Firsthand Accounts
Published: 7/26/19
“My Little ‘Rebel’ Heart Was on Fire”
Read an excerpt from the autobiography of teenaged Confederate spy Belle Boyd regarding a traumatic event that led her into this role.
Published: 3/4/19
Extra Voices: Avid Readers
Read more firsthand quotes by Union and Confederate soldiers who had a deep love of reading.
Published: 12/31/18
New Year’s Eve in Camp
Read the poignant reflections of Union officer William Thompson Lusk in a letter to his sister written on New Year's Eve 1862.
Published: 11/12/18
“A Lady of Excellent Worth”
Learn about Amanda Gardner's bravery in helping Union soldiers during their captivity at Castle Morgan prison in Cahaba, Alabama.
Published: 3/17/18
St. Patrick’s Day in the Army
A look at St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the Union army through Lieutenant Josiah Marshall Favill's firsthand observations.
Published: 3/16/18
Extra Voices: Tobacco
Explore the historical use of tobacco during the Civil War through first-person accounts from Union and Confederate troops.
Published: 2/2/18
A Story from the Trenches
Read Union surgeon John Gardner Perry's letter detailing a tragic incident involving a young lieutenant at Petersburg.
Published: 1/19/18
Close Calls at Beaver Dam Creek
Discover the historical significance of the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek through the personal letter of Private Oliver Willcox Norton.
Published: 1/12/18
Extra Voices: Dog Days of Summer
Read first-person quotes from Union and Confederate soldiers about the intense heat and discomfort that accompanied summer campaigning.
Published: 10/20/17
A Ball’s Bluff Letter
Massachusetts Historical Society Captain Caspar Crowinshield, 20th Massachusetts Infantry On October 21, 1861, Union forces crossed the Potomac River to attack what they thought was a Confederate camp near Leesburg,...
Published: 9/23/17
Extra Voices: Sounds of War
Library of Congress Alfred R. Waud’s depiction of the Battle of Fredericksburg In the Voices department of our summer 2014 issue (Vol. 4, No. 2) we featured soldiers’ quotes that...
Published: 9/15/17
The Search for Orville Wheelock
The Boys in White Julia Wheelock One hundred fifty-five years ago this month, 28-year-old Michigan resident Julia Wheelock learned that her brother, Orville, a soldier in the 8th Michigan Infantry,...
Published: 8/11/17
A Bad Day on the March
Wisconsin Historical Society Surgeon Alfred Lewis Castleman, 5th Wisconsin Infantry After it was thwarted in its attempt to capture Richmond during the Peninsula Campaign in the summer of 1862, the...
Published: 7/21/17
Eyewitness to Bull Run
War Letters of William Thompson Lusk (1911) William Thompson Lusk, 79th New York Infantry A week after the Battle of Bull Run—a humiliating defeat for Union forces—23-year-old officer William Thompson...
Published: 7/3/17
News from Gettysburg
Library of Congress Lieutenant Waters Whipple Braman, Co. C, 93rd New York Infantry During the Battle of Gettysburg, First Lieutenant Waters Whipple Braman, 23, and his regiment, the 93rd New...
Published: 6/23/17
Extra Voices: Bad Officers
Library of Congress Confederate general John C. Pemberton In the Voices section of the Spring 2017 issue of The Civil War Monitor we highlighted first-person quotes about some Union and...
Published: 12/1/16
Extra Voices: Curses
In the Voices section of the Winter 2016 issue of The Civil War Monitor we highlighted first-person quotes about some of the colorful oaths uttered by soldiers and civilians...
Published: 6/9/16
Extra Voices: Souvenirs
In the Voices section of the spring 2016 issue of The Civil War Monitor, we highlighted first-person quotes about the quest—by soldiers and civilians—for battlefield souvenirs. Unfortunately, we didn’t have...