Confederate General Robert E. Lee ordered his army to make a costly frontal attack against Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s wall of artillery.   More »

Entrenched Federals at Gaines’ Mill on the outskirts of Richmond on June 27, 1862, repulsed repeated Confederate assaults until the final attack of the day.   More »

In March 1862, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson moved north through the Shenandoah Valley to prevent Union reinforcements from heading to the Virginia Peninsula. At Kernstown, he attacked what he thought was the enemy rear guard. He was wrong.   More »

While Confederate defenders at Petersburg manned their lines in the predawn hours of July 30, 1864, a long fuse sputtered in the earth beneath them.   More »

A visit to the Civil War surgeon, often literally a “sawbones,” was a horror more feared than death on the battlefield.   More »

When the sun rose on the morning of August 29, 1862, it ended a particularly hellish night for Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell.   More »

Against his better judgement union General Ambrose attacked Robert E. Lee’s entrenched confederates at Fredericksburg.   More »

Personal identification badges were worn by soldiers in the Civil War to avoid the dreaded “nameless grave.”   More »

For fearlessly fighting against Confederate forces along the James River, John Freeman Mackie was the first Marine Corps’ first Medal of Honor Recipient.   More »

Stonewall Jackson’s death in May 1863 is the stuff of legend, but its true cause remains a matter of medical dispute.   More »