Departments · 62 Articles
Battles & Campaigns
Engagements, sieges, raids, and the operational decisions behind them, walked over the ground where they happened.
Featured in Battles & Campaigns
Spared & Shared A Time For Memory and For Tears
This well-composed letter written before Petersburg in July 1864—just days before the Battle of the Crater— was composed by Robert Nelson Traver (1841–1904) who was well known during the war as “Old Po’keepsie.” Robert was the seventh of…
All Battles & Campaigns
62 articles · 2019–2026
Houston CWRT Frank E. Vandiver Award
On July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of cartridges to each man and filling their stomachs. Captain Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, C.S. Gen. John Bell James E.…
Two Artists: One Forgotten Battle
General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, ordered his commanders to move from their earthworks and to cross the Potomac River from Maryla…
The Graphic War The Connecticut Plan
The lithographic firm of Currier and Ives was not known for its political cartoons. Rather, it chose to document the battles and leaders of the Civil War with an…
Critic’s Corner
Bull’s narrative of his service in the campaign and in the Federal occupation of Atlanta, May 13-November 15, runs about 30% of his entire memoir. This alone make…
Chicora Cemetery Honors
Chicora Cemetery on the Averasboro battlefield site is, like all battleground burial grounds, a place of sadness and remembrance, where the fallen are honored for…
The Fight for Manassas Battlefield
The 2025 Middle Tennessee Civil War Show, held on December 6th and 7th in Franklin, Tennessee, closed out another successful year of events, leaving dealers and a…
Spared & Shared Battle of Roanoke Island Letter
The next morning we did not move but the small boats were in advance to lookout the ground. Friday morning the 7th, orders were to move on and so we did—the gunbo…
N-SSA celebrates its 75th Anniversary with History, Competition
The North-South Skirmish Association (N-SSA) held its 152nd National Competition October 3-5, 2025 at Fort Shenandoah near Winchester, Va. Member units compete in…
Critic’s Corner
The best battle books describe the fighting with enough I call the difference between the practical and the sublime. detail to be definitive without sinking to ex…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
Mathematically Impossible
he October 8, Summer and fall had 1862, Battle of been oppressively “I believed that a charge would end in my Perryville, Ky., hot, and water was death and the de…
THE LAWBOOK RAID
On June 20, 1863, the newly formed state of West Virginia was admitted to the United States. The northern portion of the new state mostly favored the Union. Conve…
Sacred Places, Profane Scenes: Central Virginia’s Battlefield churches
he names of churches that were on or near some Civil War’s battlefields are familiar to many students of the conflict. Places like Shiloh Church; Dunker Church at…
Medal of Honor for Two of Andrews’ Raiders
On July 3, President Biden at the White House bestowed Medals of Honor to descendants of two Union soldiers who had participated in the daring Andrews’ Railroad R…
Shenandoah Shootout at the N-SSA 149th Nationals
Winchester, Virginia, is an appropriate location for the North-South Skirmish Association’s home range. N-SSA units represent both Union and Confederate teams and…
Misleading History: N-SSA 149th Nationals
On May 22, 1863, the Stockade Redan was the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of the entire Vicksburg campaign. Sergeant George Powell Clark, a member of th…
the truth at cassvile Was Joe Johnston honest
With selected images, maps, and excerpts from The Cassville Affairs: Johnston, Hood, and the Failed Confederate Strategy in the Atlanta Campaign, 19 May 1864, Mer…
How Shall All These Would be Healed?
Editor’s Note: This story and photo feature has been adapted from articles that appeared in the April 2013 and December 2014 issues of Battlefield Photographer, t…
Remembering Dean Thomas
Remembering Dean Thomas Author, Historian, and Publisher Dean S. Thomas, 74, passed away on July 15 at his home in Fairfield, after a courageous battle with cance…
Events — October 2023
General Meade & his Generals and the veterans of the Battle of Gettysburg Honor/Dedication Ceremonies during the Remembrance Day Observance. Honoring all commande…
Clendennin’s Raid: Forgotten Foray Between Chancellorsville and Gettysburg
Clendennin’s Raid: Forgotten Foray Between Chancellorsville and Gettysburg By Tim Talbott When one thinks of army operations that happened between the Battles of…
We Are As Good As Ten Thousand Battle of South Mountain – Part I
We Are As Good As Ten Thousand Battle of South Mountain – Part I “Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home.” – U.S. Ge…
The Mule Shoe Struggle
By Jeffry D. Wert The Union assault on the Confederate position known as the Mule Shoe near Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, on May 12, 1864, began a hellish o…
“The Men Fell on All Sides”: Kershaw’s Brigade at Fredericksburg
“The Men Fell on All Sides”: Kershaw’s Brigade at Fredericksburg By Tim Talbott At Fredericksburg, South Carolinians battled on both ends of the Confederate line.…
Tributes and Targets at N-SSA 147th Nationals
at N-SSA 147th Nationals By Bruce W. Miller The North-South Skirmish Association (N-SSA) held its 147th National Competition May 17 through 21, 2023. Member units…
Events — August 2023
Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute annual fall seminar and tour with Prof. Jonathan A. Noyalas, “Breaking the Shenandoah Valley’s Gibraltar: Ba…
Battle of Perryville Kentucky: the Hankla Farm
Battle of Perryville Kentucky: the Hankla Farm By Charles H. Bogart The Battle of Perryville, Ky., was fought October 8, 1862. This was the largest Civil War batt…
160th Anniversary of the Battle of Helena
By Professor Earnest Veritas Special Correspondent to – Western Theater – The Mississippi River Battle of Helena, Ark., July 4, 1863, was a well-intentioned effor…
“We Were Obliged to Retire:” Bartlett’s Brigade’s May 5, 1864, Wilderness Experience
“We Were Obliged to Retire:” Bartlett’s Brigade’s May 5, 1864, Wilderness Experience By Tim Talbot Depending on a host of circumstances, the fighting that unfolde…
Battle of Falling Waters 1863
By George Franks During the morning and early afternoon of July 14, 1863, the four brigades of Confederate General Henry “Harry” Heth’s Division, Hill’s Corps, ba…
The Chickamauga Campaign Trail
The Chickamauga Campaign Trail Until late in the Civil War’s third year, Federal forces had made no major incursions into the Confederacy’s third most populous st…
Brotherly Bonds Broken at Spotsylvania
Brotherly Bonds Broken at Spotsylvania While there were occasions during the Civil War where brothers opposed each other in battle, it was far more common for fam…
Atlanta Campaign Trail, Part 2
Too strong to assault and too extensive to invest Last month’s column covered the Atlanta Campaign as marked by Georgia Civil War Heritage Trails, from its starti…
The Vermont Brigade at the Wilderness
The Vermont Brigade at the Wilderness Few brigades, Union or Confederate, sustained the numbers of casualties and encountered the trying situations that the Vermo…
Tattered, Battered, Bareheaded, And Blood-Smeared
Tattered, Battered, Bareheaded, And Blood-Smeared “Once more! Try the steel! Hell for ten minutes and we are out of it!” – U.S. Gen. Joshua Chamberlain By late Ma…
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation Piedmont Battlefield 2022 saw great progress in permanently protecting key portions of the twenty battlefields the Found…
Georgia Civil War Heritage Trails: The Atlanta Campaign, Part 1
the Southern defenders held a naturally strong position, one made stronger when they created a lake by damming up the creek. Further south along Rocky Face Ridge…
One Soldier’s Ups and Downs with the Stonewall Brigade
by Carl L. Sell Jr. This is the story of one member of the Stonewall Brigade. He survived the Civil War despite fighting in major battles, being wounded and captu…
Letters to the Editor
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR I was interested to read the article in the February 2023 Civil War News about the Battle of Olustee. If any of your readers are interested…
Events Section — March 2023
The 158th Anniversary of one of the last Confederate victories of the Civil War. Experience history coming alive during a weekend of battles, demonstrations, tour…
The Battle Of Olustee, Or Ocean Pond, Florida.
Reprinted from an article written by Gen. Samuel Jones and Gen. Joseph R. Hawley in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. 4, 1888, pp. 76-80. THE fourth year…
A Natural Battleground
A Natural Battleground Mountain passes, rivers, fords, roads and (in modern times) railroads often determine how armies move and consequently influence where armi…
A Monumental Confederate Gesture
by Joseph Wilson After the Civil War, monuments funded by states and private groups began populating the battlefields. Towns followed by erecting statues along th…
Events — January 2023
demonstrations, tours, displays, music, crafts, food, and Saturday’s Blue Grey Ball! Tour the historic log cabin, schoolhouse, jail, mercantile building, and sold…
Cyrus McCormick and the Battle of Shiloh
We have written before about the intersection of commerce and the horrors of war through the marketplace of lithographs. In this month’s column we feature the mor…
In de Land ob Cotton: Dan Emmett’s Famous Song
by Stephen Davis I’m trying to remember where I read some observer’s only half-jestful comment about the difference between “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and…
Champagne Dreams John Hunt Morgan’s 1863 Raid – Part II
Champagne Dreams John Hunt Morgan’s 1863 Raid – Part II “A street fight is one of the most desperate modes of warfare known to a soldier. The advantage is strongl…
A 40-horse wagon train pulls Jackson’s engines to Staunton
by Carl Sell Jr. The February issue of the Civil War News included a story about Colonel Thomas Jackson’s spring 1861 raid on the B&O Railroad that resulted in en…
“I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now”
Atlanta Campaign 1. Who was the Union army commander killed in the battle fought east of Atlanta on July 22, 1864? 2. Who was Johnston’s and Hood’s cavalry comman…
Chambersburg Civil War Seminars & Tours Announces Ted Alexander’s Retirement and Successor Eric Wittenberg
Chambersburg Civil War Seminars & Tours Announces Ted Alexander’s Retirement and Successor Eric Wittenberg Ted Alexander, retired chief historian at Antietam Nati…
155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad
155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad Petersburg National Battlefield observes the 155th Anniversaries of the Battles of the Crater and Weldon Rai…