Lieutenant Nathan Huntley Edgerton, Sgt. Maj. Thomas R. Hawkins, and Sergeant Alexander Kelly of the 6th Regiment U.S. Colored Troops carry forward the regiment's colors as it presses its attack at Chaffin's Farm in a painting titled "Three Medals of Honor" by artist Don Troiani.

Civil War

Warfare History Network is your best source for military history online. This is where we bring you our coverage on all aspects of the American Civil War—from the first shots fired at Fort Sumter to Antietam to the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox. In addition to substantial military coverage, we also examine the political climate of the 1860s and how the war influenced civilian life in the North and South. A trove of Civil War photos, maps, and color illustrations complement our written contributions from a team of established writers, including William Welsh, Pedro Garcia, and acclaimed author-historian Roy Morris Jr.

Civil War

Civil War Generals: Albert Sidney Johnston

By Roy Morris Jr.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis considered his old West Point classmate Albert Sidney Johnston “the greatest soldier, the ablest man, civil or military, Confederate or Union, then living,” and it is safe to say that no other general in either army began the Civil War with a more glittering—or fleeting—reputation. Read more

Civil War Mortars Were the Feared Precision Artillery Weapon of the Victorian Age.

Civil War

Civil War Artillery

By John D. Gresham

For much of its history, artillery has been a weapon of mass destruction and attrition, a force designed to cause casualties, destroy fortifications, and wear an enemy down with its noise, explosions, and shrapnel. Read more

The Irish Rifles (37th New York Volunteers) fought with courage and discipline at the Battle of Chancellorsville.

Civil War

The Irish Rifles At the Battle of Chancellorsville

By Kevin M. O’Beirne

The city of New York provided more regiments than did many states during the Civil War, and the deeds of several of its regiments, such as the 9th New York “Hawkins’s Zouaves,” 39th New York “Garibaldi Guard,” and 42nd New York “Tammany Regiment” are well known. Read more

Civil War

The Battle of Waynesboro: Jubal Early’s Last Stand

By Cowan Brew

The unrelentingly harsh winter of 1864-1865 gave no respite to Virginia’s war-torn Shenandoah Valley. Heavy snows and frigid temperatures made travel difficult, and the two opposing armies found themselves literally frozen into place, 90 miles apart and in no particular hurry to get at each other again before the weather broke. Read more

Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant watches as his troops march into the Wilderness south of the Rapidan River. The commander of all Union forces accompanied the Army of the Potomac on its 1864 spring campaign.

Civil War

Recollections of The Fighting at Spotsylvania Court House

By William E. Welsh

The recollections of Virginia-born John O. Casler of the famed Confederate Stonewall Brigade offer considerable insight into the nature of the fighting, as well as the thoughts and actions of the enlisted men, at Spotsylvania Court House in mid-May 1864. Read more

Civil War

Blood on the Snow: The Battle of Nashville

By John Walker

For the black-skinned, blue-clad soldiers deployed on the extreme left flank of the Union Army outside Nashville, Tennessee, the order to advance announced at dawn on December 15, 1864, was a long time coming. Read more

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