The Archive
All Articles
Every article indexed from the pages of Civil War News — 2551 of them across113 issues, 2016 to 2026. Each one opens the full text on civilwarnews.com.
A Few Good Women
A Few Good Women “I do not believe in using women in combat, because females are too fierce.” – Margaret Mead In several previous columns I have relied on newspap…
A Boy Sailor’s Tragic Odyssey
by Joseph F. Wilson Heavy smoke drifted through the streets of New York City in July 1863 as multiple fires illuminated the night sky. Rioters roamed the streets…
Who was Cornelia Phillips Spencer? (Part 2)
Continuing from Part 1, from the April 2021 Civil War News, excerpt of Cornelia’s writings from “THE LAST NINETY DAYS OF THE WAR IN NORTH CAROLINA,” published in…
Ulysses Grant – An Alternative Perspective
I stood at Shiloh National Military Park on a cold February day in 2015. On a display wall in the Visitor Center, I viewed a large portrait of General Grant. Besi…
The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Advances in technology continue to open windows to view our past through various lenses. Thanks to The David Rumsey Map Collection Database at the Stanford Univer…
The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment Returns to Jamestown Settlement
After Texas officially seceded from the Union, the 3rd U.S. Infantry surrendered their post at Fort Clark to the Provisional Army of Texas. Although there wascons…
Starving the Federals: The Camden Expedition – Part II
“Pvt. Dickson Wallace ... was the first man to the artillery, and mounting astride one of the guns gave a whoop, which was followed by such a succession of whoops…
Salem Church Battlefield & The Lesson For Preservation
Salem Church still stands on the crest of high ground, but the scene around the historic meeting house has changed significantly since 1863 when Civil War soldier…
Libby Prison “From the Inside.”
One of the more unusual Civil War prints is Major Otto Boetticher’s view of Libby Prison from the inside, especially its dimensions. Most 19th century prints were…
Instructing the “Stupids”
In the early months of the Civil War the basics of military life were often difficult to grasp for many volunteers, a situation that caused a Springfield, Mass.,…
Horror at Haw’s Shop
Seventeen days after the mortal wounding of Confederate Major General James Ewell Brown Stuart at Yellow Tavern, the man who apparently fired the fatal shot at St…
F. M. Mills’ Confederate Cartridge Box
The cartridge box shown here could not be identified as Confederate except by the CS “Breckenridge” style belt plate attached to it as a cartridge box plate. Ther…
Eponymous Weapons and Other Necessities
Several army and navy officers, before or during the Civil War, developed weapons that were used in the war and which bear their names. There are also eponymous i…
Emerging Civil War — May 2021
From the Editor As influential as John Bachelder was on the formation of Gettysburg National Military Park, there aren’t a lot of photos of him. Of the couple I’v…
Civil War Events — May 2021
Before making plans to attend any event contact the event host. Deadlines for Advertising, Editorial or Events Submissions is the 20th of each month. We strive to…
Civil War Alphabet Quiz – M as in...May
1. C.S. semisubmersible ironclad ram sunk at New Orleans 2. March to the Sea ended at this fort outside Savannah, Ga. 3. Union general killed at Atlanta, 4. U.S.…
Buttermilk
“One kneeds but little in this country as thare is scasly anything here to sell and what little thare is, it is so high that a soldier cant buy it… if we get a gl…
Book Reviews — May 2021
ultimately, to the new Republican party. He was known for his “witty repartee, his scorching sarcasm, his lofty eloquence, his great profundity, and his ponderous…
Andersonville Shall Not Have Me!
By August 1864, soldiers in the Union army had learned of the horrible conditions prevailing inside the newest Confederate prison. Shocking reports of terrific de…
American Battlefield Trust — May 2021
Annual Conference Postponed for 2021 The ongoing restrictions on large public gatherings in Virginia, plus uncertainties related to the status of key facilities h…
A New Initiative at Gettysburg: Rehabilitating Culp’s Hill
The Gettysburg battlefield is one of the most studied, photographed, written about, and visited Civil War sites. Yet portions of that field and its accompanying s…
A Confederate Altered U.S. Model 1841 Mississippi Rifle
At the beginning of the American Civil War nearly 20,000 U.S. Model 1841 “Mississippi” rifles were in arsenals of the various states that seceded to form the Conf…
“Hold it at all Hazards”: General Battle’s Counterattack
“Hold it at all Hazards”: General Battle’s Counterattack by Tom Van Winkle “The woods in front were so thick that it was impossible to see more than 20 steps from…
Who was Cornelia Phillips Spencer?
Part 1 of 2 “There is as yet too much to be forgotten—too much to be forgiven.” – Cornelia Phillips Spencer of North Carolina by Joan Wenner, J.D. We know from th…