Articles
Published: 9/1/20
A Sinister Band
A look at a Civil War–era poison ring, which contains a small box intended to be filled with a toxin.
Published: 9/1/20
Counterfeit Confederates
As the notion of sectional reconciliation spread in the decades after the Civil War, impostors showed up with invented wartime histories.
Published: 9/1/20
The Hero of Franklin
How quick thinking by Colonel Emerson Opdycke helped save the day for Union forces at the Battle of Franklin.
Published: 9/1/20
Mary Boykin Chesnut’s Photo Albums
Photo albums once owned by Mary Boykin Chesnut are in excellent condition with the handwriting strong and distinct.
Published: 9/1/20
Wounded Warriors
For thousands of injured or infirm Union soldiers, the Invalid Corps provided a means to extend their military service.
Published: 9/1/20
Grin and Bear It
Learn how a British idiom came to represent the attitude of soldiers and civilians during the Civil War.
Published: 9/1/20
Mr. Lincoln’s Other Army
Editorial thoughts on the feature story from the Fall 2020 issue of The Civil War Monitor.
Published: 9/1/20
The Soldier Vote
When the Civil War began, only Pennsylvania permitted soldiers to vote in the field. By November 1864, 19 northern states had enfranchised troops.
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Published: 7/16/20
U.S. Army Surgical Kit
Learn about the surgical conditions faced by U.S. Army surgeons during the Civil War. Find out how advancements in surgical instruments improved medical practices.
Published: 7/10/20
The Greatest Bards: Part 2
When I was 12 I found a mass market paperback of Bruce Catton’s A Stillness at Appomattox, and it yanked me so deep into the world of the Civil War...
Published: 6/1/20
The Civil War’s Long Reach
Learn about dependent pensioners located in Europe—and the soldiers and sailors they lost during the American Civil War.
Published: 6/1/20
A Charleston Mercury Bulletin
An original Charleston Mercury broadside announcing South Carolina’s secession earned big at auction in 2009.
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Published: 6/1/20
Fortunate Sons
Panic by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton meant dozens of New England college students spent the summer of 1862 learning to be cavalrymen.
Published: 6/1/20
Skedaddle
To skedaddle is to make not just a chaotic but an almost comic retreat. It was first used at the beginning of the Civil War.
Published: 6/1/20
Seating for Surrender
When Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant met to discuss the terms of Confederate surrender, they used the chairs—and sat at the table—shown here.
Published: 6/1/20
Uncertain Times
Editorial commentary and reflections from the Summer 2020 issue of The Civil War Monitor.
Published: 6/1/20
Summer 2020 | Dispatches
Reader questions and comments published in the Summer 2020 issue of The Civil War Monitor.
Published: 6/1/20
Mission to the James
Inside Abraham Lincoln’s secretive visit to Ulysses S. Grant’s headquarters at City Point, Virginia, in 1864.
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