65th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Article in the Daily Confederate, Raleigh, North Carolina, Friday, March 24, 1865, Vol. II, Number 69, pg. 2

John Adams (July 1, 1825 – Nov. 30, 1864) graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1846. Adams resigned his commission in the United States Army in early 1861 and joined the Confederate Army as a captain in the cavalry. He was commissioned a colonel in 1862, and a brigadier general in December of that same year. He was particularly conspicuous during the Atlanta Campaign, where he again displayed personal bravery as well as a talent for battlefield tactics. His brigade was selected to lead the advance of John Bell Hood's army into Tennessee. Adams was killed at the Second Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864, while attempting to capture the colors of the 65th Illinois Volunteer Infantry.

Check out this historical map of Wilmington, N.C. during the Union attack on and capture of Fort Fisher. View it in detail at https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/attack-fort-fisher-schilling

Notice in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, Vol. XV, No. 234, Thursday, April 10, 1862, pg. 4

From The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I--Volume # # --In Three Parts; Part III-Correspondence, etc., pg. 436 (Washington : GPO, 1891).

From The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I--Volume # # --In Three Parts; Part III-Correspondence, etc., pgs. 320-321 (Washington : GPO, 1891).

From The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I--Volume # # --In Three Parts; Part III-Correspondence, etc., pg. 139 (Washington : GPO, 1891).

From The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I--Volume # # --In Three Parts; Part III-Correspondence, etc., pgs. 136-137 (Washington : GPO, 1891).

From The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I--Volume # # --In Three Parts; Part III-Correspondence, etc., pg. 121 (Washington : GPO, 1891).

From The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I--Volume # # --In Three Parts; Part III-Correspondence, etc., pg. 109 (Washington : GPO, 1891).

From The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I--Volume # # --In Three Parts; Part I-Reports, pgs. 330-331 (Washington : GPO, 1890).

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HARPERS FERRY (West Virginia) — A panoramic sunrise from Bolivar Heights with some of my favorite conditions on a battlefield — frost and fog. This view is roughly looking east toward the historic Lower Town, which is not visible from this vantage point. Maryland Heights rises up to the left while the ridge line of Loudoun Heights runs to the right. During the September 1862 battle here, troops from the Union garrison held this ground but were eventually forced to surrender as Stonewall Jackson's forces surrounded their position while occupying the other elevations.

📸 Photo by Matthew Holzman

The American Civil War Memorial in Old Calton Cemetery, Edinburgh

Within Old Calton Cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a memorial to those Scots who served the Union cause--the only American Civil War memorial outside the United States.

The cemetery is positioned in a dominant location overlooking the city center, and the memorial itself is prominent and imposing. Emancipation is its central theme--Abraham Lincoln is portrayed atop a plinth, with an emancipated slave below him raising an outstretched hand. On each of the four sides is inscribed "Suffrage," Union, Education and Emancipation."

The names of a number of Scottish Union soldiers are also commemorated on the monument. These are Sergeant-Major John McEwan of the 65th Illinois, Lieutenant-Colonel William L. Duff of the 2nd Illinois, Robert Steedman of the 5th Maine, James Wilkie of the 1st Michigan Cavalry, Robert Ferguson of the 57th New York and Alexander Smith of the 66th New York.

The memorial was dedicated in 1893, and although very much a product of its time it remains a poignant symbol of Scottish involvement with the Union cause. The story behind its creation is a moving one, involving the widow of Sergeant-Major McEwan.

https://irishamericancivilwar.com/2011/10/30/edinburghs-american-civil-war-memorial/

160th Bentonville Reenactment in Johnston County, NC On March 15-16, 2025, thousands of living historians from across the country will descend on Bentonville Battlefield for the 160th Anniversary reenactment of North Carolina’s largest battle.

August-September 1863: 23rd Army Corps (including the 65th Illinois Infantry) ordered through this area to Knoxville, Tennessee.

From The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I--Volume # # --In Three Parts; Part I-Reports, pg. 394 (Washington : GPO, 1890).

, May 14th, 1864. After the Atlanta's Campaign's opening battle at Rocky Faced Ridge, U.S and Confederate forces had fallen back to the town of Resaca. They began skirmishing on May 13th, but this battle would last several days. By May 14th, the armies would become engaged in a full-scale battle.

This would prove to be one of the first and last “traditional” battles of the Atlanta Campaign. Over the next couple of months, the fighting methods would break down until they became a quagmire of sharpshooting and trench warfare reminiscent of the battlefields of WW1 some fifty years after. See the below video of when we interviewed Atlanta Campaign historian and scholar Robert Jenkins for the 157th anniversary of the Atlanta Campaign!
https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=0F696F4E-E5E8-4BF1-A432-5797185A4E9A



Image Description: A black and white panorama shows a war-torn landscape with a town just visible in the distance

Image Credit: The American Battlefield Trust

Lancaster's Sherman House Museum buys Gen. William Sherman's sword at auction A sword owned by Sherman, up for auction by Fleischer's Auctions of Columbus, was purchased for nearly $158,000 by Sherman House Museum.

From The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I--Volume XXIII--In Two Parts; Part II-Correspondence, etc., pgs. 595-596ff. (Washington : GPO, 1889).

From The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I--Volume XXIII--In Two Parts; Part II-Correspondence, etc., pgs. 358-359 (Washington : GPO, 1889).

From The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I--Volume XXIII--In Two Parts; Part II-Correspondence, etc., pg. 352 (Washington : GPO, 1889).

From The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I--Volume XXIII--In Two Parts; Part II-Correspondence, etc., pg. 330 (Washington : GPO, 1889).

From The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series I--Volume XXIII--In Two Parts; Part II-Correspondence, etc., pgs. 280-281 (Washington : GPO, 1889).

Civil War Places: The Atlanta Campaign - Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park (U.S. National Park Service) Lists the battles and dates of the Atlanta Campaign of the Civil War. Has links to sites for each battle location.

On the War Path With a series of well planned flanking maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman tightened the noose around Atlanta, cutting off its lifeblood by rail. His movements befuddled two Confederate commanders and brought total war to the Southern heartland.

HARPERS FERRY (West Virginia) — Remaining lodged in a stone wall at Harpers Ferry’s historic boat ramp below the old armory grounds is an original iron ring. It is believed to have helped secure the September 1862 pontoon bridge over the Potomac River. From here, not only did Union cavalrymen escape across the bridge during the Battle of Harpers Ferry, but the paroled Federal troops who surrendered to Stonewall Jackson’s forces also walked across this span to the Maryland side. Another reflective takeaway is to think that Abraham Lincoln would have walked right past this very ring when he visited the town and surrounding heights in October 1862. Some original pieces of the past are still within plain sight and Harpers Ferry is one special place and living time capsule to view many of them.

📸 Photo by Matthew Holzman

HARPERS FERRY (West Virginia) — This afternoon, I took a stroll out onto School House Ridge North. During the battle here in September 1862, Stonewall Jackson devised a plan of deception and decided to stage a feint attack against Bolivar Heights. He sent infantry and artillery under General A. P. Hill to outflank the Union left. As the day's light faded on September 14, Confederate troops distracted Federal skirmishers while the darkness provided cover.

📸 Photo by Matthew Holzman

Article in the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, Buffalo, New York, Friday, September 19, 1862, pg. 2.