Civil War News, 2025
6 issues published in 2025, with 93 articles indexed here.
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November-December 2025Vol. 51, No. 6 · 13 articles
September-October 2025Vol. 51, No. 5 · 15 articles
July-August 2025Vol. 51, No. 4 · 16 articles
May-June 2025Vol. 51, No. 3 · 16 articles
March-April 2025Vol. 51, No. 2 · 16 articles
January-February 2025Vol. 51, No. 1 · 17 articles
Articles from 2025
93 indexed
Vision and Valor The War Through Women’s Eyes
his article highlights female doctors in the Civil War, describing fewer women than the roles typically discussed in “Vision and Valor.” One reason for the small…
Through the Lens Does the General Expect us to Fly?
In retrospect, Gen. Robert E. Lee had no definite tactical plan for his Pennsylvania campaign. Thinking he was facing Gen. Joseph Hooker, Lee likely thought that…
This & That CSS Florida: early Trials and Tribulations
n a recent issue, I wrote of the final days of the CSS Florida and the diplomatic row which followed the ship’s capture by a Federal warship in a neutral port. Th…
The Graphic War John G. Keyser, Artist Soldier for the 24th N.J.
The Graphic War John G. Keyser Artist Soldier for the 24th New Jersey The Graphic War highlights prints and printmakers from the Civil War discussing their meanin…
The Dentist, The Emperor, and the American civil war
In the mid-19th century, a few American-trained dentists emigrated to Europe to practice their profession. Among them was 25-year-old Dr. Thomas W. Evans of Phila…
Library of Congress Collection 10-inch Columbiad in Charleston.
Confederate Brig. Gen. Roswell S. Ripley, commander of the Charleston District in Beauregard’s department, always worried about Federal ironclad gunboats getting…
Emerging Civil War Where Has the Time Flown?
By Chris Mackowski, Ph.D. Where Has the Time Flown? Third grade. I could hardly believe it. Wearing his favorite shirt, my youngest son, Maxwell, climbed onto the…
Critic’s Corner Harwell’s “In Tall Cotton”
“Confederate history has survived its eras of apology, of brag and bombast, of pietistic biography, of debunking, of reappraisal and revisionism,” Richard Barksda…
Civil War Book Reviews
Forgotten Kansas Union Soldier and U.S. Senator The Forgotten Senator: The Life and Character of Preston B. Plumb, by Johanna D. Wickman. Forward, acknowledgments…
Central Virginia Battlefields Trust Vision and Valor:
In December 1883, twenty-one years after the Battle of from the paved roads, utility lines, and automobiles that Fredericksburg, George C. Smithe, formerly a corp…
American Digger’s Antique
For the eighth year in a row, the Camp Jordan Arena in East Ridge, Tennessee, July 26-27, welcomed one of the Southeast’s premier gatherings for Civil War, antiqu…
47th Southeastern Civil War Show & Antique Gun show News
were plant based, and a number of plants were indigenous only in the Southern states. From a physician’s perspective, this was one of the few bright spots of the…
47th Annual Southeastern Civil War and Antique Gun Show
The North Georgia Relic Hunters Association held its 47th Annual Southeastern Civil War and Antique Gun Show on August 9-10, 2025. The show was held at the Cobb C…
Vision and Valor: The War Through Women’s eyes
This Vision and Valor article takes a detour from the usual focus on women’s roles in the Civil War. uring the Civil War, more than 95% of soldiers volunteered to…
USS Hartford “He Died for Me”
As the crow flies, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va., lies 795 miles from Mobile Bay in Alabama, about 690 nautical miles. While Admiral David Farragu…
Through the Lens One of the Fiercest Fights
spending some time building houses in the early 1830s in the fledgling village of Chicago, he went to sea as a ship’s carpenter and sailed the Pacific Ocean. He r…
This & That
n 2024, I devoted a column to a quiz, entitled “Testing Your General Knowledge.” I cited some data about the pre-war lives of men who later became famous and aske…
The Graphic War Andersonville
uring and after the war, several printmakers such as Charles Magnus, Edward Sachse, and the Rosenthal’s in Philadelphia produced lithographic images of federal ca…
THE UNFINISHED FIGHT: THE BELGIAN MUSKET IN THE CIVIL WAR
There were many European smoothbore muskets (manufacturers), in Liege during the War. The Belgian gunin use on both sides early in the U.S. Civil War. In maker’s…
Phil Sheridan’s Widow Her Campaign to Protect His Memory
Anger consumed Irene Sheridan in mid-September 1888 as she read a newspaper article announcing the upcoming release of a biography of her recently deceased husban…
Moment of Mercy and Reflection Cooling Down
Frozen water or ice, as it is more commonly referred to, is something not taken for granted in the humid South. This was especially true during the Civil War. Whi…
Fiercest Fights One Of The
In August 1864, control of the Shenandoah Valley, Va., pitted Union Gen. Philip Sheridan, Army of the Shenandoah, against. Confederate Gen. Jubal Early, Valley Ca…
Emerging Civil War
Sergeant Richard Kirkland of the 2nd South Carolina Infantry leans with a canteen over a wounded soldier cradled in his arms. The wounded man is a member of the 1…
Critic’s Corner The South Won the War
Actually, this genre of counterfactualism goes back further than even the past century…even before the war itself. In 1836, a fifty-two-year-old law professor at…
Civil War Book Reviews
Civil War History of Charleston’s Castle Pinckney Holding Charleston by the Bridle: Castle Pinckney and the Civil War. By W. Clifford Roberts, Jr. and Matthew A.…
Central Virginia Battlefields Trust
From a strategic and tactical military standpoint, Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside’s January 1863, “Mud March” was an unmitigated disaster for the Army of the Potomac.…
Behind the Lines
the rush to create interpretive media for the visitors’ centers, some results showed the hurry, as with the film for Shiloh, which had some embarrassing lapses, n…
Awards Announced For Excellence In U.S. Army History Writing
Awards Announced For Excellence In U.S. Army History Writing FORT BELVOIR, VA – The Army Historical Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 Army…
Wyse Fork
Over the March 8 weekend, the Historic Preservation Group presented a two day tour of the recently protected battlefield of Wyse Fork. In actuality, three engagem…
Vision and Valor The War Through Women’s Eyes
Think for a moment about all the keystrokes made on all the cell phones so constantly present in the hands of boys and girls (and adults of all ages) these days.…
This & That Through the Lens
s many readers will know, the CSS Florida was a highly-successful commerce raider. Cruising from January 1863 until October 1864, the vessel preyed on Northern sh…
The Work Of The Very Devil Himself
On July 2, 1863, about 6 p.m., during the Battle of Gettysburg, Penn., C.S. Gen. James Longstreet’s, Army of Northern Virginia, 15,500 men were driving U.S. Gen.…
The Unfinished Fight
Atraditional New Year’s dinner in the South during the mid-19th century would not be complete without serving the famous dish known as Hoppin John. It is a single…
The Graphic War
He was destined to be an historian, and he began his life’s work as an artist. John B. Bachelder was a lithographer, a photographer, and a landscape painter, yet…
Home of Joseph Holt Vision and Valor:
Joseph Holt was born in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, in 1807. His family was a slave-owning family who raised tobacco and hemp on their farm near the village of…
Emerging Civil War 47th Annual Family Event
The Atlanta Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that it has chosen Daniel A. Masters as the winner of its 2025 Richard Barksdale Harwell Award for his He…
Critic’s Corner The End of an Era - John S. Wise
Virginian John Sergeant Wise (1846–1913) was fourteen when the war broke out. His father, a well-to-do planter in eastern Virginia, saw to the lad’s education, wh…
Civil War Book Reviews
Excellent Introductory Study Race to the Potomac: Lee and Meade After Gettysburg, July 4-14, 1863. By Bradley M. Gottfried and Linda I. Gottfried. Savas Beatie, s…
Central Virginia Battlefields Trust “Dressing Wounds & Sending Back the Disabled”
The sheer size of the contending forces virtually ensured that the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House would…
Behind the Lines
An Event for All Ages One of the show’s greatest strengths is its ability to connect generations. Young families, seasoned collectors, and educators roamed the fa…
Behind the Lines
My interest in history originated when I got interested in genealogy at a very early age, about 10 or 11. Knowing that I had ancestors who landed at Jamestown in…
Anesthesia
Anesthesia was a relatively new innovation and science at the time of the Civil War. However, the search for a way to conquer pain is as old as humanity itself. E…
America Battlefield Trust
Trust Launches Historic $125 Million Battlefield Preservation Campaign In recognition of the nation’s upcoming 250th birthday, the Trust has launched the most amb…
A Regiment Doomed from the Start Spared & Shared
Some regiments in the Civil War achieved glory, while others found only heartbreak. Few regiments suffered the enormous pain and sorrow that fell upon the boys of…
This & That Forty Year’s Worth of Artifacts
hen he was twelve, John Dietrichs bought a Confederate cannonball. That first acquisition is now on display in the house where John and his wife Carol reside in D…
The Unfinished Fight Charles Derudio
Aquestion arose about whether past indiscretions might prevent someone otherwise qualified from serving in the U.S. military during the Civil War. An individual w…
The Graphic War Imagining Emancipation
Historian Richard Hofstadter labeled the legalese in the Emancipation Proclamation as “all of the grandeur of a bill of lading.” Immediately upon proclaiming free…
The Columbus Belmont Battlefield Through the Lens
On March 3, 1865, U.S. Gen. William T. Sherman’s Around 2:30 p.m., the 21st Mich. Infantry could see the Army of the Tennessee entered North Carolina Confederates…
The Columbus Belmont Battlefield
On September 3, 1861, Confederate army units under the command of General Leonidas Polk invaded Kentucky, and occupied bluffs above the Mississippi River at Colum…
Spared & Shared
By William Griffing We are thrilled to welcome William J. Griffing to Civil War News with his new column, Shared & Spared. Known for his dedication to preserving…
Interview with Harold Holzer
Interview with Harold Holzer Interviewed by Jonathan W. White Harold Holzer is the Jonathan F. Fanton Director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at H…
In Memoriam – Mort Künstler
Mort Künstler once said in an interview that he would prefer to be remembered as a great athlete, but he had to settle for being hailed as America’s most prominen…
Fighting for the Forts The War Before The War
Fort Sumter is frequently viewed as the “beginning of the Civil War.” But in reality, a small war had been underway for four months before the first shots were fi…
Emerging Civil War Civil War to Civil Rights in Montgomery, Ala.
The telegram that began the Civil War: that’s a mighty big claim. But that’s what the Alabama state historical marker at the foot of Dexter Street says, or close…
Critic’s Corner The Civil War: A Narrative Volume Three
e was to go for Lee and I was to go for Joe Johnston. That was his plan.” Shelby Foote opens his third volume of The Civil War with these words from Sherman in Ma…
Civil War Book Reviews
Demonstrates the Benefits of Comparative History The Civil War in the Age of Nationalism. By Niels Eichhorn & Duncan A. Campbell. Notes, index, 344 pp., 2024. Lou…
Central Virginia Battlefields Trust Drawn to War: Sketch Artists in the Civil War
ooking back on the hardships and risks of his chosen profession providing the public with an accurate picture of the conflict, Civil War sketch artist Theodore R.…
Behind the Lines
If Winston Churchill really originated all the famous quotations attributed to him, Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations would be called Churchill’s. One expression oft…
America Battlefield Trust Preserve. Educate. Inspire.
The 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment originally entered service near the beginning of the American Civil War on April 26, 1861, as a three-month unit…
A view from Columbus Park across the Mississippi River at the Belmont Battlefield.
On November 7, 1861, Grant loaded the 22nd Illinois, 27th Illinois, 30th Illinois, 31st Illinois and 7th Iowa onto six steamboats, and escorted by the gunboats US…
“Behold A Pale Horse” Captain Winston J.T. Stephens and the St. Johns
think if any Yankees sleep to night on the west side of Cedar Creek, it will be in their last sleep,” Confederate Captain Winston J.T. Stephens confidentially wro…
Vision and Valor: The War Through Women’s eyes
When considering the roles of women in the Civil War that met important needs of soldiers, one image that should spring to mind is that of an army marching into b…
The Unfinished Fight
Civil War soldiers ate more beans than any other vegetable. When meat was scarce, the most common protein alternative widely available was beans. It is important…
The Graphic War Dodging the Draft: Offering a Substitute, A
D o d g ing t h e d r a ft : Of f eri ng a S ub st i t u t e , a s ce n e i n the offi c e o f t he P rovo st M a r s h a l l The Graphic War highlights prints an…
Show News
The 37th Annual Middle Tennessee Civil War Show kicked off on a frosty Friday morning, December 6, as collectors and history enthusiasts braved frigid temperature…
Lincoln Forum 29th Meeting in Gettysburg
The 29th meeting of the Lincoln Forum, held November 16–18, 2024, at Gettysburg’s Wyndham Hotel, set new records for attendance, first-time attendees, and, perhap…
Fort Fisher’s New Visitor Center and reconstructed Earthworks
On October 29, 2024, after years of anticipation and overcoming challenges like flooding delays, the new visitor center at Fort Fisher State Historic Site finally…
Fidelity: The Fighting Swearers
efore the American Revolution slavery was practiced in all 13 British colonies which were to form the United States. In the last years of the 18th century and the…
Fidelity:
Lieutenant Jefferson C. Davis, Company E, First that trade his entire adult life except for a few months during United States Artillery, and John Swearer, a the s…
Famous Civil War Quotes
“I see the President almost every day. I see very plainly Abraham Lincoln’s dark brown face with its deep-cut lines, the eyes always to me with a deep latent sadn…
Emerging Civil War A Visit to the Battle of Franklin Battlefield
race Adkins is a mountain of a man—stoic as a mountain, too. Standing by the cannon near the Carter Cotton Gin, he surveyed the ground with eyes that could see ac…
Critic’s Corner The Civil War: A Narrative Volume Two
fter an absence of two years,” Jefferson Davis declared to the Mississippi legislature upon his return on Dec. 26, 1862, recalling how he had left in February 186…
Civil War Book Reviews For current events visit CivilWarEvents.com
A Fine Introduction to The Battle of Nashville They Came Only to Die: The Battle of Nashville, December 15-16, 1864. By Sean Michael Chick. Savas Beatie, savasbea…
Central Virginia Battlefields Trust Soldiers’ Winter Quarters in Central Virginia
he timing of the Civil War battles and campaigns fought in central Virginia helped ensure that the soldiers spent a significant amount of downtime living in winte…
Behind the Lines
Afew fortunate people can look back on working careers spent doing what they gladly would have done for nothing. I have been one of those lucky ones. The job and…
America Battlefield Trust
Trust Appeals Prince William Digital Gateway Rezoning Decision In December, the Trust and nine local residents appealed the Prince William Circuit Court’s October…
“Playing War!” Sham Battles During and After the Civil War
Shortly after reveille sounded in the camps of Union General Franz Sigel’s army south of Winchester, Virginia, the morning of May 6, 1864, the commander of the Th…
Through the Lens My Father is Here
Confederate Gen. “Prince” John Bankhead Magruder name gracing a lake, a city, and a county. Lea interacted took command of the District of Texas, New Mexico, with…
This & That Lincoln’s Cabinet
ne of my great grandfathers died in the 1930s from an infection which developed after he suffered a minor cut. A great-great grandfather was twice widowed while h…
The Unfinished Fight
Beginning in 2020, supply chain shortages with U.S. terms of historical feature accuracy. First introduced in Civil War reproduction firearms, particularly black…
The Graphic War Ehrgott and Forbriger
E hrg ott an d Fo r b r i g e r , West er n L i t h o g r a p h e r s By Salvatore Cilella The Graphic War highlights prints and printmakers from the Civil War di…
Riddick’s Folly Embraces Cordial Civil war Era Letter
When Mills Riddick’s ostentatious twenty-oneroom mansion with sixteen fireplaces was completed in 1839 next to the Nansemond County Courthouse, his neighbors mock…
N-SSA 150th National Competition
he North-South Skirmish Association held its 150th National Competition October 4-6, 2024, with its usual exciting small arms and artillery team matches. However,…
John S. Clark’s Estimate of Confederate Strength, Sept. 1862
The author begins by acknowledging the seminal research on Confederate Homespun Dresses done by Vicki Betts. Betts conducted a comprehensive and exhaustive study…
Introducing the 2024-25 Youth Leadership Team
Save 23 Acres at Shiloh and Half-Acre at Chattanooga The Trust recently launched a campaign to preserve 23 acres of Shiloh Battlefield and half an acre at Chattan…
Famous Civil War Quotes
stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when a…
Emerging Civil War Bentonville, N.C.
Where the Familiar Seems Different From a tour bus, the fields that comprise most of the Bentonville battlefield look flat and open. But as I stood on the edge of…
Critic’s Corner Reading Mary Boykin Chestnut
…will never be the same. Like you, probably, I grew up reading Mrs. Chesnut’s Diary from Dixie decades ago in a paperback reprint of the 1949 edition, as prepared…
Civil War Book Reviews For current events visit CivilWarEvents.com
Emerging Civil War Blog Posts in a Single Package War in the Western Theater: Favorite Stories and Fresh Perspectives from the Historians at Emerging Civil War. E…
Charleston Free Badge
By 1790 Charleston was the fourth largest city in America, with a population and in excess of 16,000 inhabitants. Of these, 7,684 were enslaved and 586 were “free…
Burnside’s Invasion of East Tennessee: A More Accurate View of
While much has been written about the advance of Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside’s Army of the Ohio into East Tennessee in late August 1863, many narratives are per…
Burnside’s Invasion of East Tennessee
On September 23, 1862, three days after the Maryland Campaign came to its bloody conclusion near Shepherdstown (West) Virginia, the U.S. Secretary of War, Edwin M…
Behind the Lines
The Civil War has been declared dead more than once. That is, pundits have declared that interest in the subject has fallen off and Americans’ attentions have gon…