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The Front Line
Our communal blog featuring the latest in Civil War news, research, analysis, and events from a network of historians
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Published: 2/2/12
Voice from the Past: Rallying with the Hearts of Lions
The following letter is from Samuel Cabble, a private in the Fifty-fifth Massachusetts Infantry, to his wife. Cabble was a slave before he joined the army at twenty-one years of...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/NegroSoldiersMinieRifle5-600x600.jpg)
Published: 2/2/12
Preparing to See the Elephant
Preparing the Negro Soldiers to Use the Minie Rifle Image Credit: Harper’s Weekly, March 14, 1863.![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/first-black-troops-combat-15003-600x600.jpg)
Published: 2/1/12
Honoring African American Veterans for Black History Month
Happy Black History Month! Today—and throughout the month of February, we honor those African Americans who fought in the Civil War. Image Credit: “A Negro Regiment in Action,” Harper’s Weekly,...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/mon8-600x600.jpg)
Published: 1/30/12
The Launching of a Legend…the USS Monitor
Naval Historical Center’s Online Library of Selected Images 150 years ago today, the Union Navy launched the USS Monitor—its first ironclad—from the Continental Iron Works, at Greenpoint in Long Island,...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/mon3-600x600.jpg)
Published: 1/30/12
Inboard the USS Monitor
Naval Historical Center’s Online Library of Selected Images The above image is the USS Monitor‘s general plan featuring an inboard profile of the ironclad. First published in in 1862, the...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/mississippi-river-map2-600x600.jpg)
Published: 1/26/12
The Mighty Mississippi
General View of the Mississipii River from Cairo, Illinois to the mouth of the river. Image Credit: Harper’s Weekly, January 11, 1862.![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/RELee1.jpg)
Published: 1/24/12
What Robert E. Lee Didn’t Do After Appomattox
Actually, he didn’t do a lot of things. For starters, he didn’t lead a guerilla army against Federal invaders/occupiers—even though more than a few people suggested that he take that...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/homer_prisoners1.jpg)
Published: 1/23/12
Prisoners from the Front
Before Winslow Homer became a famed sea-scape painter, he was a Civil War correspondent and illustrator for Harpers Weekly. The above paiting, entitled “Prisoners from the Front,” (1866) was featured...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/robertelee-442x600.jpg)
Published: 1/19/12
Voice from the Past: “A Terrible Struggle if it Comes to War.”
“They do not know what they say. If it comes to a conflict of arms, the war will last at least four years. Northern politicians will not appreciate the determination...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/0f7d8d4e7b0cde1e72199124e550a8ef-600x600.jpg)
Published: 1/17/12
The Feminine Art of Inspiring Male Courage
Civil War illustrator Frank Leslie often parodied the evasion of the Enrollment Act of 1863. The image above encouraged women to make men feel obligated to go and fight via...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/740a2f013c87e62587c0caf502647466.jpg)
Published: 1/12/12
Looking Back…Just Fifty Years
As we enter the second year of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, there is some comparison back fifty years to the centennial—be that just for nostalgia or for analysis. Allow me...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/CWMlogo.png)
Published: 1/10/12
2011: A Year in Review
Much to the delight of The Civil War Monitor editorial staff, another year and another sesquicentennial celebration have begun. As we look forward to all that 2012 has in store...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/271eb4bcc1fcc571256c6b7bfa1e2c7f-600x320.jpg)
Published: 1/6/12
The Skating Season
Good Morning! Our celebration of New Year’s Day 1862 comes to a close with the following image “The Skating Season – 1862.” Source: Harper’s Weekly, January 18, 1862.![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Dam-No-5.jpg)
Published: 1/5/12
Voice from the Past: “The Cheer of the Glad New Year”
Good Morning! Today’s Voice from the Past comes from George Michael Neese. New Year’s Day, and orders to go to Dam No. 5, with Ashby’s cavalry. This was a bright...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20714v-600x600.jpg)
Published: 1/5/12
A Soldier’s Forty Winks
As a chemist by training and profession (for 25-plus years), I consult journals and other literature on almost a daily basis. As a scientist in the pharmaceutical industry, one of...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Homer_Bivouac_Potomac-600x502.jpg)
Published: 1/3/12
Voice from the Past: “A Dull Day”
Good Morning! Today’s Voice from the Past comes from Alexander G. Downing. His 1862 New Years’ celebration was a far cry from the revelry enjoyed by most modern day celebrants....![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/CBF.png)
Published: 1/3/12
The Angry Politics of Confederate Heritage
Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich was recently at a campaign stop in South Carolina, where he fielded questions from the audience. One local resident took the microphone and asked him, “as...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1865civilwarsoldiersplayingrugby-600x600.jpg)
Published: 1/2/12
Voice from the Past: “A Great Day of Sport to Usher in the New Year”
Happy New Year! As we begin a new calendar year and a new year of sesquincentennial celebrations, we thought it fitting to look back upon New Years 1862. All this...![](https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20e78f4c7bdc4a900e9e0c137195c0f3-600x436.jpg)