One of the most memorable word plays to come out of the Civil War is sideburns, which traces its origins to the massive side whiskers of Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside. How you viewed them, be they luxuriously magnificent or the butt of jokes, could depend on what side you fought on.

James F. Putnam of the 8th Independent Battery, Ohio Light Artillery, participated in the Battle of Shiloh on April 6-7, 1862. During the days following, he wrote a pair of letters home to his mother. Both were printed in his hometown newspaper. Here's his observations.

On November 16, 1864, Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and his army left Atlanta for Savannah. In his memoirs, Sherman recalled the departure, memories of the victorious Atlanta Campaign, and the first two days on what would become known as the March to the Sea.

On April 10-11, 1862, Union artillery bombarded Fort Pulaski with targeted fire that ended with the surrender of its garrison 30 hours later and largely closing the port of Savannah, Ga. Quartermaster Sgt. Aaron H. Ingraham of the 49th New York Infantry witnesses the event, and wrote home about it.

A battalion of veteran Confederate cavalry from Virginia and Maryland rode along the pristine Pennsylvania countryside on the morning of Saturday, June 27, 1863. They encountered the 20th Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia, a regiment hastily formed to meet the emergency triggered by Gen. Robert E. L...

The emotions felt by a soldier going into combat, and his faith, are the theme of this letter written by 2nd Lt. Alfred Leroy Conklin of the 11th Ohio Infantry. A veteran of many Western Theater battles and campaigns, Conklin's words capture the war experience from the perspective of the front li...

John Alfred Koltes, a German immigrant who had served in the Mexican War and later as a Marine, became colonel of the 73rd Pennsylvania Infantry in the Civil War. By all accounts a brave leader, he stepped up to lead a charge and paid with his life. Here's the story.

What was it like to come within an inch of a musket ball in battle? Chaplain William W. Lyle of the 11th Ohio Infantry happened to be riding with the surgeon of his regiment in an area active with sharpshooters during the Battle of Chickamauga.

Some of the most literate writers in the Civil War served as army chaplains, those men of faith who tended to flocks of soldier boys far away from home. One of them, William Wallace Lyle of the 11th Ohio Infantry, wrote a book about his experiences published in 1865. Here's a sample.

Following the bombardment of Fort Sumter, Washington, D.C. was surrounded by pro-secession Baltimoreans to its north and Virginians on the verge of leaving the Union along part of its border. Union-loyal regiments rushed to the capital to defend the federal government and its new president, Abrah...

The mention of Civil War Richmond usually brings to mind photographs of charred buildings of the commercial heart of the city set afire by Confederate soldiers during the evacuation of the army and government. Here's another view of the Confederate capital—in 1861.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, Bushrod Washington James traveled from his home in Philadelphia to care for some of the many thousands of wounded soldiers. Here's the story of his travels and deeds.

You students of the Civil War are well familiar with the iconic image of Brig. Gen. Lewis Armistead leading his Virginians into certain death at Pickett's Charge during the third and final day of the Battle of Gettysburg, sword held high, hat on its tip. When exactly did this vision of him become...

His name was Francis Welch Crowninshield, but everyone knew him as "Crownie." Boston-born and well-educated, the war interrupted his studies at Harvard. Not academically--minded, he joined the army determined to do his part for the Union. Here's his story.

Major Edward Mortimer Boykin of the 7th South Carolina Cavalry and his surviving comrades were surrendered at Appomattox. In his 1874 memoirs, "The Fallen Flag," he shared his recollection the reaction to General Robert E. Lee by the Southern soldiers, and how they were treated by victorious Nort...

Doctor Algernon M. Squier, a Civil War veteran turned army surgeon confronted a deadly cholera outbreak on the Kansas frontier in 1867. His courage saved lives—but ended in the ultimate sacrifice. Here's his story.

Major Edward Mortimer Boykin of the 7th South Carolina Cavalry and his comrades had the grim duty of serving as part of the rear guard during the evacuation of the Confederate military and government in Richmond. In an 1874 book, he shared his recollection of what he saw as soldiers and citizens ...

Captain Eben W. Fiske of the 13th Massachusetts Infantry left behind a legacy that includes sketches from his army life—and questions about his character as a military officer. Here's his story.

It can be fairly stated that Maj. Gen. George G. Meade believed he had no chance at becoming the commander of the Army of the Potomac. As much as he might have aspired to higher office, he also realized that what he wanted and what he might get were very different. In two letters to his wife, wri...

Charles Minor Blackford is remembered as an officer on Gen. James Longstreet's staff and for his vivid wartime letters. In his letter about First Manassas, he describes taking a souvenir from the Henry House, a dead Union soldier with a child's doll, abandoned carriages and uneaten lunches, and m...

The Civil War sparked technical innovations and improvements to relatively new technologies: Ironclad warships, submarines, rifled muskets and cannon, repeating rifles, mines, balloons, medical advances—and signals. Here's the story of one of the inventors who made change happen: Martha Jane Coston.

Modern historians rate Braxton Bragg as one of the least successful military leaders, frequently cast as President Jefferson Davis’s favored but flawed general. Here's an account, published after his death in 1876, that takes a more sympathetic view.

Confederate General John Bell Hood never filed an official Gettysburg report, but years later, in a letter to his former superior officer, Gen. James Longstreet, he revealed his objections to attacking Little Round Top. His account offers a candid look at command decisions, missed opportunities, ...

Charles Minor Blackford is remembered as an officer on Gen. James Longstreet's staff and for his 1894 memoirs, with his wife, Susan, "Life in and Out of the Army in Virginia." In it, Blackford describes the last days in Richmond and the immediate, desperate times in the aftermath of the war.