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History / U.S. History

In 1966, Henry Carfagna, the Suffolk Downs track photographer, prepared to take his standard picture of the horses driving toward the wire when he saw a man run onto the track.

At Suffolk Downs, an Unintended Spectator

Photographer Henry Carfagna was in the perfect position to catch the moment when a horse race took a bizarre turn

Pyramid at El Mirador

Extraordinary Discoveries

In archaeology and medicine

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Ask Smithsonian 2017

Who Had the Best Civil War Facial Hair?

Browse these portraits of officers with great facial hair courtesy of the Library of Congress and then vote for your favorite

A group of officers in Culpeper, Virginia reading letters from home.

The 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

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Civil War a group of men reenacted "Pickett's Charge" at Gettysburg.

The Civil War

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

One of the best-documented female soldiers is Sarah Edmonds. She was a Union soldier and worked during the Civil War as a nurse.

Women Who Shaped History

The Women Who Fought in the Civil War

Hundreds of women concealed their identities so they could battle alongside their Union and Confederate counterparts

After Union troops refused to evacuate Fort Sumter, today a National Monument, Confederates opened fire.

The Civil War

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

When President Abraham Lincoln learned that Union Army Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth had been killed, the president exclaimed, "My boy! My boy! Was it necessary this sacrifice should be made?"

The Death of Colonel Ellsworth

The first Union officer killed in the Civil War was a friend of President Lincoln’s

Fort Sumter

A Necessary Conflict

And an opportunity for re-examination

Col. Elmer Ellsworth became the first officer to die in the Civil War when he was gunned down by an innkeeper in Alexandria, Virginia.

The Civil War

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

From manifest destiny to Santa Claus, newspaper editorials have captured the country's attention throughout history.

Top 10 Unforgettable Editorials

These editorial voices rose above the America clamor with words we will never forget

Lincoln's Top Hat

The Civil War

Civil War Artifacts in the Smithsonian

The museum collections house many items from the Civil War, including photographs, uniforms and personal diaries

Moammar Qadhafi speaking in 1986 during a time of heightened tension between Libya and the United States.

Ronald Reagan and Moammar Qadhafi

Twenty-five years ago, President Reagan minced no words when he talked about the Libyan dictator

John Ross, left, and Major Ridge teamed up to protect Cherokee holdings in what is now Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

The Cherokees vs. Andrew Jackson

John Ross and Major Ridge tried diplomatic and legal strategies to maintain autonomy, but the new president had other plans

The Journal-American newsroom typified its time: crowded, messy and organized—like the floor of a factory—to get the news out as quickly as possible.

The Newsroom Rush of Old

Newsrooms may look different today, but their need for speed never wavers

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Less Traveled Roads

In Tahiti and Botswana

The Oberlin Rescuers at Cuyahoga County Jail in 1859.

The Invisible Line Between Black and White

Vanderbilt professor Daniel Sharfstein discusses the history of the imprecise definition of race in America

Lincoln’s Whistle-Stop Trip to Washington

On the way to his inauguration, President-elect Lincoln met many of his supporters and narrowly avoided an assassination attempt

Samuel Eliot Morison said he wanted to capture "the feeling of desperate urgency."

Revisiting Samuel Eliot Morison’s Landmark History

The famous historian’s eyewitness accounts of the Navy during World War II—now being reissued—won’t be surpassed

A rail fragment, believed to have been hewn by Abraham Lincoln is an early example of "political theater."

The Legend of Lincoln’s Fence Rail

Even Honest Abe needed a symbol to sum up his humble origins

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