In 2025, we focused heavily on the Potomac Front and completed narratives for all military actions during this time period. We added four new battle pages, bringing the total to 39. This number is unlikely to change for the foreseeable future. In addition to the 165th anniversaries coming up, I would like to go back…
Blog
Accomplishments in 2025
In 2025, we leapfrogged past last year's accomplishments, publishing 69 blog posts containing over 57,400 words. We also published 122 new pages, including 109 transcriptions of primary sources (letters and reports). Here is a rundown of the additions to our encyclopedia in 2025: 69 blog posts 109 new primary sources 4 new battle pages (39…
Thomas W. Colley Recollects the Skirmish at Bunker Hill
Like many ex-Confederates, Thomas W. Colley wrote a memoir years after the war. And, like John Singleton Mosby, Colley enlisted in the Washington Mounted Rifles, a storied unit initially led by Capt. William E. “Grumble” Jones. He served with the company for the duration of the war and was wounded several times, ultimately losing a…
Continue reading ➞ Thomas W. Colley Recollects the Skirmish at Bunker Hill
Mosby Sheds Light on What Happened Outside of Martinsburg on July 11, 1861
During the American Civil War, John Singleton Mosby became a famous (or infamous) partisan leader in northern Virginia. The "Gray Ghost" vexed Union commanders and wreaked havoc behind the lines. But in the spring and summer of 1861, he was a private in the Washington Mounted Rifles, a cavalry company in J.E.B. Stuart's 1st Virginia…
Continue reading ➞ Mosby Sheds Light on What Happened Outside of Martinsburg on July 11, 1861
Map of the Lower Shenandoah Campaign, Summer 1861
Through June and July 1861, the armies of Union Maj. Gen. Robert Patterson and Confederate Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston shadowboxed across the lower Shenandoah Valley. They fought a few incidental skirmishes, but no major battles. The stakes were high: the Shenandoah was a fertile valley rich in grain and foodstuffs, and it served as…
Continue reading ➞ Map of the Lower Shenandoah Campaign, Summer 1861
What if There had Been a Battle at Winchester in July 1861?
One of the fun aspects of studying history is imagining how events might have unfolded differently. The consequences of those changes can range from trivial to altering the course of an entire war. A major “what if” of the early Civil War is how the First Battle of Bull Run might have unfolded if Joseph…
Continue reading ➞ What if There had Been a Battle at Winchester in July 1861?
Ninety Days to Nowhere: Bunker Hill and the Lost Opportunity at Winchester
In July 1861, a series of sharp skirmishes between 90-day Union volunteers and J. E. B. Stuart’s cavalry outside the village of Bunker Hill convinced Federal commanders that Joseph E. Johnston still stood between them and Winchester. That misjudgment helped shape the movements that allowed Confederate reinforcements to reach Manassas in time. At the beginning…
Continue reading ➞ Ninety Days to Nowhere: Bunker Hill and the Lost Opportunity at Winchester
What happened at Bunker Hill? Detecting this early Civil War skirmish in the Shenandoah
In early July 1861, Union Major General Robert Patterson’s army (largely three-month Pennsylvania volunteers, about 18–25,000 strong) occupied Martinsburg in the Shenandoah Valley. After a minor clash at Falling Waters (Hoke’s Run) on July 2, Patterson remained inactive for nearly two weeks. Opposite him, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston had moved his forces (approximately 10–12,000)…
Caught on the Road to Martinsburg: Private Sly and a Costly Lesson in the Shenandoah
On a hot July morning in 1861, a forage run five miles from Martinsburg turned into a brief, deadly clash that left one Union soldier dead and two in Confederate hands. Acting under pressure from the War Department in Washington, DC, after one false start and with 90-day enlistments about to expire, scant artillery, and…
Uncovering the Action at Martinsburg
On July 11, 1861, somewhere south of Martinsburg, (West) Virginia, a Union foraging party encountered Confederate cavalry. A sharp fight erupted and one Union soldier was killed. The details of this nearly forgotten incident are hazy at best. Join us as we dig into the sources and piece together what happened over 164 years ago.…
Spirit of '61 