2017

Altogether Fitting and Proper: Civil War Battlefield Preservation in History, Memory, and Policy, 1861-2015. By Timothy B. Smith. Photos, notes…

“Another year has nearly closed but before I moralize I will revert to facts… Harvey and our clerk John have together taken French Leave” (Civil War…

An email from a nephew led me do some detective work. An ancestor, my nephew informed me, was accused of mistreating Federal prisoners at the…

After a conversation with some friends about Spencer rifles and/ or carbines issued to infantry “sharpshooters” in the last year of the Civil War, I…

When an historical event is passing into legend, it helps to have a poem written about it.

“I captured a splendid revolver, our Col. says we can keep all our booty.”– R. Wallace Mitchell, 16th Penn. Cavalry, wrote in a letter home to his…

Two Against Lincoln: Reverdy Johnson and Horatio Seymour, Champions of the Loyal Opposition. By William C. Harris. Photographs, notes, bibliography…

“Dear Sir, there is one hundred and fifty double-barrell shotguns here, all in good order. Shall I send them to have the Bowie knife attached to…

I could not help thinking that there was a better way to deal with the Indians than to begin with the conquering sword and follow it up with…

If there was ever an iconic publication in the gun world, it would have to be Gun Digest. The classic annual, now celebrating its 72nd year of…

In my column last March I wrote about The Bell Irvin Wiley Reader, a collection of the great Civil War historian’s writings assembled by Hill Jordan…

The revolvers designed by C.S. Pettengill were some of the more unique percussion handguns produced in mid-19th century America. The pistols were…

Determined to Stand and Fight: The Battle of Monocacy, July 9, 1864, by Ryan T. Quint. Illustrations, maps, photos, index, online footnotes…

“Some of our boys got Austrian rifles, some Enfield, and others Springfield. I got the Enfield, and Bob got the finest arm of the whole lot, a fine…

The mob attacks on Confederate monuments remind me of the “useful idiots” and “rent-a-thugs” who are happily condoned, if not employed outright by…

I recently received some more material for my Civil War firearms in the field information file from my North Carolina correspondent and battlefield…

The American Heritage Short History

The Freeman Army Revolver, a Civil War contract handgun that was never delivered.

Reviewed by James A. Percoco

Just south of Nashville, the City of LaVergne, Tenn., celebrated a milestone anniversary last month. Originally incorporated in 1860, the city…

In the October 2017 issue of Civil War Times is an article titled “Empty Pedestals. What Should Be Done With Civic Monuments To The Confederacy And…

Some years ago a dedicated group of preservationists in Tennessee, “Raise the Gunboats, Inc.”, retrieved a collection of artifacts from the Tennessee…

Dave Powell is, of course, the ultimate Chickamauga guru. His expertise goes well beyond that crucial battle, though. Dave recently posted some words…

Come Retribution: The Confederate Secret Service and the Assassination of Lincoln

In 1847, the Whitney Arms Company made its first foray into the production of handguns. From the time the company was founded by the inventor of the…

Reviewed by Jay Jorgensen

In July 1864 the first Confederate Prisoners of War arrived at Elmira, N.Y., Prison Camp, sent from Maryland’s infamous Point Lookout to relieve…

tals 15 volumes and 7,505 pages.

Reader Jay Hull wrote me after reading my May column discussing the prototype of Pedersoli’s new reproduction .54 caliber Model 1854 Lorenz rifle.…

Following the battle of Franklin, Nov. 30, 1864, Confederate Gen. John B. Hood had few tactical options when Union Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield’s army…

The Maynard breechloading percussion carbine was the invention of dental surgeon and firearms innovator Dr. Edward Maynard. Dr. Maynard is probably…

Armies in Gray: The Organizational History of the Confederate States Army in the Civil War. By Dan C. Fullerton. Notes, 1,338 pp., 2017. Louisiana…

The illustration depicts an exchange between two cartoon characters which would have been familiar to all American citizens (and soldiers) during the…

160 pages of the best selection of historical reenactment items from Medieval era to Civil War era. Includes over 60 pages on our famous tents and a…

Quick: what do Winston Churchill and Newt Gingrich have in common?

Last month we started a twopart series about the ten books that I feel are an essential part of any Civil War firearms collector’s library. We…

A Confederate in Congress-The Civil War Treason Trial of Benjamin Gwinn Harris. By Joshua E. Kastenberg. Notes, bibliography, index, 198 pp., 2016…

In 2013, the Sandusky, Ohio, Library Archives Research Center acquired a very important document about the Prisoners of War at Johnson’s Island Civil…

After the shooting stopped most Confederates went home and, encouraged by the words of Robert E. Lee, tried to be as good citizens as they had been…

I like it when a topic “lingers” as reader Jim Thomas, the brother of Dean Thomas, the ammunition guru, characterized it. The topic, unsurprisingly…

J. William Jones, Personal Reminiscences

Eli Whitney Jr. was probably the single largest supplier of “contract arms” to the state and local militias of the United States during the middle of…

Summon Only the Brave! Commanders, Soldiers, and Chaplains at Gettysburg. By John W. Brinsfield Jr. Maps, photos, appendices, bibliography, index…

“After being camped there a few days, a detail of fifteen men was called to go to Richmond, Louisiana, to watch Gen’l Grant’s movements, whose army…

Pictured here is Iris Lee Gay Jordan, the daughter of Lewis Gay, who served as a private in the 4th Florida Infantry Regiment.

I recently heard from friend Bill Adams regarding his work with the Massachusetts Antique Arms Collectors’ annual outing. Bill has organized a…

Last month, while talking about the some of the alterations performed on Austrian Model 1842 Muskets imported for use during the American Civil War…