Featured categories
Latest Posts
Brewing History: Teaching About Civil War Coffee
As social studies educators, we often look for ways to make history relatable to our students. One such way is by exploring the everyday lives of people from the past, connecting their experiences to the present. Just as many of us start our day with a cup of coffee,...
Gettysburg Photograph Locations
Gettysburg Then and Now Map This map shows where photographers captured images across the Gettysburg battlefield within days of the fighting. Each point gives you a direct link between a historic view and its position on the ground. You will see how photographers...
Abraham Lincoln’s Final Resting Place
On May 4, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, is laid to rest in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois. His journey to this final resting place was long and eventful, reflecting the immense respect and admiration he garnered throughout...
Sullivan Ballou’s Last Letter
On this Valentine's Day, we remember the eloquent words of Major Sullivan Ballou whose last letter was written to his wife leading up to the battle at First Bull Run and found on his dead body after the battle. Sullivan Ballou was a prosperous attorney at the...
William Henry Johnson – Abraham Lincoln’s Valet
On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln's visit to Gettysburg was a whirlwind affair, lasting just 24 hours, yet packed with a relentless schedule. Despite retiring to bed late, Lincoln rose early on the 19th, embarking on a guided tour of the battlefield. The pivotal...
Thomas Nast’s Christmas Eve
Thomas Nast created “Christmas Eve” for Harper’s Weekly in which he portrayed a wife separated from her soldier husband on Christmas Eve 1862. The sketch shows a family split apart by the Civil War. It is also one of the earliest images of Santa, in a sleigh, being pulled by reindeer.
The Story of ‘Jingle Bells’ by Oliver Ditson
One of the cherished tunes that fills the air during the Christmas season originated not as a holiday anthem but as a humorous ditty performed in minstrel shows in the 1850s. “Jingle Bells” is among the most popular American songs of all time. Although it is strongly...
Thanksgiving in 1865
The following woodcut by Winslow Homer depicts the inaugural celebration of Thanksgiving as an official national holiday in the aftermath of the Civil War. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving as a nationally recognized holiday, marking this...