American Civil War
The Essentials: Six Books on the Civil War
These six histories of the Civil War that are must-reads if you want to better understand the conflict
April 20, 2011 |
By T.A. Frail
How We’ve Commemorated the Civil War
Take a look back at how Americans have remembered the civil war during significant anniversaries of the past
April 11, 2011 |
By John Hanc
The Women Who Fought in the Civil War
Hundreds of women concealed their identities so they could battle alongside their Union and Confederate counterparts
April 08, 2011 |
By Jess Righthand
Fort Sumter: The Civil War Begins
Nearly a century of discord between North and South finally exploded in April 1861 with the bombardment of Fort Sumter
April 2011 |
By Fergus M. Bordewich
The Death of Colonel Ellsworth
The first Union officer killed in the Civil War was a friend of President Lincoln's
April 2011 |
By Owen Edwards
How Col. Ellsworth’s Death Shocked the Union
It took the killing of their first officer to jolt the North into wholeheartedly supporting the Union cause
March 31, 2011 |
By Adam Goodheart
The Destruction of Charleston in the Civil War
Photographs from the 1860s reveal how Union bombardment and a blazing fire devastated much of the South Carolina city
March 23, 2011 |
By Ray Gordon and Molly Roberts
Civil War Artifacts in the Smithsonian
The museum collections house many items from the Civil War, including photographs, uniforms and personal diaries
March 04, 2011 |
By Smithsonian.com
Danville, Virginia: Hallowed Ground
The town's Civil War cemeteries deepened Ernest Furguson's view of history as a young boy
January 2011 |
By Ernest B. Furgurson
From Election to Sumter: How the Union Fell Apart
Historian Adam Goodheart discusses the tumultuous period between Lincoln’s election and the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter
November 15, 2010 |
By Brian Wolly
How Arlington National Cemetery Came to Be
The fight over Robert E. Lee's beloved home—seized by the U.S. government during the Civil War—went on for decades
November 2009 |
By Robert M. Poole
John Brown's Day of Reckoning
The abolitionist's bloody raid on a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry 150 years ago set the stage for the Civil War
October 2009 |
By Fergus M. Bordewich
Civil War Geology
What underlies the Civil War’s 25 bloodiest battles? Two geologists investigate why certain terrain proved so hazardous
April 14, 2009 |
By David Zax
Lincoln's Pocket Watch Reveals Long-Hidden Message
The Smithsonian opens one of its prized artifacts and a story unfolds
March 11, 2009 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
Lincoln's Contested Legacy
Great Emancipator or unreconstructed racist? Each generation evokes a different Lincoln. But who was our sixteenth president?
February 2009 |
By Philip B. Kunhardt III
Lincoln as Commander in Chief
A self-taught strategist with no combat experience, Abraham Lincoln saw the path to victory more clearly than his generals
January 2009 |
By James M. McPherson
Gettysburg Address Displayed at Smithsonian
Lincoln's timeless speech during the Civil War endures as a national treasure
December 2008 |
By Owen Edwards
To Catch a Thief
How a Civil War buff's chance discovery led to a sting, a raid and a victory against traffickers in stolen historical documents
April 2008 |
By Steve Twomey
Catching Up With "Old Slow Trot"
Stubborn and deliberate, General George Henry Thomas was one of the Union's most brilliant strategists. So why was he cheated by history?
March 2007 |
By Ernest B. Furgurson
The Forgotten General
Historians' perspectives on George H. Thomas
March 2007 |
By Ernest B. Furgurson
