On a warm afternoon on the last day of November 1864, Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood leaned on his crutches atop Winstead Hill and watched as his men marched across two miles of open field toward the Federal lines on the south side of Franklin, Tennessee. Larger in numbers than Pickett’s famous charge at Gettysburg, Union Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox said “No more magnificent spectacle was ever witnessed.” In the end, from his elevated position on the hill, General Hood watched the destruction of his army.

The Battle of Gettysburg is one of the most famous military actions in U.S. history. The battle, however, was more than just the action in and around the town the first three days of July in 1863. One of the actions, that took place on July 2, was the Battle of Hunterstown.

Big beats little almost every time. No one advertises a little meal, deal, or sale. People like things big. At Gettysburg, however, there is a little that has trumped the big for almost 150 years. Most people are familiar with Little Round Top. It is the site of one of the more famous and dramatic events in Civil War history. But ever since the battle, it has figuratively overshadowed its taller neighbor to the south. This article is about that lesser-known hill: Big Round Top.

When the First Battle of Manassas was over and everyone realized the war wasn’t going to be a quick affair that was concluded by one major battle, people’s thinking had to change. Even more emphasis had to be placed on things like supply routes and transportation. The area along the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia that separated Union and Confederate territory also contained other vital pieces of transportation: the National Road, the B&O Railroad, and the C&O Canal. In an attempt to guard these means of transportation, as well as the border, the Union army looked to an old, dilapidated fort: Fort Frederick.

The Civil War is seemingly everywhere and touches everything. Westminster Hall and Burying Ground in downtown Baltimore has a famous resident who attracts visitors. He didn’t fight in the war, but is instead one of the country’s best-known authors. Edgar Allan Poe, was buried at Westminster after his death in 1849.

I think I found Shangri-la. Sort of. As I mentioned in an earlier article, I like cemeteries. So when I found out recently I’d be in Baltimore for several days on a family mini-vacation, I naturally looked into cemeteries in the city. When I found Green Mount, it definitely caught my eye. Joe Johnston’s buried there. That’s pretty big in the Civil War world. Then I saw Isaac Trimble. Being involved with The Gettysburg Magazine for so long, I’ve read quite a bit about the man who was part of the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble Charge, as it’s sometimes called. Then I saw Charles Marshall, General Lee’s aide and knew I had to visit this cemetery.

The Civil War is considered the first modern war. There were many technological advances that either debuted or saw their first widespread use in the war: rifled muskets, telegraphs, observation balloons, metal warships, submarines, and more. One of the things that helped make the war different was the use of railroads.