Civil War Potpourri Page

A Horseman In The Sky	This is a great little story by Ambrose Bierce. It first appeared in "Tales of Soldiers and Civilians" published in 1891.
Anaconda Plan	Winfield Scott's original plan on how to crush the rebellion.
Balloons With The Army Of The Potomac	A personal reminiscence by Professor T. S. C. Lowe, who introduced and made balloon observations on the Peninsula for the Union Army.
Black Codes	Passed by Southern politicians in the former Confederate states, 1865-66, these codes were meant to regulate the life and labor of newly freed slaves.
Blockade	An interesting article about the initial blockading of the Southern seaports by the Union Navy.
Border States	As far as Lincoln was concerned there were four of them. Here is a brief description.
Boys In The Civil War	How young they were! Yet every bit the full measure of a man.
Cadets In The Fray	This is the best short description of the VMI Cadets participation at the battle of New Market that I have read.
Capture Of John Wilkes Booth	From the Official Records, here is Lieut. Edward P. Doherty's, Sixteenth New York Cavalry, Official Report of the incident.
Casualties in the Civil War	The price in blood, how great it was! Just a little something to put it in perspective.
Causes Of The Civil War	Something unique here and not what you were taught in school. The causes as the Confederates saw them.
Cavalry Battle and Charges	A fairly long article about this most important aspect of the war that is often overlooked.
Civil War All Stars	For the students amongst you. Got an English assignment to write something using metaphors? Take a look at this. Written over 30 years ago and still fresh.
Civil War Battle Names	Nope, this does not give a list of battle names. It does give a pretty good explanation as to why the Union and Confederate forces called the battles by different names.
Civil War Chat Room	Want to discuss the war? Want to find out a lot of info that you might not be aware of? Or just want to chat with some one of a like mind. You have just found the place. Welcome aboard!!
Civil War Correspondents Memorial Arch	One of the most unusual memorials to come out of the Civil War. Resting atop South Mountain, it is a "must" see when visiting the Antietam Battlefield.
Civil War Discussions	These are copies of the weekly discussions held by members of a Civil War Chat Room. Even if you don't like chat rooms you will probably enjoy reading these very enlightening and in-depth discussions.
Civil War "Firsts"	Ever thought about how many things that we take for granted today actually first happened in the Civil War? You might just be surprised.
Civil War's Interesting Kin Folks	Think you have problems sorting out who's who at a family reunion? Take a look at this beauty.
Civil War Military-Telegraph Service	One of the most often overlooked but yet one of the most valuable Civil War services.
Civil War Names	"A war by any other name..." Just a few of the different names used to describe the Civil War.
Civil War Propaganda	A little on this seldom discussed aspect of the Civil War.
Civil War Provost-Marshal And the Citizen	*A little on how the Writ of Habeas Corpus* was kind of set aside during the war.**
Civil War Weapons	Descriptions of the various weapons used during the Civil War.
Compromise Of 1850	Another step take to prevent secession.
Confederate Generals Killed In War	This provides a list of the Confederate generals who were killed in action or died of wounds as a result of that action.
Congressional Medal of Honor	Just a little something to show that the Medal of Honor given during the Civil War was not the same as those given today.
Conscription (Military Draft)	It didn't start until later in the war, however, when it did, if you didn't volunteer, they came after you.
Conscientious Objectors	Both sides had to deal with this issue.
Contrabands	A short article that explains a little about the origin of this word in the Civil War.
Copperheads (Peace Democrats)	No, this is not about the coin. However, they did wear it as their symbol.
Costs Of The Civil War	Ever thought about what this war might have cost? It wasn't cheap!
Cotton Diplomacy	A brief description of how the South tried to use their cotton to bring England into the Civil War.
Cotton Is King	Interesting article on the role cotton played in the war.
Death Of Lincoln	An interesting article that describes Lincoln's death and the events that followed it.
Division Of The States	A dandy map showing how the country was divided at the beginning of the war.
Emancipation Proclamation	Before this document it was a war to preserve the Union. After the Proclamation it was a war not only to preserve the Union, but a crusade to free the slaves.
Emancipation Proclamation Background Information	Just a little something to show how this "proclamation" came to be and the reactions to it.
Ethnic Composition Of The Forces	In this age of "political correctness," where everything must be equally balanced, have you ever thought about the make-up of the armies during the war? Well, if you did, this will make some good reading for you.
Europe And The American Civil War	Just what was the relationship between Europe, the U.S.A. and the C.S.A? Just a little something that might help you understand.
Famous Horses Of The Civil War	It is amazing but some of the horses became almost as famous as those that rode them.
Freedmen, (Freed Slaves)	Discusses the disposition of the freed slaves (including the Freedmen's Bureau) of the Civil War. The Report(s) of the Freedmen Inquiry Commission linked from this page contain probably the most detailed information on slavery on the Internet.
George Townsend, Correspondent	One of the most read Newspaper Correspondents to come out of the Civil War, this page contains a series of excerpts from his book, "Campaigns of a Non-Combatant."
Great Locomotive Chase In Georgia	The survivors of this raid were the first ever to receive the Medal of Honor.
Historicus	Now if you're looking for something that is not widely know about the war, take a look at this. I don't suppose it would surprise you to know that there was a lot of finger pointing after the Battle of Gettysburg.
John Brown's Raid	It wasn't a part of the Civil War, but it sure played a pretty big role in getting it started.
Kansas-Nebraska Act	Would there have been a Civil War without this? Who knows.
Ku Klux Klan	This article only addresses the Klan as it applied to the Reconstruction era.
Lincoln/Douglas Debates	Though not a part of the Civil War, they most certainly played a part in its beginning.
Lincoln And Emancipation	Explains what the Emancipation Proclamation did and did not do.
Lost Cause	An unusual term that few know the real meaning of.
Mason-Dixon Line	The traditional border between Northern and Southern states.
Meaning Of The Battle Losses	If you read the section of this website on Fox's Regimental Losses you saw a lot of numbers. Now read just what those numbers meant.
Mint Julep	Just a fine recipe detailing just how this great elixir of the Old South should be made. Even if you don't drink I think you will enjoy reading this.
Missouri Compromise Of 1820	The first step taken to prevent secession.
New York Draft Riots	Conscription was not popular, North or South.
Northern Industry In The Civil War	Describes how the war affected the Northern Industry.
Peace Societies	The Union had their Copperheads, the Confederacy had their Peace Societies.
Pickett's Charge	One of the best descriptions of this particular portion of the Battle of Gettysburg that I have seen. Well worth a look see.
Poems and Songs Of The Civil War	I know that there are lots of sites on the Internet with this title. I Looked at most of them and they are very good. However, these are just the ones I like. Not to worry though, I am constantly adding to this portion of my website. I hope to have a lot more up there.
Population Of The U.S. (1860 Census)	Provides charts for population of both free and slave based on the 1860 census.
Principles Of War	See what the cadets learned at the "point" and did or did not use during the war.
Prisons And Prisoners	Provides articles on both the prisoners and the prisons that held them.
Reconstruction	If you want to know what the Southerners went through in the years immediately following the war, you need to look it this. It wasn't very pretty.
Republicans And The Civil War	Describes how the Republican Party came to be and explains the meaning of the terms "Black Republican" and "Radical Republican."
Secession, The Union View	Interesting how the Yanks (or at least one) viewed the "Secession."
Signal Corps	Want to know how various portions of the army communicated with one another during the battle? This combined with the Civil War Military Telegraph Service (located elsewhere on this page) will give a clear idea of how most of the communications were accomplished.
Sherman's Bowties	An unusual name for a very unusual act during Sherman's march to the sea.
Sherman's "Bummers"	You can believe that these folks weren't No. 1 on the people of Georgia's "Most Well Liked" list.
Sherman's March To The Sea	Presents the Union version of this event.
Sherman And The Colored Ministers	The minutes of a very interesting meeting between Sherman and a group of colored ministers in Savannah.
Slavery In The Civil War Era	Very good, detailed information about this "peculiar institution."
Spying In The Civil War	Yep, they even had spies in this war. Both sides did a pretty fair job of it too, considering the times.
St. Louis Massacre	It wasn't big, but it did happen.
States' Rights	Just a little something on a controversial issue that led up to the Civil War.
Strategy And Tactics	A brief explanation of these terms and how they applied during the Civil War.
Thanksgiving	Ever wonder where the first idea that the last Thursday of November would to be Thanksgiving Day came from? It might just surprise you.
The American Question Abroad	An interesting article about the diplomatic maneuvering going on in Europe in regards to the Civil War.
The Civil War's Last Great Peace Effort	This meeting took place between Lincoln and representatives of the Confederate Government in February 1865. Also provided is Lincoln's official response to congress about the meeting.
Torpedoes	We call them mines today, but in the Civil War they were just as deadly regardless of what they were called!
Traveller	No Civil War site would be complete without a little something on Lee's favorite war-horse, "Traveller."
Trent Affair	Taken from the Confederate Military History, this is a little discussed incident of the war.
Union And Confederate Indians	From "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War," a good description of the Indians that fought for both sides.
Union Generals Killed In The War	This provides a list of the Union generals who were killed in action or died of wounds as a result of that action.
War As A Popular Educator	Article originally published in The Philadelphia Weekly Times around 1877. A good read!
War By The Brave Against The Brave	A great piece written by Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon, CS, that shows even in the cruelty of war there were some very humanitarian acts.
War On Horseback	A very good description of both sides' cavalry during the war.
Woman's Order	If you ever wondered how Benjamin Butler earned the nickname "The Beast," you are about to find out.
Women In Uniform	Bet you didn't know that there were women who dressed as men in the Civil War and fought right along side the men. Well, they did. Take a look.