Online: Soldier Studies

The editors of Soldier Studies are honored to present, over the next 10 months, a series of articles written by some of the leading historians and authors on the American Civil War. The focus of this series are the soldiers themselves. Though they suffered great hardships, endured battle and fatigue, through it all they left behind for posterity a wealth of correspondences and reflections that have helped historians reconstruct what it was like to have been a soldier in the American Civil War. It is our hope that this series makes a respectable contribution to the study of soldiers and their experiences. - Chris Wehner, Curator & Founder, SoldierStudies.org.

November 2008: The Blue and the Gray in Black and White: Assessing the Scholarship on Civil War Soldiers, Aaron Sheehan-Dean

Aaron Sheehan-Dean is an associate professor of history at the University of North Florida. He is the author of Why Confederates Fought: Family and Nation in Civil War Virginia and the Concise Historical Atlas of the U.S. Civil War and the editor of The View From the Ground: Experiences of Civil War Soldiers and Struggle for a Vast Future: The American Civil War.

December 2008: How Men Feel in Battle, S.H.M. Byers

S.H.M. Byers was a member of the 5th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment and wrote several articles about his experiences after the war. Byers' insights and descriptions of combat are visceral and poignant, and honest and straightforward. This selection is perhaps one of the best contributions from a soldier of the great conflict concerning what soldiers felt, didn't feel, and how they survived the mental and physical horrors of battle.

January 2009: “With a Trembling Hand and an Aching Heart" Letters of Notification of Death and Condolence, Mark Dunkelman

Mark H. Dunkelman is the author of Brothers One and All: Esprit de Corps in a Civil War Regiment and other books on the 154th New York. An artist, writer, and musician as well, he lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

February 2009: Ten Questions with Lance J. Herdegen, Chris Wehner

Lance Herdegen is the former director of the Institute of Civil War Studies at Carroll University, Lance Herdegen was an award winning journalist. He is currently a historical consultant for the Civil War Museum of the Upper Middle West. He is the author of numerous articles and books, among them, Four Years with the Iron Brigade: The Civil War Journal of William Ray and most recently Those Damned Black Hats: The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign. He took time from his busy schedule to e-chat about his latest book, Those Damned Blackhats! The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign, published by Savas Beatie, LLC. - Chris Wehner is author of 11th Wisconsin in the Civil War: A Regimental History, published by McFarland & Co. and he teaches classes online at the (i) History Network.

March 2009: Studying Civil War Soldiers: The State of the Art and Science, Michael Barton

Michael Barton is currently Professor of American Studies and Social Science at Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg. He is the author of Goodmen: The Character of Civil War Soldiers and co-editor, with Prof. Larry M. Logue, of The Civil War Soldier and The Civil War Veteran
Text Source: Soldier Studies