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.
Chris E. Fonvielle Jr.’s Top Ten Civil War Books
Chris E. Fonvielle Jr.’s Top Ten Civil War Books Jack Melton’s request to list my top ten favorite Civil War books is the most challenging assignment since writin…
Charles H. Bogart’s Top Ten Civil War Books
Charles H. Bogart’s Top Ten Civil War Books My main interest in the Civil War centers around naval operations. I do not care if the action takes place on the high…
CWN Contributors Top Ten Favorite Civil War Books
We asked our contributors to submit their top ten favorite Civil War books of all time. We removed paragraph breaks to allow for more content in this expanded Civ…
C. Michael Harrington’s Top Ten Civil War Books
C. Michael Harrington’s Top Ten Civil War Books 1. Destruction and Reconstruction: Personal Experiences of the Late War by Richard Taylor. D. Appleton & Company,…
Book Reviews — November 2020
How Republican Junior Officers Won the Army of the Potomac’s Internal Political War A Republic in the Ranks: Loyalty and Dissent in the Army of the Potomac. By Za…
Between the Lines
Between the Lines Of all the many cruelties of war, one scene that evokes the most pity is, perhaps, the image of wounded men trapped between the lines, suffering…
Ballard’s Civil War Military Carbines
Ballard’s Civil War Military Carbines The Ballard Carbine was a breechloading, single shot metallic cartridge firearm invented by Charles H. Ballard of Worcester,…
A Race In The Mud Knoxville Campaign – Part I
A Race In The Mud Knoxville Campaign – Part I “On several occasions during the war [Jefferson Davis] came to the relief of the Union army by means of his superior…
Video Series Commemorates Historic Fairfax County, Virginia, Battle
FAIRFAX, Va.—One of the more significant but oft forgotten events in the American Civil War took place Sept. 1, 1862 near Chantilly, Va., in what is remembered lo…
The Story of Buck and Ball and a Note on Gettysburg
While the term “buck and ball” is often used when describing smoothbore musket ammunition in the Civil War, the use of such ammunition was not unique to that conf…
The Eagle’s Nest
The Graphic War highlights prints and printmakers from the Civil War discussing their meaning and most importantly, the print maker or artist’s goals. Once the wa…
Terry’s Patent Carbines
The Terry’s Patent Carbine, produced by the Birmingham firm of Calisher & Terry, as well as some other Birmingham contractors, was one of the more unique and inno…
Secession – As it was in 1860
While a discussion of the legality of Southern secession may not be a politically correct topic today, any historians examining the issue of secession must use th…
Perspectives on Sharpsburg – Phase Three: The Final Crisis
The savage back-and-forth struggle at the north and center ground to a halt by early afternoon. On the right, Confederate numbers were much reduced as troops were…
News Briefs — October 2020
Licensed Battlefield Guides Raise Alarm of Major Threat to Gettysburg Monuments GETTYSBURG, Pa.—The Licensed Battlefield Guides at Gettysburg are raising the alar…
More on Rations: Nutritional Deficiencies
What the Yankees don’t kill will die of disease or return home with a broken constitution… – Letter from William Hardy to his wife Sally, October 9, 1861. It requ…
Longtime Lieutenant David Duncan to Replace Lighthizer as American Battlefield Trust President
Following a unanimous vote by the organization’s Board of Trustees, longtime chief development officer David N. Duncan has been named the new president of the Ame…
Lincoln Forum to Host “Zoom Symposium” in November, Then Return to Gettysburg For In-Person Forum in May 2021
The Lincoln Forum, compelled to postpone its 25th annual symposium at Gettysburg because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has announced it will host a oneday, live sympo…
Letters to the Editor — October 2020
We wish to thank Publisher Jack Melton for permitting us to share the Civil War News column by Editor Lawrence E. Babits, which offers a sober caution about the g…
Letter to Lincoln
Homepage for Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress. Readers may recall two previous articles (May and June of 2017) in this column dealing with The Collected…
How Far? A New Perspective on the Battle of Spotsylvania
When I was eighteen and in basic training, we had a road march of 12-15 miles one day. Although I don’t walk those distances these days, I still remember and appr…
Emerging Civil War — October 2020
What are you doing these days to take care of yourself? The coronavirus pandemic has of course forced all of us to adopt new habits to protect our health, but I’m…
Emerging Civil War Honors Jack W. Melton Jr. of Civil War News with Stevenson Award
Emerging Civil War is pleased to honor Jack Melton with its Brig. Gen. Thomas Greely Stevenson Award for 2020. Melton and his wife, Peggy, own and publish Civil W…
Civil War News Facebook Poll
The following three questions were posted on the Civil War News Facebook page. Currently, the media narrative is to call the Confederate generals traitors, theref…