The Quartermaster Who Helped Save a Line
During the final days of the war in Virginia, Maj. Horatio Collins King stepped away from his quartermaster duties to help his comrades on the front lines. He did not
Tag: virginia
Elmer Ellsworth, Haute Couturier? A previously unknown portrait of the Union martyr offers insight into his design method
By Ron Field, Michael J. McAfee, and Ronald S. Coddington Had the Civil War not taken place, Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth might have been best remembered as the visionary brainchild behind
From Bull Run to Hell Canyon
Hell Canyon in Arizona Territory was Apache country, and the scene of several violent and deadly acts in the late 1860s. One such event, a skirmish fought on July 3,
A Nurse in Her Home-Turned Hospital
A Pennsylvania officer survived the worst of a fever while waylaid in a Washington, D.C., military hospital. Feeble but alert, he longed to write his wife about his condition. A
Foundation of the Rock
Wise. Calm. Self-poised. Steadfast. These words were used by a comrade and biographer of George Henry Thomas to describe the venerable soldier long after he had been christened with the
Confederate Mona Lisa
By Doug York and Ronald S. Coddington Long before Vicksburg became ground zero in the federal campaign to control the Mississippi, the city thrived as an important transportation gateway. A
The Boat that Brought Stonewall Home: A unique panoramic view evokes the life and death of Gen. Thomas J. Jackson
By Warren “H” Shindle Since the earliest days of photography, practitioners created non-continuous sweeping outdoor views with multiple exposures. These separate, patch-worked together images documented city landscapes, such as a
Overworked, Overwhelmed and Unappreciated
Henry Meigs Meade had his hands full in 1864. The 24-year-old Navy paymaster was designated as the lone disbursing officer for all of the federal vessels in the regional fleet
Influential Commander of Confederate Veterans
Gray-bearded Capt. Fred Beall was conspicuously absent from the 1920 dedication ceremony for a memorial amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. The influential commander of the Washington, D.C., Confederate Veterans camp
Drink Up, Pard!
These Virginia heavy artillerymen attack a bottle of wine, as evidenced by the two generously filled drinking glasses. Theories for exactly what they celebrated abound: The Confederacy, joining the army,