At 4:30 a.m. on Friday, April 12, 1861, Confederate batteries opened fire. Thirty-four hours later, with their supplies running low but their honor satisfied, Federal forces lowered their tattered flag. The only casualty – an accidental death – came...

"The present seems to be the most propitious time since the commencement of the war for the Confederate Army to enter Maryland," wrote Robert E. Lee following his army's stunning success at Second Manassas. Confederate armies advanced across a thous...

September 17, 1862 – one of the most consequential days in the history of the United States – was a moment in time when the future of the country could have veered in two starkly different directions. Confederates under General Robert E. Lee had em...