The Front Line
Our communal blog featuring the latest in Civil War news, research, analysis, and events from a network of historians
Published: 5/15/12
The Battle of Drury’s Bluff
The morning of May 15, 1862 set up to be another feather in the cap of the U.S. Navy following her victories at Port Royal, South Carolina (November, 1861) and...
Published: 5/15/12
John Mackie: The Man and the Memory
One rarely thinks of the United States Marine Corps and the Civil War in the same thought. Given their small size and limited service, this is not really surprising. And...
Published: 5/14/12
Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night
The following Walt Whitman poem—“Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night”—reminds us of the tangible, human costs of war. Whitman often found the indiscriminate carnage and wholesale anonymity...
Published: 5/11/12
The “Light Guard”
Good Morning! Today’s Friday Funny is an 1861 Harper’s Weekly cartoon. Entitled “Costume Suggested for the Brave Stay-at-Home Light Guard,” this sketch mockingly questions the masculinity of Union men who...
Published: 5/5/12
…And They’re Off..
In honor of the Kentucky Derby, we bring you this image of Civil War era horse racing (courtesy of Frank Leslie). While not a Stakes Race, this image is from...
Published: 5/4/12
The Blockade on the “Connecticut Plan”
Good Morning! To celebrate the end of another long work week, we bring you a “Friday Funny.” Today’s Civil War era cartoon is an 1862 Currier & Ives sketch entitled,...
Published: 5/1/12
Revising, Refreshing, Evolving Battlefield Interpretation
As a youngster, I visited Shiloh National Military Park on a number of occasions. Given my fondness for artillery, it should be no surprise that the “Ruggles Battery” tour stop...
Published: 4/30/12
The Dying Confederate’s Last Words
The following poem from the Civil War Song Sheets collection highlights the sacrifice made by individual Civil War soldiers. It’s entitled, “The Dying Confederate’s Last Words.” Dear comrades on my...
Published: 4/27/12
Bowling with Beauregard
Good afternoon! Here’s a little Friday Funny to celebrate the end of the work week. Published in the April 26, 1862 edition of Harper’s Weekly, this Justin Howard cartoon celebrates...
Published: 4/26/12
Was Confederate Conscription an Instrument of Social Justice?
Last week brought the sesquicentennial of the first Confederate Conscription Act. The draft would later become a particularly divisive element in the Confederacy (as it also became in the North),...
Published: 4/26/12
Introducing “Iron Men Afloat” – A New Series on the Civil War Navy
Good morning! I am sure many of you noticed that yesterday we posted a two-part series on the fall of New Orleans (April 25th, 1862). Part 1: “The Men and...
Published: 4/25/12
The Surrender of New Orleans Part 1: The Men and The Skirmish
Today marks the sesquicentennial of the fall of New Orleans (April 25, 1862). As such, The Civil War Monitor is commemorating this event with a two-part series on the surrender....
Published: 4/25/12
The Surrender of New Orleans Part 2: The Machines and Technology
As you know, today—April 25th—marks the 150th anniversary of the fall of New Orleans. Part 2 of our tribute to the surrender of the Crescent City is located on the...
Published: 4/15/12
Did a C.S.S. Alabama Veteran Die in the Titanic Disaster?
The December 1912 issue of The Confederate Veteran carries a list of eleven members of the Joe Johnston UCV Camp No. 94 of Mexia, Texas, who died between July 1911...
Published: 4/12/12
Voice from the Past: “Another Bloodless Victory”
In belated honor of the fall of Fort Pulaski (April 11, 1862), we bring you Miss Susan Walker’s account of the battle: Friday 11th April Heavy firing all morning yesterday...
Published: 4/7/12
Voice from the Past: “Victory is Sufficiently Complete…Victory is Lost”
Our sesquicentennial celebration of the Battle of Shiloh continues with an excerpt from Confederate Colonel S.H. Lockett’s account of the battle printed in Battles and Leaders. It recalls how quickly...
Published: 4/7/12
Voice from the Past: “Those Savage Yells, And The Sight of Thousands of Racing Figures Coming Towards Them”
We close our Shiloh sesquicentennial celebration with Henry Morton Stanley’s recollection of the battle and the effectiveness of the legendary rebel yell. After a steady exchange of musketry, which lasted...
Published: 4/6/12
Voice from the Past: “Terrible Tales of the Scenes in Corinth”
In honor of Shiloh’s sesquicentennial, we bring you the following voice from the past. Taken from the April 9, 1862 diary of Kate Cumming, it recounts the battle’s deadly aftermath....