Departments · 70 Articles
Soldiers & Leaders
The men who fought it: commanders and privates, regiments and brigades, careers traced through the records they left behind.
Featured in Soldiers & Leaders
The Unfinished Fight
The vulcanized rubber ground cloth, or “gum blanket”, was a straightforward and utilitarian piece of equipment that was greatly prized by soldiers on both sides. It was a thin sheet of canvas coated with heatand pressure-treated gum rubber…
All Soldiers & Leaders
70 articles · 2019–2026
Soldier Pickups Part I Old Abe
On June 10, 1990, the Lions Club and citizens of Jim Falls, Wisconsin, held a dedication ceremony for the unveiling of a statue they had erected. The statue was o…
General James Henry Lane
My dear Father, I barely have time to write to you to tell you that we have been in several terrible engagements with the enemy, first in the Wilderness & then at…
Blue & Gray Education Society The Guns at Raymond
Founded in 1994, Blue and Gray Education (BGES), was the vision of retired Air Force Major Leonard (Len) Riedel, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute and a 2…
This & That The Accomplishment of This One Object
n the last issue, I wrote about Robert Anderson, the commander at Fort Sumter, and Samuel Cooper, the U.S. Army’s adjutant general when the crisis at Sumter began…
The Unfinished Fight Photo Analysis
This is an unusual gold-tinted tin-type of a Union Civil War soldier identified as Horace H. Smith of the 16th Wisconsin Company G. Smith enlisted on November 11,…
William Loring:
Major General William Wing Loring had a notable military career that spanned several significant conflicts, including the Texas Revolution at the age of 14, the M…
Through the Lens More Serious than Expected
Towards the end of June 1864, C.S. Gen. Jubal Early, Army of the Valley, had left the Shenandoah Valley, Va., to “threaten Washington and if I find the opportunit…
Spared & Shared
to circulate but one of the best accounts comes in a letter he wrote describing the reception General Grant received on March 8, 1864, when Grant met Lincoln face…
Critic’s Corner Worthy of the Cause for Which They Fight
How many Northern or Southern general officers kept diaries? Not too many. And of these, we can assume that most have long since been published. That’s why Robert…
USCC Massacre
In 1864, the 5th United States Colored Cavalry (5th USCC) under Colonel James Brisbin was formed at Camp Nelson, Ky. The Regiment, some 1,000 strong, was made up…
Through the Lens A Good Thrashing
n the evening of January 7, 1863, U.S. Gen. Egbert B. Brown, Cmdr., Southwest Division, received word that an estimated 2,000 to 6,000 men of C.S. Gen. John S. Ma…
The Graphic War John G. Keyser, Artist Soldier for the 24th N.J.
The Graphic War John G. Keyser Artist Soldier for the 24th New Jersey The Graphic War highlights prints and printmakers from the Civil War discussing their meanin…
Vision and Valor: The War Through Women’s eyes
This Vision and Valor article takes a detour from the usual focus on women’s roles in the Civil War. uring the Civil War, more than 95% of soldiers volunteered to…
This & That
n 2024, I devoted a column to a quiz, entitled “Testing Your General Knowledge.” I cited some data about the pre-war lives of men who later became famous and aske…
Fiercest Fights One Of The
In August 1864, control of the Shenandoah Valley, Va., pitted Union Gen. Philip Sheridan, Army of the Shenandoah, against. Confederate Gen. Jubal Early, Valley Ca…
Emerging Civil War
Sergeant Richard Kirkland of the 2nd South Carolina Infantry leans with a canteen over a wounded soldier cradled in his arms. The wounded man is a member of the 1…
Critic’s Corner The End of an Era - John S. Wise
Virginian John Sergeant Wise (1846–1913) was fourteen when the war broke out. His father, a well-to-do planter in eastern Virginia, saw to the lad’s education, wh…
A Regiment Doomed from the Start Spared & Shared
Some regiments in the Civil War achieved glory, while others found only heartbreak. Few regiments suffered the enormous pain and sorrow that fell upon the boys of…
“Behold A Pale Horse” Captain Winston J.T. Stephens and the St. Johns
think if any Yankees sleep to night on the west side of Cedar Creek, it will be in their last sleep,” Confederate Captain Winston J.T. Stephens confidentially wro…
The Unfinished Fight
Civil War soldiers ate more beans than any other vegetable. When meat was scarce, the most common protein alternative widely available was beans. It is important…
The Unfinished Fight Vision and Valor:
For a nation composed of rebellious states to wage war, it must possess the financial resources to procure essential supplies such as weapons, armaments, horses,…
Robbed of Reason:
t was painfully clear in the fall of 1865 that Daniel M. Stearns had been deeply changed by war. His friends and family watched as the veteran struggled to functi…
A Fighting Parson’s Deadly Aim
Barber didn’t shy away from action. In an early encounter with the enemy at Rappahannock Station in July 1862, the chaplain answered Colonel Henry A.V. Post’s cal…
“The Place...Shall Be Destroyed by Fire”
On the evening of May 21, 1864, Colonel David Hunter Strother, a Shenandoah Valley native and a member of Union general Franz Sigel’s staff, stood on the front po…
Importance of Reputation
In November 2022, the first author received an unexpected phone call. The caller, Mr. William Spann, explained that after reading Ottens’s biography, General John…
you are not going to fire here, are you?
“In retreat, double quick, run.” – Officer, 147th N.Y. n July 1, 1863, about 7 a.m., U.S. signal corps. officer Lt. Aaron B. Jerome spotted Confederates approachi…
Vision and Valor: The War Through Women’s eyes
Ever since its publication in 1885, an article penned by former Confederate general John George Walker for The Century Magazine, titled, “Jackson’s Capture of Har…
Long Island
t took him almost 20 years, but Robert Farrell has completed what he expected to be short-term. postretirement project: compiling a list of Civil War soldiers and…
Emory and Emily Upton Star Crossed Lovers
A “November seventeenth [1867]. A day never to be forgotten saw the fulfillment of my dearest hopes. On that day, I promised General Upton that I would be to him…
Emerging Civil War Newsletter
As the Army of the Potomac moved forward across the fields south of Fredericksburg, flags unfurled and bayonets shimmering in the morning sun, Confederate General…
Civil War Field Hospitals Saved the Lives of Countless Soldiers
The Civil War was the deadliest conflict in American history in terms of lives lost. Conservative estimates of total Civil War deaths range from 650,000 to 750,00…
How Shall all These
By spring 1864, Jane Boswell Moore, a nurse at a Union hospital near Bermuda Hundred, witnessed much suffering. During the previous two years, Moore, a native of…
First Army Medal of Honor Awarded in Civil War
By Joan Wenner, J.D. Army Private Jacob Parrott was born in 1843 at Fairfield County, Ohio. He enlisted in the Union’s 33rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company K, du…
Captured at Fairfield and Imprisoned at Belle Isle
By Gordon W. Gribble Harry Whitlock Lewis was born in Harbor Creek, Penn., on August 30, 1840. He grew up in nearby Fairview on Lake Erie. He first enlisted on Ma…
Vicksburg 160th Celebrations to Observe the Union Victory were Memorable
Vicksburg 160th Celebrations to Observe the Union Victory were Memorable By Professor Earnest Veritas Special Correspondent to – Western Theater – The 160th anniv…
The War Before the War, Part 3: Captain Lee
The War Before the War, Part 3: Captain Lee Robert E. Lee’s record in the Mexican War is probably better known than the records of other officers who were to win…
Events — September 2023
action’ and buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery will follow. sponsored by: The Legion Post 405; MOLLUS; General Meade Society. For information; 215-228-8200, awaski01@…
Col. Abraham Charles Myers, CSA and the Quartermaster Service of the Confederacy
Col. Abraham Charles Myers, CSA and the Quartermaster Service of the Confederacy by Lloyd W Klein Abraham C Myers was the first quartermaster general of the Confe…
Brig. Gen. William H. Morris: A Forgotten Casualty of Spotsylvania
Brig. Gen. William H. Morris: A Forgotten Casualty of Spotsylvania By Tim Talbott The opening three days of fighting at Spotsylvania Court House proved deadly for…
The Tragic Career of Union Brigadier General George Bayard
By Carl L. Sell Jr. Before the Civil War, George Bayard escaped death twice as a member of the First United States Cavalry, fighting in the Indian Wars. First, he…
Fort Federal Hill
Fort Federal Hill The Graphic War highlights prints and printmakers from the Civil War discussing their meaning and the printmaker or artist’s goals. Englishman C…
Appomattox 2023 Was a Successful Observation of Lee’s Surrender
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park hosted the 158th anniversary event on April 7-12, 2023. The commemoration of General Lee’s surrender to General Gr…
The Charge of the First Maryland Regiment
The Charge of the First Maryland Regiment The Graphic War highlights prints and printmakers from the Civil War discussing their meaning and the print maker or art…
Henry Kyd Douglas, I Rode with Stonewall (1940)
Henry Kyd Douglas, I Rode with Stonewall (1940) Among the most notable memoirs written by officers of the Army of Northern Virginia stands that written by one of…
An Historical Snapshot 20th Massachusetts Volunteers: Henry Tremlett and Paul Revere
By Joan Wenner, J.D. There were about a dozen men of the 20th Massachusetts Volunteers, the Harvard Regiment, who might be labeled as ”notable.” One is well known…
The lasting appeal of Gettysburg
By Leon Reed “We had an almost mystical visit to the cemetery. Walked in via the route Lincoln took and visited the soldiers monument plus the now famous rhododen…
The Same Day in June for one Soldier in 1863 and 1864
By Carl L. Sell Jr. Upon hearing the Confederates had fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861, seventeen-year-old Henry Coddington Meyer immediately asked his parents…
The Bravest Brigade
The Bravest Brigade “Beauregard is not such a fool as to leave his base of operations and attack us in ours. There is no enemy nearer than Corinth.” – U.S. Gen. W…
Sherman’s famous words
Sherman’s famous words We’re all familiar with General Sherman’s famous remark on the hellish nature of war. On August 11, 1880, Cump was addressing a big crowd o…
C O L L E CT ION
Left: Thomas Alston Martin enlisted May 8, 1861, into Company E, 13th North Carolina State Troops as a private, he would soon be promoted to corporal and then ser…
Bennett Place State Historic Site – General Johnston’s Surrender
By Bob Ruegsegger General Joseph E. Johnston and General William T. Sherman met in James Bennett’s farmhouse parlor to negotiate the surrender of Johnston’s Confe…
“Uncle Sam is Very Good to Us”
By Bruce Allardice and Wayne Wolf William J. Anderson enlisted in Company I, 51st Pennsylvania Infantry on Sept. 28, 1861. He was a 21-year-old farm laborer from…
When Ranse Wright’s Brigade Breached the Yankee Line at Gettysburg
When Ranse Wright’s Brigade Breached the Yankee Line at Gettysburg Lo Armistead is famous for leading his brigade to the stone wall on Cemetery Ridge in the third…
The Relation of Alimentation and Diseases by Dr. J.H. Salisbury
The Relation of Alimentation and Diseases by Dr. J.H. Salisbury During the Civil War, dysentery and chronic diarrhea were rampant among soldiers on both sides. We…
Events Section — May 2023
Memorial Day Observed at Laurel Hill Cemetery located at 1868 3822 Ridge Ave., Philadelphia at 12 p.m. All are welcome. Laurel Hill is the site of the first Memor…
National Archives Patent Drawings
National Archives Patent Drawings During the American Civil War, the trials and tribulations of soldiers sparked many enterprising individuals to submit various p…
I Will Not Die Here!
by Joseph F. Wilson Over 420,000 Civil War soldiers spent time as a prisoner of war. One Union POW holds the distinction of surviving captivity longer than any ot…
Events — February 2023
Lookers” and the general public and will close at 7 p.m. Saturday, show hours 9-5 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and children under 12 are free. For more inform…
A Soldier’s Dream/A Soldier’s Vision
Fond dreamer may thy blissful vision be, A true foreshadowing of the fates to thee.” “Such scenes were meant to reassure families that their men in arms remained…
A Civil War Visitor Returns to Monterey, Tennessee
A Civil War Visitor Returns to Monterey, Tennessee Late last month the Town of Monterey installed a new Civil War Trails sign. The new sign explores the life of a…
Why Robert E. Lee Still Matters
Love of animals. Appreciation of duly constituted authority— coupled with an abhorrence of authoritarianism. A devotion to history, for, as General Lee said, “It…
Stephen Davis Wins Awards
Our “Critic’s Corner” columnist has won more awards for his recent books on General Hood. The latest is the Fletcher Pratt Award given by the Civil War Round Tabl…
9th Annual U. S. Grant Symposium in St. Louis
The Missouri Humanities doubly ensured the memory of Ulysses S. Grant’s death is not forgotten by providing an opportunity for U.S. Grant symposium participants a…
Tale of Two Eagles
Tale of Two Eagles By Michael Pikunas The morning of November 12, 1861, the youthful Federal soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry were not overjoy…
Native New Yorker Survived Pickett’s Charge – with the 11th Virginia Infantry!
Native New Yorker Survived Pickett’s Charge – with the 11th Virginia Infantry! By Joe Bordonaro Visitors to Fairfield Cemetery in Spencerport, N.Y., may be surpri…
L’audace, l’audace, toujours l’audace
Edward Porter Alexander Edward Porter Alexander was a military professional, a keen observer, a thoughtful analyst, and a gifted writer. All these traits make his…
Life and Reminiscences of General Wm. T. Sherman: By Distinguished Men of His Time.
Life and Reminiscences of General Wm. T. Sherman: By Distinguished Men of His Time. “To you is dedicated this memorial volume of your honored and much-loved leade…
Critic’s Corner — October 2019
Voices of the Civil War Series, Peter Carmichael, Series Editor. For my What the Yankees Did to Us (2012), I drew upon a number of Union soldiers’ letters, memoir…
Chasing the Gray Ghost
Chasing the Gray Ghost By Don Hakenson and Chuck Mauro Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby spent the last two and half years of the Civil War conducting guerilla co…