The Civil War Monitor

Music

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Terry Johnston, Christian McWhirter) — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 04:00:00 +0000

The American Civil War remains one of the most pivotal and complex periods in our history. While much has been written, countless fascinating questions still spark our curiosity. In our podcast Civil War Curious, we enlist expert historians to answer your lingering questions about the conflict.

On this episode, we're joined by Christian McWhirter, who serves as a historical initiatives consultant for the Lincoln Presidential Foundation and editor of The Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association. He is the author of Battle Hymns: The Power and Popularity of Music in the Civil War. He discusses the importance of music during the conflict, both in the armies and on the homefront.

Sherman's March

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Terry Johnston, Anne Sarah Rubin) — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by Anne Sarah Rubin, a professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she teaches courses on the Civil War, American South, and the 19th-century United States. Her most recent book is The Perfect Scout: A Soldier’s Memoir of the Great March to the Sea and the Campaign of the Carolinas. In 2014 she published Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory, a study of the significance of Sherman’s March in American culture. She discusses the significant and lasting impact of William T. Sherman's March to the Sea.

Introducing Civil War Curious Season 2

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Terry Johnston) — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 04:00:00 +0000

How did the civilians and soldiers who lived through Sherman’s March view its impact years later? How central was music to the lives of Union and Confederate soldiers? And what is the real story behind Ulysses S. Grant’s supposed drinking problem?

I’m Terry Johnston, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Civil War Monitor. The American Civil War is a period of our history that we’re still trying to fully understand. Even with everything that's been written, there are still plenty of questions that deserve a closer look—from the personal character of its leaders to the way the war is portrayed in popular culture.

Welcome back to Civil War Curious, the podcast where we ask expert historians to help us navigate the complexities of the conflict. In our second season, we’ll be discussing a number of subjects, including the long-lasting impact of Sherman’s March to the Sea, the importance of music in the armies, and the truth about Grant’s relationship with alcohol. We’ll also take a look at the movie Gettysburg to see what it got right and where it took some creative liberties.

Civil War Curious Season 2 premieres soon. I hope you’ll join us.

The Telegraph

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (David Hochfelder, John Heckman) — Thu, 6 Nov 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Civil War Breakthroughs is a podcast that explores how the inventions, ideas, and innovations of the Civil War era defined a new kind of conflict. In our first season, The Technological War, we'll explore the technologies and concepts that brought the conflict into the modern age.

On this episode, we're joined by David Hochfelder, an associate professor of history at the University at Albany and author of The Telegraph in America: 1832-1920. He talks about the vital and often unseen role of the telegraph during the Civil War.

Photography

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Jennifer Raab, John Heckman) — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by Jennifer Raab, an associate professor in the Department of the History of Art at Yale University and author of Relics of War: The History of a Photograph. She talks about the power and importance of Civil War photography, including how the camera captured a brutal reality and shaped how we remember the war today.

Railroads

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Scott Huffard, John Heckman) — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by Scott Huffard, a professor of history at Lees-McRae College and author of Engines of Redemption: Railroads and the Reconstruction of Capitalism in the New South. He talks about how railroads became the engine of the Civil War, transforming everything from logistics to troop movements.

Wartime Industry

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Nathan Madison, John Heckman) — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by Nathan Madison, a historian, researcher, documentary producer/consultant, and author of Tredegar Iron Works: Richmond’s Foundry on the James. He talks about the crucial role played by northern and southern industries during the conflict, with a focus on how Richmond’s Tredegar Iron Works fueled the Confederate war effort.

The Naval War

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Gordon Calhoun, John Heckman) — Thu, 9 Oct 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by Gordon Calhoun, a historian at the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington, D.C. He talks about the pioneering developments in naval warfare that occurred during the Civil War, from the rise of ironclads to the birth of the submarine.

Ammunition

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Jonathan Noyalas, John Heckman) — Thu, 2 Oct 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by Jonathan Noyalas, professor of history and director of the McCormick Civil War Institute at Shenandoah University. He talks about the significance and impact of several key advances in Civil War era ammunition.

The Civil War Monitor presents Civil War Breakthroughs

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Terry Johnston) — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:00:00 +0000

A new network of wires and tracks changed the way a war was fought. On the seas, the age of sail gave way to the age of iron and steam. And on the home front, the camera transformed the way a nation saw conflict.

I’m Terry Johnston, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Civil War Monitor. The Civil War is a story of courage and conflict, but it is also the story of a nation that underwent profound and lasting change. While much has been written about the battles and leaders, we believe the pivotal innovations of the era are just as important.

Welcome to Civil War Breakthroughs, a new podcast series that explores how the inventions, ideas, and innovations of the era defined a new kind of conflict. In our first season, The Technological War, we'll explore the technologies and concepts that brought the conflict into the modern age. We’ll delve into the role of railroads as the engine of the war; the telegraph’s revolution of battlefield communication; the rise of the ironclad and submarine; the critical role played by industry; and the power of photography in shaping public opinion.

Civil War Breakthroughs premieres October 2. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. I hope you'll join us.

Postwar Drug Addiction

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Jonathan S. Jones, Terry Johnston) — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by Jonathan S. Jones, an assistant professor of history at James Madison University whose scholarship investigates the aftershocks of the Civil War in American society, culture, and medicine. His first book, Opium Slavery: Civil War Veterans and America's First Opioid Crisis, is forthcoming from the University of North Carolina Press. He discusses the causes and prevalence of postwar drug addiction among Union and Confederate veterans.

Black Confederates

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Kevin M. Levin, Terry Johnston) — Tue, 5 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by Kevin M. Levin, a historian and educator based in Boston. He is the author of numerous books and articles on the Civil War, including Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth (UNC Press, 2019). He discusses the nature of black men's service in the Confederate military during the Civil War.

McClellan's Pursuit of Lee

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (D. Scott Hartwig, Terry Johnston) — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by D. Scott Hartwig, former supervisory park historian at Gettysburg National Military Park and author of I Dread the Thought of the Place: The Battle of Antietam and the End of the Maryland Campaign (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023). He discusses Union general George McClellan’s slow pursuit of Robert E. Lee’s army after the Battle of Antietam.

McClellan and Special Orders 191

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (D. Scott Hartwig, Terry Johnston) — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by D. Scott Hartwig, former supervisory park historian at Gettysburg National Military Park and author of I Dread the Thought of the Place: The Battle of Antietam and the End of the Maryland Campaign (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023). He weighs in on whether George McClellan acted swiftly enough after receiving a copy of Robert E. Lee's operational orders for the 1862 Maryland Campaign.

Forrest and Fort Pillow

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Court Carney, Terry Johnston) — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by Court Carney is a professor of history at Stephen F. Austin State University and the author of Reckoning with the Devil: Nathan Bedford Forrest in Myth and Memory (LSU Press, 2024). He discuss why Nathan Bedford Forrest was not held accountable for the massacre of black soldiers at the Battle of Fort Pillow.

Soldiering and Weaponry

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Eric Michael Burke, Terry Johnston) — Tue, 8 Jul 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by Eric Michael Burke, a U.S. Army combat infantry veteran of the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan and a historian of culture and warfare in Europe and the Americas. His first book, Soldiers from Experience: The Forging of Sherman's Fifteenth Army Corps, 1862–1863, was published by LSU Press in 2022. He answers questions about the lives of Civil War soldiers and the weapons they used.

Chamberlain at Gettysburg

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Jessie Wheedleton, Terry Johnston) — Sat, 5 Jul 2025 17:56:38 +0000

On this episode, we're joined Jessie Wheedleton, a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park, a position she's held since 2018. Wheedleton answers questions about Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's performance at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Alcohol in the Armies

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Megan L. Bever, Terry Johnston) — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined Megan L. Bever, an associate professor of history at Missouri Southern State University and the author of At War with King Alcohol: Debating Drinking and Masculinity in the Civil War (2022). Bever discusses the prevalence of alcohol in Civil War armies and the many issues that resulted from its presence.

Turning Points

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Jennifer M. Murray, Terry Johnston) — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by Jennifer M. Murray, an assistant professor of history and director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War at Shepherd University who is working on a biography of Union general George G. Meade. Murray joins us to discuss whether she views Antietam or Gettysburg as the more significant turning point in the U.S. Civil War.

Soldiers and Religion

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (George Rable, Terry Johnston) — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 04:00:00 +0000

On this episode, we're joined by George Rable, professor emeritus at the University of Alabama and author of a number of critically acclaimed books on the Civil War era, including God's Almost Chosen Peoples A Religious History of the American Civil War (2010). Rable answers questions about the importance of religion during the Civil War, including how faith helped motivate Union and Confederate soldiers to enter—and remain in—the fight.

The Civil War Monitor presents Civil War Curious

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Terry Johnston, The Civil War Monitor) — Fri, 16 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered what drove soldiers to find solace in faith amid the horrors of war? Or how different the course of the Maryland Campaign might have been under different leadership? And what were the long-lasting wounds that the soldiers carried home with them?

I'm Terry Johnston, publisher and editor in chief of The Civil War Monitor. The American Civil War remains one of the most pivotal and complex periods in our history. While much has been written, countless fascinating questions still spark our curiosity—from understanding the key decisions that shape the conflict to pondering the compelling “what ifs” that could have changed everything.

Welcome to Civil War Curious, our new podcast series where we enlist expert historians to answer your lingering questions about the conflict. No subject is off limits, no issue too big or small. In our first season, we’ll delve into topics like soldiers’ religious faith, George McClellan’s controversial leadership during the 1862 Maryland Campaign, the tragic massacre at Fort Pillow, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s pivotal role at Gettysburg, and the often-overlooked issue of postwar drug addiction among veterans.

Civil War Curious premieres soon. I hope you'll join us.

The Freedom Seekers

terry@civilwarmonitor.com (Amy Murrell Taylor, Terry Johnston, John Heckman) — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

THE FREEDOM SEEKERS