The Front Line
Our communal blog featuring the latest in Civil War news, research, analysis, and events from a network of historians and authors
Published: 5/28/21
The Books that Built Me
Historian Steven H. Newton reflects on the books that helped inspire and shape his interest in the American Civil War.
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
The literature on the coming of the Civil War is more than vast—it is overwhelming. Choosing just a handful of the thousands of books written on the subject—and the dozens...
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.
Published: 3/29/21
A Reconstruction Bookshelf
Library of Congress In this sketch by Alfred Waud, a federal official stands between armed groups of southern whites and African Americans during Reconstruction. It’s safe to say that while...
Published: 3/22/21
The Hands-On Historian
A look at the origins of National Archives staffer Bryan Cheeseboro's lifelong interest in the American Civil War.
Published: 2/26/21
Letters Home: Correspondence from Men at War
Frank Leslie’s illustrated Newspaper Union soldiers take a moment to write home on the hurricane deck of the U.S. transport North Star while on campaign in the Gulf of Mexico...
Published: 12/28/20
Goodbye to All That
In his final "American Iliad" column, southern-born historian Mark Grimsley reflects on his tangle of loyalties.
Published: 12/21/20
Extra Voices: Coffee
Read firsthand quotes by Union and Confederate soldiers about the the high value they placed on a good cup of coffee.
Published: 11/17/20
“The Good Lord Bird”: Episode 7
The seventh—and final—installment of historian Megan Kate Nelson's review of the Showtime miniseries "The Good Lord Bird."
Published: 11/11/20
“The Good Lord Bird”: Episode 6
The sixth installment of historian Megan Kate Nelson's review of the Showtime miniseries "The Good Lord Bird."
Published: 11/3/20
“The Good Lord Bird”: Episode 5
The fifth installment of historian Megan Kate Nelson's review of the Showtime miniseries "The Good Lord Bird."
Published: 10/27/20
“The Good Lord Bird”: Episode 4
The fourth installment of historian Megan Kate Nelson's review of the Showtime miniseries "The Good Lord Bird."
Published: 10/23/20
The Five Best Books on the Confederate Homefront
For decades, books about the Confederate homefront were often books about elite white slave-owning women—first Lost Cause-era flowery homages to their patriotism and dedication to the Confederacy, then more critical...