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.
Civil War Correspondents Memorial Has Become Writer’s Legacy
Civil War newspaper correspondent George Alfred Townsend’s once pretentious mountain estate is now embraced by Gathland State Park at Crampton’s Gap in the South…
Civil War Alphabet Quiz - F
F F as in Fort, a second go around for the letter F 1. This fort defended the last open Atlantic blockade runner’s port 2. Fort where Grant got his nickname of “U…
Book Reviews — October 2020
Only 582 Came Home The 6th Michigan Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. By Eric R. Faust. Illustrated, notes, appendices, index, bibliography, 2020, McFarland an…
American Battlefield Trust — October 2020
The newest members of the American Battlefield Trust’s Youth Leadership Team (YLT) are ready to engage classmates, neighbors, and local decision makers by taking…
A Question of Treason?
It has been quoted that treason; the only offense defined by the Constitution, can be difficult to prove and is rarely prosecuted against U.S. citizens, although…
A Glorious Charge: Armstrong’s Raid – Part 2
fought the Federals near Bolivar, Tenn., as part of his raid into west Tennessee. Both sides believed they won the skirmish and both sides considered the quarterm…
“My Home, My Battlefield, My Passion”
Entering the thick forest of the Wilderness, I carefully negotiate the underbrush as the sharp tree limbs seem to intentionally assault my face and arms. It is ov…
William Wells, Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient
Brigadier- and Brevet MajorGeneral William Wells was born in Waterbury, Vermont, Dec. 14, 1837. He enlisted as a private in Company C, First Regiment Vermont Cava…
What Robert E. Lee Means to Me
One of my favorite historical characters lived during the War Between the States. His name was Robert Edward Lee and he was born on January 19, 1807. Although mos…
War Horses
The horse was the backbone of the war effort, especially for the Confederate side. They carried generals and moved artillery and ambulances. One general ordered t…
Virginia Center for Civil War Studies Civil War Sources
Civil War Sources page at Virginia Center for Civil War Studies. The Virginia Center for Civil War Studies, currently operating under the guidance of Paul Quigley…
Ulysses S. Grant: Migraine and Drunkenness – A Reconciliation
Introduction Allegations of drunkenness followed Ulysses S. Grant from his 1854 posting at Fort Humboldt in the Pacific Northwest to this day. There is a dissonan…
Stunning Identified CS Regulation Artillery Frock Coat
The coat is finely tailored of the best English wool, and faced with fiery red broadcloth. What makes this artillery captain’s frock stand apart from all others i…
Research Press Journal
I have mentioned Research Press Journal in this column before. It is a British publication, but there is a lot to learn in its pages for Americans, especially bec…
Perspectives on Sharpsburg, Phase Two
Stern necessity bade us be satisfied with simply holding our ground. – Col. Risden Bennett At the end of last month’s column we left the Confederates at the north…
Letters to the Editor — September 2020
TO THE EDITOR: Just wanted to send you a quick note to say “thank you” for your recent editorial in the August CWN. You hit the nail right on the head about monum…
John Walch’s 12-Shot Navy Revolver
In the March 2020 CWN, we looked at John Walch’s superimposed load, 10-shot pocket revolver; a gun that almost bankrupted Oliver Winchester and the New Haven Arms…
How Constructive was Grant’s Reconstruction?
General Grant’s leadership style was unique because of his military and political experience. His two terms as president covered the last eight years of the Radic…
Give Them Cold Steel Armstrong’s Raid – Part I
“It is reported that a rebel force of 6,000 cavalry have been sent to attack our lines. Keep a sharp lookout.” – U.S. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant On Aug. 14, 1862, C.S.…
Fort Sanders
The long summer of 1863 was marked in the eastern theater by Meade’s inability to crush Lee after Gettysburg. All summer long and into the fall, the two armies pu…
Emerging Civil War — September 2020
My car’s thermometer reads 76 degrees when I set off into the woods. The Chancellorsville History Trail leaves the parking lot across from the visitor center and…
Chattanooga Antique Militaria & Americana Show News
On July 25 & 26 one of the first shows during Covid-19 was held. In a year when so many things have gone wrong, something finally went right: the American Digger…
Book Reviews — September 2020
Indian Nations: Civil War within a Civil War Caught in the Maelstrom: The Indian Nations in the Civil War, 1861–1865. By Clint Crowe. Bibliography, footnotes, pho…
American Battlefield Trust — September 2020
Although many events and activities that typically mark the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg went digital in 2020, there was at least one tangible and perm…