Historians consider several developments in naval technology over the course of the war. They discuss ironclad gunboats, Confederate efforts to break the Union Blockade, and spar torpedo boats. This event was part of a symposium on Technology and the Civil War hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

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Craig Symonds of the U.S. Naval Academy talks about the war’s Western Theater river operations in 1862. Symonds details the strategies employed by the Union to win several key battles, and credits those victories to the cooperation and combined tactics of General Ulysses S. Grant and Naval Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote. The Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College hosted this event.

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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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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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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, David Alberg of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary talks about the recovery and identification of human remains from the USS Monitor, the Union ship that faced off with the CSS Virginia near Hampton Roads in 1862. We also hear from genealogist Lisa Stansbury.
 

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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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The Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville was fought April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Many historians consider the battle to be Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s greatest victory. Facing a Union Army more than twice the size of his own, Lee divided his forces, sending 27,000 men under “Stonewall” Jackson on a 12-mile march to deliver a flank attack. In this program, we follow two National Park Service historians on a tour as they walk the same ground exactly 150 years after Jackson launched his attack.

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Historians John Marszalek and James McPherson examine the Battle of Gettysburg, with a focus on the second and third days of the fighting. The three-day battle fought in Pennsylvania from July 1-3, 1863, was the bloodiest of the war -- resulting in an estimated 51,000 total casualties -- and many historians consider it to be the turning point of the Civil War. Harold Holzer, chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation Chairman, moderates the discussion. This is the second in a two-part series on the battle hosted by the New-York Historical Society.
 

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Author Catherine Clinton discusses how both President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate President Jefferson Davis suffered the loss of a child while in office and how it impacted their wives. In 1862, the Lincolns lost their 11-year old son, Willie, from what was believed to be typhoid fever. In1864, the Davises lost their four-year old son, Joseph, in a fatal fall at the Confederate White House in Richmond. Professor Clinton also explores mid-19th century mourning practices and etiquette. The National Archives in Washington, DC, hosted this event.
 

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Author Harold Holzer examines Civil War artifacts featured in his book, "The Civil War in 50 Objects,” drawn from the New-York Historical Society’s collection. He’s joined by Columbia University history professor Eric Foner -- who wrote the introduction for the book -- in a discussion on the collection’s history and themes. Objects include Confederate flags, Grant’s handwritten terms of surrender at Appomattox, and framed leaves from Abraham Lincoln's funeral bier. The New-York Historical Society hosted this event. It’s just under an hour.  

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