Strange-but-true stories on the Civil War
Today’s blog post comes from Paige Weaver from the History Office of the National Archives. When most people think about the U.S. Civil War, they typically consider it a purely American affair that pitted the geographic regions of the North versus the South. Yet, this so-called “War Between the States” was hardly limited to the … Continue reading Words As Powerful As Bullets: Diplomats during the U.S. Civil War
March is Women's History Month! Today's post comes from Holly Rivet, an archives technician at the National Archives at St. Louis. Few women became physicians in the 1850s; fewer still served in the Civil War; and only one was awarded the Medal of Honor. Dr. Mary E. Walker was born in 1832 in Oswego, New … Continue reading Dr. Mary E. Walker
March is Women’s History Month! Visit National Archives News to see how we're celebrating. Today’s post comes from Michael Hancock in the National Archives History Office. According to the old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words. But in the case of Josephine Cobb and her 1952 discovery in a Civil War–era photograph, it’s worth … Continue reading Josephine Cobb’s Discovery of a Lifetime
Today’s post comes from Megan Huang, an intern in the National Archives History Office. Today's Facial Hair Friday is about a little-known Civil War Union officer, Col. Percy Wyndham, who has a perfectly pointed beard and mustache. An Englishman, Wyndham did not have the the usual path to participation in the American Civil War. Perhaps being … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Percy Wyndham, Soldier Extraordinaire
Joseph Rainey was distinguished in many ways—he was the first African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, the first African American to preside over the House of Representatives, and the longest–serving African American during Reconstruction. He also had pretty nice mutton chops. Rainey was born into slavery in 1832 in Georgetown, … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Joseph Rainey the first African American in the House
Whether it be beards, mustaches, burnsides, goatees, sideburns, or the good ol’ mutton chops, every first Friday of the month we’ll bring you the finest facial hair from the holdings of National Archives. Why are we bringing back Facial Hair Friday? It is fate—two recent posts had photos of John Alexander Logan, and while looking at … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday Returns!
Today’s post comes from John P. Blair with the National Archives History Office. On May 28, 2018, our nation observes a federal holiday—Memorial Day—that was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on June 28, 1968, to take effect on January 1, 1971. Yes, officially Memorial Day as a legal national holiday is only 50 years … Continue reading The Nation’s Sacrifice: The Origins and Evolution of Memorial Day
Today’s post comes from Tom Eisinger, an archivist in the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives in Washington, DC. It is part one of a two-part series on the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. Politics were unsettled during the 1864 Presidential election. The incumbent, Abraham Lincoln, was opposed by the “Radical Republicans” in … Continue reading Andrew Johnson: Path to Impeachment
Today’s post comes from John P. Blair with the National Archives History Office. Ever since President Gerald Ford recognized Black History Month during the Bicentennial of the United States in 1976, each February brings forth a celebration of the history and accomplishments of notable African Americans. However, there are hundreds of thousands of other African … Continue reading His was “Service Honest and Faithful, Character Excellent”
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation (what some of us here at the Archives call the “EP”)—in the middle of the U.S. Civil War. In it, he declared all slaves within the states that were currently in rebellion to be free. Although it did not abolish slavery altogether, the document … Continue reading The “EP” at the National Archives
