Tagged: Civil War

150 years ago this month, Union and Confederate forces met in some bloody fighting in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.  Stonewall Jackson distinguished himself in the field, in fighting that demonstrated the importance of good maps and accurate military intelligence. 

In April of 1862, both the Union and Confederate leadership considered New Orleans to be an important strategic location. The battle that took place there involved chains in the river and a Mayor who refused to surrender, even after Union forces had won the battle. WKU Military Historian Jack Thacker and Glenn LaFantasie of the WKU Institute for Civil War Studies talk with WKU Public Radio in the latest of our ongoing series of reports marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

As taxpayers face tomorrow's income tax filing deadline, WKU Historian Dr. Jack Thacker says income taxes were first established in the United States during the Civil War. He says the federal government used income taxes as a way to help pay for the war effort.