The Artillery Reserve of the Army of the Potomac
•July 10, 2018 • Be the First to Comment
The Union Army of the Potomac’s artillery reserve used massed cannons to provide concentrated and sustained firepower. More »
A graduate of the West Point class of 1847, General Ambrose Burnside commanded the Union Army of the Potomac during the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862. During the course of the Civil War, Burnside twice refused command of the army but finally accepted, although he considered himself ill equipped for such a high level of responsibility. Burnside was a likable individual, and his distinctive facial hair resulted in the word “sideburns” entering American lexicon. Burnside commanded Union troops at Antietam, during campaigns in East Tennessee, at the Battle of the Crater during the siege of Petersburg, and elsewhere. After the war, Burnside was elected to the U.S. Senate from the state of Rhode Island. He died in 1881 at the age of 57.
•July 10, 2018 • Be the First to Comment
The Union Army of the Potomac’s artillery reserve used massed cannons to provide concentrated and sustained firepower. More »
•May 16, 2018 • Be the First to Comment
Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet faced a daunting task trying to dislodge Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside’s Federals from Knoxville, Tennessee. More »
•March 7, 2018 • Be the First to Comment
The 51st Pennsylvania Volunteers rush Burnside’s Bridge at Antietam. More »
•January 15, 2018 • Be the First to Comment
Although the craft of photography was still in its infancy, battlefield photographers managed to make lasting record of the conflict. More »
•December 10, 2017 • Be the First to Comment
During the Battle of the Wilderness, Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Potomac clashed hard with Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. More »
•December 9, 2017 • Be the First to Comment
The largest cavalry battle of the American Civil War took place at Brandy Station, Virginia, where J.E.B. Stuart’s Confederates and Alfred Pleasonton’s Federals clashed, swords flashing and pistols blazing. More »
•November 16, 2017 • Be the First to Comment
Ulysses S. Grant would later admit that Cold Harbor was the one battle he “would not fight again.” Many federal soldiers who survived would agree. More »
•November 15, 2017 • Be the First to Comment
An plan to tunnel beneath Confederate defenses at Petersburg and blast a huge hole inadvertently became a crater of death for Union soldiers. More »
•May 22, 2017 • Read Comments (7)
During the American Civil War, there were nearly 900 officers in non-militia service who were appointed to become generals. Here, William Welsh shares his list of the worst Civil War generals and commanders. More »
•March 13, 2017 • Be the First to Comment
America’s bloodiest day began with heavy fighting that ravaged a previously innocuous cornfield in western Maryland. More »
