The ‘Historicus’ Account of the Battle of Gettysburg
In an attempt to manage the narrative of the events at Gettysburg on the afternoon of July 2, an anonymous letter appeared in the March 12, 1864, edition of the New York Herald, exaggerating and misinterpreting Dan Sickles' role in the battle.
from The New Yok Herald , March 12, 1864
Mr. Sickles Goes to Washington
In February 1864, the Joint Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War called upon Dan Sickles who was eager to cooperate. During his testimony, the one-legged general presented his biased account of the events of July 2, 1863.
from Report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, 1865.
Sickles Seizes the Initiative, July 5, 1863
A staff officer recall the tale of when President Abraham Lincoln visited Dan Sickles’ sick bed on July 5, 1863.
from Lincoln and Sickles, 1910
“The Confederates Were Now Our Prisoners”: Grant At Appomattox
As Ulysses S. Grant faced his destiny with fate, suffering from the effects of throat cancer, he recalls the surrender at Appomattox through the eyes of a dying man.
from Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, 1885
“The Whole Confederate Army Was Assembled”
Any study of the Sickles-Meade saga must begin with the account of Brigadier General Henry Jackson Hunt, who served as chief of artillery in the Army of the Potomac. Hunt was uniquely positioned and unbiased to describe the events that would remain contested for the next couple decades.
from “The Second Day at Gettysburg,” Battles and Leaders, V. 3
LINCOLN IN RICHMOND
On April 4, 1865, Abraham Lincoln visited the recently abandoned capital of the Confederacy with his son, Tad. A navy captain assigned to protect the president’s party provided a detailed account of the historical event.
from “With Lincoln from Washington to Richmond in 1865,” appearing in Appleton’s, 1907.
“THE MOST SICKENING SIGHT OF THE WAR”
A pioneer in the development of ether volunteers his services during the Overland Campaign, 1864
from an unpublished account appearing in the Journal of American Medical Association, 1907
“THE CONFEDERATES WERE NOW OUR PRISONERS”: GRANT AT APPOMATTOX
As Ulysses S. Grant faced his destiny with fate, suffering from the effects of throat cancer, he recalls the surrender at Appomattox through the eyes of a dying man.
from Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, 1885
“I ACCEPT THESE TERMS”: LEE AT APPOMATTOX
Walter Taylor, Robert E. Lee's aide, recounts Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. His account of the demeanor of lee and grant established the surrender narrative.
from An Aide-de-Camp of Lee, 1927
A PRIVATE GETS SCHOOLED FROM A VETERAN
Private Frank Wilkeson, the son of war correspondent Samuel Wilkeson Jr., was just sixteen years old when he enlisted in a New York artillery battery. At the start of the 1864 campaign season, a veteran gunner offered the young soldier some valuable advice from his years of experience.
Recollections of a Private Solider in the Army of the Potomac, 1887
A Visit to Chatham
Two weeks after the Battle of Fredericksburg, a correspondent from the New York Tribune visited the former antebellum estate known as the "Lacy House." He provided a sobering account of the devastation inflicted upon on the manor, which was being used as a hospital for the wounded. .
New York Tribune, January 1, 1863
The Execution of Private John Lanahan, 46th Pennsylvania
It is estimated that as many as five hundred military executions occurred during the American Civil War. The following account of the execution of Private John Lanagham from the 46th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry is not unusual and may even be considered one of the most deserving of cases.
What makes Lanagham’s execution unique is that it was conducted as a public spectacle, with newspaper correspondents present to witness the event. Several accounts of the execution were published, including one by a correspondent from the New York Times, who noted Lanagham's stoic demeanor as he faced the hangman's noose.
New York Times, December 26, 1861 and the Berkshire Eagle, January 2, 1862