Civil War Chronicles

11/08/2025

CWC spent some time down in West Virginia over the weekend and managed to stop at a few interesting locations. Included here are the first battle of the Civil War at Philippi and Clarksburg the birthplace of Stonewall Jackson.

05/08/2025

The Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5,1864 marked a pivotal day in Civil War history. Now, Union Admiral David Farragut led his fleet into the heavily mined harbor and launched an assault on Fort Morgan. He secured a major Union victory and sealed off one of the Confederacy’s last vital ports. It was during this bold attack that Farragut famously shouted: “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”—a phrase that would echo through history as a symbol of fearless leadership.

31/07/2025

Arabella Griffith Barlow was laid to rest on this date in 1864. She was just 40 years old.

The devoted wife of Union General Francis Channing Barlow, Arabella answered her country’s call in her own way—through service in the U.S. Sanitary Commission. It was a role born not only of patriotic duty, but of love, allowing her to remain close to her husband amid the turmoil of war.

Arabella’s presence near the battlefield proved crucial during some of the war’s darkest hours. In the bloody clashes at Antietam and Gettysburg, General Barlow was gravely wounded—both times believed to be mortally so. Yet it was Arabella’s tireless, tender care that saved him. Her love and devotion were his salvation.

In a tragic turn of fate, though both wounds were feared fatal, it was Arabella—not her husband—who gave her life for the cause. Weakened by months of unrelenting service under harrowing conditions, she contracted typhoid fever while nursing soldiers - sick, wounded and dying. She died on July 27, 1864, having given everything—mind, heart, and body—to those in need.

Her sacrifice was quiet, but no less heroic.

30/07/2025

Wishing our content contributor, Lee McGinnis, a very happy birthday!

Photo from some Rev War nerding in Lexington, Massachusetts.

27/07/2025

Around 11 o’clock in the morning on July 27, 1864, in quiet dignity, Arabella Wharton Griffith Barlow drew her last breath—lost not to war’s violence but to the quiet sacrifice of service. She succumbed to gastric fever, a final price paid for tireless work with the U.S. Sanitary Commission, tending to wounded and sick soldiers with unwavering devotion.

Arabella gave not only her strength but her very life in service to others. In a war that too often forgot the names of women who bore its burdens, hers endures. She was not only the beloved wife of General Francis C. Barlow but a quiet force of compassion, intellect, and courage in her own right.

She did not seek glory. She sought to heal—and in doing so, became unforgettable.

26/07/2025

Civil War Chronicles was out and about early.

Where's your favorite sunrise battlefield spot?

07/07/2025

July 7, 1865

03/07/2025

Gettysburg – Day 3, July 3, 1863

The final and most infamous day: Pickett’s Charge. Over 12,000 Confederate soldiers surged across open fields toward the Union center on Cemetery Ridge—only to be repelled in a brutal and decisive Union victory. The “high-water mark” of the Confederacy was met… and broken. As night fell over the fields of Gettysburg thousands of dead and wounded scattered the once tranquil town in Adams County, Pennsylvania.

02/07/2025

If interested in learning more about Francis Channing Barlow beyond July 1, 1863, please listen to our very own, AQ, Andrea M Quinn, and her guest appearance on the Civil War Breakfast Club Podcast.

Podcast Episode · Civil War Breakfast Club · 06/28/2025 · 1h 20m

28/06/2025

On this day, June 28, 1863, President Lincoln replaced General Ho**er with Major General George G. Meade as commander of the Army of the Potomac.

14/06/2025

John Bachelder (1825–1894)

Civil War Chronicles recently visited the grave of John Bachelder at the Stevens/Bachelder Family Cemetery on Stevens Hill Road in Nottingham, New Hampshire.

Born in Gilmanton, NH, Bachelder became the foremost early historian of the Battle of Gettysburg—a battlefield he would devote his life to preserving. Through detailed maps, veteran interviews, and tireless advocacy, he shaped how we understand and remember Gettysburg today.

13/06/2025

An approrpriate share on the anniversay to the openeing of the Battle of 2nd Wi******er in 1863. This was part of the Gettysburg Campaign.

June, 2022, Civil War Chronicles spent a hot day exploring the Wi******er, VA area. The National Cemetery was especially moving. Here lies the dead of soliders who fought in the 3 Wi******er battles as well as dead from Front Royal, New Market and Martinsville to name a few. The cemetery was listed as a National Register Historic places in 1996.