A Fistful of Lincoln
The Front Line
A look at how and why we value and interpret physical objects and documents associated with President Abraham Lincoln.
A New Look at America’s Greatest Conflict
Current Issue
The Military Education of Abraham Lincoln
Vol. 15, No. 3
He was one of the country’s greatest wartime presidents. But Lincoln’s early days as commander in chief were anything but smooth.
Recent Posts
Fractured Freedoms (2025)
Book Reviews
“Fractured Freedoms” offers a deeply researched and well written microhistory of the U.S. Civil War era in central Louisiana.
Lincoln the Citizen (2025)
Book Reviews
Lincoln scholar Michael Burlingame has shepherded another important primary source into print.
Fatal Terrain
The Front Line
How terrain helped influence the nature of combat—and of the many resulting casualties—on Civil War battlefields.
Gettysburg Surgeons (2025)
Book Reviews
“Gettysburg Surgeons” is an engaging narrative that addresses neglected aspects along the battle’s well-traveled road.
An Aromatic Belt
Artifacts
Aromatic belts were among the many suspect items peddled to Civil War soldiers in search of extra protections against disease.
Featured Posts
Civil War Curious Trailer
Civil War Curious
We’re excited to announce that Civil War Curious, the Monitor’s latest podcast series in which expert historians answer your Civil War questions, is launching soon. Listen to the trailer for more.
A Civil War Baseball
Articles
A look at a baseball used by soldiers of the 17th New York Veteran Volunteer Infantry that sold at auction for $41,825 in February 2014.
A Lesser-Known Gettysburg Hero
Battles
Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain of the 20th Maine Infantry earned the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Gettysburg. So too did his regiment’s color sergeant, Andrew Jackson Tozier.
The Civil War’s Epidemics
Featured
Why was the Civil War was the United States’ deadliest conflict? Historian Jonathan S. Jones offers his take.
McClellan’s Culture of Command
Commanders
Discover the strategic choices of George McClellan’s command during the Civil War and how they shaped the outcome of significant battles.
A Hospital Steward’s Story
Featured
Read Union soldier James Kendall Hosmer’s account of the “soul-touching” time he spent as a hospital steward aboard the steamship “Iberville” in 1863.
