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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...
Happy Valentine’s Day
Happy Valentine's Day from all of us at Teaching the Civil War
Abraham Lincoln for President – August 8 1860
On Wednesday, August 8, 1860, the Illinois Republicans hold an immense rally to celebrate Lincoln's nomination in Springfield. Thousands of people attend and a giant morning procession passes Lincoln's residence which he reviews from his doorway. In the afternoon...
The Civil War in Color Series – John Harrison Surratt Jr
John Harrison Surratt was born on April 13, 1844, the last child of Mary and John Surratt, Sr. Surratt's father managed to purchase a boarding house in Washington along with a tavern in Surrattsville, Maryland, where he also served as the local postmaster. As a young...
Salome Sallie Myers – Civil War Nurse at Gettysburg
In late June 1863, Sallie Myers was a school teacher who had just turned 21. She was on summer vacation when Confederate forces invaded her hometown of Gettysburg and changed her life forever.
The Civil War in Color Series – Gettysburg Dead
Recently a friend of mine asked me to do a Then and Now overlay of some dead Confederate soldiers who were buried in the Rose Farm at Gettysburg. Based on some previous research, he was seeking out the original location where these brave soldiers were buried and...
Gettysburg Campaign – Henry Thomas Harrison – Confederate Spy
On June 28, 1863, an important event took place in the small town of Chambersburg, Pa that changed the course of Robert E. Lee'sInvasion of the North. A Confederate spy by the name of Harrison came into camp and reported on the movements of Union troops. General...
The Civil War in Color Series – Gettysburg Veterans
Battle of Gettysburg Reunion of 1913 From June 29 to July 6, 1913, 50 years after the Battle of Gettysburg, Union and Confederate flags flew side by side when more than 50,000 Civil War veterans converged on Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for a grand reunion. The...