"It
is well that war is so terrible, or we should get too fond of it." --Robert
E. Lee
When
a shell landed near the porch of his house during the first major battle of the
Civil War, (Bull Run/1st Manassas) Wilmer McLean decided he'd had enough. So to
get out of harm's way, he moved to Appomattox Court House, where in his home four
years later, Lee surrendered to Grant. Thus, Mclean could truly say, the Civil
War began and ended at his home. (Which I guess proves the old
saying: You can run, but you can't hide!)
The
first black recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor was Sergeant William
Carney for his service during the Civil War. As the 54th Massachusetts heroically
charged Fort Wagner, Carney noticed the Flag bearer was wounded . Dropping his
rifle to the ground he grabbed the flag and charged up the hill, only to find
himself standing alone atop the fortress wall. and the sole target for the Confederate
soldiers. Although wounded in the chest , leg, and head, Carney made back to his
regiment. After presenting the flag to his unit saying, "Boys, I have done
my duty, the flag never touched the ground.", he collapsed from his wounds.
Disease
killed more Soldiers in the Civil War than bullets. Over 620,000 Americans died
in the Civil War, with disease killing twice as many as those lost in battle.50,000
survivors return home as amputees. The bloodiest day in U.S. military history
was the battle of Antietam. 26,000 men died in a single day.
The
"eye for an eye" order was given by Abraham Lincoln. Issued in 1863
during the Civil War that the Union would shoot a Confederate prisoner for every
black Union prisoner shot, and would condemn a Confederate prisoner to hard labor
for life for every black prisoner sold into slavery. The order was meant to deter
Confederates from murdering or enslaving captured black soldiers.
Robert
Lincoln, the son of Abraham Lincoln, was waiting to board a crowded train when
the train lurched forward and he fell between the platform and the body of the
passenger car he was trying to board. But before harm came, he was seized by the
collar and yanked to the platform. His rescuer was Edwin Booth the brother of
the man that would soon kill President Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth.
Over
1500 people were killed when the boiler exploded on the steam boat Sultana, making
it the worst Marine disaster in U.S. history. In a greedy effort by the captain
to pack a many paying customers aboard, the old boiler simply couldn't handle
the load of over 2000 passengers. Most of those killed were Union army P.O.W.
's who had just been liberated from Confederate prisons and were returning home.
Charles
and Michael De Young were 17 and 19 years old when they scooped all the other
California newspapers with news of Lincoln's assassination and launched themselves
into journalistic careers. Their only other employee at the time was a young man
who wrote for them under the pseudonym Mark Twain.
Little Known American History Facts! 
When
a shell landed near the porch of his house during the first major battle of the
Civil War, (Bull Run/1st Manassas) Wilmer McLean decided he'd had enough. So to
get out of harm's way, he moved to Appomattox Court House, where in his home four
years later, Lee surrendered to Grant. Thus, Mclean could truly say, the Civil
War began and ended at his home. (Which I guess proves the old
saying: You can run, but you can't hide!)
The
first black recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor was Sergeant William
Carney for his service during the Civil War. As the 54th Massachusetts heroically
charged Fort Wagner, Carney noticed the Flag bearer was wounded . Dropping his
rifle to the ground he grabbed the flag and charged up the hill, only to find
himself standing alone atop the fortress wall. and the sole target for the Confederate
soldiers. Although wounded in the chest , leg, and head, Carney made back to his
regiment. After presenting the flag to his unit saying, "Boys, I have done
my duty, the flag never touched the ground.", he collapsed from his wounds.
Disease
killed more Soldiers in the Civil War than bullets. Over 620,000 Americans died
in the Civil War, with disease killing twice as many as those lost in battle.50,000
survivors return home as amputees. The bloodiest day in U.S. military history
was the battle of Antietam. 26,000 men died in a single day. 
The
"eye for an eye" order was given by Abraham Lincoln. Issued in 1863
during the Civil War that the Union would shoot a Confederate prisoner for every
black Union prisoner shot, and would condemn a Confederate prisoner to hard labor
for life for every black prisoner sold into slavery. The order was meant to deter
Confederates from murdering or enslaving captured black soldiers. 
Robert
Lincoln, the son of Abraham Lincoln, was waiting to board a crowded train when
the train lurched forward and he fell between the platform and the body of the
passenger car he was trying to board. But before harm came, he was seized by the
collar and yanked to the platform. His rescuer was Edwin Booth the brother of
the man that would soon kill President Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth. 
Over
1500 people were killed when the boiler exploded on the steam boat Sultana, making
it the worst Marine disaster in U.S. history. In a greedy effort by the captain
to pack a many paying customers aboard, the old boiler simply couldn't handle
the load of over 2000 passengers. Most of those killed were Union army P.O.W.
's who had just been liberated from Confederate prisons and were returning home.
Charles
and Michael De Young were 17 and 19 years old when they scooped all the other
California newspapers with news of Lincoln's assassination and launched themselves
into journalistic careers. Their only other employee at the time was a young man
who wrote for them under the pseudonym Mark Twain. 
