Soldiers
Published: 9/14/26
A Death at Antietam
A Connecticut infantryman reflects on the death of his soldier-brother at the Battle of Antietam in a moving letter home.
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Published: 2/19/26
The Survivor: Harlan Paige’s Civil War
Read about the exceptional luck of Vermont soldier Harlan Paige on the long and bloody road to Appomattox.
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.
Published: 11/13/25
Being Wounded
Read the firsthand quotes by Union and Confederate soldiers on the subject of being wounded in battle.
Published: 10/13/25
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: 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: 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: 5/28/25
Rebs on Yanks
Read quotes by Confederate soldiers that reveal the diversity of their feelings toward their Union counterparts.
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Published: 5/28/25
Rufus Dawes’ Civil War
The Civil War story of Union officer Rufus Dawes of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry, one of the regiment of the famed Iron Brigade.
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: 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: 4/7/25
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: 3/18/25
A Boy Soldier
The story of 15-year-old Jimmy Bateman's relentless pursuit to join the Union army in 1861.
Published: 3/10/25
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.