“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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Death Before Dishonor-The Immortal 600

On August 20, 1864, a chosen group of 600 Confederate officers left Fort Delaware as prisoners of war, bound for the Union Army base at Hilton Head, S.C. Their purpose–to…

The Corwin Amendment

The Corwin Amendment, also called the “Slavery Amendment,” was a constitutional amendment passed by Congress in 1861 but never ratified by the states that would have banned the federal government…

Battle of Philippi (West Virginia)

Battle of Philippi (West Virginia)

The Battle of Philippi—also known mockingly as “The Philippi Races”—was fought on June 30, 1861, in and around Philippi, Virginia (now West Virginia) as part of the Western Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first organized land action in the war (the impromptu Battle of Fairfax Court House took place two days earlier), but…

Battle of Darbytown Road

Battle of Darbytown Road

Grant in Charge On March 10, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States. Grant brought with him, from his successes in the Western Theater of the war, a reputation for the doggedness that Lincoln was seeking in his generals. Unlike…

Battle of Glorieta Pass

Battle of Glorieta Pass

The Battle of Glorieta Pass, fought from March 26 to 28, 1862 in northern New Mexico Territory, was the decisive battle of the New Mexico Campaign during the American Civil War. Dubbed the “Gettysburg of the West” (a term that “serves the novelist better than the historian” [6]) by some authors, it was intended as the killer blow…

The Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg was a significant Union victory considered by many to be the turning point of the Civil War. Lee also sought to take the war out of the ravaged Virginia farmland and gather supplies for his Army of Northern Virginia. Using the Shenandoah Valley as cover as…

Database of Battles

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

The Battle of Monmouth

In May of 1778, The British commander, General Clinton in Philadelphia, faced with a war with France decided it was prudent to protect New York City and Florida.

The Battle of White Plains

General George Washington had, early in his chieftaincy, urged upon the Congress the necessity of the establishment of a permanent army, and with prophetic words had predicted the very evils…

The Siege of Charleston

In 1778, the British Commander-in-Chief in America Lt. General Henry Clinton turned his attention to the South, where partisan fighting between Patriot militia and Tories had been heavy.

The Sugar and Stamp Acts

The Sugar and Stamp Acts

Growing Discontentment with Britain During the period from 1763 to 1775, in the twelve years after the French and Indian War and before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, colonial distrust of Britain grew markedly, and the emerging united national identity in America became more prominent. In just over a decade, proud British…

John Adams & The Stamp Act

John Adams & The Stamp Act

Thousands of angry colonists gathered beneath Boston’s Liberty Tree where they proceeded to march down to Andrew Oliver’s wharf. Oliver was the appointed Stamp Master, and it was believed he had the stamps in storage at his warehouse. Colonists completely looted the warehouse turning up nothing. Unsatisfied, they next ransacked…

The Revolution Begins

The Revolution Begins

Committees of Correspondence In 1772, Samuel Adams of Boston created the first Committee Of Correspondence, which was primarily an exchange of ideas in letters and pamphlets among members. Within a few years, this one committee led to dozens of similar discussion groups in towns throughout the colonies. Eventually, these isolated groups came together to…

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…