Grant’s Civil War gift and Tennessee’s ‘Spring of Terror’
By the time the American Civil War began, regular citizens had a romantic view of combat. Crowds gathered on hilltops to watch the conflict below. Picnics were enjoyed. Children ran…
This tank was named after both Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant
After the tank made its first appearance on the battlefield during WWI, tank design in Europe evolved with faster, better armored, and deadlier tanks. However, U.S. tank design and doctrine…
Today in military history: Robert E. Lee resigns from US Army after Virginia secedes from the Union
On April 20, 1861, Col. Robert E. Lee resigned from the United States Army in response to his home state of Virginia’s decision to secede from the Union. Two days…
What the Confederates might have done if they won at Gettysburg
The Confederate States Army had very little chance of winning the Civil War and any Confederate leader worth his cotton knew it. This lot included Gen. Robert E. Lee, the…
Robert E. Lee may have lost Gettysburg because of a heart attack
In July 1863, Confederate General Robert E. Lee hatched an audacious plan to invade the North, defeat the Union Army, and force an end to the war – with a Confederate victory. Everything – perhaps the entire Civil War – depended on the outcome…
The famous Civil War surrender painting isn’t at the Smithsonian
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex. It houses treasures of American history like Rockwell illustrations, Lincoln’s top hat and even an Apollo 11 moon…
Why one general takes the blame for the South losing at Gettysburg
General James Longstreet was one of the Confederate army’s most trusted and capable officers. After the Battle of Gettysburg and long after the end of the Civil War, Longstreet takes…
How Native Americans ended up fighting for the Confederacy
Even after Confederate commander Robert E. Lee surrendered in Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, one Confederate army refused to acknowledge defeat and for months stubbornly fought on.
It was led not by one of the wealthy whit…
Why McChrystal threw out a Robert E. Lee painting after 40 years
When Gen. Stanley McChrystal began working on his memoir after retiring as a four-star general in 2010, he realized that his perception of himself as a leader was different from reality. In the past eight years, he’s had time to reflect on his care…