Johnny Clem ran away from home to join the Union Army in the Civil War. He hooked up with the 22nd Michigan Infantry which adopted him as a mascot and drummer boy. Drummer boys were common in the war. They used their drums to relay orders to the men. Read more…
You could argue the South lost the Civil War on Sept. 13, 1862. That was the day Corporal Barton Mitchell of the 27th Indiana Volunteers found a paper wrapped around three cigars at a campsite near Frederick, Maryland. The camp had been used by the Army of Northern Virginia a Read more…
It would have been more accurately called “Longstreet’s Charge” as it involved three of his divisions – Pickett, Pettigrew, and Trimble. That was a total of 12,500-15,000 men. It was Lee’s desperate attempt to end the Civil War in one day. In the first two days of the battle, he Read more…
The Civil War has often been called a war of brothers versus brothers. The fact that all the soldiers were Americans was exemplified by moments of fraternization like depicted in this sketch. Pickets were soldiers stationed at the front of an army as an early warning system of an enemy Read more…
Sharpshooters were first used in the Civil War in America. They were what we would call snipers today, but they also served as skirmishers. Skirmishers were soldiers placed in front of the line to either make first contact when the army was attacking or provide warning of an approaching force. Read more…
The Battle of Cedar Creek occurred on Oct. 19, 1864 in the war-ravaged Shenandoah Valley. Confederate Gen. Jubal Early initiated the action with an attack on a Union camp. The Yankees were taken completely by surprise and beat a hasty retreat, losing 1,300 prisoners and 24 cannons. The Union commander Read more…
One of the most famous units in Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was the Louisiana Tigers. They had a reputation of being terrors on the battlefield … and in camp. The nickname originated with a volunteer company raised by Maj. Chatham Wheat in New Orleans. It was called the “Tiger Read more…
There were at least four major snow ball fights (“snow balling”) between Confederate units in the Civil War. The biggest occurred on Jan. 29, 1863 after two feet of snow blanketed the Rappahannock Valley in Virginia. It started when the 1st and 4th Texas Regiments took on the 5th. When Read more…
The parole system originated in Europe and was used in America for the first and only time in the Civil War. It basically involved the exchange of prisoners. Until an exchange could be arranged, the prisoner was paroled meaning they could not participate in any military activities that would benefit Read more…
Interesting Facts about the Battle of Chancellorsville Gen. Joseph Hooker had replaced the incompetent Ambrose Burnside after his frontal lunacy at Fredericksburg. Hooker quickly whipped the Army of the Potomac into shape and stole a march on Lee by crossing the Rappahannock River and descending on Lee’s left. Lee’s Army Read more…