Head-Tilting History

Between camping, marching and battle, Civil War soldiers had plenty of contact with the natural world. Military service often meant trekking to unfamiliar parts of the country and almost always meant long periods of time outdoors. Many soldiers captured their experiences in diaries and letters. These make up the bulk of the first-person accounts biologist Kelby Ouchley mined for Flora and Fauna of the Civil War: An Environmental Reference Guide. Ouchley’s collection inspired these 5 head-tilting ways the natural world touched soldiers lives’ during the Civil War.

The War of 1812 wasn’t just a war of conflicting interests — it was a clash of worldviews and cultures. In fact, the fundamentally divergent perspectives and goals of the major players help explain why, more than two centuries later, historians still struggle to say who won. The numbers alone tell an interesting story.

Sure, you know that household names like DuPont, American Express and Brooks Brothers have been around forever – but did you know that each of these companies played an active part in the American Civil War? All three brands had complex interests and allegiances. All three lent support to the Union in America's greatest conflict. Here's a head-tilting story about each, courtesy of research by James M. Schmidt. Two Confederate Diplomats and a Chemist Businessman Cross the Atlantic If you're...

Even before American independence, some individuals were drawn across the Atlantic and onto the front lines of the American Revolution to fight for these ideals. Here are six brave souls, whose decision to leave their home lands and fight for the Patriot cause made them American heroes.

In the words of American Battlefield Trust Director of Education Garry Adelman, “Show me another calendar month in which the Civil War began and ended, in which the Confederacy’s largest and most important cities fell, a president was assassinated and two of the bloodiest battles in American history were fought. April reigns supreme on any Civil War timeline.” Check out the abridged timeline for yourself.

Although often overlooked, women played a fundamental in the founding of the United States and our nation’s early conflicts. Here are nine times in American history when a woman saved the day.