The Women of Winchester, Virginia

We are happy to welcome guest author Virginia R. Bensen. This is the introduction to a series of articles that will follow over the next few months about the Civil War women of Winchester, Virginia. What is interesting about these women is each represents either a Unionist or Secessionist perspective. The articles in this series […]

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African-Americans in the Civil War (Part 3)

Part three in a series. African-Americans tried to enlist in both the Union and Confederate armies at the start of the Civil War.  Although both armies reject black soldiers, by the end of the war over 200,000 men serve in the Union Army and Navy.  In the Confederate Army at the end of the war, […]

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Lincoln Pardons Turkey, But Not General Porter!

Wednesday, November 27 marked another year in which a turkey received a Presidential pardon, this time from President Obama. The 2013 turkeys (there are always two nowadays–one is an alternate in case something happens to the first) are from Michigan, and will live to gobble another day at the nationally recognized livestock facility at the […]

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African-Americans in the Civil War (Part 2)

Part two in a series. While thousands of slaves escaped slavery before the Civil War, in many cases using the Underground Railroad, thousands more escaped slavery during the Civil War.  In 1862, from April to August the Union army occupied Fredericksburg, Virginia – during that period over ten thousand escaped at “The Crossing.”  The Crossing […]

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Emerging Civil War Tour!

We are happy to announce that we have a date for our first tour. The tour will be “Gettysburg: Off the Beaten Path.” Join historians Daniel Davis, Phil Greenwalt, Chris Mackowski, and Kristopher White on May 5th, 2012. Together we will explore both East and South Cavalry Battlefields, Culp’s Hill, East Cemetery Hill, and both […]

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African-Americans in the Civil War (Part 1)

Part one in a series African-Americans were freemen, freed men, slaves, soldiers, and slave-owners during the Civil War. As a historian, I must be objective and discuss the facts based on my research. Some of our history maybe different from how it has been previously taught, and some of it is not very pretty. I […]

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“I Regret To Inform You . . . “

New approaches to counting the Civil War dead have raised the count considerably. From about 1900, the number of dead had remained at 618,222 men, counting deaths on both sides of the conflict. New estimates, however, have raised the total as high as 750,000, and may reach as high as 850,000. It was easier to […]

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The Other Port Royal

When someone mentions Port Royal in the Civil War, most historians or scholars think of Port Royal, South Carolina and the Battle of Port Royal in November 1861.  There is another Port Royal that was very important during the Civil War – Port Royal Virginia. Because of Port Royal’s strategic location on the Rappahannock River […]

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Where Are All the Flags?

This past summer, on Armed Forces Day, Caity Stuart had a profound encounter with a veteran who was visiting the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. In honor of Veteran’s Day, we asked her to share that story. — Editors The more and more I work here at the park, I continually find myself shoved […]

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