Confederate Army

The 1862 Battle of Richmond: The Confederacy in the Balance

By Pedro Garcia

Our cause is on the advance—our star in the ascendant. The tide is swelling in our favor: shall we take it at its flood…? Read more

Confederate Army

Forty-rod, Blue Ruin & Oh Be Joyful: Civil War Alcohol Abuse

by David A. Norris

Union General Benjamin Butler was baffled. Every night a picket guard went to an outpost 1½ miles from Fort Monroe, Virginia. Read more

Confederate Army

The Battle of Perryville: Death on a Dry River

By Joshua Shepherd

For Union Lieutenant Harrison Millard, it was an unsettling development. An aide on the staff of Brig. Gen. Read more

Confederate Army

The Battle of Cedar Creek Offers Insight into Valley’s Final Months

By William E. Welsh

Out of the mist on the rolling ground of the Shenandoah Valley the bulk of the Confederate Army bore down on the Union left flank on the morning of October 19, 1864. Read more

Confederate Army

Memorial Day

By James Hart

Since its first inception as “Decoration Day” in 1868, Memorial Day has served as an important reminder regarding those who died in service to their country. Read more

Confederate Army

Mark Twain Joins the Marion Rangers

By Roy Morris, Jr.

Twenty-five-year-old Mississippi River pilot Samuel Clemens (not yet known by his famous pen name, Mark Twain) was in his home port of New Orleans in late January 1861 when word reached the city that Louisiana had seceded from the Union. Read more

Confederate Army

After the Lincoln Assassination: The World-Wide Manhunt for John Surratt

By Peter Kross

On the evening of April 14, 1865, noted actor John Wilkes Booth entered Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C., Read more

Confederate Army

Civil War Stories: Libby Prison’s ‘Lottery of Death’

By James M. Powels

One of the primary reasons given for the Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run was the lack of adequate cavalry. Read more

Confederate Army

Women in the Civil War: Enlisting With the Men

By Carole Butcher

On a warm morning in July 1861, the Union Army marched forth with bands playing and regimental flags flying. Read more

Confederate Army

The Battle of Champion’s Hill: Prelude to Vicksburg

By Lawrence Weber

The Battle of Champion’s Hill was a pivotal event in the American Civil War. Ulysses S. Grant would pursue the retreating Confederate army to an area 20 miles east of Vicksburg, bringing about the Siege of Vicksburg and the Confederates’ surrender. Read more

Confederate Army

President Abraham Lincoln & The American Civil War

by Mike Haskew

The 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was elected to the highest office in the land in November 1860, and the event prompted the secession of numerous southern states beginning with South Carolina the following month. Read more

Confederate Army

Union Generals of the American Civil War: George McClellan

by Mike Haskew

General George McClellan was a key figure in the prosecution of the American Civil War, particularly during 1862, when he led the Union Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign, a failed offensive to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond in the spring, and the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single day in American history, on September 17, 1862. Read more

Confederate Army

Visiting the Battle of Gettysburg National Military Park

by William E. Welsh

Walking along the Union line of battle at Gettysburg, whether on Little Round Top, Cemetery Hill, Culp’s Hill, or elsewhere is at times overwhelming. Read more

Confederate Army

American Civil War Timeline – 1862: Chipping Away at the South

By William E. Welsh

In 1862, Confederate forces in Virginia were enjoying a number of campaign successes, but the decisive advantage in naval power enjoyed by the Union enabled it to advance down the Mississippi, capture river forts, and conduct many coastal attacks. Read more