Blogs

On December 16, 1864, Union General George Thomas accomplished a goal that Civil War field commanders found to be unobtainable: the climactic destruction of an enemy army.

This Union officer sporting stylish spectacles with tinted glass and a second pair of lenses is Captain Thomas Bartlett Griffith, a prosperous furnace manufacturer from Carver, Massachusetts. Griffith’s striking supplementary lenses could have been used for extra sun protection, as bifocals, or simply for decoration. Because a postwar portrait shows him wearing traditional glasses, this set was...

Longacre has breathed new life into Custer's career...

Hess' insightful and fascinating study will remain the standard work on the subject for the foreseeable future.

...a fast-flowing narrative that will keep the attention of seasoned Civil War readers and the general public alike.

The American Civil War Museum's Emerging Scholars speakers describe their topic and why it is relevant to contemporary Civil War studies.

An authoritative analysis of how the rigors of campaigning affected command decisions and the experiences of common soldiers alike.

An important account of Meade's tenure as commander of the Army of the Potomac.

Sommerville argues that a complete understanding of the New South depends on a deeper investigation of the emotional and psychological damage wrought by the war...

Wittenberg spares little detail for one day of action...a compelling case that Chickamauga was a three day battle.

Civil War memory is complex, defying neat regional, racial, and political categorization.

It was a sight that stopped traffic: a 10,000-pound chunk of plaster-on-steel, 27 feet long and seven feet wide, dangling in the air as a crane operator wormed it through the second-story window of a historic building in downtown Hanover, Pennsylvania. Over the course of 12 hours, three more equally sized blocks would follow. On the street below, a scrum of news crews and locals surveyed the...

...a valuable companion to a visit along Mine Run.

Those seeking a deeper understanding of the common soldier of the Army of the Potomac...will find Ward's regimental history...exceedingly beneficial.

Provide[s] the Civil War community with a better understanding of the complexities and dangers faced by scouts, guides, couriers, and escorts throughout the conflict

In the Voices section of the Spring 2019 issue of The Civil War Monitor we highlighted first-person quotes about the quest for reading materials among Union and Confederate troops. Unfortunately, we didn't have room to include all that we found. Below are those that didn't make the cut.

...offers much or those looking to master the narrative of the second costliest Civil War clash.

Showalter's "was the name that became most associated in California with treason after the outbreak of the American Civil War."

"An army marches on its stomach." Variations of this statement have been attributed to great historical leaders, including Frederick the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte, over the last 150 years. The sentiment certainly held true during the Civil War, during which hundreds of thousands of hungry Union and Confederate soldiers required sustenance on any given day. Below are images that reflect the...