Hundreds of thousands of soldiers comprise the armies of the United States and Confederate States combined. Battle wounds, illnesses, despair, loneliness, and other ailments often characterize the lives of soldiers who are fortunate enough to have survived the war thus far. And hovering above all is the ever-present cloud of homesickness. Left to fend for…
The effects of the Emancipation Proclamation are rippling throughout the South and the North. In the Confederacy, slaves are escaping from their masters in ever greater numbers and many are now in Union Army uniforms, stationed in Union-controlled areas of the Southern Atlantic seaboard. For their part, slave masters and overseers are forced to keep…
The war that many thought would end quickly yet rages on. In the North, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and many other politicians blame U.S. Gen. George McClellan for the prolonged war. In charge of the Army of the Potomac since July 1861, McClellan has proven too timid and ineffectual in campaign after campaign, whereas his…