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
Recent Stories
“By Whose Orders?”
By Evan Phifer When the Civil War broke out, John Barclay Fassett volunteered as a private in the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry for three months in 1861. Soon afterwards,
York’s Ministering Angels
By Elizabeth A. Topping Tucked beneath this intimate image of nine young ladies holding hands or interlocking arms was a patriotic envelope depicting a mother eagle tending to her young.
Riders Above the Clouds
By Phil Spaugy “We had our photograph taken on one plate on Point Lookout” so wrote Corp. William Thomas in his diary on August 29, 1864. This view of 28
“Our Mess”: An 1862 image captures the camaraderie, campaigns, and distinctive equipment of five pards in Company F of the 44th Massachusetts Infantry
By Michael R. Cunningham, Ph.D., featuring an image from the Rick Carlile Collection Five gallant patriots who put aside their personal ambitions in order to defend the Union left behind
Marching Order! A glimpse of what federal soldiers looked like as they marched into battle— and into history
By Michael R. Cunningham, Ph.D., featuring images from the Rick Carlile Collection Countless Civil War soldiers sat for photographic portraits to keep their images fresh in the minds of family
The Bayard of the Volunteer Army: The life and death of Brig. Gen. William Haines Lytle, the poet-warrior
By Ronald S. Coddington with images from the Rick Carlile Collection One Sunday evening during the summer of 1863 in Alabama, Union officers gathered beside a clear spring near Bridgeport,
On Quinby’s Watch: A Colorado lieutenant and acting signal officer makes his mark at “The Gettysburg of the West”
By Ronald S. Coddington, with images from The William Griffin Family Collection As darkness yielded to the pale glow of light on the frosty morning of Oct. 23, 1864, Confederates
Mary’s Album: Cartes de visite and tintypes collected by a teenager put faces on two Loudoun Rangers of Virginia
By Bob Iwig, with images from the author’s collection Following popular cultural trends, Mary Nunnamaker collected cartes de visite photographs in an album during the Civil War. The teenaged daughter
Collecting Civil War Artifacts Before the Centennial
By Norman Delaney What was it like to be a collector of Civil War memorabilia prior to the centennial and the explosion of prices for artifacts? In my case, I