Category: U.S. History

All News Civil War Journal and Journey's The Great American Heartland Tour U.S. History US Constitution

The Silent Screams of a Nation: Walking the Ground My Great-Grandfather Fought For

The Silent Screams of a Nation: Walking the Ground My Great-Grandfather Fought For As I traveled through Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia, and Florida on the final leg of The Great American Heartland Tour—a six-and-a-half-month journey that carried us through 22 states—I found myself walking the same ground my great-grandfather once marched. John Newton Prentice served as an infantryman with Company … Read More

All News Civil War Journal and Journey's Music The Great American Heartland Tour U.S. History US Constitution

Moses Higgins: A Face from Home

Moses Higgins: A Face from Home In the middle of the Civil War, far from Illinois, my great-grandfather John Newton Prentice recorded a small but meaningful moment in his 1862 diary. On July 19, while camped in Mississippi with the 57th Illinois Infantry, he wrote: “Discovered Moses Higgins to be in our Regiment for the first time.” Moses G. Higgins … Read More

All News Civil War Great Outdoors Journal and Journey's The Great American Heartland Tour U.S. History US Constitution

Stepping Back in Time at the Battle of Camp Wildcat Reenactment

Stepping Back in Time at the Battle of Camp Wildcat Reenactment We pulled into the Battle of Camp Wildcat reenactment site near Hazel Patch, just outside London, Kentucky, about an hour before the main battle was set to start. The plan was simple: walk the camps first, see how the reenactors lived the day, then watch the fight. What we … Read More

All News Civil War Heroes Journal and Journey's U.S. History US Constitution

Perryville Battlefield: Kentucky’s Bloodiest Day —

Perryville Battlefield: Kentucky’s Bloodiest Day — Update: October 12, 2026 Almost a 164 years after this horrific battle, I step back in time. Same season, same drought and same weather. Perryville Battle Field’s erie stillness and quiet day brought many emotions and thoughts to my mind as we wondered through the valleys and rolling hills. To say the least it … Read More

All About Joy All News Journal and Journey's U.S. History

Coming home to Paw Paw

Coming Home to Paw PawA family visit, a festival, and the names that keep coming back Some towns you pass through. Paw Paw is the kind you carry. This past weekend we stood in Wyoming Cemetery under Illinois sky and then walked into the annual Pawpaw Festival like we had been expected. We were. The Prentices who still live in … Read More

All News Heroes My Lord Perspectives U.S. History US Constitution

The Life and Diaries of a Young Union Soldier

In the autumn of 1861, farm boys and clerks across northern Illinois answered a call that would define their generation. President Abraham Lincoln, after the fall of Fort Sumter, had asked the loyal states for volunteers to preserve the Union. Illinois responded with overwhelming force. Young men like John Newton Prentice—born May 8, 1842, and just nineteen when he enlisted … Read More