When a battle raged, Rebels and Yankees fought like the devil. But when things were quiet, they often got along rather well. Private Sam Watkins had recently been in the thick of battle at Chickamauga – only Gettysburg saw more casualties. It was Sunday and Sam and his buddies were relieving a guard detail on […]
No town was more fought over during the Civil War than Winchester, Virginia. It changed hands so many times that we don’t have a decent count. Some say over 100.Winchester was about 70 miles east of Washington, DC, in the Shenandoah Valley. It was surrounded on all sides by hills, so an approaching army was […]
Texan John Bell Hood was not one to back down, on or off the battlefield.At the end of the Second Battle of Manassas 1862, Hood’s men captured some Union ambulances, and he allowed the men to keep them for the brigade’s personal use. General N. G. Evans ordered him to turn them over. But Hood […]
Reading about the Civil War would certainly be a lot less interesting without the firsthand accounts of our Confederate friend, Sam Watkins of Company H, 1st Tennessee. Here is his story of how one day he applied for a furlough. You probably already have an idea of how this is going to go. He writes:“Now, […]
Time for another tale of Private Sam Watkins of the First Tennessee Infantry.It was 1863. Sam was in Chattanooga, preparing for the arrival of Grant’s army. That included fortifying Lookout Mountain (see photo above). Sam tells us:“About this time my father paid me a visit. Rations were mighty scarce. I was mighty glad to see […]
Last month we posted a spine-tingling and amazing story about the Ghosts of Gettysburg that just might make believers out of anyone. If you missed it, check it out here: Since then, we’ve collected a few other first hand, up close and personal stories from some of you out there. We’d like to share a […]
Through the harsh winter of 1865, General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia suffered a steady stream of desertions. At its worst, hundreds of men chose to put the war behind them. Execution waited for those caught in the act, but Lee’s greatest hope was to slow it down at best, and even try to stop […]
Private Sam Watkins’ Company H of the 1st Tennessee was camped on the Duck River, at a moment when there were no battles to win. The thing is, a soldier needs stuff to do or he gets bored and up to trouble. As the Bible says, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” Or at least […]
John Baxley shares the economic reasons for the civil war. High schools and politicians have changed history to make this war solely about slavery, but that issue was not the main reason for the war. The struggle was about unfair taxation, at least according to the author. The background is examined in more detail in […]
The Confederate monuments honor the sacrifice that many people made. There are many people that descended from war veterans of the Civil War, and they are upset at the recent removal of monuments that they care a lot about. Confederate history and heritage has been under attack lately and many people are upset by this. […]
There is a side of the Civil War that many don’t know about, or just ignore. It was not so unusual for troops from opposite sides to mingle, talk and share or trade items, and generally act friendly when not engaged in fighting each other. Here is a portion of a letter sent from a […]
Some may wonder why the South remembers the Civil War as it does. After all, the losses were horrific to both North and South. Most of the war was fought on Southern soil. Small towns and countryside were trampled, occupied and battered for years. Major urban centers were ripped to pieces. The burning of Atlanta […]
