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Thanksgiving at a Civil War Hospital
Thanksgiving during the Civil War wasn’t the extravagant feast we know today. But in 1864, even soldiers recovering in hospitals like Jarvis General in Baltimore experienced the comfort of a holiday meal. The Jarvis U.S. General Hospital was a military hospital...
Walt Whitman’s O Captain! My Captain
Walt Whitman wrote the poem "O Captain! My Captain!" in 1865 in response to US President Abraham Lincoln's death. The poem was the most well-liked one written by Whitman during his lifetime and was the first to be included in an anthology after it was published. It is...
Civil War in Color Series – Robert E Lee
Happy Birthday General Robert E. Lee Confederate General Robert Edward Lee was born on this day in 1807. He was the fifth child of Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee. In 1829 he was graduated second in his class at West Point without having incurred a single demerit in his...
Civil War Music – Rosin the Bow
Rosin the Bow "Rosin the Bow" is an American folk song popular in the 19th century, probably of British or Irish origin, first published in Philadelphia during 1838. The song refers to rosining the bow of a violin, and the tune has been used in many songs for...
General Reynolds and Kate Hewett
A Secret Civil War Engagement At the time that he was killed during the first day of the battle, John Reynolds was secretly engaged to a woman by the name of Kate Hewett. His family did not even know about Kate. But when Reynolds' body was returned home to Lancaster,...
Major Sullivan Ballou and the Letter to His Wife Sarah
On July 14th, 1861, Major Sullivan Ballou wrote a letter to his wife Sarah at home in Rhode Island one week before he fought and died in the First Battle of Bull Run. Sullivan Ballou was born to Hiram and Emeline Ballou, a distinguished Huguenot...
AL Coble Rock Carving in Gettysburg
Finding rock carvings is a great way to explore the Gettysburg Battlefield. One of my favorites is the AL Coble rock carving in the area of Spangler's Spring. AL Coble was 20-year-old Augustus L. Coble of Company E of the 1st North Carolina...
The Civil War in Color
As many of you know, I love to colorize original Civil War era photographs as a way to relax. I call them my "adult coloring books." I have also created two tutorial videos so you can learn to create your own colorizations. Learn to colorize Civil War...