Emerging Civil War

The Civil War's worst civilian disaster in the north took place just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when the Allegheny Arsenal exploded. Historian Rich Condon of Civil War Pittsburgh joins the Emerging Civil War Podcast to share the details. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air museum, offering more than 1,500 sites a...

To escape from slavery in Charleston, South Carolina, all Robert Smalls had to do was smuggle his family onto a boat, steal it from Confederate officers, sneak past the harbor defenses, slip beneath the guns of Fort Sumter, and aim for the safety of the Federal blockade. Historian Walt Young joins the Emerging Civil War Podcast to share the story. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is...

The 54th Massachusetts Infantry--mustered in Boston but recruited from across the North--has become one of the most famous units of the Civil War. It's commander, Col. Robert Shaw, had roots in both Boston and New York City. Historian and Shaw biographer Kevin Levin shares the origin story of the unit and its leader--part of our look at "The Cities of War" in advance of our 11th Annu...

As we prepare for the upcoming 11th Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge, focusing this year on "The Cities of War," Emerging Civil War's Ryan Quint shares a pair of stories from wartime Portland, Maine: the battle of Portland Harbor and the Great Portland Fire. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest...

While Confederate Lt. Gen. John Pemberton was certainly not one of the Civil War's "great" commanders, he's often misunderstood. Morgan Gates, licensed battlefield guide at Vicksburg National Military Park, joins the Emerging Civil War Podcast with a closer look at a man who's too often too quickly dismissed. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by...

Dr. Christian Keller, author of "The Great Partnership," joins the Emerging Civil War Podcast to talk about the relationship between Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson and how that reverberated through the Army of Northern Virginia's high command before, during, and after the Gettysburg Campaign. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, t...

The poet and the president—two of the most famous men of their age. Abraham Lincoln and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Historian Richard Smith joins the Emerging Civil War Podcast from Concord, Massachusetts, to talk about the meeting of the two orator/writers. Plus, we'll learn about the many other Civil War connections to one of America's most literary communities. This episode of the Emerging Civ...

Sean Michael Chick, author of "A Grand Opening Squandered," talks about the battle of Petersburg. The battle, one of the bloodiest of the war, often gets lumped in with the nine-month siege, but Sean argues that it deserves closer attention than it has traditionally received. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-ai...

What did the Royal Army and Navy look like at the time of the American Civil War? If they had joined the war, what kind of impact would they have been able to make? Mike Somerville and Dr. Christopher Brice discuss the context surrounding one of the most-asked "What if" questions of the Civil War. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the w...

Sarah Kay Bierle returns to the Emerging Civil War Podcast to talk about her new biography, "Glorious Courage: John Pelham in the Civil War."This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air museum, offering more than 1,500 sites across six states. Request a brochure at ⁠ civilwartrails.org ⁠ to start planning your trip tod...

Meet Sam Flowers, the newest member of Emerging Civil War. He joins the Emerging Civil War Podcast for a wide-ranging discussion that includes troops from North Carolina, Civil War statues in the U.S. Capitol, the Overland Campaign, the X-Men (yes, that’s right!), and more. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air museum, of...

Derrick Brown, operations manager of Bentonville State Historic Site, joins the Emerging Civil War Podcast to talk about his book about the history of the battlefield, "Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site."This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air museum, offering more than 1,500 sites across six states. Req...

Dr. Phil Payne, chair of the history department at St. Bonaventure University, invited Emerging Civil War's Chris Mackowski to team teach a course on the Civil War for the Spring 2025 semester. In this episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast, they talk about their experience together in the classroom.  This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the...

Rob Orrison from ECW's sister-site, Emerging Revolutionary War, joins the ECW Podcast to talk about the start of the America 250 celebration in Lexington and Concord. Rob recaps ECW's round-the-clock coverage and talks about the events that sparked the American Revolution.  This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air mu...

An army fights on its stomach. Historian Michael C. Hardy joins the Emerging Civil War Podcast to explain the ins and outs of feeding the Confederacy's most prominent army, how that differed from other armies, and how those challenges changed over time. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air museum, offering more than...

"Digging all night and fighting all day"—that's how one participant described the 1865 siege of Spanish Fort just outside Mobile, Alabama. We'll talk with Paul Brueske, author of a book about the siege. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air museum, offering more than 1,500 sites across six states. Request a brochure at ⁠⁠...

The second of a two-part conversation with living historians Thomas Jessee and Curt Fields, who portray R.E. Lee and U.S. Grant and respectively. They'll walk us through the experiences of both generals on the road to Appomattox Court House. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air museum, offering more than 1,500 sites...

The first of a two-part conversation with living historians Curt Fields and Thomas Jessee, who portray U.S. Grant and R.E. Lee, respectively. They'll discuss their insights about Grant and Lee and their own work at portraying the two generals. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air museum, offering more than 1,500 site...

Everything the Confederates did in the West after the fall of Fort Donelson was an attempt to reverse the results of Donelson. Join historian Greg Biggs for a look at the strategic situation before and after. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air museum, offering more than 1,500 sites across six states. Request a brochure...

What can two regiments tell us about cowardice in the Civil War? Join Dr. Lesley Gordon for a discussion about her new book Dread Danger and a look into the experiences of the 11th New York and the 2nd Texas. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air museum, offering more than 1,500 sites across six states. Request a brochure...

Dr. Jennifer Murray is the incoming director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War at Shepherd University. She joins us to talk about her plans for her new job, her background at Gettysburg, and her upcoming biography of Union General George Gordon Meade. This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air mus...

It's Women's History Month, and we kick things off with Anna Kulcsar, education specialist at Bentonville Historic Site, who talks with Emerging Civil War's Chris Mackowski about plans for the 160th anniversary of the battle. Anna also shares her favorite stories from Bentonville, as well as the story of her own journey as a public historian.   This episode of the Emerging Civil War Po...

Emerging Civil War's Chris Mackowski and Neil Chatelain talk about Fort Pickens in Pensacola, where the Civil War ALMOST started.  This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air museum, offering more than 1,500 sites across six states. Request a brochure at civilwartrails.org to start planning your trip today.

Dr. Robert K. D. Colby joins the Emerging Civil War Podcast to talk about slave trading in the Civil War and his recent book, “Unholy Traffic.” This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air museum, offering more than 1,500 sites across six states. Request a brochure at civilwartrails.org to start planning your trip today.

Gerry Prokopowicz, host of Civil War Talk Radio, brings his smooth radio voice to the Emerging Civil War Podcast to talk about his 20+ years of interviewing some of the top luminaries in the field. Prokopowicz began podcasting in 2004--before "podcasting" was even a thing! This episode of the Emerging Civil War Podcast is brought to you by Civil War Trails, the world’s largest open-air museum, off...