Blogs

Ashley Towle's "African Americans, Death, and the New Birth of Freedom" is an essential read.

In "From Underground Railroad to Rebel Refuge," Brian Martin describes Canada's unique role in the U.S. Civil War.

On May 24, 1861, 24-year-old Elmer E. Ellsworth—colonel of the 11th New York Infantry—was shot and killed by the pro-secessionist proprietor of the Marshall House, an inn located in Alexandria, Virginia, after the young officer removed a Confederate flag that flew from its roof. Ellsworth, who had risen to fame before the war while touring the country with his military drill team, the Zouave ...

Troy D. Harman returns with another contemplative treatment of the summer of 1863 in "All Roads Led to Gettysburg."

Candice Shy Hooper’s "Delivered Under Fire" gives students of the conflict a greater appreciation for one of its more fascinating individuals.

John Cimprich's "Navigating Liberty" gives thorough attention to the most important subjects in the literature on the transition from slavery to freedom.

Mike Pride's "Storm Over Key West" interrogates the social, political, and racial dynamics of the island from the 1840s into the early phases of Reconstruction.

Neither blind to the general's foibles nor taken by the Lost Cause caricatures, Derek D. Maxfield's "Man of Fire" renders a human portrait of William Tecumseh Sherman.

In "The Democratic Collapse," Lauren N. Haumesser contends that gender was a fountainhead of political contention in the antebellum United States.

MacKenzie's thoughtfully researched and lucidly argued "The Fifth Border State" offers a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding West Virginia's formation.

Mark Power Smith's "Young America" challenges our framework for understanding the two decades immediately preceding the Civil War.

On March 30, 1861, Harper's Weekly published the following image to mark April Fool's Day. An accompanying report reads in part: 

This installment in the series focuses on the top leadership of the cavalry. The three titles include the correspondence of James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart, by far the most important cavalryman in the Army of Northern Virginia, and Wade Hampton, his successor in 1864, together with staff officer Henry B. McClellan’s combination memoir and biography of Stuart. Other notable books with cavalry...

In "Unsung Hero of Gettysburg," Edward G. Longacre has commendably done his part to ensure that David McMurtrie Gregg is unsung no more.

In the Voices section of our Spring 2023 issue we highlighted quotes about the onset of battle fatigue among soldiers in the Union and Confederate armies. Unfortunately, we didn't have room to include all that we found. Below are those that just missed the cut.

David J. Kent's "Lincoln: The Fire of Genius" supplies strong evidence that Lincoln was a thoughtful and curious man who defied stereotypes.

With "The End of Public Execution," Michael Ayers Trotti gives us yet another perspective on how the world white Southerners envisioned and held as truth had to be most unnaturally forced into place.

During the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862--where the ironclad warships USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (Merrimac) fought to a draw--Lieutenant Samuel Dana Green was in the thick of the fight. The 23-year-old Maryland served as Monitor's executive officer, and would temporarily take command of the vessel after its captain, John Worden, was wounded during the battle. Five days after the...