
The Front Line
Our communal blog featuring the latest in Civil War news, research, analysis, and events from a network of historians


Published: 7/25/20
An Infernal Machine
In the July 27, 1861, issue of Harper’s Weekly, the editors published a small story about an “infernal machine” recently removed from the Potomac River near where the sloop-of-war USS...
Published: 7/10/20
The Greatest Bards: Part 2
Library of Congress Bruce Catton When I was 12 I found a mass market paperback of Bruce Catton’s A Stillness at Appomattox, and it yanked me so deep into the...
Published: 7/2/20
Agenda: July 2020 Events
Library of Congress The view from Little Round Top on the Gettysburg battlefield. Looking for a Civil War event—virtual or in person—to attend in July? Below are some very good...
Published: 6/15/20
Extra Voices: Camp Sports
Library of Congress Union prisoners play a game of baseball while in confinement at Salisbury, North Carolina. In the Voices section of the Summer 2020 issue of The Civil War...
Published: 6/12/20
History’s “Grant” Considered
History.com Long anticipated and much ballyhooed, History Channel’s May 2020 release of Grant, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Grant’s most recent biographer, Ron Chernow, as executive producers (no Lin-Manuel Miranda here),...
Published: 5/29/20
The Best Books About Ulysses S. Grant
We recently asked a number of top Civil War historians to let us know their favorite books about Ulysses S. Grant. The results are below. The books are ranked in...
Published: 5/22/20
The Rable Method—Time and Again
Bryan Hester, The University of Alabama Historian George C. Rable Few scholars have produced as many groundbreaking works as Civil War historian George C. Rable. Since his retirement from teaching...
Published: 5/18/20
The Greatest Bards: Part 1
Alamy Author Shelby Foote Asked to name the writer whose work had the greatest influence on their early love for the Civil War, most lay students of the conflict would...
Published: 5/15/20
The Five Best Books on Civil War Combat
Library of Congress “Spare Cartridges” by Alfred R. Waud In considering the vast literature on combat in the Civil War, one is hard-pressed to limit a selection of the best...
Published: 4/9/20
Lee Bids Farewell
Makers of the World’s History and Their Grand Achievements (1903) Robert E. Lee bids the men of the Army of Northern Virginia farewell at war’s end. On the night of...
Published: 4/3/20
The “Hero” of Castle Thunder
On June 3, 1865—only a few weeks after the surrender ceremonies at Appomattox Court House—Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper ran the following article about the former Confederate-run prison in Richmond called...
Published: 3/16/20
History in the Digital Age
Michaela Levin Historian Kevin M. Levin In November 2005 I created the website Civil War Memory, which included a blog. I had recently completed a master’s degree in history and...
Published: 3/13/20
Extra Voices: Payday
National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History A Civil War greenback In the Voices section of the Spring 2020 issue of The Civil War Monitor we highlighted quotes by...
Published: 3/6/20
The Fashion Trends of 1864
On February 27, 1864, Harper’s Weekly published the following illustration—”a few of the various styles of garments manufactured by” New York City–based clothing wholesalers Kirkland, Bronson, & Co. “New York...
Published: 2/20/20
A Goodbye Gift
While attending services at St. Paul’s Church in Richmond on Sunday, April 2, 1865, Confederate president Jefferson Davis received word that Confederate forces had begun evacuating Petersburg in the wake...
Published: 1/26/20
“What will not the human body endure?”
Harper’s Weekly Union soldiers march through Baton Rouge in May 1863. While on furlough in Baton Rouge in May 1863, Corporal James K. Hosmer of the 52nd Massachusetts Infantry volunteered...
Published: 1/21/20
Grant and Lee at Appomattox
Library of Congress The McLean House in Appomattox Court House, Virginia, where Robert E. Lee met with Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, to discuss terms of surrender. In...
Published: 1/11/20
Badge Quest
On a Saturday morning this past April, a tiny compact car pulled into the parking lot at the Gettysburg National Military Park’s visitors center. Out of the car popped four...