Blog
Published: 11/30/11
Civil War Citizens (2010)
Civil War Citizens: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity in America’s Bloodiest Conflict is the first effort to examine in one book the wartime experiences of Jewish, Irish, African, Native, and German Americans....
Published: 11/30/11
The Body of John Merryman (2011)
Among the battles that Abraham Lincoln fought to restore the Union—against the Confederacy, against the opposition party, against members of his own party—his dealings with the Supreme Court and Chief...
Published: 11/29/11
A Second Helping of Civil War Thanksgiving
We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, ate lots of turkey/tofurkey, and survived the chaos of Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping. Since, we did not post our regular...
Published: 11/29/11
Celebration or Riot?
Upon hearing the news of General George McClellan’s appointment to chief commander of the Union Army, Washingtonians embarked upon a grand torch-light procession down Seventh Street. The “compliment” proceeded from...
Published: 11/28/11
Voice from the Past: “The Best Man and the Best General”
“I am very glad to learn that my order changed Gen. Scott’s feelings entirely, and that he now says I am the best man and the best general that ever...
Published: 11/25/11
Voice from the Past – Thanksgiving is Over
Happy Black Friday! We hope you all had a wonderful (and delectable) Thanksgiving. Our final “Voice from the Past” comes from the November 1861 diary of Lucy Larcom of Nordom,...
Published: 11/24/11
Voice from the Past – Thankfully Keeping Thanksgiving Day
Our Thanksgiving tribute continues. Today’s “Voice from the Past” is Wilder Dwight of the Second Massachusetts Infantry Volunteers. “Camp near Seneca, November 16, 1861. …The virtue of this military life...
Published: 11/23/11
Border War (2010)
In this well-researched and convincing work, distinguished historian Stanley Harrold departs from a traditional North-versus-South tale of sectional breakdown in the decades leading to the Civil War. Instead, he presents...
Published: 11/23/11
Voice from the Past – “Fleshing our teeth in a secesh gobbler…”
Good Morning! We continue our week long Civil War Thanksgiving celebration with an excerpt from William Wheeler’s November 11, 1861 letter to his mother: Camp Observation, Md., November 11, 1861....
Published: 11/22/11
Voice from the Past – Thanksgiving Sensations
Happy Thanksgiving! The following account of an 1861 Thanksgiving dinner amongst the Union army comes from a letter written by Wilder Dwight of the 2nd Massachusettes Infantry: Camp near Seneca,...
Published: 11/22/11
Voice from the Past – A Thanksgiving Day Proclamation
While Americans had celebrated Thanksgiving since 1621, it was not until 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln issued the following Thanksgiving Day Proclamation. Only then, did the holiday became a national...
Published: 11/21/11
Voice from the Past – The Customs of Our Puritan Fathers
Good morning! To celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, The Front Line will be posting different “Voices from the Past” about Civil War soldiers’ Thanksgiving experiences. Our first quote comes from the...
Published: 11/17/11
Voice from the Past – “Am afloat, adrift”
“Am afloat, adrift, abroad, motion uneasy, “Inner man” “stomach” becoming so. I think I’ll try full-length. A cotton-bale & the open air on the for’ard deck. “Very grand.” The sea—if...
Published: 11/16/11
The Big House After Slavery (2010)
Amy Feely Morsman’s The Big House After Slavery examines changing gender relations among married elites in post-emancipation Virginia. Drawing from family papers, diaries, newspapers, and periodicals, Morsman argues that the...
Published: 11/15/11
“Soldiers of Fortune, Make Us Your Game!”
William Howard Russell was a “special correspondent” for the London Times, who travelled the North and South during the early years of the war. The excerpted quote describes a luncheon...
Published: 11/15/11
A Civil War Cattle Drive
Beef for the Union Army Cross the Long Bridge at Washington. Image Credit: Harper’s Weekly, 16 November 1861.
Published: 11/14/11
Voices from the Past – The Integrity of the Union
“You will please constantly to bear in mind the precise issue for which we are fighting; that issue is the preservation of the Union and the restoration of the full...
Published: 11/11/11
Honoring our Veterans…Then & Now
The Civil War Monitor editors would like to extend a big THANK YOU to all of the veterans and active duty personnel of our armed services. We salute you! To...