Fort Sumter

General George S. Patton, Sr.: Civil War Veteran

By James M. Powles

The famed general of World War II, George S. Patton III, often spoke with pride of the military deeds of his forefathers. Read more

Fort Sumter

Words To Bayonets, Bayonets to Bombs: How the Civil War Escalated

By Roy Morris Jr.

“Every war will astonish you,” American general Dwight D. Eisenhower said after World War II. As the leader of the Allied forces that successfully landed on D-Day and marched into Berlin 11 months later, Eisenhower obviously knew what he was talking about. Read more

Fort Sumter

First Manassas: The Battle of Bull Run

By Earl Echelberry

On March 4, 1861, with war clouds threatening the land, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated the 16th president of the United States. Read more

Fort Sumter

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

Fort Sumter

The Monitor & The Merrimack: The Battle of Hampton Roads

By Keith Milton

Most history books teach that the War between the States began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate batteries ringing Charleston harbor fired on Fort Sumter and forced its surrender the following day. Read more

Fort Sumter

Battle of Belmont: Ulysses S. Grant’s First Battle

By Donald J. Roberts II

When the Civil War started in 1861, there were only two officers in the Union Army who had commanded a force in battle larger than a brigade. Read more

Fort Sumter

No Glory at The Battle of Glorieta Pass

By Chuck Lyons

In June 1861, two months after Confederate artillery fired on Fort Sumter to begin the Civil War, 44-year-old, Louisiana-born Henry H. Read more

Fort Sumter

American Writers Who Avoided the Civil War

by Roy Morris, Jr.

When Mark Twain “lit out for the territory” in July 1861 from his erstwhile role as the world’s worst Confederate ranger, he joined a small but distinguished list of future American literary greats who similarly decided, as had Twain, that they were “not rightly equipped for this awful business.” Read more

Fort Sumter

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