Trappers Point, Wyoming, and the Green River Rendezvous

Trappers Point Wyoming, Green River Rendezvous Site, Western Fur Trade

The location of the Green River Rendezvous, as viewed from Trappers Point. Image Source: American History Central. For nearly 40 years, the Western Fur Trade played an important role in shaping the American West and opening the land west of the Rocky Mountains to Westward Expansion. One of the most important events associated with the … Read more

Old South Meeting House — Where the Boston Tea Party Started

Old South Meeting House, Steeple, Illustration, LOC

This illustration depicts the steeple of the Old South Meeting House circa 1900. Image Source: Library of Congress. 2023 marks the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, one of the most important events that took place during the American Revolution. Old South Meeting House in Boston, Massachusetts is famous for being the location where … Read more

The Massachusetts Minutemen, the Origin of America’s First Special Forces

Minutemen, Battle of Concord, North Bridge, Doolittle, NYPL

This 1775 engraving, made by Amos Doolittle, depicts the Minutemen and Militia engaging the British at the North Bridge in Concord. Image Source: New York Public Library Digital Collections. The Massachusetts Minutemen are some of the most legendary figures of the American Revolutionary War. Initially established to prepare for war with Britain, they are most … Read more

William Bradford Quote — Strangers and Pilgrims

William Bradford Quote, Strangers and Pilgrims

This video from PBS American Experience depicts actor Roger Rees as William Bradford, reading one of Bradford’s most well-known passages, which includes the famous quote, “…they were but strangers and pilgrims on the Earth.” William Bradford was a Pilgrim Father and the second governor of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. Bradford is best known for … Read more

Daniel Boone Cuts the Wilderness Road and Opens Kentucky for Settlement

Wilderness Road, Daniel Boone Blazing the Trail, Illustration, NA

This illustration depicts Boone and his men cutting the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap. Image Source: National Archives. 10 Facts About Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road This video from the Smithsonian Channel provides a short look at Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road.

Eddie the Drummer Boy and the Battle of Wilson’s Creek

Lincoln and the Drummer Boy, Illustration, LOC

This illustration depicts President Lincoln consoling a young drummer boy who has been orphaned during the war. Image Source: Library of Congress. During the Civil War, drummers played a critical role in helping officers communicate with their men in battle. Each drummer was required to learn the necessary drum calls, which told the soldiers what … Read more

The Lost 49ers — the True Story of How Death Valley Earned Its Name

California Gold Rush, Gold Miners, El Dorado

’49ers mining gold at El Dorado. Image Source: Library of Congress. The “Lost ‘49ers” refers to a group of pioneers who set out from Salt Lake City in October 1849, during the California Gold Rush. During their journey, they tried to take a shortcut, which took them through a desolate place they called “Death Valley.” … Read more

Abraham Lincoln, a Séance at the White House, and a Visit from the Spirits of Henry Knox and Stephen Douglas

Abraham Lincoln, Portrait, Gardner

President Abraham Lincoln. Image Source: Wikipedia. In April 1863, President Abraham Lincoln was apparently involved in a séance in the Red Room of the White House. During the séance, he was given advice from Henry Knox, the first Secretary of War, and Stephen Douglas, his political rival turned ally. Attending the séance with Lincoln was … Read more

The True Story of How General Stephen Weed Died at the Weikert House During the Battle of Gettysburg

General Stephen H. Weed, USA, Civil War, NPS

General Stephen H. Weed (USA). Image Source: National Park Service. Stephen H. Weed was an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War, serving in Artillery Regiments. He was the Chief of Artillery for the Fifth Corps during the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of Chancellorsville. As Union forces retreated from Chancellorsville, his … Read more

Longstreet at Gettysburg on Day 1, Disputing the Lost Cause

James Longstreet, Portrait, Confederate General

General James Longsreet (CSA). Image Source: Wikipedia. General James Longstreet commanded Confederate troops at the Battle of Gettysburg from July 1 to July 3, 1863. In the years following the battle and the Confederate loss in the war, Longstreet was criticized by his fellow officer, Jubal Early, and others who supported the idea of the … Read more

The True Story of Joe Hooker’s African Spies at Fredericksburg During the Civil War

Joseph Hooker, Civil War General

General Joe Hooker (USA). Image Source: Library of Congress. Following the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Confederate Army, under the command of Robert E. Lee, camped in and around Fredericksburg. Meanwhile, Union forces, under the command of General Joseph Hooker, camped on the other side of Rappahannock River, in and around Falmouth.  As the winter of … Read more

The Impeccable Reputation of Robert E. Lee — Before the Lost Cause

Robert E Lee, 1864, Portrait

Robert E. Lee. Image Source: Wikipedia. Perhaps no one person has been more polarizing in the legacy of the Civil War than General Robert E. Lee. When the Civil War started in April 1861, he was a respected officer in the United States Army. So respected, he was asked to lead the United States Army … Read more

The True Story of a Confederate Soldier at the Union 2nd Corps Hospital at Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg, Union 2nd Corps Hospital, Rock Creek

The Union 2nd Corps Hospital, Rock Creek, Battle of Gettysburg. Image Source: Civil War Talk. During the Civil War, field hospitals routinely treated soldiers for battle wounds, including enemy soldiers. Throughout the war, advancements were made in caring for the wounded but there were very few hospitals. It was common for homes, churches, and other … Read more

James G. Blunt, the Civil War General who died from a soft brain

General James. G. Blunt, USA, Civil War

General James G. Blunt. Image Source: Library of Congress. James G. Blunt was a physician, lawyer, and abolitionist who rose to the rank of Major General in the Union Army during the Civil War. In fact, Blunt was the only man from Kansas to achieve that rank in the Union Army. Prior to the war, … Read more