Booth: The Final Days
Interactives (3)
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Civil War 150
Civil War 150Interactive
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Booth: The Final Days
Booth: The Final DaysInteractive
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Sherman's March
Sherman's MarchInteractive
Videos (34)
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America Divided
America DividedVideo Clip (3:54)
Video Clip (3:54)
America is at the brink of a Civil War as cotton spreads west and threatens to expand slavery into new territories.
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Grant or Lee?
Grant or Lee?Video Clip (2:19)
Video Clip (2:19)
Which of the admired Civil War generals would you want to lead your country?
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Confederate vs. Union Soldiers
Confederate vs. Union SoldiersVideo Clip (2:39)
Video Clip (2:39)
Find out what divided the men of the Civil War, and how in many ways they were more alike than different.
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Coroner's Report: Stonewall Jackson
Coroner's Report: Stonewall JacksonVideo Clip (2:35)
Video Clip (2:35)
The Confederate general Stonewall Jackson was accidentally shot by his own men during a major Civil War battle, but it wasn't his wounds that killed him eight days later. How exactly did the commander die?
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America and the Civil War
America and the Civil WarVideo Clip (4:04)
Video Clip (4:04)
Discover how the bloodiest war in American history transformed the face of the nation.
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Civil War in One Word
Civil War in One WordVideo Clip (1:13)
Video Clip (1:13)
If you had just one word to describe the Civil War, what would it be?
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Civil War Tech
Civil War TechVideo Clip (2:17)
Video Clip (2:17)
The Civil War saw the rise of major technological advances in warfare.
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Legacy of the Civil War
Legacy of the Civil WarVideo Clip (1:22)
Video Clip (1:22)
One hundred and fifty years after it began, the Civil War is still an important component of our national character.
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The Plot to Kill Jefferson Davis
The Plot to Kill Jefferson DavisVideo Clip (3:38)
Video Clip (3:38)
Union leaders hatch a conspiracy to assassinate Confederate President Jefferson Davis in an attempt to bring and end to the Civil War.
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Civil War's Greatest Myth
Civil War's Greatest MythVideo Clip (2:41)
Video Clip (2:41)
What you think you know about the Civil War may not be the whole truth.
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Civil War Turning Point
Civil War Turning PointVideo Clip (3:08)
Video Clip (3:08)
Find out what event turned the tide of the Civil War.
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Lincoln's Most Pivotal Speech
Lincoln's Most Pivotal SpeechVideo Clip (3:02)
Video Clip (3:02)
Which of President Lincoln's many eloquent speeches was the most important?
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Civil War Sketchbook
Civil War SketchbookVideo Clip (2:35)
Video Clip (2:35)
Confederate topographical engineer Jedidiah Hotchkiss' sketchbook -- created with meticulous detail while on horseback -- helps Gen. Stonewall Jackson to master terrain during the Civil War.
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Gettysburg Battle Strategy
Gettysburg Battle StrategyVideo Clip (2:53)
Video Clip (2:53)
In the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg, 3,000 Union soldiers prepare to face the onslaught of 60,000 advancing Confederate soldiers.
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Last Charge at Gettysburg
Last Charge at GettysburgVideo Clip (3:06)
Video Clip (3:06)
General Robert E. Lee disregards a basic principle of military strategy and orders his forces to attack Union troops perched on the high ground at Cemetary Ridge. Known as Pickett's Charge, the maneuver was a disastrous end to the three-day battle.
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Civil War Counter-Terrorism
Civil War Counter-TerrorismVideo Clip (3:26)
Video Clip (3:26)
Federal Agent Felix Stidger infiltrated a Confederate terrorist organization called The Sons of Liberty and revealed terror plots against strategic Union targets.
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Civil War Biological Warfare
Civil War Biological WarfareVideo Clip (3:56)
Video Clip (3:56)
Confederate agents experiment with an early version of bio-warfare, attempting to spread yellow fever throughout Northern cities.
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Confederate Bomb Plot
Confederate Bomb PlotVideo Clip (3:39)
Video Clip (3:39)
Confederate agents plot to bomb the White House with Lincoln and his cabinet inside to destabilize the Union's leadership during the Civil War.
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Robert E. Lee
Robert E. LeeVideo Clip (2:27)
Video Clip (2:27)
Though his Confederate forces lost the Civil War, General Robert E. Lee is remembered as a great military leader.
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John Brown's Raid
John Brown's RaidVideo Clip (1:38)
Video Clip (1:38)
Although poorly planned and executed, John Brown's raid helped lead the nation into Civil War and made him one of the most controversial men of his day.
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The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation ProclamationVideo Clip (2:14)
Video Clip (2:14)
Issued after the Union victory at Antietam, the Emancipation Proclamation had both moral and strategic implications for the ongoing Civil War.
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The Path to Civil War
The Path to Civil WarVideo Clip (2:25)
Video Clip (2:25)
The election of Abraham Lincoln was a tipping point on the path to Civil War. In the wake of Southern secession, would the new president defend the U.S. forts in rebel territory?
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First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull RunVideo Clip (2:08)
Video Clip (2:08)
The first major land battle of the Civil War, near Manassas, Virginia is a decisive Confederate victory, ending hopes of a quick end to the conflict.
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Battle of Shiloh
Battle of ShilohVideo Clip (2:45)
Video Clip (2:45)
At Shiloh, Tennessee in April of 1862, a Confederate surprise attack backfires when the Union holds firm at the "Hornet's Nest."
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The Battle of Antietam
The Battle of AntietamVideo Clip (2:45)
Video Clip (2:45)
The bloodiest single day in American history ends in a Union victory that bolsters President Lincoln's ability to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
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Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of FredericksburgVideo Clip (2:26)
Video Clip (2:26)
General Burnside takes Fredericksburg but experiences a disastrous defeat when attacking Confederate forces entrenched in the high ground above the town.
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Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of ChancellorsvilleVideo Clip (2:30)
Video Clip (2:30)
General Robert E. Lee defies military convention to defeat the Union at Chancellorsville, but was the price of victory too high?
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The Union Siege of Vicksburg
The Union Siege of VicksburgVideo Clip (2:37)
Video Clip (2:37)
The heavily fortified city of Vicksburg is the gateway to the Mississippi River. To force surrender, Ulysses S. Grant holds the rebel forces under siege for six weeks.
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General Sherman Captures Atlanta
General Sherman Captures AtlantaVideo Clip (2:08)
Video Clip (2:08)
General Sherman cuts the rail lines around Atlanta and captures the key Southern city, bolstering public opinion in the North as Lincoln prepares for re-election.
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Sherman and the Burning of Atlanta
Sherman and the Burning of AtlantaVideo Clip (1:37)
Video Clip (1:37)
Before setting off on his epic march, General Sherman and his troops set fire to the city of Atlanta.
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The Confederate Capital Falls
The Confederate Capital FallsVideo Clip (2:55)
Video Clip (2:55)
In the last days of the Civil War, the Confederate capital of Richmond falls after nine months under siege. General Lee and President Jefferson Davis flee the city as Union forces advance to reclaim Virginia.
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Surrender at Appomattox
Surrender at AppomattoxVideo Clip (2:38)
Video Clip (2:38)
Cut off from supply lines, General Robert E. Lee surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant in April, 1865 after four long years of Civil War.
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The Final Days of John Wilkes Booth
The Final Days of John Wilkes BoothVideo Clip (2:59)
Video Clip (2:59)
After a 12-day manhunt, Union soldiers catch up to presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth and his accomplice David Herold.
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The Failure of Reconstruction
The Failure of ReconstructionVideo Clip (2:35)
Video Clip (2:35)
Reconstruction turns the south into a different type of battleground. Constitutional amendments grant freedom and suffrage to African-Americans but equality remains elusive.
Photo Galleries (8)
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Civil War: Confederate Leaders
Civil War: Confederate Leaders(13 Photos)
13 Photos
View images of Confederate leaders from the Civil War, like Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and learn more about the roles they played protecting the southern states.
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Faces of the Civil War
Faces of the Civil War(28 Photos)
28 Photos
The Library of Congress recently acquired a rare collection of nearly 700 Civil War-era ambrotype and tintype photographs, donated by the Liljenquist family.
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Civil War: Fort Sumter
Civil War: Fort Sumter(9 Photos)
9 Photos
Explore Fort Sumter, South Carolina, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired.
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Civil War: Battles of Bull Run
Civil War: Battles of Bull Run(10 Photos)
10 Photos
Learn about the two battles of Bull Run through paintings and photographs of the participants, the battlefield and the surrounding areas.
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Civil War: Gettysburg
Civil War: Gettysburg(12 Photos)
12 Photos
Explore the historic Civil War battle of Gettysburg through photographs of the battlefield, the soldiers, and the memorials.
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Civil War: Antietam
Civil War: Antietam(12 Photos)
12 Photos
Explore the Battle of Antietam--one of the bloodiest of the Civil War-- through photographs of soldiers, the battlefield and monuments.
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Civil War: Artifacts
Civil War: Artifacts(9 Photos)
9 Photos
Explore Civil War artifacts, from medical kits and personal hygiene items, to carbines and currency.
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Civil War: Union Military Leaders
Civil War: Union Military Leaders(13 Photos)
13 Photos
View images of Union leaders from the Civil War, like Abraham Linoln and Ulysses S. Grant, and learn more about the roles they played in this bloody engagment.
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Read More about Confederate States of America
In 1860-61, after years of rising tensions, 11 southern states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America, leading to the American Civil War.
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