Columns
Published: 8/20/26
Benjamin McCulloch at Pea Ridge
Read how a bold decision during the Battle of Pea Ridge backfired on seasoned Confederate general Benjamin McCulloch.
Published: 5/21/26
The Outlaw Josey Wales Turns 50
A look back at "The Outlaw Josey Wales," a movie that informed many Americans’ views of Civil War guerrilla warfare, on its 50th anniversary.
Published: 5/21/26
The Art of Uncertainty
A raid by Benjamin Grierson and his horsemen proved that Union cavalry, long dismissed as inferior to its southern counterpart, could strike deep behind enemy lines and survive.
Published: 2/19/26
“Quaker Guns”
The origins of Civil War-era use of "Quaker guns," a pacifistic term for a clever act of military deception
Published: 2/19/26
Confederates in the Cold War West
How mid-20th-century movies and TV emphasized reconciliation in portraying ex-Rebels.
Published: 11/13/25
Confusion on the Cumberland
A look at how ineptitude and poor decisions among Confederate leaders led to the downfall of Fort Donelson in 1862.
Published: 11/13/25
“Contrabands”
Learn the origin of the term "contraband," a word popularly associated with the masses of enslaved people who sought freedom in Union lines.
Published: 8/19/25
“Wide Awakes”
A look at the origin of the term "Wide Awakes," the name adopted by a group of Abraham Lincoln suporters during the election of 1860.
Published: 8/19/25
Surviving Pickett’s Charge
The ferocity of Pickett's Charge changed the soldiers who fought in it, including Union officer Henry Abbott and Confederate officer Henry Owen.
Published: 5/28/25
“Juneteenth”
Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in America. Historian Tracy Barnett explores the origins of the term.
Published: 5/28/25
The Re-creation of Thomas J. Jackson
A look at the historical accuracy of director Ron Maxwell's 2013 movie "Gods and Generals"—in particular the portrayal of Stonewall Jackson.
Published: 3/18/25
The Imagined Emancipationist
Harry Turtledove's "The Guns of the South" cast Robert E. Lee as a victor whose allies turn out to be otherworldly
Published: 3/18/25
Failure at Fredericksburg
Union general William B. Franklin and the perils of indecision and delay at the Battle of Fredericksburg
Published: 12/12/24
“Shebang”
The rise of a popular term used to describe certain wartime accommodations
Published: 12/12/24
The Guns at Chickamauga
John Mendenhall, Thomas Crittenden, and a Fateful Decision
Published: 10/2/24
A Burdensome Decision
A look at the difficult decision Colonel Lewis Johnson of the 44th U.S. Colored Troops faced at Dalton, Georgia.
Published: 10/2/24
“Johnny Cake”
A look at the Civil War era foodstuff popularly known as a "Johnny Cake."
Published: 8/2/24
“Scalawag”
A look at the term “scalawag,” a word used during the Civil War to describe undesirable creatures that took on another meaning during Reconstruction.