’ writings titled Soldiers’...
Published: 9/23/24
Extra Voices: Accidental Deaths
Read firsthand quotes by Union and Confederate soldiers about occurrences of accidental deaths in Civil War armies.
Published: 9/9/24
A Woman’s Devotion
Explore the memoir of Sarah Brock, a witness to the Civil War in Richmond, who tells the tale of a brave woman's devotion in the face of adversity.