On this day, April 9th, 148 years ago Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia laid down their weapons and surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in the small town of Appomattox, Virginia. Almost exactly four years before, on April 12, 1861, the Confederates had begun shooting on Fort Sumter, [...]

Prior to the Civil War, women in the United States of America had a clearly defined role within society. For the majority of women, this meant remaining in the private sphere and caring for their families. Even one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, believed that the role of women was to “sooth and calm [...]

Over the past holiday season my family and I went to see the new Lincoln movie, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as our 16th president. I don’t want to spoil the movie for anyone who may not have seen it; however it is based on true events, so chances are you know how well Lincoln does in [...]

So, as I may have mentioned in my first blog post, I am a self-proclaimed history nerd. Luckily, I was born and raised right outside of Washington D.C., and therefore have access to one of the most historically rich areas in the United States. While I haven’t been into the city since the summer, I’d [...]

Hello folks, and welcome back to the Connections blog! In today’s society, Abraham Lincoln is often remembered as not only one of our most popular presidents, but as the president who freed the slaves. The popular conception is that Abraham Lincoln, using the Emancipation Proclamation, freed the slaves and ended slavery during the Civil War. [...]

One of the most famous Civil War songs is The Battle Cry of Freedom, sung by the Union side during the Civil War. Composed in early summer of 1862, this song quickly became the most popular song to sing for the Union soldiers and was used (along with Lincoln and Liberty) as a reelection song [...]

Well hey there, readers, and welcome back to the good ol’ blog! If memory serves, this blog used to feature a “Music Monday” segment about Civil War-related music. Well, I couldn’t help but notice how sparse the blog’s been lookin’ lately, and I’ve decided to bring Music Monday on back! I’m afraid I can’t promise [...]

Hey there, folks, and welcome back to the Connections blog! Today, I want to discuss the Emancipation Proclamation and how it forever altered our memory of what the Civil War was fought over. Before the Emancipation Proclamation was made public on September 22nd, the purpose of the Union’s side was to quash the rebellion and [...]

Hey there, folks, and welcome back to the Connections blog! During these past two weeks 150 years ago, Confederate General Lee and his army had slipped into Union General Pope’s rear and forced him into a fight at the Battle of 2nd Manassas, on almost the exact same battlefield as the Battle of 1st Manassas. [...]

Howdy folks, and welcome back to the good ol’ blog! Today’s tidbit about me is: I’m a solid fan of the Philadelphia sports teams, and I enthusiastically cheer on the Eagles, Flyers and Phillies from Football, Ice Hockey and Baseball respectively. I don’t give two Wheats about professional Basketball, though.   Speaking of sports, can [...]