Latest "U.S. Civil War" stories

Born a slave, this Navy petty officer founded a community of ‘race pioneers’ to stand against bigotry

Meet the remarkable Allen Allensworth, the slave who became a sailor, then a soldier and then an inspiration to a country divided by racial injustice.

By B. Gordon Wheeler, Wild West

4 years ago

Meet the unstoppable Mr. Smalls

He would go on to share intelligence with the U.S. Navy, fight in 17 naval battles, rise to the rank of major general, overcome illiteracy, publish a newspaper, win state and congressional offices, serve as a U.S. collector of customs and become master of his master’s plantation house. But first he had to hijack a Confederate steamer.

By Gerald S. Henig, America's Civil War Magazine

4 years ago

Sometimes, a good man has to take a hatchet to a bad man’s skull.

The captain’s stateroom looked like a slaughterhouse.

By Jonathan W. White, Civil War Times Magazine

4 years ago

Whatever happened to the Merrimack’s brass bell?

Well, it's complicated.

By Katherine Hafner, The Virginian-Pilot

4 years ago

This famous Navy warship sank on New Year’s Eve

"Our little vessel was lost, and we, in months gone by, had learned to love her, felt a strange pang go through us as we remembered that never more might we tread her deck, or gather in her little cabin at evening."

By Olav Thulesius, Civil War Times Magazine

4 years ago

No more stories