Civil War

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A Civil War Find: 'The Trauma Is Just Unbelievable'

698K men were killed, including 13% of US-born white men in Confederate states, per estimate

(Newser) - Nearly 160 years after the US Civil War, the conflict continues to reverberate, in part due to the "unbelievable" trauma caused. Just shy of 700,000 lives were lost in the conflict, including up to 13% of US-born white men in Confederate states, according to what researchers say is...

28 Civil War Veterans Finally Get a Proper Burial

Cremated remains languished in Seattle funeral home's storage facilities for decades

(Newser) - For decades, the cremated remains of more than two dozen Civil War veterans languished in storage at a funeral home and cemetery in Seattle. The simple copper and cardboard urns gathering dust on shelves only had the name of each of the 28 soldiers—but nothing linking them to the...

Civil War Train Thieves to Receive Medal of Honor

2 members of Andrews' Raiders to be recognized for role in Great Locomotive Chase

(Newser) - Two members of Andrews' Raiders, a legendary contingent of the Union Army that stole a Confederate train during the Civil War, are getting the Medal of Honor. Six members of the group, made up of 22 soldiers and two civilians, were awarded the very first Medals of Honor in the...

Journalist Traces His Family's Freedom Fight Across Centuries

AP reporter Darren Sands honors ancestor who fought for Union during Civil War

(Newser) - Growing up in Roslyn, New York, Darren Sands found holes in his family history. As a journalist, he sought to fill them and uncovered a remarkable story of bravery that played out over a century before his time, less than 10 miles from where he grew up. In 2021, while...

School Board Votes to Bring Back Confederate Names

Decision by Virginia's Shenandoah County school board came despite pushback

(Newser) - A Virginia school board has become the first in the country to restore school names honoring Confederate generals shortly after removing them. The school board in Shenandoah County, Virginia, on Friday approved a proposal to rename Mountain View High School to Stonewall Jackson High School and Honey Run Elementary School...

Lincoln Pardoned Ancestor of Biden, Records Show

Historian tells story of the Civil War conviction of the president's great-great-grandfather

(Newser) - Some presidential pardons are turkeys, sure. But a newly discovered one has echoed through the centuries to be particularly meaningful to the current president. On Sept. 1, 1864, an order from President Abraham Lincoln freed Moses Robinette from a military prison where he was incarcerated after being court-martialed over a...

Voter Finds Haley's Answer on Civil War Question 'Astonishing'

She discussed 'economic freedom' but made no mention of slavery

(Newser) - A voter at a town hall event in New Hampshire on Wednesday asked Nikki Haley about the cause of the Civil War—and he was not satisfied with the Republican candidate's answer, which did not mention slavery. "I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how...

Confederate Relics Unearthed in South Carolina River
South Carolina River Cleanup
Makes Surprising Civil War Find
in case you missed it
Nov 18, 2023 12:10 PM CST

South Carolina River Cleanup Makes Surprising Civil War Find

Hundreds of relics uncovered from Sherman's March to the Sea

(Newser) - Hundreds of Civil War relics were unearthed during the cleanup of a South Carolina river where Union troops dumped Confederate military equipment to deliver a demoralizing blow for rebel forces in the birthplace of the secessionist movement. As the AP reports, the artifacts were discovered while crews removed tar-like material...

Unpublished Lincoln Letter About DC Defenses to Be Sold

President answered request for larger civil engineer corps

(Newser) - More than 160 years after it was written, a letter from President Abraham Lincoln sent during the Civil War has been discovered. Nathan Raab, a collector of Civil War artifacts, plans to put the letter up for sale , saying there's no record that it's ever been published or...

GOP Governor Nixes 'Relic of the Confederacy'

Larry Hogan approves repeal of Maryland's Civil War-era state song, which refers to 'Northern scum'

(Newser) - Since 1939, "Maryland, My Maryland" has served as Maryland's state song, but its 82-year-old reign has just come to an end. On Tuesday, Gov. Larry Hogan OKed a repeal of the Civil War-era tune after a longtime bipartisan effort to nix it over its controversial lyrics—including referring...

Explosive History Discovered in Maryland

It was found near the Monocacy Battlefield

(Newser) - “It could have easily killed someone or multiple people if mishandled.” That’s what Oliver Alkire, a deputy state fire marshal in Maryland, had to say about a piece of unexploded Civil War-era ordnance discovered in Frederick County, CNN reports. A resident got in touch with state authorities...

Civil War Widow Kept Her Secret for Decades

As a teenager, Helen Viola Jackson married a 93-year-old veteran

(Newser) - Helen Viola Jackson's 1936 marriage to James Bolin was unusual, to say the least: He was 93 and in declining health, and she was a 17-year-old schoolgirl. Bolin was also a Civil War veteran who fought for the Union in the border state of Missouri. Jackson was almost certainly...

President's Hair, Bloody Telegram Up for Auction

Abraham Lincoln's hair is expected to fetch at least $75K

(Newser) - This is one macabre auction: A lock of Abraham Lincoln's hair, wrapped in a bloodstained telegram about his 1865 assassination, is up for sale, the AP reports. Boston-based RR Auction said bidding has opened online for the items ahead of a live auction scheduled for Sept. 12 in New...

Woman With 'Mind-Bending' Link to Civil War Has Died
Last Pension
Tied to Civil War
Has Been Paid Out
in case you missed it
Jun 6, 2020 12:00 PM CDT

Last Pension Tied to Civil War Has Been Paid Out

Irene Triplett, last child of Civil War veteran getting a pension, has died at 90

(Newser) - The word "mind-bending" features in the Wall Street Journal 's obituary on Irene Triplett and her place in history, with good reason. The 90-year-old died Sunday in a Wilkesboro, NC, nursing home, bringing an end to the final pension that had been paid out in connection with the...

Another Big Statue Will Fall: Report

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam plans to have statue of Robert E. Lee taken down

(Newser) - Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to announce plans Thursday for the removal of an iconic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Richmond's prominent Monument Avenue, a senior administration official told the AP . The governor will direct the statue to be moved off its massive pedestal and...

Someone Tried to Recycle a Civil War Cannonball

Michigan's Kent County recycling center evacuated Tuesday

(Newser) - "DO NOT RECYCLE CANNONBALLS." That was the message from a county commissioner in Michigan on Tuesday after a Kent County resident tried to, well, recycle a cannonball. Grand Rapids police evacuated the county recycling center just after noon Tuesday after finding a live cannonball believed to have a...

Civil War Fades as an Attraction
Civil War Fades as an Attraction
May 27, 2019 4:04 PM CDT

Civil War Fades as an Attraction

Museums and sites seek broader audience

(Newser) - Museums and historical sites are making changes to appeal to a broader audience in the face of declining interest in the Civil War. Data from the National Park Service shows that its five major Civil War battlefield parks drew 3.1 million visitors in 2018, down from about 10.2...

She Sold Her Family Home. She Didn't Know About the Secret Safe

Now, legal wrangling over the Civil War-era gold certificates found inside that are worth millions

(Newser) - A story out of New Jersey has both legal experts and Reddit threads buzzing , and has spurred both a civil lawsuit and a criminal trial. It involves a secret safe hidden under the basement stairs of an Asbury Park home once owned by Elaine Palmer, who died in 2004, and...

FBI: No Civil War Gold Here. Treasure Hunters: Oh Yeah?

Father-son team think the agency secretly grabbed up to $250M worth of the precious metal in Pa.

(Newser) - The father-son duo of Dennis and Kem Parada spent years combing a bit of Pennsylvania wilderness with high-end metal detectors to prospect for a fabled cache of Civil War gold. They felt certain they'd found the hiding place, but at the end of the court-sanctioned excavation, the FBI in...

Civil-War Time Capsule Unearthed in New Orleans

Confederate bills and a Louisiana medal are among the damp items

(Newser) - Turn-of-the-century tour books, lots of Confederate cash, a post-Civil War medal from a Union veterans' group, and a flag too tattered by time to tell whether it was US or Confederate were among items removed Friday from a 1913 time capsule buried beneath a Confederate monument in New Orleans, the...

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