A Highlander, 1859
By Ron Field Scottish immigrants to the U.S. during the 19th century brought with them a rich military tradition. Wearing full Highland uniforms, militia companies of Scottish origin formed in
By Ron Field Scottish immigrants to the U.S. during the 19th century brought with them a rich military tradition. Wearing full Highland uniforms, militia companies of Scottish origin formed in
By Bret Schweinfurth, with images and documents from the author’s collection “We have nothing to do,” Richard H. Thornton wrote home to his folks in early 1863 from McDougall Hospital at
By Jeffrey I. Richman, with images courtesy of The Green-Wood Historic Fund Collections During the first half of the 19th century, American cities rapidly expanded. As the living packed into
By Ronald S. Coddington What will become of us? What will become of our country? Existential questions such as these span the arc of humanity. In times of strife and
Using his drum as a stool, this boy served in a New York City militia organization, as evidenced by the pompon ornament at the top of his dress cap. It
By Ron Field These stereoviews produced by photographer George Stacy at the camp of the 5th New York Infantry near Fortress Monroe in May 1861 picture the Zouaves on parade
By Carolyn B. Ivanoff, with images from the Captain Wilson French Collection It is fair to state the zenith of Maj. William H. Hugo’s military career occurred at Gettysburg. In
John William Fenton brutally assaulted Tony Fisher inside a New Bern, N.C., saloon owned by Fisher, a free black man, on Dec, 15, 1864. According to witnesses, Fenton, a captain
Civil War letters are the ultimate first draft of the conflict’s history. These intimate writings, packed with news and rumor from the front lines and a longing for home and
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