2011
The Precarious Position of Lt. Reese (Jan. 5)
West Pointer Chauncey Barnes Reese's first assignment takes him to Mobile Bay, where he oversees construction of federal Fort Gaines as Alabama withdraws from the Union and state militia capture the fort.
Capt. Ramsey and the Birth of the 'True Blues' (Feb. 8)
The day
Jefferson Davis becomes president of the fledgling Confederacy in Montgomery, David Wardlaw Ramsey joins a newly formed military company, the Wilcox County 'True Blues,' and marches off to war with the rest of its regiment, the First Alabama Artillery.
Lt. Harleston Brings on the Brick Dust (April 12)
In Charleston Harbor, Lt. Francis Huger Harleston commands artillery on board the Floating Battery, described as a "curious monster." It inflicts its share of damage on Fort Sumter.
Nick Biddle and the First Defenders (April 18)
Black army servant Nicholas Biddle becomes one of the Civil War’s first casualties as he marches through Baltimore on April 18, 1861, with 475 Pennsylvania volunteers.
'Out of the Briars:' From Brooklyn to the Civil War (April 23)
Alexander Herritage Newton, a free black man, follows the Thirteenth New York National Guard to war after the regiment responded to President Abraham Lincoln called for troops to suppress the rebellion.
Private Barnes and the Saviors of Washington (April 25)
Alfred Cutler Barnes and his regiment of dandies become the first Union troops to enter Washington after riots in Baltimore isolated the capital city.
Pastor Witherspoon Goes to War (April 30)
After the Mississippi minister preached a sermon on Psalm 20:7, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God," Thomas Dwight Witherspoon enlists in the army and goes to war as much a holycrusader as an infantryman.
Lt. Knox Carries on His Friend’s Legacy (May 25)
Edward Burgin Knox stood at the head of his regiment in Alexandria, Va., when his good friend and colonel Elmer Ellsworth suffers a fatal gunshot after removing a Confederate flag from a flagpole on top of the roof of the Marshall House hotel. He carries on the legacy of the martyred officer.
Capt. Hannum Attends the Philippi Races (June 3)
Jehu C. Hannum, a Mexican War veteran, gets back into to the army as an officer in the Ninth Indiana Infantry, one of the first regiments organized in the state. Hannum participates in the engagement at Philippi, Virginia, considered by some as the first land battle of the Civil War.
Sgt. Barney Longs for Home — and a Fight (June 10)
A small-town Vermonter, Valentine Goodrich "Val" Barney, writes to his wife about the first big battle of the war and speculates on who is to blame for the Union defeat.
The Campbell Rangers Hit Bull Run (July 21)
Prosperous tobacco man John Dabney "Captain Jack" Alexander leads his Virginia cavalry company into the Civil War's first major battle.
The Capture of Ambrose Burnside’s Valet (July 22)
How a bewhiskered officer lost his trusted servant, Robert Holloway, to Confederate enslavement—and how he managed to free him.
Private Conant and the First Bull Run Prisoners (July 23)
Wounded and captured at the Battle of First Bull Run, Marcus Conant of the Eleventh Massachusetts Infantry numbers among the first Union prisoners of war to roll into Richmond.
A Recruit's Quest to Join the Army (Aug. 28)
Isaiah Goddard Hacker confronts the shifting health requirements for Union soldiers.
The 'Jack of Clubs' Makes His Move (Sept. 2)
How British immigrant Benjamin Bazin Hopkins rose from a lowly teamster in the Fifth Illinois Cavalry to be a Union officer.
Lieutenant Ingraham's Short 'Commish' (Sept. 24)
Aaron Hunt Ingraham, an enlisted man in the Forty-eighth New York Infantry, launches his own campaign to get an officer's commission and a combat assignment.
The Southern 'Iron Man' (Oct. 7)
How a tragic death transformed Mississippi Unionist Thomas Binford Webber from a disgruntled private to a passionate Confederate officer.
The Great Escape (Nov. 5)
Union Pvt. John Wesley Pierson of the Seventh Iowa Infantry was captured in battle at Belmont, Mo., on Nov. 7, 1861. He spent five months as a prisoner of war, and later recounted his harrowing escape from 'Secession Saloon.'
Whistler's Brother (Nov. 15)
William McNeill Whistler, the artist's brother and a modest doctor, struggled to find his way into the Confederate army. After he did, he became a fearless Confederate officer.
Captain McCornal Trades His Brush for a Saber (Dec. 6)
Morris McCornal set aside his pursuit of fine art to raise a company of troopers for the First New York Mounted Rifles. The sacrifice of his art to defend the Union had serious consequences for him after the war.
A Soldier in the West (Dec. 26)
Major George Washington Chilton of the Third Texas Cavalry fought against pro-Union tribes in the Southwest, as always in the front and center of the action.
2012
Sam Oliver Gets Married (Jan. 3)
Lt. Col. Samuel Cook Oliver's decision to marry in wartime revealed tension between he and his commanding colonel. Oliver later left his regiment, the Fourteenth Massachusetts Infantry, and joined another infantry unit. He became one of the large number of men wounded at Antietam.
Captain Huse Gives the South 'Old-Fashioned Hell' (Jan. 25)
Henry Howard Huse, an idealistic New Hampshire volunteer, finds himself in the Deep South at the intersection of war, politics, and the fabulous wealth of Louisiana plantation country.
The Tumultuous Career of Captain Spalding (Feb. 4)
J. Lewis Spalding served in three Union regiments, including the Twenty-ninth Connecticut Infantry, comprised of black enlisted men. His army career was hampered by his worst enemy: himself.
Custer and His Roommate Part Ways (Feb. 15)
How Lt. Col. James Porter Parker, a second-rate West Pointer, found himself on the opposing side of the war from his pal from Academy days, Maj. Gen. George Armstrong Custer.
