Richard Rowland Kirkland, a Confederate soldier, risked his life to tend to wounded soldiers from both sides of the Civil War in the middle of battle at Fredericksburg. Both sides held their fire as they watched him help every wounded soldier regardless of allegiance.
American Civil War
When the Union abandoned a fort in Florida…
When the Union abandoned a fort in Florida, they left behind a single soldier as caretaker. When the Confederacy marched on the fort, the lone soldier refused to surrender without a receipt for the fort. He received one, and the fort was taken without a shot fired.
The reason why the majority…
The reason why the majority of police uniforms in the U.S. are blue is a result of the civil war. After the war had ended, there was a surplus of blue uniforms which got repurposed for police officers. The color became associated with policing.
When the Six Flags Over Texas…
When the Six Flags Over Texas theme park opened in 1961, it had a section dedicated to the Confederacy where actors would hunt through the crowd for Union “spies” and “execute” them by firing squad, and where boys and girls could sign up to defend the South as soldiers and nurses.
During the Battle of the Wilderness…
During the Battle of the Wilderness, a fistfight between a Union and Confederate soldier caused a ceasefire, as both sides stopped fighting to watch the scuffle. The Union soldier lost and was taken prisoner. The battle then resumed.
Henry Lee III was a Calvary officer…
Henry Lee III was a Calvary officer during the American Revolution who helped the US secede from Great Britain. His son Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate general who tried to help the Confederacy secede from the US.
In the civil war, the commander…
In the civil war, the commander of the Union “lightning brigade” personally took out a loan to buy his soldiers advanced new repeating rifles because the government would not supply them. Using the firepower advantage afforded by the new rifles, his brigade proved extremely effective in combat.
The Civil War prison camp Elmira had two observation…
The Civil War prison camp Elmira had two observation towers constructed for onlookers. Citizens paid 15 cents to look at the inmates. Concession stands by the towers sold peanuts, cakes, and lemonade while the men inside starved.
The last surviving Civil War veteran…
The last surviving Civil War veteran lived long enough to have seen television.
The Kingdom of Hawaii declared itself neutral during…
The Kingdom of Hawaii declared itself neutral during the American Civil War. Despite that decree, many native Hawaiians enlisted anyway.