Skip to main content

Wars & Conflicts

Explore the timeline of American wars and conflicts including the French and Indian War, the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Cold War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.

Explore the timeline of American wars and conflicts from the American Revolutionary War to current global conflicts.

National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day (April 9)

This day honors those veterans who have served their country while being held captive in enemy territory. The day also honors the family of the prisoners of war and their long and anxious wait to see their family again. Visit the collection.

Content Type
 Forensic Investigation of the Crew | Walter Edgar's Journal

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Forensic Investigation of the Crew | Walter Edgar's Journal
Episode 6
Dr. Jacobsen talks about the forensic investigation of the Hunley’s crew members, and analyzes the effects of sediment helping preserve their remains. The Hunley project has yielded both scientific...
 A Historic Time Capsule | Walter Edgar's Journal

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
A Historic Time Capsule | Walter Edgar's Journal
Episode 3
The Hunley is described as “a historic time capsule.” Sen. Glenn McConnell discusses using the clues found in the Hunley to piece together what happened the night it sank the U.S.S. Housatonic.
 Raising The Hunley | Walter Edgar's Journal

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Raising The Hunley | Walter Edgar's Journal
Episode 2
Senator Glenn McConnell discusses raising the Hunley. Some of the challenges faced were maritime legal issues, and how the submarine was going to be lifted off of the ocean floor. Preserving the...
 The Civil War At 150 (Full Version)

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Civil War At 150 (Full Version)
Episode 8
Dr. James McPherson, professor emeritus of American History at Princeton University, won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Battle Cry of Freedom, which has since sold more than six hundred thousand copies...
 The Spate of Civil War Literature | Walter Edgar's Journal

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Spate of Civil War Literature | Walter Edgar's Journal
Episode 3
Walter Edgar talks with Dr. McPherson about the increase in Civil War writings within the past thirty years. Writers have since expanded on aspects like civilian life, experiences for common soldiers...
 Vicksburg, Famine, and Tastes | Walter Edgar's Journal

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Vicksburg, Famine, and Tastes | Walter Edgar's Journal
Episode 5
In this segment, Dr. Mark Smith discusses tastes, and what people typically ate during the Civil War. He uses Vicksburg, and foods, as examples to illustrate this aspect of sensory history.
 Civil War

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Civil War "Sensory History" | Walter Edgar's Journal
Episode 4
One of the new fields in Civil War history is what is known as “sensory history:” what people experienced, thought, smelled, tasted, heard, etc. Dr. James McPherson and Dr. Mark Smith discuss these...
The Sounds Of Charleston | Walter Edgar's Journal
 - Episode 7 Why We Fight | Walter Edgar's Journal

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Why We Fight | Walter Edgar's Journal
Episode 1
Dr. James McPherson discusses the reasons and motivations behind what made common soldiers ("Billy Yank" and "Johnny Reb") go fight in the Civil War.
 Animosity and No Hindsight | Walter Edgar's Journal

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Animosity and No Hindsight | Walter Edgar's Journal
Episode 4
In this segment, Dr. Thomas discusses the attitudes and animosity the North showed the South, and vice-versa. He then discusses how many people on both sides did not consider the consequences of such...
 The Dogs Of War (Full Version)

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Dogs Of War (Full Version)
Episode 6
Dr. Emory Thomas, the Regents Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Georgia, joins Dr. Edgar for a discussion of the Civil War in this 150th year anniversary of its beginning. Thomas has...
 Found: Mary Chesnut's Civil War Photo Albums (Full Version)

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Found: Mary Chesnut's Civil War Photo Albums (Full Version)
Episode 4
Mary Chesnut’s diary, originally published forty years after the Civil War as Mary Chesnut’s Civil War, is generally acknowledged today as the finest literary work of the Confederacy. Spiced by the...
 The Early Days of Photography | Walter Edgar's Journal

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Early Days of Photography | Walter Edgar's Journal
Episode 1
In the first segment on Mary Chesnut’s photo album, Harvey Teal details the earliest days of photography, and describes the various types of photographs: daguerreotype, amber type, Carte de Visite...
 The Album's Journey | Walter Edgar's Journal

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Album's Journey | Walter Edgar's Journal
Episode 2
Walter Edgar discusses with Martha Daniels and Henry Fulmer about references made to the photo album found in Mary Chesnut’s diary, along with references found in the South Caroliniana Library’s...
 A Woman Ahead Of Her Time | Walter Edgar's Journal

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
A Woman Ahead Of Her Time | Walter Edgar's Journal
Episode 3
Martha Daniels analyzes the albums’ “Panoramic Breadth,” and how Mary Chesnut was an educated woman ‘ahead of her time.’ Along with photos of famous Southerners, the albums also feature photographs of...
 Piano Music During The Civil War Era (Full Version)

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Piano Music During The Civil War Era (Full Version)
Episode 8
The American Civil War shaped every aspect of life in the South, including music. Along with songs and military band music published in the South during the war, a considerable repertoire of solo...
 Thomas

Audio

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins | Walter Edgar's Journal
Episode 1
In this first segment on Civil War piano music, Dr. David B. Thompson briefly discusses the life of African American composer Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins, and plays one of his works.