Star-spangled historic trail set for launch
(Sarah L. Voisin / WASHINGTON POST)
The new Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail, which traces the British invasion of Washington, is set for dedication on July 30.
Civil War 150
Ongoing special coverage of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War
(In this drawing by Alonzo Chappel, Union and Confederate forces engage in close fighting during the Seven Days Battle on July 3, 1862. / AP)
We're following the Civil War, chapter by chapter. Click on the boxes below for installments in our series, view videos and photo galleries, find a Civil War battlefield, and much more.
Bicentennial: The War of 1812
Prince George’s and the War of 1812
(Riversdale House Museum, Prince George's County Parks Department / RIVERSDALE HOUSE MUSEUM, PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY PARKS DEPARTMENT)
With several events and commemorations, the county is seeking to publicize its role in the conflict.
The unknown war behind our national anthem
(White House Historical Association / WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION)
Apart from inspiring the Star-Spangled Banner, the War of 1812 stands out for its inconspicuous place in U.S. history. It’s essentially the Rodney Dangerfield of wars, getting no respect even on its bicentennial.
War of 1812 for kids
(Astrid Riecken / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST)
Fun facts from the War of 1812. Did you know the two sides continued fighting after signing a peace treaty?
War of 1812 bicentennial
(National Park Service / NATIONAL PARK SERVICE)
Big gray hulls are headed for North Locust Point in Baltimore, including the USS Fort McHenry.
A less-than-monumental city
CHAPTER 1 | The city that awaited Abraham Lincoln was a far cry from the populous, gleaming capital that it would become after the Civil War.
The Civil War and memory
CHAPTER 2 | When it comes to the Civil War, the history of oblivion has taken many forms, and it continues today.
- When Fort Sumter was fired on in 1861, modern America was born
- Who is to blame for first shot?
- Early in war, death an abstract notion
- Traces of the Confederacy in Washington
- For Civil War quiz-takers, geography poses no handicap
- The federal occupation of Alexandria spared, changed city
- Poll results: The lingering legacy of the Civil War
A war shaped by rivers
CHAPTER 3 | The Union rout at Ball’s Bluff showed waterways were not to be ignored.
The Monitor’s enduring fascination
CHAPTER 4 | The ironclad alters the course of the Civil War in an epic clash in Hampton Roads.
Tweeting the Civil War
The Post tweets events in the words of the people who lived them, 150 years to the day after they happened.
Civil War events and commemorations
Upcoming celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
Panelist discussion
Which event in the period between Shiloh and Antietam did not receive the attention it deserves?
Reading List: Books about Civil War
- The Union War
- The American Civil War: A Military History
- This Mighty Scourge: Perspectives on the Civil War
- Confederate Emancipation: Southern Plans to Free and Arm Slaves During the Civil War
- This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War
- Grant and Sherman: The Friendship That Won the Civil War
- First Lady of the Confederacy: Varina Davis’s Civil War
- Desperate Engagement: How a Little-Known Civil War Battle Saved Washington, D.C., and Changed the Course of American History
- Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War
- How the South Could Have Won the Civil War: The Fatal Errors That Led to Confederate Defeat
Civil War video
Civil War veteran finally laid to rest (1:31)
A Civil War veteran whose ashes sat for decades forgotten in storage could someday be remembered as the final soldier buried from that war.
Civil War veteran finally laid to rest (1:31)
A Civil War veteran whose ashes sat for decades forgotten in storage could someday be remembered as the final soldier buried from that war.
Record visitors at Fort Sumter for Civil War anniversary (1:25)
They've made more history at one of America's most famous historic sites. A record 328,000 people took the ferry to Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor last year to see where the Civil War began.
Monitor center helps visitors put pieces together (1:07)
The USS Monitor center at the Maritime Museum in Newport News, Va. helps visitors put the pieces together of the sunken ship.
Despite heat, Bull Run reenactors march on
Thousands of reenactors restaged the Battle of Bull Run on Saturday, marking the 150th anniversary of the first battle of the Civil War. (July 23)
Civil War reenactors dance troubles away
An event at Harris Pavillion in Manassas highlighted the importance of music and dancing during the Civil War.
On Leadership: Lincoln's wartime leadership tools
Harvard historian Nancy Koehn on how President Abraham Lincoln's found his leadership 'backbone.'
On Leadership at Gettysburg: Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, the creative leader
How one professor-turned-colonel changed the tide of history at Little Round Top.
Battlefield tours go interactive with Civil War app
The app, created by the Civil War Trust, includes maps, videos and pictures.
Walt Whitman's Civil War records unveiled
A scholar who uncovered extensive Civil War records handwritten by Walt Whitman unveiled his findings Tuesday at the National Archives, saying they can reveal how the famous author's work as a government clerk influenced his poetry and life. (April 12)
Dispatches from the frontlines
The days leading up to the firing on Fort Sumter were mentally and physically taxing on the federal and confederate soldiers stationed at Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie. Through the diligent research and faithful acting of the historical actors at the Sesquicentennial of the first battle of the Civil War, those events become real again.
Do you know your Civil War history?
Columnist John Kelly quizzed cherry blossom visitors on their American Civil War history to mark the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, which took place at...?
For many who do it, reenacting — or historical acting, or living history — is more than a weekend hobby. It is part of their life. Charleston native Jeff Antley, chairman of the 150th Firing on Fort Sumter Committee, and Mark Silas Tackitt, who flew from Seattle to portray federal Major Robert Anderson, speak about the nuances of creating a faithful reenactment.
'The Conspirator' premieres at Ford's Theatre
Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood, James McAvoy, Robin Wright and other stars walked the red carpet at the premiere of Director Robert Redford's new movie "The Conspirator" at Ford's Theater. The historical drama focuses on the plot behind President Lincoln's assassination. (Haley Lesavoy/ The Washington Post)
Lincoln's word choice in his inaugural speech
Civil War scholars discuss what they think of President Lincoln's inaugural address.
Lincoln educational center to open by Ford's Theatre
The design for the new $25 million Ford's Theatre Center for Education and Leadership was unveiled Monday across the street from Ford's Theatre.
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