Wounded at Gettysburg, Vilified for a Political Scandal
In every battle he fought, William Wade Dudley “distinguished himself as a good soldier, which is the highest possible recommendation that can be given any man,” according to an 1881
Category: Most Hallowed Ground
“He Would Carry an Order Into Hell If I Should Tell Him to Take One There”
At Cold Harbor, while fighting raged across the battle-scarred landscape, Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock observed the action from a prominent knoll. As couriers and aides from the brigades and
A Habit of Disappearing—and Reappearing
Franklin Young Commagere had a habit of disappearing. At age 17 in 1861, Ohio-born Frank gained acceptance to the U.S. Naval Academy, a sociable young man full of fun and
“Woe Be to Those Who Laugh at His Death”
War Department clerk and former army captain Edward C. Townsend was overcome with emotion after news of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln reached him. “Never before did I shed tears
Respected From East to West and Everywhere In Between
In July 1861, a U.S. Army first lieutenant made his way from Fort Randall in Dakota Territory to the East for new duties. Edmund Cooper Bainbridge, 26, had a wealth
A Modest Iron Man
A writer visiting Arlington National Cemetery in the late 19th century noted Civil War veterans paying tribute at the memorial to Maj. Gen. James Brewerton Ricketts. “No more daring or
“The Soul of Grant’s Cabinet is Gone”
General and Secretary of War John Aaron Rawlins lost his battle against consumption late in the afternoon of Sept. 6, 1869. His death struggle played out in a bed at
The Celebrated Man of the Hour
Bad news flooded Northern newspapers in 1861. Secession. Fort Sumter. Riots in Baltimore and St. Louis. Lost battles at Bull Run and Ball’s Bluff. Death snuffing out young lives. News
Near Death Encounter at Camp Jackson
Less than a month after the bombardment of Fort Sumter inaugurated civil war, pro-secession militia in Missouri agitated to join the nascent Confederacy. When word leaked that the militia planned
The Young Patriot
One day in early 1864 at Chattanooga, Rev. Calvin Holman of the U.S. Christian Commission busied himself about camp when the army’s commander, Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, arrived on