“Get That Gun!”
By Phil Spaugy February 15, 1862, had been a day of days for Brig. Gen. Lew Wallace. One year earlier, the 34-year-old Indiana resident of Crawfordsville was the captain of
Tag: union army
Gifted Scholar, Faithful Christian, Reluctant Soldier: The life and times of Virginia professor and artillerist Lewis Minor Coleman
By Ronald S. Coddington, with images from the Dave Batalo Collection High anxiety consumed Lt. Col. Lewis Minor Coleman at the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862. As fierce
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
Turning the Tables at Laurel Hill
By Scott Valentine First Lt. and Acting Adjutant Orett Lyman Munger and his comrades in the 44th New York Infantry rushed to capture, along with the rest of 5th Corps,
Union Army Contributions as a Percent of the 1860 Population
A breakdown of about 2.1 million soldiers contributed by each loyal state and the District of Columbia during the Civil War as a percent of the 1860 U.S. Census population
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
Jenny the Drummer Boy
Drummer boy Johann Christoph Julius Langbein’s nickname “Jenny” traces back to his 1861 enlistment in the 9th New York Infantry, popularly known as Hawkins’ Zouaves. One writer noted that the
Back to Libby: In 1864, Capt. Matt Boyd successfully made the Great Escape from Libby Prison. In 1889, he returned to deal with his demons.
By Ronald S. Coddington, with images and artifacts from the Craig and Carol Wofford Collection Matt Boyd embodied the essence of a frontline commander. Whatever dangers his men faced, so
Forever Peace: A former Confederate gives a miniature of the Appomattox surrender table to Ulysses S. Grant
By Ronald S. Coddington Ulysses S. Grant arrived to a hero’s welcome in Philadelphia on Dec. 16, 1879. The retired general who had led the U.S. Army to victory in