“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and provide new Guards for their future security.“

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The Trent Affair

The Trent Affair James Mason John Slidell      In accordance with the authority conferred by this Congress, the Confederate President appointed John Slidell and James M….

Alexander W. Campbell

Alexander William Campbell (June 28, 1828 – June 13, 1893), was a Confederate States Army Brigadier General during the American Civil War. He was a lawyer in Tennessee…

Old Capital Prison

In November 1861, Secretary of State William H. Seward told Lord Richard Lyons, British Ambassador to the United States, “My Lord, I can touch a…

Battlefield Preservation

Save Tennessee Battlefields

Your help is needed to save two key tracts at Lookout Mountain and Franklin.
The first tract includes 301 acres that played an important role in the “Battle Above the Clouds” at Lookout Mountain. The second tract is a small but crucial parcel at the Franklin Battlefield, which adds a key piece of ground to the land the Trust already worked so hard to reclaim and restore. 

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The Truth about “Juneteenth”

The Truth about “Juneteenth”

Juneteenth. So what is THAT? In a year’s time, we’ve gone from only a small percentage of people have even heard of that colloquialism referencing one town in Texas’s tradition to now it’s a national holiday? You’ll hear that it’s the date the last slaves were freed, found out they…

The Sinking of the SS Central America that jump started secession.

The Sinking of the SS Central America that jump started secession.

On 3 September 1857, 477 passengers and 101 crew left the Panamanian port of Colón, sailing for New York City under the command of William Lewis Herndon. The ship was heavily laden with 10 short tons (9.1 t) of gold prospected during the California Gold Rush. After a stop in Havana, the ship continued north. On 9 September 1857, the ship…

The Aitken Bible

The Aitken Bible

The Aitken Bible and Congress Prior to the American Revolution, the only English Bibles in the colonies were imported either from Europe or England. Publication of the Bible was regulated by the British government, and an English language Bible could not be printed without a special license from the British…

Alexander Hamilton Stephens

Alexander Hamilton Stephens

Name in native languageAlexander H. StephensDate of birth11 February 1812Taliaferro CountyDate of death4 March 1883Atlanta, GAPlace of burialA. H. Stephens State ParkCountry of citizenshipUnited States of America (1812-1861-1883)Confederate States of America (1861-1865)EducationFranklin College later became The University of GeorgiaOccupationPoliticianPoliticianVice President of The Confederacy(1861-1865)50th Governor of Georgia(1882-1883), United States Congressman(1843-1845)Member of…

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Moses Jacob Ezekiel

Moses Jacob Ezekiel was one of the most celebrated sculptors of his day, his works appearing in civic spaces, art museums, and universities across the world. Born in Richmond to…

Quakers in the Civil War

Quakers in the Civil War seems like an inherently contradictory idea; the Society of Friends practices pacifism and nonviolence, and, for many, putting money or resources toward war efforts goes…

George Wythe Randolph

George Wythe Randolph was a lawyer, Confederate general, and, briefly, Confederate secretary of war during the American Civil War (1861–1865). The grandson of former U.S. president Thomas Jefferson, Randolph hailed…

Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip

Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip

The Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip (April 18–28, 1862) was the decisive battle for possession of New Orleans in the American Civil War. The two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River south of the city were attacked by a Union Navy fleet. As long as the forts could keep the Federal forces from moving on…

First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run

The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas (the name used by Confederate forces), was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the city of Manassas. It was the first major land battle of the American Civil War. Just months after the start of the war at Fort…

Battle of New Market Heights

Battle of New Market Heights

Events leading to the Battle of New Market Heights began during the blistering summer of 1864, when overall Federal commander Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant directed the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, to relentlessly push the Confederates south from the Rappahannock River toward the…

Battle of Aquia Creek

Battle of Aquia Creek

The Battle of Aquia Creek was an exchange of cannon fire between Union Navy gunboats and Confederate shore batteries in Stafford County, Virginia which took place from May 29, 1861 to June 1, 1861 during the early days of the American Civil War. The Confederates set up several shore batteries to block Union military and commercial vessels…

Database of Battles

From Native Indians, The American Revolution,
and American Civil War

The Battle of Fort Washington

Heavy rains spoiled Maj. Gen, William Howe’s planned second attack on the American army near White Plains on October 31. The next day the Americans were found to be apparently…

The Battle of Long Island (Brooklyn Heights)

The British recognized the strategic importance of New York as the focal point for communications between the northern and southern colonies. Washington also recognized this, and in April of 1776…

The Battle of Bunker (Breeds) Hill

On June 17, 1775 the Battle of Bunker Hill took place. It is one of the most important colonial victories in the U.S. War for Independence.

The Revolutionary Christmas

The Revolutionary Christmas

It is accepted among some historians that Hessian soldiers who fought alongside the British first introduced the Christmas tree to the colonies during the Revolutionary War. Others claim German immigrants who settled in Eastern Pennsylvania started the tradition. All agree that prior to the Revolutionary War, Christmas was not celebrated…

The Revolutionary War

The Revolutionary War

British Strengths When war erupted in 1775, it seemed clear that Britain would win. It had a large, well-organized land army, and the Royal Navy was unmatched on the sea. Many of the British troops in the Revolutionary War were veterans who had fought in the French and Indian War. On the other…

The French and Indian War

The French and Indian War

The Beginning of the War Unlike the previous wars between European powers in the 1700s, the French And Indian War was begun in North America—in the heartland of the Ohio Valley, where both France and Britain held claims to land and trading rights. Westward-moving British colonists were particularly aggressive in their desire for new…

The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence

Virginia Proposes Independence At a meeting of the Second Continental Congress in the summer of 1776, Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, proposed that the American colonies should declare their independence from Britain. Delegates debated this proposal heavily for a few weeks, and many returned to their home states to discuss…