The Front Line

The following news item and image about an incident involving Union officer Joseph Knipe ran in Harper's Weekly on July 20, 1861—the day before the Battle of Bull Run. Knipe, a major and aide-de-camp to Brigadier General Edward Williams at the time, would be wounded several times during the war and rise to the rank of brigadier general. The Pennsylvania native survived the conflict and died...

Looking to do some reading on the First Battle of Bull Run? We asked Harry Smeltzer, proprietor of the website Bull Runnings, for his five essential books on the war’s first major battle. Below are his selections.

In the Voices section of the Summer 2022 issue of The Civil War Monitor we highlighted quotes about one of the more common foods consumed by soldiers on both sides: salt pork. Unfortunately, we didn't have room to include all that we found. Below are those that just missed the cut.

Dillon J. Carroll's "Invisible Wounds" is a fascinating study that unequivocally illustrates the links between the Civil War and mental illness.

Abraham Lincoln was not a military man, yet in March 1861 he became commander in chief of forces that would soon face the task of suppressing an 11-state rebellion. Other than a few months’ service in the Illinois militia in 1832, he had no experience or training on which to draw. He would need to rely on the professional officers commanding his army and navy, but some of them joined the...

We recently asked Jeniffer Maloney, director of marketing and public relations at American Civil War Museum, about their new Robins Theater opening this month. She gave us a first look at the facility and film it will show, A People’s Contest.

Josiah M. Favill, a young officer in the 57th New York Infantry, kept a detailed diary during the Civil War. In one entry, dated May 16, 1862, Favill writes in detail about a common summer pest found (then and now) in the eastern U.S.—the wood tick. Read his itch-enducing description of his—and his comrades'—encounters with the aggressive insect.

Between May 31 and June 12, 1864, the armies of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee clashed near Mechanicsville, Virginia, in the Battle of Cold Harbor. June 3 witnessed particularly fierce fighting after Grant ordered repeated attacks against the strong Confederate positions—attacks in which Union forces suffered casualties two to four times greater than their opponents. Among those who...

Looking for good books on Civil War photography? We asked Ronald S. Coddington, author and publiser of Military Images magazine, for three books on the subject that he considers essential reads. Here are his picks: