Learn about the people, battles, and impact of the Civil War!
Background Jane Cannon was born on December 6, 1815, in Pittsburg, PA. Jane’s father died when she was just eight years old, leaving Jane to help support her mother, as well as her family. She did so by lacemaking. At the age of just fourteen, she became a schoolteacher. Then, in 1836, Jane married James... Continue Reading →
Background Carl Schurz was born on March 2, 1829, in Cologne, Germany. Schurz studied at the University of Bonn and there he became interested in radical politics. In 1848, Schurz took part in the German Revolution. Following this, Schurz had to flee the nation and go to Switzerland. Following this, Schurz went to France and... Continue Reading →
Intro One June 2, commander-in-chief Ulysses S. Grant spent a rainy day prepping for an attack to be made the following day. It was at dawn on June 3 that 60,000 Union men rushed the Confederate lines at Cold Harbor. This horrific attack would be over by noon as the Federals charged head on into... Continue Reading →
Background George Henry Thomas was born in 1816 to a plantation and slave owning family in Virginia, just hardly out of North Carolina. George’s father died in 1829, leaving Thomas’ uncle to do the fatherly duties in George’s life. Thomas would frequently break the Virginia law making it illegal to teach enslaved peoples to read... Continue Reading →
Background Erasmus Joseph Allton was born on November 30, 1834. When the American Civil War broke out, Allton joined the Union Army on August 16, 1861. Quickly after enlisting, Erasmus received a promotion to Company First Sergeant in the 30th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company D. He would see action at many battles, including Second Bull... Continue Reading →
Introduction The Battle of Stones River resulted in 13,176 casualties for the Union army under William Rosecrans engaged there. Of those 13,176 casualties, 1,171 were deaths. However, of those over 1,000 deaths, the most dramatic was that of Lieutenant Colonel Julius Peter Garesche on December 31, 1863. Garesche was the Chief-of-Staff of the Army of... Continue Reading →
Introduction If you look through the new FY2023 U.S. Defense Authorization Bill, you will see a familiar name: Ulysses S. Grant. Ulysses S. Grant has the chance to be honored posthumously if the bill is approved. This section of the bill, section 587, would promote Grant, giving him the rank of General of the Armies... Continue Reading →
Intro Braxton Bragg and James Longstreet were two of the most infamous generals of the Confederate army. Many believe that Bragg was the worst general of the Confederacy and cite him as one of the main reasons that the Confederacy lost the war. Bragg’s detractors point to the battles of Perrysville, the Tullahoma Campaign and... Continue Reading →
Intro Julian Shakespeare Carr (1845-1924) was a businessman and philanthropist who worked as a partner in the W.T. Blackwell tobacco company, as well as in banking, railways, and public utilities. He served in the Third North Carolina Cavalry during the Civil War, led North Carolina’s United Confederate Veterans, praised slavery and the Ku Klux Klan,... Continue Reading →
Introduction - Double and Single Rank Emory Upton infantry tactics were improvised during a charge at Spotsylvania on May 10, 1864 and changed not only the course of the Civil War but also how warfare is conducted. The customary infantry assault of the era used a wide battle line advancing slowly, firing at the enemy... Continue Reading →
