by TeachCivilWar | Apr 14, 2018 | Blog, Famous People
On April 14, 1865, at the climax of a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.,well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth entered Abraham Lincoln’s private balcony and shot the president in the back of the head. After struggling with...
by beeghleytech | Apr 12, 2018 | Blog, Famous People
Samuel J. Seymour was present at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865, the night that President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Samuel J. Seymour was born on March 28th, 1860, in Maryland, United States. He was five years old when his father took him on a...
by beeghleytech | Apr 9, 2018 | Blog
Walt Whitman wrote a stirring poem titled “Pensive On Her Dead Grazing” within days of the surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia. “Pensive on her dead gazing I...
by beeghleytech | Mar 29, 2018 | Blog, Miscellaneous
So this came across my Facebook feed recently. It is a photo of a Civil war amputee carrying basket from 1861. According to the card on the image, the historical origin of the phrase ‘basket case’ came from Civil war veterans with amputated legs who were...
by beeghleytech | Feb 5, 2018 | Blog, Famous People
Emily Todd was Mary Todd Lincoln’s half-sister. In 1856 she married Benjamin Helm, later to become a Confederate general. After Helm’s death in 1863 Emily Helm passed through Union Lines to visit her sister in the White House. This caused great...
by beeghleytech | Jan 19, 2018 | Blog
Civil War in Color Series – 2nd New York Artillery My latest in my Civil War in Color series is of the Officers of Company F, 2d New York Artillery at Fort C.F. Smith. The original image was taken in June 1865 by photographer William Morris Smith. Fort C. F....
by beeghleytech | Jan 19, 2018 | Blog, Famous People
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...
by beeghleytech | Jan 14, 2018 | Blog
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...
by beeghleytech | Jan 5, 2018 | Blog, Famous People
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...
by beeghleytech | Dec 25, 2017 | Blog
Thomas Nast and the Original Santa Claus Clement C. Moore’s famous poem “The Night Before Christmas” was published in 1823 and gave us a unique image of St. Nick. What many don’t know is that it wasn’t until 1863 that America saw a...
