General Benjamin Butler Occupies Baltimore
The State of Maryland had divided loyalties in the Civil War. There were regiments of Maryland soldiers in the armies of both sides. Though Maryland never seceded and joined the Confederacy, it was a...
Category: Featured
Treasury Department Announces Harriet Tubman Will be on $20 Bill
The U.S. Treasury Department made its much anticipated announcement April 20th, 2016, regarding the portrait of a woman on a denomination of U.S. currency. Originally, it was intended that Alexander Hamilton would be removed...
Leonidas Polk Quick Facts
Name Meaning: Leonidas is of Greek origin and means “lion”. Vital Stats Birthday: April 10th, 1806 Birth Name: Leonidas Polk Birthplace: Raleigh, North Carolina Height: About 6 Feet Date of Death: June 14th, 1864...
Like Its 20th Century Namesake, the Civil War USS Conestoga Also Sank
The U.S. Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on March 23rd, 2016 that the USS Conestoga, a Navy ocean going tugboat that disappeared at sea in 1921, had been located...
John Sedgwick Quick Facts
Name Meaning John is of Hebrew origin and means”God is gracious”. Vital Stats Birthday: September 13th, 1813 Birth Name: John Sedgwick Birthplace: Cornwall Hollow, Connecticut Date of Death: May 9th, 1864 Cause of death:...
The Shelter Tent Was the Standard Issue Tent for Union Soldiers in the Civil War
In the early part of the Civil War, Union soldiers in camps or in the field were housed in large tents, especially the cone shaped Sibley tent. While the large Sibley tent could accommodate...
Grant’s Canal at Vicksburg
Before launching his final, successful campaign to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, Major General Ulysses S. Grant made several other unsuccessful attempts to take the city. Situated on a high bluff on a sharp bend in...
The Shirley House Survived the Siege of Vicksburg Despite Its Location on the Battlefield
Standing next to the Illinois Memorial in Vicksburg National Military Park is the Shirley House, a white frame structure that is the only surviving wartime structure within the park boundaries (though numerous antebellum buildings...