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.

©2025 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.

THE FREEDOM SEEKERS

The 1864 Project is a limited series about the consequential decisions and events that shaped outcomes and affected lives during a pivotal year in the American Civil War.

On this episode, we're joined by Amy Murrell Taylor, the T. Marshall Hahn Jr. Professor of History at the University of Kentucky and author most recently of Embattled Freedom: Journeys through the Civil War's Slave Refugee Camps (2018). We talked about the experiences of those who escaped slavery during the Civil War, the role the Union army played in the process, and the establishment of "contraband" camps.

©2025 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.

THE PRISONER EXPERIENCE

The 1864 Project is a limited series about the consequential decisions and events that shaped outcomes and affected lives during a pivotal year in the American Civil War.

On this episode, we're joined by Evan Kutzler, associate professor of history at Western Michigan University and author of Living by Inches: The Smells, Sounds, Tastes, and Feeling of Captivity in Civil War Prisons (2019). We talked about the state of Civil War prisons in 1864, from the POW experience to how the breakdown of the formal prisoner exchange system affected conditions.

©2025 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.