20 Fascinating Civil War Facts That May Suprise You


The American Civil War is often described as the first modern war fought with ancient tactics. The deadly event pitted brothers against brothers, fathers against sons and neighbors against neighbors. Most of us learned a lot about the war in school, less history repeats itself, but there are still a lot of things that the textbooks left out. Here are some fascinating Civil War facts you probably didn’t know:

Lincoln's Assassination

We all learned that President Abe Lincoln was shot by actor and Confederate spy John Wilkes Booth Ford’s Theatre following the Union victory, but did you know that wasn’t the first assassination attempted on him? It’s true. Back in the summer of 1863, about a year and eight months before he was laid to rest, President Lincoln was riding alone to the Soldiers’ Home outside of Washington D.C. when soldiers attempted to bring him down. An unknown assassin took aim at the President’s head but luckily something spoiled his aim. The bullet passed harmlessly through the President’s hat as he rode frantically to safety.

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