Nine Partners & a Neat Picture

Nine Partners & a Neat Picture

Julia Wilbur drew a picture of Nine Partners Boarding School, which she attended at age 14--and I recently got a look at it.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

The Conspirators' Trial Began May 9, 1865

The Conspirators' Trial Began May 9, 1865

The courtroom where Mary Surratt and 7 others were tried--then and now.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

Toothy Propositions

Toothy Propositions

How did people in the mid-19th century take care of their teeth?

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

Emancipation: A Step into the Unknown

Emancipation: A Step into the Unknown

About 500,000 left slavery during the Civil War. As Chandra Manning's new book details, they took enormous risks in their search for freedom.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

The Morning After

The Morning After

Julia Wilbur records what she felt and saw the day after Lincoln's assassination.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

Finding Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office

Finding Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office

Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office was lost for decades. Here's how it was found.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

How a Paragraph Helped Win the War

How a Paragraph Helped Win the War

Paragraph 6 of the Emancipation Proclamation ushered in a new era. Here's how.

Read More

Silent Sentinel: Then & Now

Silent Sentinel: Then & Now

At Signature Theatre in Arlington, high school students learn how century-old suffrage protests resonate today.

Read More

Sorghum: The Abolitionists' Sweet

Sorghum: The Abolitionists' Sweet

Abolitionists sought to "grab your wallet" through non-slave labor products like sorghum.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

Julia Ward Howe & Julia Wilbur

Julia Ward Howe & Julia Wilbur

Julia Ward Howe & Julia Wilbur traveled in different circles--but they did connect at least once.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

Heroines of Mercy Street Revisited

Heroines of Mercy Street Revisited

A few notes from Heroines of Mercy Street, by Pamela Toler.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

Mathew Brady's Photographs of Civil War Alexandria

Mathew Brady's Photographs of Civil War Alexandria

The story behind 6 Mathew Brady photos of Civil War, Alexandria.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

Abolitionist "Social Media"

Abolitionist "Social Media"

Well before Facebook and Twitter, 19th-century activists still connected and mobilized.

Read More

Mercy Street Is Returning!

Mercy Street Is Returning!

A month or so ago, I got a peek at episode #1 at a roundtable with the producer.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

Keeping Warm in a Civil War Encampment

Keeping Warm in a Civil War Encampment

Staying warm took ingenuity--including a contraption called a Crimean Oven.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

History Lite: Charleston and Savannah

History Lite: Charleston and Savannah

Charleston and Savannah, History and Food!

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

Thanksgiving in Alexandria, 1862

Thanksgiving in Alexandria, 1862

In 1861, Julia Wilbur celebrated Thanksiving quietly in New York State. The following year was a different story.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

L'Ouverture Hospital and My 4.5 Minutes of Fame

L'Ouverture Hospital and My 4.5 Minutes of Fame

I took part in a November 19 ceremony to inaugurate a historical marker at the location of L'Ouverture Hospital in Alexandria.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

Walking Tour: Women of Civil War Alexandria

Walking Tour: Women of Civil War Alexandria

I (and Julia Wilbur, in spirit) tagged along on a National Women's History Museum walking tour of Alexandria Civil War women.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF

Mosby and Grant: A Post-War Relationship

Mosby and Grant: A Post-War Relationship

The post-war connections between John Singleton Mosby and Ulysses S. Grant, according to a recent book by David Goetz.

Read More
Comment
Print Friendly and PDF