Civil War History

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Reunion at Gettysburg (The Outlook, 1913)

Johnny Reb and Billy Yank encountered each other once again – fifty years after the Union victory at Gettysburg:


The conductor raised his baton and the strains of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ floated out upon the air. All of those gathered upon the dusky lawn – the Picketts, the Longstreets, the daughter of General A.P. Hill, the Meades, the long row of men in gray and gold – became silent, rose to their feet, and uncovered. That was Gettysburg fifty years afterward.


Click here to see the Confederate Uniform worn at the Reunions.

Reunion at Gettysburg (The Outlook, 1913) Read More »

General Meade’s Report on the Battle of Gettysburg (History of the U.S. , 1867)

Our own losses were very severe, two thousand eight hundred and thirty-four killed, thirteen thousand seven hundred and nine wounded, and six thousand six hundred and forty-three missing – in all twenty-three thousand, one hundred and eighty-six.

It is impossible, in a report of this nature, to enumerate all the the instances of gallantry and good conduct which distinguished our success on the hard-fought field of Gettysburg. The reports of corps commanders and their subordinates, herewith submitted, will furnish all information upon this subject.


Click here to read about the military record of U.S. General George Gordon Meade.


Click here to read about the finest generals of the American Civil War.

General Meade’s Report on the Battle of Gettysburg (History of the U.S. , 1867) Read More »

The North Carolina Presence at Gettysburg (Confederate Veteran Magazine, 1930)

This article, from Confederate Veteran Magazine, presented the drama of events as they unfolded on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg with an eye to specifically telling the tale of the North Carolina regiments and the part they played as the battle was taking shape. The author, Captain S.A. Ashe (author of the 1902 book, The charge at Gettysburg) explained thoroughly which Confederate and Federal units arrived first at Gettysburg and at what hour, while indulging in just a little Monday morning quarterbacking:

If General Longstreet, with his very fine corps, had struck the Federals early the next morning, there probably never would have been a third day at Gettysburg.

The North Carolina Presence at Gettysburg (Confederate Veteran Magazine, 1930) Read More »

With the First Texas Regiment at Gettysburg (Confederate Veteran, 1922)

Attached is a Gettysburg reminiscence by one W.T. White, veteran of the First Texas Regimentstyle=border:none who had documented his experience on Little Round Top in his earlier writings, but preferred to dwell on some other glorious moments on this page.


As a result of their charge up Little Round Top, the boys of the Twentieth Maine sent the First Texas Infantry to the bottom of the hill leaving 25 dead, 20 missing and 48 wounded.

With the First Texas Regiment at Gettysburg (Confederate Veteran, 1922) Read More »

Gettysburg: an Epilogue (Coronet Magazine, 1949)

An article that looks back at some of the lost opportunities squandered by both armies, wondering if the outcome might have been different had their importance been recognized and properly exploited.

At Gettysburg, the heat broke at last, and rain fell on July 4. As doctors and ambulances moved onto the scene, neither retreating Confederates nor jubilant Northerners recognized the great issue that had been decided on that field. Only a few sensed that the twilight of the Confederacy had come.


Read an article about how Victorian fashion saved a life during the Civil War.

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A Summation of the Battle of Gettysburg (Famous Events Magazine, 1913)

This essay clearly states why the Battle of Gettysburg is a significant event in Civil War history, what the Rebels intended and why the battle was such a decisive victory for the Federal Army:

In the first rush the Confederates were successful, the scattered Union regiments under General Hancock were pressed back. But on the second day, the main body of the Northern army under General Meade arrived, and the contest held even, with awful slaughter on both sides. The third day the Confederates made one last desperate charge…

Abraham Lincoln: Short Story Writer…

A Summation of the Battle of Gettysburg (Famous Events Magazine, 1913) Read More »

The Battle of Gettysburg: Day One (National Park Service, 1954)

An account of the inconclusive first day at Gettysburg:

The two armies converge on Gettysburg – The men of Heth’s division, leading the Confederate advance across the mountain, reached Cashtown on June 29. Pettigrew’s brigade was sent on to Gettysburg the following day to obtain supplies, but upon reaching the ridge a mile west of the town, they observed a column of Union cavalry approaching…


Click here to read a Confederate perspective of the first day at Gettysburg.


It was on the first day at Gettysburg that the Confederates made a terrible mistake. Read about it here.

The Battle of Gettysburg: Day One (National Park Service, 1954) Read More »