American Battlefield Trust✓

Beginning #OnThisDay October 27, 1864, Union forces attacked the Confederates at the Boydton and Petersburg Plank Road to cut off Virginia’s South Side Railroad. While Confederate forces held their position on Boydton Plank Road, the Union won a tactical victory before both armies settled into winter quarters.

To break the Confederate siege of Chattanooga and desperate to reopen supply lines, the Army of the Cumberland needed to get bold. #OnThisDay October 27, 1863, they sailed down the Tennessee River under Confederate guns and landed on the opposite bank. A Confederate attack on the landing parties failed, allowing the Union to reopen supply lines into the city.

The Union attack on Burnside Bridge during the Battle of Antietam has gained a reputation for being a massive failure, but it actually worked (and pretty easily at that). Join Dennis Frye and Garry Adelman as they explore the Antietam Battlefield from this unique perspective.

Union Maj. Robert Anderson died #OnThisDay October 26, 1871. Anderson is best remembered for his defense of Ft. Sumter in the first battle of the Civil War. He rescued the 33-star flag from the captured fort and went on to tour with it across the nation, where he recruited soldiers and raised funds for the Union cause.

After blockading the Mexican east coast in the Mexican-American War, the U.S. Navy determined to capture the city of Tabasco. Mexican Lt. Col. Juan B. Traconis’ men refused to surrender after initially leaving the city. Comm. Matthew C. Perry decided to abandon his attempt on Tabasco, but as his ships retreated #OnThisDay October 26, 1846, Traconis shot at him and the two sides exchanged fire until Perry was out of range. Perry returned to successfully take Tabasco in 1847.

Can you believe it's been 10 years?! Join Garry Adelman at Lee’s Headquarters in Gettysburg as he reminisces about this preservation victory.

The very first grants from the new Vince Dooley Battlefield Trust Fund have been awarded, marking a new era of historic preservation in the Peach State. The fund, named for the legendary University of Georgia football coach, historian and tireless preservation advocate, awarded two grants totaling $945,475 to support ongoing preservation efforts by the American Battlefield Trust to save more than 300 acres at Resaca Battlefield, with many other sites soon to follow.

Ever since the Morristown National Historic Park was established in New Jersey, people have reported ghost sightings. The soldiers who camped on the site during the harsh winter of 1779-1780 faced 28 snowstorms, 15-foot snowbanks, and freezing temperatures. Almost 100 soldiers died at Morristown, and people have reported seeing ghostly colonial soldiers, hearing drum and fife music, and seeing a mysterious woman in white. The next time you visit a National Historic Park, keep your eyes and ears peeled for more than just the historical signs and interpreters!

John and Abigail Adams married in Massachusetts #OnThisDay October 25, 1764. The couple shared a mutual respect for each other, and Abigail often exchanged ideas and opinions with her husband about the direction of the new nation. She is widely remembered for her letter to Adams asking him to “Remember the ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors” when the Continental Congress began drafting law and policy.

In 1777, Horatio Gates found himself as one of the great American heroes after defeating the British at Saratoga and securing an alliance with France. Just three years later, his disastrous performance at the Battle of Camden wiped away the memory of his successes and led to his historical obscurity. Join Dan Davis of the American Battlefield Trust as he details the complex career of the once-famed Continental General. Watch more videos like this on

#OnThisDay October 25, 1781, an American militia under Col. Marinus Willett attacked a British raiding party at Johnson Hall in New York. The British initially pushed the militia back, but an attack on their right flank let the Americans strike and drive the British from the field. After the British retreated that evening, Willett continued to pursue them, culminating in the Battle of West Canada Creek and Butler's death on October 30. This victory secured upstate New York's frontier from British raids.

Union brigades attacked Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price’s Army of Missouri as they crossed Mine Creek #OnThisDay October 25, 1864. After being reinforced by Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, Union troops surrounded the Confederates and took 1,000 prisoners. A few hours later, the Confederates tried to reengage Union cavalry but were again defeated. Their retreat pushed Price out of Kansas and foiled his plans to occupy Kansas and Missouri.

The American Battlefield Trust is working to protect 414 nearly pristine acres at Brandy Station, Virginia — the site of the largest cavalry battle of the Civil War. Give $50+ to receive a limited-edition Brandy Station Battlefield Challenge Coin. Learn more and donate today:

Did you know that the Western Union completed the first transcontinental telegraph line #OnThisDay October 24, 1861? Patented in 1849, the telegraph let people communicate over long distances and was used in the Civil War to send messages about troop deployment, supplies, and government orders across armies and theaters of war.

Statesman and orator Daniel Webster died #OnThisDay October 24, 1852. Webster became known as a powerful speaker in Congress after delivering a speech defending the Union and the federal government during the Nullification Crisis. He served as Secretary of State under two presidents, but eventually resigned because of poor health and died shortly afterward at 70.

General Ambrose Burnside's attack at the Battle of Antietam is one of the most talked-about actions of the entire Civil War. Why did it happen in the first place? Join Dennis Frye and Garry Adelman as they explore the Antietam Battlefield from this unique perspective.

During the Revolutionary War, Deborah Sampson disguised herself as a man and took the name of her deceased brother to serve in the Continental Army. She served in the light infantry Company of the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment and continued to serve even after getting shot in Westchester County, New York. She was honorably discharged #OnThisDay October 23, 1783, and received a military pension for the rest of her life.

On October 22, 1864, a diversionary attack on Union Maj. Gen. James G. Blunt’s troops on the west bank of the Big Blue River forced them to retreat to Westport. The next morning, #OnThisDay October 23, 1864, the Union troops regained the west bank under heavy Confederate artillery fire. Federal troops defeated the Confederate infantry in an open field, and the defeat marked the last major Confederate operation west of the Mississippi River.

This Halloween season, you’ve probably seen a lot of bat-themed treats and decorations, but did you know bats were (and still are!) found on and near American battlefields? 🦇 During the War of 1812 and the Civil War, soldiers would score nearby caves for bat droppings, which contained potassium nitrate, an essential ingredient in gunpowder. 🦇 At Richmond National Battlefield Park, researchers studied the bat population in 2016-2017 using acoustic detectors and found the little brown bat, a Virginia endangered species, was commonly found on the Cold Harbor and Gaines Mill battlefields. 🦇 At Petersburg National Battlefield, researchers found the federally endangered Indiana bat and the Northern long-eared bat within the park’s boundaries.

Peyton Randolph, the first president of the Continental Congress, died #OnThisDay October 22, 1775. After serving as the Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses and as president of the Second Virginia Convention, Randolph’s peers elected him president of the Continental Congress in 1775. His death that same fall from a stroke meant that he did not see American independence that he worked toward come to fruition.