Tent life in the vicinity of Fort Slocum, in Washington, D.C., 1861, where a Union Army Laundress poses with a soldier and children. Most of these servicewomen came from the poorer parts of society, including African Americans, as well as Caucasian women.
Washington, D.C., during the war, was the center of the Union war effort, which quickly turned it from a small city into a major capital with full civic infrastructure and powerful defenses. Despite the chaos, Abraham Lincoln insisted that the construction of the United States Capitol continue throughout the war.
The Legendary Steam Gun on Wheels
This steam-powered centrifugal gun, also called the Winans Steam Gun, was invented by William Joslin and Charles S Dickinson but oddly became associated with Ross Winans, a pioneering locomotive builder and the inventor of the Winans Cigar ships. The steam gun used centrifugal forces rather than gunpowder to propel projectiles, and it was first used during the Civil War.
Newspaper readers across the U.S. learned of this strange and powerful steam-powered weapon brought forth to fend off Union troops trying to pass through the town by rail to Washington.
Cavalry Soldiers
Cavalry forces fought on horseback, armed with pistols, carbines, and their iconic sabers. During the first half of the war, the Confederate soldiers enjoyed the advantage in cavalry, as southern men and boys were more accustomed to the riding and shooting life. However, Confederate cavalry generals tended to mount spectacular stunts that failed in actuality to achieve strategic objectives.
By the second half of the war, the Union Army had gained greater cavalry capabilities. Although cavalry units proved to be very expensive to maintain, and unscrupulous agents would often exploit shortages by supplying defective animals at insane prices for that time.
Camp of 153rd New York
Campsites during the Civil War, especially the Camp of 153rd New York, were usually temporary and varied; therefore, there is not a lot of information available about them. In general, camps like the 153rd New York would have established grounds during the resting periods in between battles.
The camps had simple tents or other improvised huts and were built alongside water sources or nearby transportation points. As for life in these camps, and especially the Camp of 153rd New York, letters, diaries, and maps from that era have been found, however, historians and chroniclers have very little detail recorded or documented.
Zebulon Bair Vance
The Civil War has many figures who helped structure the outcomes of these devastating times, and Zebulon Bair Vance is one of them. During the American Civil War, Zebulon Bair Vance was a North Carolina Representative, Governor, and Senator who lived between 1830 and 1894. Bair Vance was a notable public speaker and appreciated writer and was considered one of the most influential Southern leaders during the war.
He encouraged the modernization of the South by expanding the railways, building new schools, and, most importantly, reconditioning with the Northern states. Also, he was thought to be progressive and against anything prejudiced or narrow-minded, although he had a personal history of slave ownership.