Shifting Terminology for Enslaved People
As the Civil War transformed the legal and social status of Black Americans, the language used to describe them evolved as well. In 1861, Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler claimed
Tag: Civil War history
“‘Died at Gettysburg!’ No Prouder Epitaph Need Any Man Covet.”: The Tragedy of Capt. Richard Wistar Davids of the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry
By Charles T. Joyce Visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park encounter stone sentinels of all shapes and sizes. One of them, an austere granite marker on the north side
Lightning Strikes Twice
The cover story of our Summer 2024 issue profiled Evander M. Law’s rise to general in the Confederate army. The project began after I met collector Craig Wofford, who shared
Wounded Warriors: Slings, crutches, and missing limbs are emblems of personal loss and patriotic sacrifice
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
A Useful Life: Sarah Chamberlin Eccleston, Civil War nurse and educator
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
Cruising the Potomac and Elsewhere with Brig. Gen. John P. Slough’s Brigade Band
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
A Concise, Richly Illustrated History of the Atlanta Campaign
Major General William T. Sherman possessed a gift for catchphrases. One of his best-known quips is “So Atlanta is ours and fairly won.” These words appeared in a telegram sent
“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 Black Phalanx at Benton Barracks: Transforming men of color into U.S. soldiers, late 1863 to early 1864
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
On the Demise of Civil War Times, and Introducing a New Column
The storied magazine Civil War Times ceased publication this spring after its parent company scaled back its operations, eliminated the print edition, and explored an expanded digital edition. Its decline