Wed by the “Famous Fighting Methodist Preacher”
One spring day in 1864, John W. Widney and Mary A. Fitzwater Brown were married in Orange, Ohio. The newlyweds were accompanied by John’s mother, Eliza, and Mary’s brother, John.
Recent Stories
Non-Traditional Research Tools—and Serendipity
By Kurt Luther Photo sleuthing fundamentally pieces together bits of evidence to build a theory. For especially tricky images, these pieces of the puzzle may come from a wide variety
Our Digital Preservation Effort
The toughest part of my job may surprise you—fielding specific search requests. Want to know how many times the 54th Massachusetts Infantry is mentioned in all of our issues? How
A Corcoran Legionnaire
The Irish population in the sprawling metropolis of Buffalo, N.Y., and its environs included many personalities. One of its most honorable members, shoemaker Michael G. Stapleton, enjoyed a sterling reputation
Confederate Portraits
A fresh-faced young man is dressed in an 8-button frock coat with collar trimmed in blue. He holds a red polka dot handkerchief, possibly a gift from a loved one
A Navy Lieutenant Faces Divided Loyalties in His Final Discharge of Duty
By Fred D. Taylor A man of untiring zeal and firmness of character, Lieutenant Otway Henry Berryman was no stranger to the expectations of an officer. In fact, his 32-year
Civil War Images; Fallen Soldiers
By Robert Lee Blankenship Some wore a uniform of gray,Some wore the one of blue,They were brothers from north and south,Some were sons and fathers too, Each one was a
Gettysburg Album: Portraits of Union and Confederate soldiers in the Gettysburg Campaign
So Close, So Far The roughly 400-strong 11th Mississippi Infantry participated in Pickett’s Charge. The assault cost the regiment about half its number. Among the survivors was Pvt. John F.
“You Were Making History”: Faces of Maine men who fought at Gettysburg
By Tom Huntington Maine veterans returned to Pennsylvania in October 1889, 26 years after they had fought at Gettysburg with the Army of the Potomac. For three days in July
A Georgia Boy’s Southern Exposure
Some of the finest writing produced during the Civil War derives from the diaries of those who lived it. Witness the vivid prose of South Carolina’s Mary Boykin Chesnut, the