Departments · 32 Articles
Arms & Equipment
Muskets, carbines, revolvers, edged weapons, artillery, ordnance, uniforms, insignia, and accoutrements examined in detail.
Featured in Arms & Equipment
The Long Journey Home Finding the Owner of a Stolen Rifle
Afew years ago, I was in my office at work when a man walked in the front door. After I approached the front counter, he introduced himself as FBI Special Agent Randy Deaton. He said that he had heard there was a historian here who could…
All Arms & Equipment
32 articles · 2019–2026
Vision and Valor: The War Through Women’s eyes
This article focuses on the women who ministered to sick and wounded soldiers in the Civil War. From the moment war became a reality, women sought roles supportin…
This & That Crisis in Charleston
imminent attack. Protecting the women and children made perfect sense to everyone, the officers, the men, and the Charlestonians. The move aroused no suspicion. A…
Fort McAllister Southern Sentinel on Georgia’s Ogeechee River
Fort McAllister on the Ogeechee River near Savannah, Georgia, was an invincible Confederate stronghold during most of the American Civil War. The bastion’s sturdy…
USS Hartford “He Died for Me”
As the crow flies, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va., lies 795 miles from Mobile Bay in Alabama, about 690 nautical miles. While Admiral David Farragu…
THE UNFINISHED FIGHT: THE BELGIAN MUSKET IN THE CIVIL WAR
There were many European smoothbore muskets (manufacturers), in Liege during the War. The Belgian gunin use on both sides early in the U.S. Civil War. In maker’s…
Behind the Lines
the rush to create interpretive media for the visitors’ centers, some results showed the hurry, as with the film for Shiloh, which had some embarrassing lapses, n…
Fidelity:
Lieutenant Jefferson C. Davis, Company E, First that trade his entire adult life except for a few months during United States Artillery, and John Swearer, a the s…
Emerging Civil War A Visit to the Battle of Franklin Battlefield
race Adkins is a mountain of a man—stoic as a mountain, too. Standing by the cannon near the Carter Cotton Gin, he surveyed the ground with eyes that could see ac…
The Unfinished Fight
Beginning in 2020, supply chain shortages with U.S. terms of historical feature accuracy. First introduced in Civil War reproduction firearms, particularly black…
N-SSA 150th National Competition
he North-South Skirmish Association held its 150th National Competition October 4-6, 2024, with its usual exciting small arms and artillery team matches. However,…
THE UNFINISHED FIGHT:
The images accompanying this column are straightforward, chosen to highlight a specific historical point. A decade before the Civil War erupted, the U.S. military…
A Trove of General Rawlins Material Comes to Light
he last (July/August) “Vision and Valor” column began with the assertion, “There are few things an army and its soldiers need more than arms and ammunition .” One…
Vision and Valor The War Through Women’s Eyes
he men and women who manufactured arms and ammunition deserve special recognition. While manufacturing arms remained the realm of male employees, manufacturing am…
Library of Congress
Edward A. Cary, Company I, 44th Virginia infantry, in uniform with sister Emma wearing fashion of the day posed for this ambrotype by Charles Rees in Richmond in…
A Union General Turned Hangman
By Joseph F. Wilson Despite the Civil War being over nearly ten years, the retired general rose early and put on his perfectly pressed dress uniform adorned with…
Private Orrin Cook, 22nd Massachusetts Company B
Private Orrin Cook, 22nd Massachusetts Company B “Some of our boys got Austrian rifles, some Enfield, and others Springfield. I got the Enfield, and Bob got the f…
Lost in 1864, flag of the Charleston Light Dragoons is coming home to S.C.
Lost in 1864, flag of the Charleston Light Dragoons is coming home to S.C. COLUMBIA, S.C.—The Charleston Light Dragoons were formed in the eighteenth century. The…
Emerging Civil War — August 2023
The graves of William T. Sherman and his family stand in a row, tall, flat rectangles at attention, shoulder to shoulder. On a nearby pole, a flag hangs limp in t…
The War Before the War – A Young Artillery Officer in Mexico
The War Before the War – A Young Artillery Officer in Mexico In 2019 I wrote three columns, under the title “The Wars after the War,” recounting the experiences o…
Finding Love In The Ruins Of War
Finding Love In The Ruins Of War By Joseph Wilson A large lead ball fired from a musket inflicted a horrific injury when crashing into the human body. All the unf…
Federal 12-Pounder Canister
This is the most common 12-pounder canister used during the Civil War. It was intended to be fired from a 12-pounder smoothbore cannon such as the Model 1857 Napo…
A.P. Hill Coming Home
roommate, George B. McClellan, then 15 years old. June 19,1847, Hill graduated fifteenth in the class. Assigned to the artillery, along with other new graduates w…
Library of Congress
James Williamson Millner (1841–1910) enlisted June 2, 1861 with his two brothers William H. (1840–) and John P. (1844–) into Company K, 38th Virginia Infantry “Ca…
Fanny Crosby
at Bunker Hill against the British in 1776 and she grew up hearing stories of his exploits. In her own words, “When General Warren was killed at Bunker Hill it wa…
“The Most Terrific Fire that I Ever Saw”: Artillery at Fredericksburg
“The Most Terrific Fire that I Ever Saw”: Artillery at Fredericksburg by Tim Talbott “It was the most destructive Artillery fire of the war,” claimed Capt. Thomas…
V. R Lock Plate
V. R Lock Plate A debate on a well-known Civil War internet forum centered around the American Civil War provenance of any 1853 British Enfield long rifles with a…
U.S. Model 1842 Rifled Musket
U.S. Model 1842 Rifled Musket A question came up on one of the internet forums about the U.S. Model 1842 smoothbore musket compared to the rifled version of that…
Events — September 2022
Oct. 15th & 16th at 8437 Valley Pike in Middletown, Va. See cavalry, artillery, and infantry soldiers in action and in camp. Battle scenarios, music, symposium, a…
George Barnard’s Photographic Views of Sherman’s Campaigns
The fire of General Logan’s men was so rapid as to heat their muskets to a degree that rendered them almost unserviceable. After the close of the engagement half…
Confederate Purchased British Brunswick Rifle
Confederate Purchased British Brunswick Rifle In 1836, the British military officially adopted the percussion cap to replace flint as the ignition system for smal…
Confederate 2nd Model LeMat Revolver
By Shannon Pritchard The LeMat “grapeshot” revolver was a highly prized sidearm among Confederate officers. Developed in 1856 by Jean Alexandre LeMat of New Orlea…