Mental Floss

CIVIL WAR

The African American Civil War Memorial.

These tributes to fallen soldiers may not be as instantly recognizable as the Vietnam Memorial and others, but their stories are no less fascinating—including one that doubles as a mausoleum right in Manhattan.

Jake Rossen
Add more heft to your TBR pile with these gripping fiction and nonfiction books.

The best Vietnam War books from Tim O’Brien, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and others offer new insights and perspectives into the conflict that you probably never got from history class.

Greg Zapata














Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

Juneteenth has been celebrated since enslaved people in Texas were told about their freedom on June 19, 1865. Here's what you need to know about the holiday.

Stacy Conradt


The Battle of New Orleans

From Pontiac's Rebellion to the Battle for Castle Itter, here are eight of the most legendary clashes that were waged after the war was technically over.

Laura Steadham Smith








The Underground Railroad by Charles T. Webber.

During the 1800s, roughly 100,000 enslaved people sought freedom on the Underground Railroad, which stretched from the American South to Canada.

Nayanika Guha