People
Published: 5/19/25
Misquoting Honest Abe
A look at how and why the most revered and respected figure in American history—Abraham Lincoln—is regularly misquoted today.
Published: 5/5/25
Smoothbore vs. Rifled Muskets
A look at the military philosophy of Colonel George Willard, whose advocacy for the use of the smoothbore (not rifled) musket in battle flew in the face of contemporary thinking.
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: 4/21/25
The Burning of Harmon Farm
The story of Gettysburg teenager Amelia Harmon, who took shelter in the family home as the fighting swirled around it on July 1, 1863.
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: 3/24/25
A Tragic History
The author visits a cemetery for massacre victims in a lonely Carolina valley.
Published: 3/18/25
Please Write!
First-person quotes from Union and Confederate soldiers about their deep desire to receive letters from home.
Published: 3/18/25
A Boy Soldier
The story of 15-year-old Jimmy Bateman's relentless pursuit to join the Union army in 1861.
Published: 3/18/25
Failure at Fredericksburg
Union general William B. Franklin and the perils of indecision and delay at the Battle of Fredericksburg
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Published: 3/14/25
The Making of a General
Before he became the Union's top soldier, Mexican War veteran turned store clerk Ulysses S. Grant needed to find a way back into the army.
Published: 3/10/25
A Lesser-Known Gettysburg Hero
Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain of the 20th Maine Infantry earned the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Gettysburg. So too did his regiment's color sergeant, Andrew Jackson Tozier.
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.
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Published: 2/6/25
Civil War Fashion, Part 1
Dive into the world of Civil War fashion through images of distinctive uniforms and personal styles adopted by people in the 1860s.
Published: 1/27/25
Handsome Dan
A profile of Union general George B. McClellan's war horse "Daniel Webster," also known as "Handsome Dan."
Published: 1/19/25
Civil War Snow Sledding
A contemporary review of Brown's Coasting Sled, a device patented in 1862, offers a look at the nature of snow sledding during the Civil War years.
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: 1/2/25
The Winning Hand
A carte de visite titled “The Winning Hand” offers commenrtary on the 1864 presidential election.