Tennessee’s Civil War Sesquicentennial Commemoration
Tennessee was the last state to secede from the Union, holding off until June 8th 1861, or nearly two months after the war’s first shots were fired at Fort Sumter. Eastern Tennessee had a...
Tagged: major battles
The Death of General Elon J. Farnsworth at Gettysburg
Elon J. Farnsworth was born in Michigan in 1837. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the 8th Illinois Cavalry as a 1st lieutenant. He served as an aide to the...
Old Abe the War Eagle: Mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry
Many Civil War units had mascots, but perhaps the most famous of these was Old Abe the War Eagle, the mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry. Old Abe was a bald eagle that not...
New Jersey’s Civil War Sesquicentennial Commemoration
The State of New Jersey sent nearly 77,000 men to fight for the Union in the Civil War, and over 5700 died. At the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, five of the top...
The 7th Maine Infantry at the Battle of Antietam
By September 1862, the 7th Maine Infantry had been in the Army of the Potomac for a year. The regiment had seen action earlier in the year in the Peninsular Campaign in Virginia and...
Alonzo Cushing, Medal of Honor Winner
For a June 2012 update on the status Cushing’s Medal of Honor click here. The anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1st-3rd, is an appropriate time to remember the heroics of the...
The Sinking and Raising of the U.S.S. Cairo
From the very beginning of the Civil War, both sides understood the importance of control of the Mississippi River. To that end, the United States government built gunboats specifically designed for military operations in...