When teaching the Civil War, it’s important to highlight the diverse and sometimes unexpected roles individuals played during this tumultuous period. One such figure is Rose Greenhow, a Confederate spy whose life and actions provide a captivating story that can...
Pauline Cushman, born Harriet Wood in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1833, led a remarkable life that intertwined theater and espionage. Her mother was French, her father a Spanish merchant with a lineage allegedly linked to one of Napoleon’s soldiers. As a young girl, her...
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...
Samuel Abbott Cooley, born on November 3, 1821, in Hartford, Connecticut, was a pioneering figure in Civil War photography. As the eldest child of Dr. Abiel Abbott Cooley and Lucretia Hurlbert Cooley, Samuel’s early life was shaped by his family’s support and the...
Cornelia Hancock was a 23-year-old Quaker woman from Salem, NJ, who demonstrated extraordinary courage and compassion during the American Civil War. When she heard about the horrific battle at Gettysburg, she decided to help the soldiers. Many of her neighbors and...
Title: Tillie Pierce: A Witness to History – A Teenage Girl’s Account of the Battle of Gettysburg In the annals of history, there are those whose voices echo through time, shining a light on the darkest moments of humanity. Tillie Pierce, a remarkable...
