Already a Subscriber?
Login to Read Issue
Summer 2018
Vol. 8, No. 2
In the Summer 2018 issue, we explore why Robert E. Lee turned down command of the Union army and joined the Confederacy. We also look back at Fourth of July observations during the Civil War, and the incentives that drove Union recruitment efforts.
Features
Features
An Unlikely Battleground
Fourth of July observations during the Civil War reflected the country’s thorniest questions—including which Americans could claim the holiday as their own.
Features
Soldiers of Misfortune
William Marvel examines how financial motives drove Union recruiting during the Civil War as much as more altruistic incentives.Salvo
Travels
A Visit to Yorktown, Virginia
Interested in visiting Yorktown? To help make the most of your trip, we’ve enlisted two experts on the area— Homer Lanier and J. Michael Moore— to offer suggestions for what to see and do in and around the historic town.
Voices
Big Talk
Some big talk from big men during the Civil War. Read some of the comments officers made about their opponents.
Faces of War
Major Hapgood and His Famous Clerk
Major Lyman Sawin Hapgood was a paymaster who prospered as a banker before the war. His clerk would become an influential American author.
Figures
Men of Faith
Nearly 4,000 men on both sides of the Civil War had served as chaplains. Here we highlight statistics about those in the Union army.
Preservation
Keeping Seminary Ridge Sacred
Learn about the American Battlefield Trust's efforts to preserve 18 acres of land at Seminary Ridge on the Gettysburg Battlefield.
Cost of War
45th Pennsylvania Infantry Battle Flag
Learn about the 45th Pennsylvania Infantry battle flag captured at Petersburg that recently sold at auction.
In Focus
Shedding Light on a Famous Photo
No one knew who took the famed photograph of Confederate infantrymen pausing on a street in Frederick, Maryland, while on the march ... until now.Columns
American Iliad
The Making of a Hero
Read about how the fight for Little Round Top helped propel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain into one of the Civil War’s most famous heroes.
Public History
Whither Public History?
A veteran public historian assesses the state of popular interest in the American Civil War.Books & Authors
Books & Authors
The Best Gettysburg Books
What are the best books on the Battle of Gettysburg? We asked a handful of Civil War historians for their picks.
Books & Authors
The Books That Built Me: Stephen W. Sears
Author Stephen W. Sears reviews the Civil War books that most influenced him, from his first job out of college to today.Odds & Ends
Parting Shot
Satterlee’s Saw
One of the more popular Civil War medical tools was an amputation saw with a pistol-gripped handle known as Satterlee’s Saw.
Editorial
Changes, Big and Small
Roughly seven years ago, as I was planning for the launch of The Civil War Monitor, one of my most important calls was to a longtime acquaintance at the Civil...