The Front Line
Our communal blog featuring the latest in Civil War news, research, analysis, and events from a network of historians
Published: 10/25/21
The Best Civil War Novels
Library of Congress No event in American history has inspired more imaginative writing than the Civil War. Authors have made the struggle the subject of thousands of rhymes, songs, poems,...
Published: 10/18/21
Suits of Shoddy
Founded in 1818, Brooks Brothers of New York is the oldest clothing retailer in America. Even today, the name alone conjures images of fine silk neckties and Italian wool sportscoats—quality,...
Published: 9/27/21
The Five Best Books on Civil War Guerrillas
Library of Congress Two guerrillas stop a civilian rider to rob him in this sketch from a December 1864 issue of Harper’s Weekly. “This Mr. Wales is a cold-blooded killer....
Published: 9/24/21
Mr. Gridley and His Sack of Flour
The story of R.C. Gridley, of Austin, Nevada, who made—and lost—an interesting wager on a local election in 1865.
Published: 9/20/21
Unceasing Fury at Chickamauga
Read Confederate soldier W.W. Heartsills' firsthand account of his participation in the Battle of Chickamauga.
Published: 9/13/21
Extra Voices: Nicknames
Read firsthand Union and Confederate soldiers' quotes about the nicknames they gave to comrades during the Civil War.
Published: 8/27/21
Voices From the Army of Northern Virginia, Part 2
IN CAMP AND BATTLE WITH THE WASHINGTON ARTILLERY OF NEW ORLEANS (1885) Confederate gunners fire at the enemy in a postwar illustration titled “The Artillery Duel.” Artillerists created an invaluable...
Published: 7/20/21
After Fort Wagner
Read 54th Massachusetts soldier Lewis Douglass' letter about the Battle of Fort Wagner which he wrote days after the the famed fight.
Published: 6/28/21
Voices From the Army of Northern Virginia, Part 1: Foundational Works
The first installment of historian Gary W. Gallagher's series on essential books about the Army of Northern Virginia.
Published: 6/7/21
Extra Voices: Fear
Read firsthand Union and Confederate soldiers' quotes on the feelings of fear they experienced in battle.
Published: 5/28/21
The Books that Built Me
Library of Congress A Civil War soldier and his reading material Civil War enthusiasts understand that historians construct campaign and battle narratives from official reports, maps, letters, journals, newspaper articles...
Published: 5/24/21
The Death of Colonel Ellsworth
Read The New York Times' lengthy tribute to Elmer Ellsworth after the young Union colonel's death in 1861.
Published: 4/29/21
Essential Reading on the Coming of the Civil War
Library of Congress Fort Sumter under fire, April 1861 The literature on the coming of the Civil War is more than vast—it is overwhelming. Choosing just a handful of the...
Published: 4/19/21
Kissing and Kicking Ass
A look at how two long-used vulgarities took on new life during the Civil War.
Published: 4/16/21
War’s Early Days
Read South Carolina diarist Mary Boykin Chesnut's gripping account of the fall of Fort Sumter and its aftermath.
Published: 4/15/21
“The First Gun is Fired”
The story—and lyrics—of George Root's Apri 1861 song about Fort Sumter, "The First Gun is Fired: May God Protect the Right."
Published: 4/9/21
Word-Clouding Lee’s and Grant’s Farewell Addresses
View the words Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee used in the farewell addresses they delivered to their men as represented in a word cloud.
Published: 4/5/21
Extra Voices: Shirkers
Read firsthand Civil War soldier quotes on shirking in the Union and Confederate armies.