Major General William T. Sherman's forces entered Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, on Feb. 17, 1865. As Sherman rode through the conquered city he met numerous individuals, including escaped Union prisoners of war. One of these bedraggled men handed him a note. Sherman stuffed it into his...

ne of the central figures in Pickett’s Charge was the colonel responsible for the massive artillery bombardment intended to soften up the Union position prior to the assault: Edward Porter Alexander. In 1877, he shared his experience on July 3, 1863, including his communications with Gen. James L...

When the U.S. Army of the Potomac opened its spring 1864 campaign against the C.S. Army of Northern Virginia, Gen. Robert E. Lee faced a new adversary fresh from the war's Western Theater: Ulysses S. Grant. One of Lee's subordinates, Brig. Gen. Evander M. Law recalled how little his fellow senior...

George Gordon Meade, the West Point educated commander of the Union Army of the Potomac, is largely remembered for the perception that he failed to vigorously pursue Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia after the Battle of Gettysburg, and also for flashes of hot temper. But ...

In 1938, the Mutual Broadcast Network’s Special Features Division aired programming from the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. One of the Confederate veterans interviewed, Robert Powell Scott of the 45th Arkansas Mounted Infantry, told his story. Here's what he had to say.

Image: Lib...

Buried in the recesses of the National Archives, in the millions of cards in the Compiled Military Service Records (CMSR), is an easter egg in the form of a fantastical giant of a Union soldier from Kentucky. Here's the story—and a guide to understanding CMSRs.