Retracing Civil War History One Person, Place and Event at a Time

As you can tell, the TCWP website is still very much a work in progress. Since 2011, I've had a vision in my head of what I wanted this website to become. It took fifteen years to get here, but I've finally found a platform, Webflow, that makes it possible. It gives me the tools to build the "interactive museum" I've been imagining for a long time.

It's going to take many months before the site starts filling out with content, but today I can finally announce an important new section: Places.

Right now, Places has a single entry: the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois.

That may not sound like much, but behind the scenes I have more than 300 folders on an external hard drive filled with photographs, research notes, and write-ups from historical sites I've visited over the years. Places is where I'll be sharing those experiences and stories, one location at a time.

Why am I doing this?

Because I've seen firsthand how much many historical sites are struggling.

Since the pandemic, countless museums, historic homes, and preservation organizations have faced declining attendance, shrinking budgets, and difficult decisions. There are hundreds of battlefields, cemeteries, monuments, museums, and historic homes and buildings that most people don't even know exist.

I'd like to help change that.

My goal is to make it easier for people to discover what's out there and, hopefully, inspire them to visit these places for themselves. There is something special about standing where history happened, and I want to help more people experience that firsthand. For those who can't make the trip, I hope the stories, photographs, and occasional videos I share can bring these places to life.

No organization is paying for this. Most of the sites I write about won't even know I'm doing it. This is simply a personal project driven by my love of Civil War history and my desire to share the places I've been fortunate enough to visit, along with the places I'll explore in the future.

In my own small way, I want to help support the people who work so hard to preserve these sites and keep their stories alive. Places is my attempt to contribute to that effort and to encourage others to visit, learn, and help ensure that these pieces of our history don't fade away.

If there's a historical site you'd like to see included, or if you represent a museum, nonprofit, battlefield, historic home, or preservation organization and want to make sure your location is on my radar, please feel free to send me an email.

- Carrie 

Last year, on Monday, May 26, 2025, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War held a memorial service to honor those who sacrificed their lives for our country during the Civil War, 1861-1865. This is a highlight of events.

Freedom has always carried a cost. Today we remember those who paid it.

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It's Memorial Day weekend, so I thought there might be interest in a video I created a couple of years ago on Union General, Illinois politician, and Vice Presidential candidate John A. Logan.

John had an incredibly interesting life, but there are two things that stand out for me when I think of him:

1) He authored the 1854 Illinois Black Codes, the harshest discriminatory statutes in the free states, yet ten years later was one of the biggest supporters of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments

2). Was the man behind Decoration Day (now Memorial Day), then designated as a national day of remembrance to honor those that died in the Civil War

I greatly enjoyed putting this video together, as John is a great example that prejudiced minds can be changed. He sacrificed a lot for changing his views, but remained committed to helping African Americans until his death. Even abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass singled him out and praised him his work. I hope you find the man as interesting as I do.
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