When it became obvious that Civil War was imminent in the United States in 1861, regiments of soldiers began organizing both in the Union and in the individual states as they seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy.
Henry Steele Commager has written that:
The Union and Confederate armies were haphazardly raised, badly organized, poorly trained, [...]

While the political history of a country during wartime is often told in textbooks, the cultural climate of a country at war is often recorded in the art of the time; the poetry that told the story of World War I, the novels and nonfiction that were inspired by the Spanish Civil War, these give [...]

During the Victorian Era, which coincided with the Civil War era, it was understood that a woman’s place was in the home. A well-bred, educated woman, a “lady” as it were, was supposed to confine her efforts to making her family comfortable and her home hospitable. To do otherwise, to work outside the [...]

Gen. Edward O.C. Ord, wife and child at the residence of Jefferson Davis
The soldiers that served during the Civil War era may have been attired in an array of uniforms, but it’s a safe bet that their uniforms, however improvised, stylized or compromised, were nowhere near as painstaking or involved as ladies’ fashion of the [...]

Why are maps so important to collectors of Civil War memorabilia?
As strange as it may seem to those in the 21st century who are used to internet driving directions and GPS systems, maps can tell one more about an area than just the street names and locations. Maps can be a wealth of [...]

It is inevitable that an event as crucial to American history as the Civil War would inspire works of art. Drawings, paintings, songs, photographs, poetry, and books have all treated the subject of the Civil War, but perhaps the most lingering fictional images of the Civil War come from those that have been seen [...]

If the American Civil War wreaked havoc upon the very fabric of American life, both North and South, at the same time, it inspired many, both directly involved in the war and affected from the civilian perspective, to contemplation of the war and what it meant for everyone in the country.
Below are some [...]

Although it is impossible to know the age of the Federal soldier in the picture at right, it is safe to assume that he is quite young, probably a teenager or maybe a little older. A teenager is certainly of a tender age, but was an old-timer compared to some of the soldiers who [...]

If there is one thing that the uniforms worn by both Federal and Confederate troops have in common, it’s that neither consistently showed any consistency.
Both the Federal and Confederate troops were mustered, at least initially, from volunteer corps. Often, these volunteer brigades chose their own style of uniform, giving the troops who rallied for [...]

The Union Army boasted over 500 generals. The Confederate Army had an impressive 200-plus generals.
Although their names and a bit of their history is known, the majority of these generals who served either the Federal or Confederate Army during the Civil War are unknown to most. These relatively unknown general officers [...]