By Dave Batalo and Ronald S. Coddington One day in late January 1865, a child was born in Virginia as the Confederacy lay on its deathbed. News traveled to the
By Ben Myers Alpheus Starkey Williams sat calmly on horseback, an unlit cigar characteristically grasped between his lips. Before him stood his “Red Star” division—the first division of the Twentieth
Bryan Watson’s passion for collecting might be summed up in a fortune cookie he once received: “Where your treasure is there will your heart be also.” His treasure can be
By Matt Hagans The favorite son of Norristown arrived home on a stretcher laid across the backs of seats inside a railcar. A guard of veterans lifted the stretcher bearing
No single group experienced such a dramatic change in fortunes during the Civil War than men of color. In 1861, the vast majority were held in bondage. Those who gained
By Daniel R. Glenn A loud knock jolted Henry McCarthy from sleep at his home in a black community in New Bern, N.C., on the night of April 20, 1864.
By Michael J. McAfee Organized out of wartime necessity in 1861, the Military Telegraph Service was a contract agency of the Quartermaster Department rather than the Signal Corps. It served
Late during the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, gunners from Battery I of the 5th U.S. Artillery fired shell and canister from their position at the Trostle House
A trio of young ladies in cold weather clothing surrounds their prisoner, a Union first sergeant. His captors are all smiles, especially the woman in the middle, who dons his
By Charles Joyce On the humid afternoon of July 3, 1863, a Union battery left its caissons behind and rumbled forward under a brisk rebel artillery fire. The fast-moving gunners
