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OCTOBER 10 AND NOVEMBER 5, 1863: DAVIS TRIES TO RALLY CONFEDERATE MORALE The summer of 1863 had been a poor one for the Confederacy. Robert E. Lee’s army was not just repulsed from its invasion of Pennsylvania but bloodily beaten at...

When most people think of wartime food rationing, they think of World War II. However, civilians were encouraged to do their part for the war effort during World War I as well. This colorful poster by artist Charles E. Chambers was...

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MARCH 9, 1864—ULYSSES S. GRANT IS COMMISSIONED AS LIEUTENANT-GENERAL On March 8, 1864, Ulysses S. Grant and his eldest son, Fred, arrived at Washington, DC. It was the general’s first visit to Washington since 1852, when he had been a...

In October 1862, Mathew Brady opened a photography exhibition at his studio in New York City. Entitled The Dead of Antietam , the exhibition attracted large crowds and brought the war home in a way that news articles and casualty...

The Emancipation Proclamation stands as the single most important accomplishment of Lincoln’s presidency. The preliminary proclamation, announced on September 22, 1862, served as a warning for Southern states that if they did not...

Following the Japanese bombardment of the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, the United States declared war on Japan and Germany and immediately mobilized the country for war. "Remember Dec. 7th!" is a...

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December 17, 1862: Lincoln’s Cabinet Crisis Less than a week after the disastrous Union defeat at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 13, 1862, Abraham Lincoln confronted one of the most serious political crises he faced during the...

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On April 30, 1789, George Washington was sworn in as our nation’s first president. His wife, Martha Washington, was not at his side. Washington had only received the election results two weeks earlier, on April 14, when Secretary of...

January 20, 1863: "Mud March" of the Army of the Potomac After its bloody defeat in December 1862 the Army of the Potomac settled down for the winter around Falmouth, Virginia, on the north bank of the Rappahannock River across from...

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February 23, 1863: Vallandigham Denounces the Draft What is the proper way for Americans to express political opposition to an ongoing war? How can the party out of power maintain its own identity without appearing disloyal? Can party...

Sometimes a simple document can open the door to a great story. Cuffee Saunders was a Black soldier during the Revolutionary War. The paperwork here is for “Cuffee Wells,” Wells being the name of Cuffee’s former slaveowner. When...

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There’s no denying the important role that baseball has played in America’s past. It has always been considered more than a game, whether played by professional athletes or kids at the sandlot. This was never more obvious than during...

March 31, 1863: Halleck Instructs Grant On March 31, 1863, Henry W. Halleck wrote an "unofficial letter" to Ulysses S. Grant "as a personal friend and as a matter of friendly advice." [1] As is often the case in communications between...

In this beautifully written letter, Confederate general Robert E. Lee attempts to console his son William Fitzhugh "Rooney" Lee on the loss of his wife. The letter demonstrates the emotion that Lee felt for his family and offers a...

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April 30, 1863: Hooker Reaches Chancellorsville The bloody Union defeat at Fredericksburg, Virginia, in December 1862 and the aborted "Mud March" along the Rappahannock River the following month demoralized the Army of the Potomac and...

MAY 22, 1863: GRANT LAYS SIEGE TO VICKSBURG It had been a long and difficult winter for Ulysses S. Grant. For months his army had struggled in the bayous and swamps around Vicksburg, Mississippi, looking for some way to attack the...

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This gossipy and personal letter captures the close friendship between Robert E. Lee and John "Jack" MacKay. It offers an example of letter writing in the days before the instant communication provided by telephones and the Internet....