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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American History TV was LIVE on September 16 from Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, Maryland, covering events marking the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam.

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Historians Brooks Simpson and Mark Grimsley lead a group on a day-long tour of Antietam National Battlefield, the 1862 engagement that is considered the bloodiest single day in American history. Visiting key locations at the National Park, including the Cornfield, Sunken Lane and Burnside Bridge, the historians use the landscape and demonstrations to show what the battle was like for the armies on the ground.

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History professor Caroline Janney addresses how slavery and emancipation played into the process of post-war reconciliation. She also discusses the experiences and memories of Northern and Southern veterans in the war’s aftermath. Ms. Janney spoke at the 2012 Civil War Institute Conference at Gettysburg College.

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Peter Carmichael looks at the military executions in General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s command. He talks about the different forms of punishment used under Jackson’s leadership in 1862, and the reactions of Confederate soldiers to these measures. Carmichael is the director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, and he spoke at the Institute’s 2012 conference.
 

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Professors and historians discuss Mark Grimsley’s 1997 book, “The Hard Hand of War,” which looks at Union military policies toward Southern civilians. "The Hard Hand of War" was the featured book of the 2012 Civil War Institute Conference at Gettysburg College.

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Historians discuss the circumstances, outcomes, and ongoing considerations of emancipation. They first place President Lincoln’s September 1862 issuance of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in the context of the War, then broaden out to discuss how Americans think and talk about emancipation and its echoes today. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History hosted this event.

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Two historians discuss Robert E. Lee’s leadership during the Civil War. They consider Lee’s education, his work as a general, and his ability to maintain troop morale under challenging circumstances. This is the second in a series of sessions we’re airing 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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Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation Chair Harold Holzer talks about the photographs, prints, and political cartoons featuring two of the war’s leading generals, George B. McClellan and Robert E. Lee. He explains how the tone of those images changed over the course of the war and beyond, as dictated by each general’s successes and failures both on and off the battlefield. This talk is from the 2012 Civil War Institute Conference at Gettysburg College.

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History bloggers discuss the role they play in the ongoing conversation about the Civil War. They explain the steps they take to ensure academic credibility and accuracy, and talk about the online interactions they have with people who read their posts. This is from the 2012 Civil War Institute Conference at Gettysburg College.

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