Civil War
Costly Confederate Victory at Gaines’ Mill
By John WalkerWith just an hour of daylight remaining on the smoke-shrouded battlefield near Gaines’ Mill six miles northeast of Richmond, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Read more
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
Thomas O. Selfridge: A Naval Hero of the Civil War
By James M. PowlesMarch 8, 1862, dawned sunny and mild at Hampton Roads, Virginia. To the men of the Union blockading squadron, the day seemed like any other. Read more
Civil War
One Gallant Rush: Black Soldiers at Fort Wagner
By Eric NiderostThe sun had already set, but the western sky was still bright from its fiery departure not long before. Read more
Civil War
“Let Us Die Like Men”
By Mike PhiferMajor General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne rose to his feet in the early afternoon of November 30, 1864, when he saw the courier galloping toward him. Read more
Civil War
Uniform: The 8th Texas Cavalry
By Don Troiani & William WelshColonel Benjamin F. Terry, a sugar planter from Fort Bend County on the coastal plains of Texas, raised the 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment. Read more
Civil War
Grant’s Army of the Tennesee overcame adversity on the roundabout road to Vicksburg.
Major General Ulysses S. Grant sat on his horse in late April 1863 next to a narrow bridge over a wide marsh on the west bank of the Mississippi River in northeastern Louisiana. Read more
Civil War
War So Terrible: The Battle of Fredericksburg
By Arnold BlumbergWord spread like wildfire through the camps of the Army of the Potomac during the second week of November 1862: “Little Mac” was out, “Old Burn” was in. Read more
Civil War
Winter Storm on Stones River
By Robert L. DurhamOne of the most hard-fighting divisions in the Army of the Cumberland, the one led by Maj. Read more
Civil War
John Stanton: From Secretary to First in Command
By Paul A. ThomsenIn the late hours of April 14, 1865, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton sat at a small table in the Petersen House across the street from Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. Read more
Civil War
The Crime At Pickett’s Mill
By Roy Morris, Jr.Peering through the thick underbrush west of Little Pumpkin Vine Creek, 30 miles northwest of Atlanta, on the afternoon of May 27, 1864, Ambrose Bierce had a bad feeling. Read more
Civil War
Siege of Port Hudson: Last Bastion on the Mississippi
By Pedro GarciaNot long after Union Flag Officer David Farragut of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron received the surrender of New Orleans on April 29, 1862, he began pondering his next move. Read more
Civil War
The Death of a Legend: The Battle of Yellow Tavern
By Arnold Blumberg“We have been badly used up,” a sergeant in the 5th New York Volunteer Cavalry Regiment complained in a letter to his wife on May 8, 1864, four days before J.E.B. Read more
Civil War
“Keep to your Sabers, Men”: J.E.B. Stuart’s Charge at Gettysburg
By Cowan BrewAn angry gloom hung like dust over the 6,000 Confederate cavalrymen trooping up the York Turnpike in the early dawn of July 3, 1863. Read more
Civil War
Sealing Vicksburg’s Fate
By Lawrence WeberDuring the Civil War, the strategic importance of Vicksburg, Mississippi, was readily apparent to both the Union and the Confederacy. Read more
Civil War
The Battle of Kernstown: Stonewall’s Victorious Defeat
By Lawrence WeberSunday morning, March 23, 1862, was sunny and warm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Confederate general Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, a devout Christian, did not like to fight on the Lord’s Day. Read more
