People
Published: 9/13/21
Extra Voices: Nicknames
Read firsthand Union and Confederate soldiers' quotes about the nicknames they gave to comrades during the Civil War.
Published: 7/20/21
After Fort Wagner
Read 54th Massachusetts soldier Lewis Douglass' letter about the Battle of Fort Wagner which he wrote days after the the famed fight.
Published: 6/7/21
Extra Voices: Fear
Read firsthand Union and Confederate soldiers' quotes on the feelings of fear they experienced in battle.
Published: 6/1/21
Fear
Firsthand Union and Confederate soldier quotes about the fear they and their comrades faced in battle.
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Published: 6/1/21
Band of Brothers
How the men of the 107th Ohio Infantry grappled with suffering and death, and remembering, after Chancellorsville and Gettysburg
Published: 5/24/21
The Death of Colonel Ellsworth
Read The New York Times' lengthy tribute to Elmer Ellsworth after the young Union colonel's death in 1861.
Published: 4/16/21
War’s Early Days
Read South Carolina diarist Mary Boykin Chesnut's gripping account of the fall of Fort Sumter and its aftermath.
Published: 4/9/21
Word-Clouding Lee’s and Grant’s Farewell Addresses
View the words Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee used in the farewell addresses they delivered to their men as represented in a word cloud.
Published: 4/5/21
Extra Voices: Shirkers
Read firsthand Civil War soldier quotes on shirking in the Union and Confederate armies.
Published: 3/22/21
The Hands-On Historian
A look at the origins of National Archives staffer Bryan Cheeseboro's lifelong interest in the American Civil War.
Published: 3/10/21
Thaddeus Stevens (2021)
An "accessible biography" of "a soldier of the Second American Revolution"
Published: 3/7/21
Shirkers
Firsthand Union and Confederate soldier quotes about the presence of comrades who shirked their duties.
Published: 3/7/21
United States Sanitary Commission at Gettysburg
Facts and figures about the U.S. Sanitary Commission's work at Gettysburg after the epic battle, one of its largest relief efforts of the war.
Published: 12/21/20
Extra Voices: Coffee
Read firsthand quotes by Union and Confederate soldiers about the the high value they placed on a good cup of coffee.
Published: 12/1/20
Coffee
Firsthand quotes about the strong reliance Union and Confederate soldiers had on coffee during the Civil War.
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Published: 10/16/20
John Brown’s Raid
Discover the story of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry and its role in the fight against slavery. Explore images that relay the historical significance of this pivotal moment.
Published: 9/1/20
The Hero of Franklin
How quick thinking by Colonel Emerson Opdycke helped save the day for Union forces at the Battle of Franklin.
Published: 9/1/20
Thirst
Read first-hand accounts of how Union and Confederate soldiers dealt with thirst on and off the battlefield.