Abraham Lincoln inauguration, 1861

The Most Contentious Presidential Transition in American History

Was Abraham Lincoln's the most tumultuous presidential transition in American history?
Harpers Ferry illustration

John Brown: Feared Fanatic or Freedom Fighter?

Murderous terrorist fanatic or freedom fighter? No figure in American history raises that question more than John Brown.
African American Civil War soldiers

Early Photographs of African American Soldiers at The National Museum of African American History and Culture

The Prickitt album in the NMAAC is a rare coincidence of names and photographs of Colored Troops fighting for the Union in the Civil War. 
It is the bean, that we mean, so white and lean.

What It Was Like To Be an African-American Soldier During the Civil War

What was it like to be one of the 186,017 African Americans who served in the Union Army during the Civil War?
Civil War Attire

How the Word “Shoddy” Became an Anti-Semitic Slur

Shoddy came to have anti-Semitic overtones during the American Civil War.
Relics from prior American War sit in the sunset

Origins of the Confederate Lost Cause

The mythos of the The Lost Cause of the Confederacy.
Confederate flag

That Flag Again: The Meanings of the Confederate Flag and Iconography

Different interpretations of confederate flag and confederate battle iconography.
Scuffed military boots

On Military Desertion and Executions

Military desertion is not as rare as one would think.