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Lieutenant Alexander Douglas could it no longer. The cries stirred him to action. Douglas had been born on Christmas Day of 1833 in South Carolina, a land that was first settled by the English in 1670.  Early Americans battled Redcoats there in the Revolutionary War, and later, in 1865, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman burned two […]

Union General McClellan had just come into some key intelligence. Now he thought he had Robert E. Lee right where he wanted him, in enemy territory with his forces divided:  “Here is a piece of paper with which if I cannot whip Bobbie Lee, I will be willing to go home.” What was that piece of

A lot of folks tell us what the Civil War was all about. Professors and reporters and “very important” people tell us. And with what conviction they tell us! But I rarely hear from the scholars about why the man in uniform was fighting. Seems the soldier is simply forgotten. Sure, we hear “what the war was

 The 1st Kentucky Brigade is also known as the Orphan Brigade. Six different Kentucky Regiments were in this brigade. (Confederate Brigades were composed of two to six regiments.) Some Kentucky regiments used flags with a upright Latin/Christian cross on them. The most prominent are the blue flags with large red Latin crosses adorned by 13 white

The Civil War produced many fine shooters, and some made their way into sharpshooter units. Champion marksman Hiram Berdan of New York raised a Union sharpshooter unit. To qualify, volunteers had to put ten shots in a circle of 10 inches from 200 yards. Berdan’s Sharpshooters wore green uniforms, like the reenactor above. Sharp’s rifles, used by the

When the battle wasn’t raging, Yankee and Rebel soldiers were known to get along with each other. Confederate Private Sam Watkins tells a story about a Sunday after the Battle of Chickamauga. He came and his buddies came to relieve some sentries on the Tennessee River. There was a Union outpost on the opposite riverbank.

It was July 31st, 1861. Federal troops were just north of Manassas, Virginia. There were many who thought they would send the Rebels reeling, putting an end to the rebellion. The day was Sunday, and a throng of civilian sightseers had come down from the U.S. capitol, just 25 miles away. Lieutenant Tibdall commanded a section

“All were American soldiers…” We often hear today what the Civil War was all about. Professors and reporters and “very important” folks tell us. And with what conviction they tell us! But I rarely hear from the scholars about why the man in uniform was fighting. Seems the soldier is simply forgotten. I usually write about a person. Sometimes

We know how George Armstrong Custer met his end. But did you know he fought in the Civil war from the first major battle all the way to Appomattox?We have copies of his correspondence with several friends that were then fighting for the South. That’s Custer on the right above. And by the way, the