Antietam National Battlefield Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center 5831 Dunker Church Road, Sharpsburg MD 21782 301-432-5124 Intense fighting here in cornfields and woods, along creeks and roads, and around a tiny country church Sept. 17, 1862, resulted in the bloodiest single-day battle of the war. Federal losses were 12,410; Confederate casualties totaled 10,700. A driving … Read more
Washington was a city of about 61,000 people at the outbreak of the war and not exactly a garden spot. Plagued by heat and humidity during the summer, the city became almost unlivable due, in part, to the “70 distinct stinks” coming from a sewage canal that ran near the current location of the National … Read more
Stevenson Stevenson was a busy and strategic spot at the junction of Memphis and Charleston Railroad and the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. Pontoon bridge here allowed thousands of Union soldiers to advance into North Georgia during the Chattanooga Campaign. Stevenson Railroad Depot Museum 207 W Main St, Stevenson AL 35772 256-437-3012 Bricks salvaged from the … Read more
From the first big battle at Manassas/Bull Run in 1861 to the surrender of Lee’s army at Appomattox in 1865, Virginia stayed in the headlines throughout the Civil War. More than 2,000 “military events” were recorded in Virginia during the war, more than any other state. No part of the state escaped, with battles fought … Read more
As the largest city in the Confederacy and the southern gateway on the Mississippi River, New Orleans became an early Union target. After days of heavy bombardment in April 1862, a Union flotilla under Capt. David Farragut passed the Confederate-held forts at the mouth of the Mississippi and steamed toward the city. New Orleans officials, … Read more
Because the Mississippi River formed much of Louisiana’s eastern border, control of vital ports became a strategic factor for both Union and Confederate forces. Once Civil War was declared, the Union’s objective in Louisiana was to gain control of the Mississippi River, forcing Confederate troops to defend Louisiana and prevent Federal troops from dividing the … Read more
This gracious city’s antebellum prosperity suffered during much of the Civil War as exports of rice and cotton were curtailed by a Union blockade. Savannah fell to Gen. William T. Sherman just before Christmas 1864 following his famous “March to the Sea.” It was from here Sherman telegraphed Lincoln, presenting him “as a Christmas gift, … Read more
When Virginia seceded, the Federal government in Washington D.C. found itself virtually surrounded by a hostile foreign country. Abraham Lincoln moved swiftly to occupy a comfort zone around his capital. Farther away from Washington, however, Union control was less certain. Confederate John Singleton Mosby was a feared raider of Union patrols and supply lines. Citizen … Read more
“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
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