Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson has become so much a part of Civil War legend that it can be difficult to see the man behind the monument. One of his fellow generals, John Brown Gordon, explored “The secret of his wonderful power” and “The secret of Jackson’s character.”

Sergeant David A. Barnett of the 99th Pennsylvania Infantry participated in the second and third days' fighting at Gettysburg, and lived to write home about it. In a letter to his cousin Robert, Barnett recalls the battle and pokes fun at the "fireside generals" who criticized the Army of the Pot...

There days before the Battle of Gettysburg, Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon and his brigade marched into York, Pa., in the vanguard of Confederate invasion forces. Covered in powdery dust from the turnpikes, their presence frightened townspeople. Here's the story, in Gordon's words.

One of the best known artworks about the Civil War is the oil painting depicting generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson conferring before the Battle of Chancellorsville. What are they talking about and what did they say? Two postwar accounts, one by Lee, provide insights.

Becoming familiar with a general's personality traits can help us to better understand how he commanded troops in combat. One of the more unique characters in the Confederate military leadership was Richard S. Ewell, who was described by fellow general John B. Gordon.

A day after Christmas 1864, in the southern Shenandoah Valley, Pvt. Henry Lindsey of the 50th Virginia Infantry died. His brother-in-law, Wesley Smith, who served with him in the same company, had the said duty to write to his sister Polly with the news. Here's what he wrote.

Up until the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865, Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan was more brute than brains, observed the war correspondent George Alfred "Gath" Townsend. But in this engagement, Gath notes, Sheridan proved he could also be a master strategist.

The thought of Civil War Richmond brings to mind scenes of devastation and destruction caused by Confederates as they abandoned the city in early April, 1865. But there is also the Richmond of 1861, where patriotic fervor for the nascent Confederacy exploded in the wake of the bombardment of Fort...

John Gibbon, the Union-loyal major general from North Carolina, is associated with the Iron Brigade, the defense of Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, and the last campaigns that culminated at Appomattox. Long after the war he met up with a friend in Virginia to hunt. Here's the story.

Benjamin Franklin Whitehouse of the 1st Ohio Heavy Artillery was a proud member of the Grand Army of the Republic, As the years passed, and the veterans' hair grayed, Whitehouse wrote of their sacrifices and contributions. Here's a sampling from his papers.

On July 5, 1863, Corp. William S. White and his fellow artillerists in the Richmond Howitzers withdrew from Pennsylvania to Virginia in the wake of the loss at the Battle of Gettysburg. White overheard Gen. Robert E. Lee talking to Gen. Richard Ewell. Here's what Lee said.

A subscriber recently commented: "Did Lee or his Chief of Staff write an after action report that survives? That would be a great insightful document." He did, and the entire report is 7,406 words long. I read it, and found six takeaways to share.

Major Gen. Philip Henry Sheridan, known as "Little Phil" to his friends, had a big personality—and a front row seat at the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee to Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. In his 1885 memoirs, Sheridan recalls the event, and Grant's character as a man and a leader.

Elisha Rice Reed, who served in the ranks of the Iron Brigade's 2nd Wisconsin Infantry, suffered wounds in both legs during the first day's fighting at Gettysburg. As a prisoner of war in the Seminary, he watched Pickett's Charge from the cupola of the distinctive brick building.

What was it like to be an artillerist in action during the bombardment that preceded Pickett's Charge? William S. White, a corporal in the 3rd Company of the Richmond Howitzers, described the scene in his diary, and what happened after the guns fell silent.

Immediately following the death of Ulysses S. Grant on July 23, 1885, a reporter interviewed former Confederate Gen. James Longstreet at his home outside Gainesville, Ga. Longstreet paid tribute to his late friend and shared memories of war and peace.

Private Benjamin Franklin Whitehouse of the 1st Ohio Heavy Artillery had his first night on guard duty at Fort Burnside in Covington, Ky. During his watch, he spied movement and saw a figure moving toward him. He eventually fired a shot. Here's what happened next.

During the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, Helen Gilson lent her considerable skills as a compassionate caregiver to Union and Confederate wounded. At one point, a patient asked her to sing. The song she chose moved Northern and Southern hearts,

In the papers of Benjamin Franklin Whitehouse of the 1st Ohio Heavy Artillery can be found two poems, both copied in long hand, that reveal in poignant verse the dwindling numbers of Grand Army of the Republic veterans as the years passed.

John Buford, one of the most respected Union generals, displayed grit and determination on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war, one of Buford's staffers, 1st Lt. and Signal Corps officer Aaron B. Jerome, worried that history would forget Buford. So he wrote a letter to promot...

Captain Edward Carlisle Boynton, a West Point educated veteran of the Mexican War who returned to teach at his alma mater during the Civil War, wrote a paper published in 1864 that called for the establishment of a military Bureau of Photography. He was a man ahead of his time—by more than a half...

The after-action report of Lt. Col. Walton Dwight of the 149th Pennsylvania Infantry, popularly known as the Second Bucktail Regiment, tells the tale of a tough choice no senior officer would wish to make—to save your regiment or abandon your colors. Here's the story.

Franklin F. Pratt, who served in the ranks of the 76th New York Infantry, and the rest of Maj. Gen. John Reynolds 1st Corps faced the Confederate juggernaut during the first day of fighting at Gettysburg. Pratt wrote a letter to his parents to explain what happened—and how he fared.

In late 1863, formerly enslaved men arrived in St. Louis from points South to join the United States Colored Troops. Many brought their families. All suffered from neglect until early 1864, when Brig. Gen. William A. Pile and other officers stepped in to help.