union army

A long shadow: The road to Appomattox – Part 3: 1864-1865

In the third part of our series on the American Civil War, Fred Chiaventone traces the conflict’s bloody final months.

Turning point: The road to Appomattox – Part 2: 1863

Fred Chiaventone reveals how Abraham Lincoln was forced to reorganise his forces, hoping for better results after a series of stunning reversals.

MHM 136 Letters – September

Your thoughts on issues raised by the magazine.

Left The Battle of Gettysburg. A 19th century print shows Major General Winfield S Hancock riding along the Union lines during the Confederate bombardment prior to Pickett’s Charge.

Gettysburg: the five key myths

The greatest battle in American history took place 160 years ago this summer, in July 1863. Fred Chiaventone identifies some common misunderstandings about this crucial engagement.

The Past

This week: The American Civil War

The most important event in the history of the USA began with a disagreement – over the place of slavery in a democratic society. By the time it ended, more than 620,000 Union and Confederate soldiers had given their lives…

OPPOSITE Andrew Gardner’s photo of Lincoln and McClellan meeting in the General’s campaign tent near the Antietam battlefield in October 1862 is famous. It is posed, of course, but the body language still looks distinctly awkward.

Firing the Generals: Lincoln v McClellan

President Abraham Lincoln and Prime Minister Winston Churchill have such iconic status as the victorious leaders of their countries in the American Civil War and World War II respectively that they often seem beyond criticism. Yet, at the height of the conflicts, they both risked all by firing their leading generals. Although Lincoln had no previous military knowledge or experience, whereas Churchill had fought in battles and witnessed war both as a soldier and war correspondent, they acted with similar decision and despatch when their generals seemed either incompetent or not to be fighting with the aggressive spirit they demanded. In the first of two articles, Nigel Jones describes Lincoln’s long search for a war-winning general, and his feud with the ultra-cautious General George B McClellan.

Raising the dead, 1865

In June 1864, Cold Harbor was the site of a fortnight-long battle during the American Civil War.

A year later, photographer John Reekie visited the battlefield and captured pictures of men as they roamed the fields, collecting and reburying the bones of dead soldiers.