I started this digital encyclopedia four years ago to coincide with the 160th Anniversary of the American Civil War, with a goal to focus on the little-known events in Virginia between April and late July 1861. Since then, it’s grown steadily, with original research, photos, maps, and illustrations. Our website offers high quality scans of news magazines from the period and a ton of digitized reports and primary sources.
In the past year, I’ve greatly expanded the content on this site and offered new and quality downloads, free to the public for personal edification or professional research. In 2024, we published 50 blog posts consisting of over 38,500 words. We also published 44 new pages, including 34 transcriptions of official reports.
One of my goals this year was to complete narratives for all military actions in Virginia in the spring and summer of 1861. Not only did I meet this goal, but I added four new battles to the encyclopedia, bringing the total to 36. This effort resulted in the publication of the Spirit of ’61 Battlelog, which is now on version 1.2.
Among the most exciting additions this year were 12 high-resolution scans of Harper’s Weekly and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper from 1861. I acquired them for my private collection and offer them here at no cost. Something about these old news magazines really catches my interest. Whether it is the dramatic reporting, or the beautiful but often imaginative illustrations, it’s a window into the past. Download them at the Artifacts page.
I also created several new battlefield maps, including an updated map of the Laurel Hill/Belington and Scary Creek battlefields.
In 2025, I intend to refresh older articles and update them with new and more complete information, plus continue adding more original photos, maps, and illustrations. I have an exciting announcement to make early next year, but right now I have to keep in under wraps. In the meantime, keep checking back for more original articles and research.
Spirit of '61 