“I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game.” — Abraham Lincoln Being the birthplace of both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, Kentucky seemed destined to occupy a strange and dangerous place in the Civil War. Both sides treated Kentucky with kid gloves after the shots were fired at … Read more
Texas citizens voted overwhelmingly to secede in February 1861, against the wishes of Gov. Sam Houston, who was forced from office. Many of the U.S. troops stationed in Texas at the time, including Robert E. Lee, ultimately decided to cast their lot with the Confederacy as well. Its vast cotton and sugar plantations, its trade … Read more
Corinth Located at the junction of two critically important railroads, the Memphis and Charleston and the Mobile and Ohio, Corinth was a military prize from the early days of the war. The Union campaign in early April 1862 that was halted momentarily by the Battle of Shiloh (at Pittsburg Landing) was aimed at Corinth. Following … Read more
Winchester and area Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District Orientation Center • Located in the Winchester visitor center, 1400 S Pleasant Valley Road, Winchester VA 22601 • 877-871-1326 Exhibits, a short film, maps and other material orient visitors to the wealth of Civil War-related resources in the area. Visitor center open daily 9 am–5 pm. … Read more
Honey Springs Battlefield • 1863 Honey Springs Battlefield Road, • Checotah OK 74426-6301 • 918-473-5572 Three thousand Union soldiers, marching out from Fort Gibson, engaged the Confederate stronghold at Honey Springs on the Texas Road July 17, 1863. The Confederates had been troubling the tenuous Union supply line from Kansas and threatening to concentrate and … Read more
Florida Civil War Heritage Trail More than 200 Civil War-related battlefields, sites and museums are listed in an 80-page guidebook created by the Florida Division of Historical Resources. Olustee Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park • 5815 Battlefield Trail Road, Olustee FL 32072 • (Located on US 90 a short distance south of I-10, 15 miles … Read more
Abraham Lincoln cut his teeth in politics, married and started a family, began a successful law practice, and began to battle the institution of slavery in Illinois. From this strong political base, he ran for president in 1860 and won. He left the state in 1861 to travel to Washington and fame. He returned four … Read more
Dickson-Williams Mansion • 108 N Irish St, Greeneville TN 37743 • 423-787-0500 Confederate cavalry hero Gen. John Hunt Morgan spent the last night of his life in this Greeneville showplace built in 1821. He was ambushed and killed in the home’s garden Sept. 4, 1864. Much on the Civil War history during guided tours, including … Read more
Located just north of the Georgia border on the banks of the Tennessee River, Chattanooga was a major prize for both sides almost from the beginning of the war in Tennessee. Its railroads provided links to all points in the Confederacy and were the key to any Union invasion of Georgia. After many false starts, … Read more
After casting their lot with the Confederacy in 1861, the people of Arkansas were introduced to war early as the fight for Missouri spilled over their northern border. The Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862 pretty much settled the Missouri military question in the Union’s favor and put the rest of Arkansas in play. … Read more