Emily Todd was Mary Todd Lincoln’s half-sister. In 1856 she married Benjamin Helm, later to become a Confederate general. After Helm’s death in 1863 Emily Helm passed through Union Lines to visit her sister in the White House. This caused great...
Civil War in Color Series – 2nd New York ArtilleryMy latest in my Civil War in Color series is of the Officers of Company F, 2d New York Artillery at Fort C.F. Smith. The original image was taken in June 1865 by photographer William Morris Smith. Fort C....
Happy Birthday General Robert E. Lee Confederate General Robert Edward Lee was born on this day in 1807. He was the fifth child of Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee. In 1829 he was graduated second in his class at West Point without having incurred a single demerit in his...
Rosin the Bow “Rosin the Bow” is an American folk song popular in the 19th century, probably of British or Irish origin, first published in Philadelphia during 1838. The song refers to rosining the bow of a violin, and the tune has been used in many...
A Secret Civil War Engagement At the time that he was killed during the first day of the battle, John Reynolds was secretly engaged to a woman by the name of Kate Hewett. His family did not even know about Kate. But when Reynolds’ body was returned home to...
On July 14th, 1861, Major Sullivan Ballou wrote a letter to his wife Sarah at home in Rhode Island one week before he fought and died in the First Battle of Bull Run. Sullivan Ballou was born to Hiram and Emeline Ballou, a distinguished Huguenot family in...
