Podcast
The Civil War Monitor
Hosted by The Civil War Monitor · EN
A new look at America's greatest conflict.
11episodes
Episodes
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Grant and Lee’s Postwar Relationship
5d ago00:23:04Tap to summarizeThe 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 Joan Waugh, professor emeritus of history at UCLA and the author of a number of works on the Civil War era, including U.S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth (2009), The Memory of the Civil War in American Culture (2004), and, with Gary W. Gallagher, The American War (2023). She discusses the post–Civil War relationship between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, as well as whether former Union and Confederate military leaders got along after the conflict. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.
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Soldier Life
2w ago00:34:32Tap to summarizeThe 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 Aaron Sheehan-Dean, the Fred C. Frey Professor of Southern Studies at Louisiana State University and the author or editor of a number of books on the Civil War era, including The Calculus of Violence: How Americans Fought the Civil War and, most recently, Fighting With the Past: How Seventeenth-Century History Shaped the American Civil War. He answers questions relating to Civil War soldier life, from the ways in which troops spent their down time to how they navigated the hospital system when sick or wounded. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.
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Soldier Training
3w ago00:36:26Tap to summarizeThe 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 Aaron Sheehan-Dean, the Fred C. Frey Professor of Southern Studies at Louisiana State University and the author or editor of a number of books on the Civil War era, including The Calculus of Violence: How Americans Fought the Civil War and, most recently, Fighting With the Past: How Seventeenth-Century History Shaped the American Civil War. He answers several questions pertaining to the training that Union and Confederate soldiers received during the Civil War. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.
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Chancellorsville
4w ago00:29:56Tap to summarizeThe 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 Gary W. Gallagher, the John L. Nau III Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Virginia. He is the author or editor of a number of books on the Civil War, most recently The Enduring Civil War: Reflections on the Great American Crisis, and has recently finished writing a history of the Battle of Chancellorsville. He discusses how the Confederate flank attack at Chancellorsville was able to succeed, as well as which of the opposing commanders—Joseph Hooker or Robert E. Lee—was more responsible for the battle’s ultimate outcome. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.
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Gettysburg Battlefield Guides
Apr 2100:24:21Tap to summarizeThe 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 Garry Adelman, the chief historian at the American Battlefield Trust, the vice president of the Center for Civil War Photography, and, since 1995, a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg. He discusses his role as a Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide, including what it takes to become one and the questions he’s most frequently asked by visitors. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.
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"Gettysburg" the Movie
Apr 1400:26:54Tap to summarizeThe 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 Garry Adelman, the chief historian at the American Battlefield Trust, the vice president of the Center for Civil War Photography, and, since 1995, a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg. He discusses the enduring legacy of the 1993 movie Gettysburg, including what he thinks it got right and wrong historically. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.
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Ulysses S. Grant
Apr 700:43:54Tap to summarizeThe 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 Brooks D. Simpson, ASU Foundation Professor of History at Arizona State University and author of a number of books on the Civil War, including Let Us Have Peace: Ulysses S. Grant and the Politics of War and Reconstruction and Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph Over Adversity. He assesses Grant's best and worst military moments and addresses rumors of his wartime drinking. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.
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Music
Mar 3100:35:15Tap to summarizeThe 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. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.
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Sherman's March
Mar 2400:31:55Tap to summarizeThe 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 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. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.
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Introducing Civil War Curious Season 2
Mar 1900:01:02Tap to summarizeHow 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. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.
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