ANYONE WHO EXPLORES Civil War–era history should pay close attention to how people at the time understood and used key words. “Freedom” ranks among the most important of such words. Americans of the 21st century almost always address questions relati

I first visited with the two “Monitor Boys” when they were still 240 feet below me, resting in the one-mile column of water that defines the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, which is under the auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini

As he prepared to launch his Georgia Campaign in the spring of 1864, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman determined to suppress Maj. Gen. Bedford Forrest’s Rebel cavalry in northern Mississippi. Several efforts failed, including Samuel Sturgis’ disaster at

On the first page of Conflict of Command, George Rable posits, “People have largely made up their mind about George McClellan—and not in the general’s favor; nor do they seem amenable to rethinking their position.” He then spends 336 pages essentiall

In 1911, the Wisconsin Historical Commission published Ethel Hurn’s Wisconsin Women in the War. The book was a product of her history thesis, in which she collected women’s accounts of their involvement in the Civil War. Hurn ultimately focused the b

VISIT HISTORYNET.COM historynet.com/battle-hymn-republicward-howe What happened today, yesterday—or any day you care to search. Test your historical acumen—every day! The gadgetry of war—new and old, effective and not so effective. Listen to daily se

On May 1,1862, the Army of the Potomac’s quest to take Richmond by way of the Peninsula had been stalled for nearly a month, time in which Maj. Gen. George McClellan’s Federals had labored building siege trenches and other works in front of the Confe

ON A CLOUDLESS, deep-blue sky afternoon, I drive 45 miles south of Nashville to Columbia for a visit with one of my favorite people, Campbell Ridley. He’s an 80-year-old semi-retired farmer, U.S. Army veteran, rock & roll devotee, and storyteller wit

A bold new photographic project asks modern-day Americans to re-create portraits of their 19th-century ancestors in painstakingly accurate fashion. Award-winning British photographer Drew Gardner has spent nearly 20 years tracking down descendants of

On a cold February night in 1864, two Union officers in full dress uniform came to the brightly festooned White House to attend a reception. Although Lieutenant Anderson R. Abbott and Major Alexander T. Augusta were greeted warmly by President Abraha

En route to the embattled national capital of Washington, D.C., soldiers from Wisconsin had stopped briefly in Pittsburgh, Pa. Describing his impressions of the city in a letter, one of the volunteers declared, “You can smell smoke, feel smoke & I wi

$30,000 NAVAL JACK FLAGS are flown at the bow of vessels, while the national ensign is flown at the stern. The first jack adopted by the United States in 1775 consisted of 13 alternating red and white horizontal stripes. Known as the First Navy Jack,

I GRUDGINGLY ADMIT that I didn’t leap out of my chair when I saw the title of Scott Hippensteel’s latest book, Sand, Science, and the Civil War: Sedimentary Geology and Combat, published by the University of Georgia Press in 2023. It would have been

THE EXPLORATION OF unusual subjects—anything from flora and fauna to the effect of weather on the fighting—has increased greatly for Civil War audiences in recent years. Scott Hippensteel, professor of earth sciences at the University of North Caroli

THIS IMAGE SHOWS a mid-war camp of the 2nd Pennsylvania Reserves (a.k.a., the 31st Pennsylvania Infantry) outside Washington, D.C., between January and June 1863. Organized in Philadelphia, the unit, under the command of Colonel William B. Mann, was

VISIT HISTORYNET.COM A week after Gettysburg, violence consumed New York City. Elizabeth Oakes Smith’s diary recorded it all. By Jonathan W. White historynet.com/witness-new-yorkdraft-riots What happened today, yesterday—or any day you care to searc

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Savage bullets are quite rare to find in an archaeological setting. I’ve only ever found 4, 3 of which were in one hole and the 4th was fired. Oddball looking revolvers! —Elijah Filbert I’m wondering if it’s a “one and done design.” —Steve Sickles Ed

In September 1861, 25 men of Orwell, Ashtabula County, Ohio, formed Company A of the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry after a patriotic rally at the local town hall. On September 10, 2023, a monument was dedicated to them on a spot in town near where that

ON JULY 3, 1863, at Gettysburg, Jacob Winslow and his comrades in the 108th New York Infantry took a merciless pounding from Confederate guns during the pre–Pickett’s Charge artillery barrage. Positioned on the far right of the 2nd Corps’ line in Zie

Agloomy and tragic scene—one with which the inhabitants of the oft-contested city of Winchester, Va., were unfortunately all too familiar—unfolded throughout the night of September 19, 1864, as thousands of casualties from the Third Battle of Winches

Prior to May 1863, photographer Alexander Gardner had managed Mathew Brady’s Washington, D.C., gallery. Frustrated, however, with the fact Brady took credit for a photograph, even if was taken by another operative, Gardner struck out on his own. At G

In the earliest days of Union enlistment in New York City, anyone willing to volunteer was welcome at recruitment offices—including the foreign-born. Language barriers proved no obstacle, particularly among Germans. After all, German support had help