The sight of a man missing an arm or leg rarely occurred before the Civil War, observed a newspaper editorial in the Confederate capital during the waning days of the
By Ronald S. Coddington, with images from the Dave Batalo Collection High anxiety consumed Lt. Col. Lewis Minor Coleman at the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862. As fierce
By Sidney Dreese Nothing mattered more to Sarah “Sallie” Chamberlin than to live a useful life. A fire burned in her patriotic heart, and she was both anxious and determined
By Ronald S. Coddington, with images from the Mark Jones Collection On an April day in 1864, in a field near Alexandria, Va., thousands of soldiers and civilians gathered to
By Rick and Victoria Britton This sketch connects two prominent individuals of the Civil War era: Union Quartermaster Gen. Montgomery Meigs, who one author called “possibly the most important bureaucrat
By Ronald S. Coddington History coursed through every fiber of Alex de Quesada’s being; he sensed it all around him. Militaria captivated him more than anything else. When a topic
By John Walsh, featuring images from the author’s collection The triumph by U.S. forces at Fort Donelson in early February 1862 dramatically turned the tide of the Civil War, then
By Paul Russinoff The lyrics from a touching song spoke to the grief suffered by hundreds of thousands of families during the Civil War: “We shall meet, but we shall
By Ronald S. Coddington An officer in the 1st Missouri Colored Infantry recalled how recruits for the new regiment marched with “sluggish step and plantation gait” through St. Louis in
By Phil McCoy Captain Frank Smith Robertson, an assistant engineer on JEB Stuart’s staff, recounted a meeting in Maryland with Gen. Robert E. Lee during the withdrawal from Gettysburg: “We
