On May 10, 1863, the 39-year-old Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, one of the South’s most fearless generals, passes away from pneumonia, one week after he was unintentionally shot by his own troops during the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia....
On May 4, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, is laid to rest in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois. His journey to this final resting place was long and eventful, reflecting the immense respect and admiration he garnered throughout...
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...
On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln’s visit to Gettysburg was a whirlwind affair, lasting just 24 hours, yet packed with a relentless schedule. Despite retiring to bed late, Lincoln rose early on the 19th, embarking on a guided tour of the battlefield. The...
Thomas Nast created “Christmas Eve” for Harper’s Weekly in which he portrayed a wife separated from her soldier husband on Christmas Eve 1862. The sketch shows a family split apart by the Civil War. It is also one of the earliest images of Santa, in a...
One of the cherished tunes that fills the air during the Christmas season originated not as a holiday anthem but as a humorous ditty performed in minstrel shows in the 1850s. “Jingle Bells” is among the most popular American songs of all time. Although it is strongly...
