Firsthand Accounts
Published: 12/22/25
Impractical Packages from Home
In 1862, a Wisconsin newspaper poked fun at people who sent impractical care packages to family and friends in the Union army.
Published: 12/8/25
A Zouave at Fredericksburg
Experience the Battle of Fredericksburg through the eyes of a soldier in the 5th New York Infantry (Duryea's Zouaves).
Published: 11/24/25
Extra Voices: Being Wounded
Read first-person quotes by Union and Confederate soldiers about their reactions to being wounded on the Civil War battlefield.
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Published: 11/13/25
My War Story
Young Virginia soldier Alexander Hunter's remarkable firsthand account of the Confederate victory at Second Manassas
Published: 11/13/25
Being Wounded
Read the firsthand quotes by Union and Confederate soldiers on the subject of being wounded in battle.
Published: 10/27/25
An Unnamed Hero Revealed
Learn about the historic clash between USS Sassacus and CSS Albemarle, featuring the heroism of Union sailor James M. Hobby.
Published: 10/13/25
Extra Voices: Fraternizing with the Enemy
Read quotes from Union and Confederate soldiers about the times they interacted with their opponents when not in active combat.
Published: 9/29/25
Soldiers Love Coffee
Army of the Potomac surgeon J. Theodore Calhoun on how much Union soldiers loved—and came to depend upon—coffee.
Published: 9/22/25
A Civil War Tank
Learn about Indiana inventor Albert E. Redstone's proposed "Land Monitor," a Civil War tank that never was.
Published: 8/19/25
Fraternizing With the Enemy
Firsthand quotes by Union and Confederate soldiers about their non-combat interactions with the enemy.
Published: 8/11/25
Extra Voices: Rebs on Yanks
Read quotes from Confederate soldiers and civilians that reflect their intense feelings about their Yankee opponents.
Published: 7/28/25
Battle at the Crater
Explore the Battle at the Crater, a pivotal moment in the Siege of Petersburg, through the first-hand account of a Union staff officer.
Published: 6/30/25
A Texan at Gettysburg
Discover the heartfelt letter of a Texas soldier, John Camden West, to his son after the Battle of Gettysburg.
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.