Published: 6/9/14Hunter Davidson and the “Squib”By: John GradyCategory: The Front Line Hunter Davidson understood the Union Navy, having been in Federal service since 1841 as a teen-aged midshipman, a graduate of its Naval Academy and an instructor there, an officer who...
Published: 5/26/14The First Civil War MonumentBy: Jonathan W. WhiteCategory: The Front Line On December 5, 1861, the residents of several Philadelphia suburbs gathered at Hatboro, Pennsylvania, to dedicate a monument to the men of their community who had died during the Battle...
Published: 5/5/14What Should Historians Make of “Black Confederates?”By: Glenn BrasherCategory: The Front Line Library of Congress The topic of so-called “Black Confederates” is controversial. Some insist that Confederate nationalism motivated thousands of African Americans to fight alongside their masters, proving that slavery did...
Published: 3/24/14The Death of Jim Jackson and the Oxymoron of “Postbellum” Missouri, 1865-1866By: Matthew C. HulbertCategory: The Front Line In June 1865, Jim Jackson—one of Missouri’s more notorious Confederate guerrilla commanders—made haste for the Illinois line. The Confederate experiment to which Jackson belonged had recently ended in disaster. On...
Published: 3/17/14Reconsidering the “Myth” of the Black Union SoldierBy: Kevin LevineCategory: The Front Line It’s hard to believe that 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the Hollywood movie Glory. Twenty-five years later it is also difficult to remember that for many...
Published: 2/10/14The Civil War on the Great LakesBy: John GradyCategory: The Front Line When President Jefferson Davis refused to sanction a plot to take the American Civil War to the Great Lakes in the winter of 1863, Confederate Navy Lieutenant Robert D. Minor...
Published: 12/2/13“Destructionist and Capturer”By: John GradyCategory: The Front Line Navy Lieutenant W.T. Glassell was furious that his faithful service was being questioned when he landed in Philadelphia in early 1862. He was coming off a long tour that had...
Published: 10/9/13The Wound DresserBy: Walt WhitmanCategory: The Front Line During the Civil War, renowned poet Walt Whitman served as a nurse. His battlefield medical career began at Fredericksburg, where he tended to wounded soldiers—including his brother. Deeply moved by...
Published: 10/9/13Civil War Amputation…In Their Own Words.By: Laura June DavisCategory: The Front Line Throughout the Civil War, surgeons performed approximately 60,000 amputations—the most common battlefield operation. Such drastic measures were a consequence of the damage caused by Minié balls, which often shattered and...
Published: 10/9/13Civil War Medical RemediesBy: Laura June DavisCategory: The Front Line While these nineteenth century remedies might not cure what ails you, they make an intriguing read. For Dysentery Dissolve as much table salt in pure vinegar as will ferment and...