Twitter is the latest craze on the internet and its reach already extends across countless aspects of society, from news reports to celebrity gossip. It is only natural that the 140-character phenomenon would extend into the historical realm with TwHistory.

TwHistory is using the Twitter niche to tell history’s stories in a new and interesting way. As a tool, the team behind TwHistory argues that Twitter can be used to tell individual stories in a day-by-day format. Their current project is the Battle of Gettysburg and individuals currently “tweeting” include Abraham Lincoln, George Meade, and Edward P. Alexander. TwHistory is still a work in progress and is always looking for more volunteers.

A free Twitter account is required to view TwHistory’s publications and while you are at it don’t forget to use the service to follow the House Divided project.

Today, if he were alive, it would be Young Marshall Moody‘s 187th birthday.  Moody was a Confederate Brigadeer General from the Old Dominion State.  After initially fighting for Virginia, he then rose through the ranks with outfits from Alabama and finally surrendered his brigade at Appomattox Courthouse.  Moody is featured on the Daily Report of the House Divided site for June 23, 1859, on which he turned 37.  The Daily Report features a day-by-day calendar showing events, birthdays, and documents.  The Daily Report is a great way to look at the era in a whole different light, closer to how they experienced it day-by-day.

From late June to early July of 1864, a fierce battle raged between Johnston and Sherman’s armies.  This battle was fought around quiet Kennesaw Mountain. Last February, the National Park Service gained a key piece of land on which this battle was raged.  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution informed readers that Sam Hensley recently sold 35 of his 70 acres to the Trust for Public Land.  In turn, the National Park Service gained this valuable land.  Hensley had moved onto the land in 1957 and quietly expanded his private property.  After the death of his wife in 2003, Hensley decided that he wanted to be sure that the land was preserved after his death.  Therefore, he sold his land for $3.5 million, nowhere near the estimated commercial value of the property.  Luckily, the National Park Service won in the endless battle to preserve our nation’s past.

Civil War Traveler offers audio tours given by National Park Service historians.  These tours can be accessed directly through the site or via a free subscription in iTunes.  Each podcast episode follows a historian as he walks along a famous Civil War battlefield or location such as Antietam or the Appomattox Court House.  Since they record each episode live at the battlefield as the historian walks the site, you can download these audio files to a portable music device and use them as your own personal guide at each historic site.  The website also has downloadable maps of each historic location in pdf form to help you stay in sync with your guide.  This site would be great for bolstering field trips or for teachers who enjoy using their imagination.  Students can listen to the tour and follow the guide’s route on the map for a rather engaging experience.

On May 28, National Public Radio informed readers of a recent acquisition by the National Archives of a letter written by Lincoln to Secretary of Treasury, Salmon P. Chase.  The letter was donated by Lawrence Cutler, a private collector, who waited until Lincoln’s bicentennial.  Lincoln’s brief note, written just five days before his famous address at Gettysbug, in November of 1863, is Lincoln’s request for Chase to allow the former head of the U. S. Mint of Sacremento, Robert Stevens, access to evidence to why he was fired.  “Experts said Lincoln’s letter to Chase demonstrates the president’s fairness,” explains NPR reporter Deborah Tedford.  This letter adds one more piece of the puzzle in understanding Abraham Lincoln.

Susan Montoya Bryan of the Associated Press informed readers of the Dallas Morning News this morning about the opening of the Glorietta Battlefield Trail, which traces the Battlefield of Glorietta Pass, the “Gettysburg of the west.”  The battle occurred in late March of 1862 and resulting in stopping an attempt of Confederate troops to move West towards Santa Fe and California, and thus trying to extend the Confederacy.  Had the Confederates succeeded in this attempt, they would have changed the whole course of the war.

Finally, the National Park Service has made the battlefield available once again for safe public visitation, after years of acquiring the land needed to preserve the battlefield.  This is one of many fights that the National Park Service and many other organizations, such as the Civil War Preservation Trust, have fought to preserve the precious history of our nation.

As one who feels Confederate Army General James Longstreet often receives the short end of the the stick when it comes to historical recognition, I was thrilled to find an organization dedicated to revamping history’s memory of Longstreet.  The General Longstreet Recognition Project created a website that lists projects and events that are planned with the intention of increasing the general public’s knowledge of this defensive mastermind.  The site also offers information about membership within the project and houses a link at the bottom of the page that allows visitors to contribute financially to the venture.  This site provides Longstreet fans the opportunity to elevate his memory to the standing it deserves.

Late last year, Michael Burlingame published a two volume collection titled Abraham Lincoln: A Life. Civil War Memory, another Civil War era focused blog, has a post relating to this publication and Mr. Burlingame himself. More importantly, the post contains a great video (separated into Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4) of Mr. Burlingame speaking at Illinois College. For anyone who has used the book in a class or is interested in his work, I think watching this video would be of great value.

One of the better resources on the website for the Civil War Preservation Trust are the very interesting, informative, and entertaining animated battle maps. Rather than just show the course of a battle through static maps, these flash-based animations such as Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville show highly detailed troop movements while providing all the information necessary to explain the battles. These maps are very useful for visually understanding the course of a battle.

Other maps include Chantilly, Cedar Creek, and Bentonville. All are worth a look.

The battle of Antietam is considered to be one of the most important battles in the civil war. Many valuable resources are scattered amongst text books, in archives, and around the web. Antietam on the Web serves as a great source to bring some of these resources together in one place. Recognized by organizations such as PBS and The History Channel, the site features databases filled with information on weapons, timelines, and even a searchable participants list. The site contains great information students, as well as teacher resources. When covering this battle, I highly recommend browsing through the site.