Blog
Published: 4/21/21
The Last Slave Ships (2020)
A fascinating study of the demise of the illegal trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Published: 4/16/21
War’s Early Days
Read South Carolina diarist Mary Boykin Chesnut's gripping account of the fall of Fort Sumter and its aftermath.
Published: 4/15/21
“The First Gun is Fired”
The story—and lyrics—of George Root's Apri 1861 song about Fort Sumter, "The First Gun is Fired: May God Protect the Right."
Published: 4/14/21
What Though the Field Be Lost (2021)
A collection of poems that are "cerebral" and "dense with literary and historical allusions."
Published: 4/9/21
Word-Clouding Lee’s and Grant’s Farewell Addresses
View the words Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee used in the farewell addresses they delivered to their men as represented in a word cloud.
Published: 4/7/21
Incidents in the Life of Cecilia Lawton (2021)
An insightful look at the mindset of white southerners in the wake of the Civil War.
Published: 4/5/21
Extra Voices: Shirkers
Read firsthand Civil War soldier quotes on shirking in the Union and Confederate armies.
Published: 3/31/21
First Chaplain of the Confederacy (2020)
A reminder of the nuanced role Catholics played in the Confederate and Reconstruction South.
Published: 3/29/21
A Reconstruction Bookshelf
Library of Congress In this sketch by Alfred Waud, a federal official stands between armed groups of southern whites and African Americans during Reconstruction. It’s safe to say that while...
Published: 3/24/21
In the Shadow of Gold (2020)
Review of "a historical novel for our own challenging times."
Published: 3/17/21
The Black Civil War Soldier (2021)
A visual history of African-American soldiers in the Civil War.
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Published: 3/17/21
St. Patrick’s Day, 1863
Experience the lively St. Patrick's Day celebrations held in the camp of the Irish Brigade in 1863 through Edwin Forbes' sketches of the event.
Published: 3/10/21
Thaddeus Stevens (2021)
An "accessible biography" of "a soldier of the Second American Revolution"
Published: 3/3/21
On Rising Ground (2021)
A well-researched, well-written, and empathetic account of an ordinary soldier and his family.
Published: 2/26/21
Letters Home: Correspondence from Men at War
Frank Leslie’s illustrated Newspaper Union soldiers take a moment to write home on the hurricane deck of the U.S. transport North Star while on campaign in the Gulf of Mexico...
Published: 2/24/21
Robert E. Lee and Me (2021)
Review of a book that deserves a wide readership.
Published: 2/17/21
Ambitious Honor (2020)
A book that's managed to find something new to say about George Armstrong Custer.
Published: 2/10/21
Bonds of Salvation (2020)
Review of a "strong and engaging history."