There were Zouaves in 1865—and Plenty of Them
By Michael J. McAfee Way back in 1970, Dr. Francis A. Lord wrote a book titled Uniforms of the Civil War. We were friends, and I was honored to have
Recent Stories
The Legion’s Fighting Bulldog
By Vince Dooley and Sam Thomas An abridgement from the forthcoming book published by Mercer University Press. Author and motivational speaker Dr. John Maxwell sums up the roll of leadership
Exhilaration and Anguish at Ball’s Bluff
By James A. Morgan and Ken Fleming The Battle of Ball’s Bluff was the result of a faulty reconnaissance report made by an inexperienced officer. On the evening Oct. 20,
Letter Cartes: A forerunner of post cards
Featuring images from the Rick Carlile Collection Since the earliest days of photography when images on metal and glass plates dominated, portraits and notes were a natural pairing. Imagine a
Faces of Ball’s Bluff
They Perished in the Potomac Two German-born officers in the 20th Massachusetts Infantry died together in the Potomac. Alois Babo, a clerk who hailed from Rastatt in Baden
The Fall and Rise of a Man Without a Country
By John O’Brien In 1865, the great War for Southern Independence ground to a final end after four and a quarter years of combat and a tremendous cost in blood
Joe Quattlebaum’s War
By Terry Burnett Joe Quattlebaum huddled amid the cold, muddy maze of Confederate trenches of Petersburg during December 1864. His uniform and what little shelter he could manage offered scant
Union and Confederate Soldiers
The distinctive state seal of Arkansas is visible in sharp relief on the belt buckle worn by this trooper who wields a Colt revolver. Only a handful of these buckles
A Hospital Scene’s Backstory, Revealed
By Chris Foard, MSN, RN Nurse Annie Bell was exhausted after another long day tending to her endless duties at a military hospital in federal-occupied Nashville. “I have just come
Fighting Scion of Kentucky Noblemen
In the sprawling cavalry fight near Brentwood, Tenn., on March 25, 1863, a beardless Union aide de camp, all of 18 years old, found himself in deep trouble. Lt. Green