Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Most battles have two names because the Union would take the name from a nearby waterway while the Confederacy named their battles after close by cities or towns. (Source.)
With 620,000 death, the Civil War accounts for almost half of all American deaths in war. (Source.)
The Civil War is the first time photography was used extensively to document battles. But taking pictures was very complicated so don't expect any selfies. (Source.)
After Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured, one of the men who signed his bail was Cornelius Vanderbilt—a.k.a. Anderson Cooper's great-great-great-grandfather. (Source.)
The Creightons weren't the only family divided by the Civil War. Lincoln himself also had family members fighting on the Confederate side, which must've made for some really awkward family reunions. (Source.)