The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia hosted a Civil War Navy Conference in early March to mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads, when for the first time, ironclads battled during the Civil War. In this session, author and Naval Academy history professor Craig Symonds talks about the War along the Atlantic Coast.

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David Gerleman, an assistant editor at the Papers of Abraham Lincoln project, talks about some of the ideas and suggestions offered by Northerners for fighting the Confederate ironclad, the Merrimac. He spoke in early March at the Mariners’ Museum annual Civil War Navy Conference. This year’s conference marked the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads where, for the first time, ironclad warships met in battle.

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Author and professor David Mindell talks about the technology of the USS Monitor, and the experience of its crew aboard one of the first ironclads. He spoke in early March at the Mariners’ Museum annual Civil War Navy Conference. This year’s conference marked the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads where, for the first time, ironclad warships met in battle.

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Dennis Frye, author and chief historian at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, talks about the state of the war in early September 1862. Confederate General Robert E. Lee was poised to invade the North, causing alarm among northern government officials and citizens. General Lee’s goal was Pennsylvania, but by what route and through what cities and towns was unclear.

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Two historians talk about the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns of 1862 and 1864, which involved some of the fiercest fighting of the War. This is the fourth in a series of sessions from a conference organized by the Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission. The theme of this year’s gathering was Leadership and Generalship in the Civil War. The Virginia Military Institute hosted the conference.

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Time Magazine Editor-at-Large David Von Drehle talks about 1862 and the 37th U.S. Congress.  While the Civil War was being fought, the 37th Congress passed the Homestead Act, the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act, the Pacific Railway Act, the Revenue Acts, and established the U.S. Agriculture Department. The University of Nebraska in Lincoln hosted this event.

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Each year, Time magazine selects a person who had the most influence on events during the previous twelve months. If the same question were posed in 1862, who would Time have selected as the Person of the Year? Five historians will ponder that question and present their candidates for Person of the Year 1862 at a forum organized by Museum of the Confederacy and hosted by the Library of Virginia.

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The Battle of Gettysburg took place July 1-3, 1863, in Pennsylvania, as Union forces turned back an invasion of the North by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The Union victory inspired President Abraham Lincoln to call for “a new birth of freedom” in his address a few months later dedicating the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg. C-SPAN's American History TV was LIVE on June 30 from Gettysburg National Military Park covering events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the battle, including remarks by scholars such as Harold Holzer, Allen Guelzo, and Doris Kearns Goodwin, as well as your calls and tweets for Civil War Institute Director Peter Carmichael and novelist Jeff Shaara.

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American History TV joined historian Carol Reardon and Col. Tom Vossler to learn the story of the three-day Battle of Gettysburg through a selection of their favorite monuments.

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The Siege of Vicksburg took place from May 18th to July 4th, 1863. After failing to take the city by force, Union General Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee laid siege to the city, held by Confederate General John C. Pemberton and his forces. On July 4th, after 47 days, General Pemberton surrendered; and Vicksburg—the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River—was turned over to General Grant and the Union. In this program, we tour Vicksburg National Military Park with Tim Kavanaugh, the park's supervisory ranger for interpretation.

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