Civil War

The Telegram That Broke News of the Civil War

After Confederate forces seized Fort Sumter, a U.S. Army officer dashed off this message to Washington

Live near a cemetery? Better check your drinking water.

Arsenic and Old Graves: Civil War-Era Cemeteries May Be Leaking Toxins

The poisonous element, once used in embalming fluids, could be contaminating drinking water as corpses rot

That Time When Custer Stole a Horse

The theft of a prize-winning stallion gave the famous general a glimpse of a future that could have been

The title of Gardner's photograph (taken with Timothy O'Sullivan) Field Where General Reynolds Fell, Gettysburg, July 1863 was added later to capitalize on the famous general's heroism.

Alexander Gardner Saw Himself as an Artist, Crafting the Image of War in All Its Brutality

The National Portrait Gallery’s new show on the Civil War photographer rediscovers the full significance of Gardner's career

Martha McDonald performs in the 2014 work The Lost Garden at The Woodlands in Philadelphia.

What Artist Martha McDonald Might Teach Us About a Nation Divided

This fall, a one-woman show staged in one of Washington, D.C.’s most historic buildings will recall the sorrow of the Civil War

A suggestion to change our vocabulary when we talk about American History

A Proposal to Change the Words We Use When Talking About the Civil War

Historian Michael Landis writes that vocabulary like “compromise” or “Union” shape how we view our past

"Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter." A soldier finds his final resting place, July 1863.

Why Can’t We Turn Our Eyes Away From the Grotesque and Macabre?

Alexander Gardner’s photographs of Civil War corpses were among the first to play to the uncomfortable attraction humans have for shocking images

Past and Presence: The Power of Photographs

The shattering nature of violence. The resilience of the human spirit. The power of photographs. A Smithsonian special project

Harper's Ferry, West Virginia (top) and Chickamauga, Georgia (bottom) were the sites of two Civil War battles.

A Photographic Requiem for America's Civil War Battlefields

Walking far-flung battlefields to picture the nation's defining tragedy in a modern light

These tags were used to identify slaves before emancipation

Juneteenth Didn’t Stop the Enslavement of Black People in Houston

The delayed enforcement of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation still didn’t bring freedom to many black Texans

A ward in Carver Hospital in Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. One key innovation during this period was the division of hospitals into wards based on disease.

Six Ways the Civil War Changed American Medicine

150 years ago, the historic conflict forced doctors to get creative and to reframe the way they thought about medicine

An African American soldier is shown cooking at the camp kitchen of 2nd New York Regiment during the Civil War

The Civil War’s Division of North and South is Reflected in Cookbooks

Naval blockades kept the South starving for salt and other foods, a fact reflected in the recipes of the time

A rendering of the USS Nautilus, the world's first atomic submarine. The real Nautilus is now open to the public, docked in Connecticut so that visitors can walk around inside and explore the torpedoes and living quarters.

Step Inside a Famous Submarine

Where to visit historic subs this summer—or ride in a modern one

Soldiers on the Union side look solemn as they carry a large flag.

What the Final, Major 150th Anniversary Civil War Reenactment Looked Like

What war—and surrender—looked like on the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War

The top hat, with a silk mourning band for his son Willie, was worn last to Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865.

A Host of Relics from Lincoln's Last Days All Came to Reside at the Smithsonian

The Lincoln collection at the American History Museum marks the horrific tragedy and the poignancies of a nation in mourning

"One more stain on the old banner," Booth yelled, conjuring the Confederate flag as he prepared to face his pursuers

The Final Hours of John Wilkes Booth

"I have too great a soul to die like a criminal," Booth once wrote

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The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

A look back at the fateful night 150 years ago that changed American history forever

The two commanders sat across from each other; Lee in a tall caned armchair and Grant in a swivel chair with a padded leather back next to a small oval side table. They made some small talk before Lee asked on what terms Grant would “receive the surrender of my army.”

The Gentleman's Agreement That Ended the Civil War

When Generals Grant and Lee sat down at Appomattox Court House, they brought an end to the struggle that had consumed the nation for five long years

The carriage that transported President Abraham Lincoln, Mary Lincoln, Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée Clara Harris to Ford's Theatre is on view at the American History Museum through May 25, 2015.

This is the Carriage That Took Lincoln on his Fateful Trip to Ford's Theatre

As the April anniversary of Lincoln's last ride approaches, an historian recounts the president's other horse and buggie moments

The Underappreciated and Forgotten Sites of the Civil War

To commemorate the end of the war 150 years ago, here are fascinating locales that remind us of the conflict's sprawling impact

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