The Corporal's Sketchbook
The Civil War, battle by battle, and the remarkable events along the way.
From Lincoln's secret night train through Baltimore to the surrender at Appomattox, we follow the war in order, with animated battle maps and real period photographs.
Newest episode · Episode 10
Ball's Bluff: Ghost Tents, a Dead Senator, a Jailed General
“Trees taken for tents, a senator dead on the bluff, and a general jailed without a charge.” — the Corporal
▶ Watch now Read the storyThis Week in 1861
October 31, 1861, give or take three days
- Flag Officer Samuel Du Pont's fleet of 77 vessels, the largest ever to sail under the American flag up to then, puts to sea from Hampton Roads, bound for Port Royal, South Carolina. source
- Gen. Winfield Scott, 75, retires as general-in-chief. Lincoln gives the post to George B. McClellan, who is 34. source
- Gen. John C. Frémont is relieved of command of the Western Department, two months after his unauthorized emancipation order in Missouri. source
165 years ago this week. Every event is dated and sourced.
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The Episodes
Newest first, 10 episodes so far.
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Shorts
The Hidden Truth Behind The First Battle Of Bull Run
Why Did the Union Torch Its Own Navy Yard?
He Wished to Die in His First Battle
Union Dead Buried Around Mrs. Lee's Rose Garden
Francis Scott Key's Grandson, Jailed in Fort McHenry
He Took Down the Flag. Then Came the Shotgun.
Hit by a Brick on His Way to Defend Washington
34 Hours of Shelling. Not One Man Killed.
The Plan Was to Kill Lincoln in the Crowd