Image: Fort Sumter under attack, 1861. Library of Congress.
Both sides envisioned easy victories after eleven Southern states seceded and war broke out in 1861. But the bitter, ruthless fight lasted four years, and proved to be the nation’s bloodiest and most divisive conflict . . .
From the Blog
- Part II: My Experience on the set of "Gettysburg" (October 19, 2012)
- Part I: My exeperience on set of the movie "Gettysburg" (October 17, 2012)
- Faces from the Civil War battlefield (August 24, 2012)
- Honoring our veterans: Returning to the battlefields (November 10, 2011)
- Finding music in unexpected places (October 25, 2011)
- General Grant's sword takes the cake (October 24, 2011)
- Research raises questions about Civil War printing blocks (October 5, 2011)
- Civil War portraits: Where personal and public meet (VIDEO) (October 3, 2011)
- How should John Brown be remembered? (September 27, 2011)
- A closer look at a Civil War watch (August 24, 2011)
- Finding the Civil War in Washington, D.C. (April 21, 2011)
- Exploring the Gettysburg Address with kids (April 8, 2011)
- Making room for blossoms and monuments (March 27, 2011)
- The Westinghouse Letter: One young Civil War veteran at the crossroads (March 1, 2011)
- Truth and fiction: My connection to American Girl Addy (February 4, 2011)
- Picturing the Civil War (March 5, 2009)
A Secret Message Inside Lincoln's Watch?
A hush fell over the room as the watchmaker halted his work. A partially-dismantled pocket watch that once belonged to President Abraham Lincoln gleamed in his hands. He looked up from his task and pushed a visor, fitted with magnifying glasses for detailed work, up onto the top of his head. “The moment of truth has come!” he boomed. I waited, perched on the edge of my seat, for a verdict—was there really a secret message inscribed inside the watch? And if so, what did it say?
Read the blog post.
Exhibitions
- Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life (on view through May 30, 2011)
- The Price of Freedom: Americans at War (ongoing)
- "So Much Need of Service" - The Diary of a Civil War Nurse (April 22-July 29, 2011)