The Youngest Recipient
Torrents of rain turned the Virginia countryside outside Richmond into a formless swamp following the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862. But the Union soldiers, exhausted from days
Category: The Honored Few
Alas, Poor Yorick!
At Cold Harbor near dawn on June 1, 1864, a Confederate corps changed position along its main line before another day of brutal combat. Union forces spotted their movements through
The Talisman
Keepsake mementos and other trinkets dangled from the ends of pocket watch chains worn by veterans long after the Civil War. The object that hung from Sam Wright’s chain never
A “Burr Under the Saddle of the Horse Artillery”
Artillery Capt. Hubert Dilger enjoyed a sterling reputation in the Army of the Potomac. One senior commander recalled long after the war, “In campaign and battle he displayed extraordinary energy;
“Fateful April 6”
In February 1905, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution to return 74 captured Confederate flags stored in the War Department in Washington, D.C. According to a news report, the
Valor at Richmond’s Fort Harrison
Two 58th Pennsylvania Infantrymen numbered among the mass of Union troops who struggled up and out of the deep ditch at the base of Fort Harrison under heavy fire on
“Pass Those Colors Over to Me”
There came a moment during the fight at Five Forks when federal Sgt. Robert Shipley ran across a rebel color bearer from the 9th Virginia Infantry. The Confederate, with banner
June’s Hero, the Gallant Tompkins
During the first months of the Civil War, the Union urgently needed heroes. Fortunately for the patriotic Northern press, it did not have to look too far to find them.
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
A “Red Burial Blent” at Nashville
On Dec. 16, 1864, the second day of the Battle of Nashville, Maj. Gen. George H. “Pap” Thomas’s Union army readied for a bloody assault. His men marched amidst a
