The American Civil War remains one of the most pivotal and complex periods in our history. While much has been written, countless fascinating questions still spark our curiosity. In our podcast Civil War Curious, we enlist expert historians to answer your lingering questions about the conflict.

On this episode, we're joined by Christian McWhirter, who serves as a historical initiatives consultant for the Lincoln Presidential Foundation and editor of The Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association. He is the author of Battle Hymns: The Power and Popularity of Music in the Civil War. He discusses the importance of music during the conflict, both in the armies and on the homefront.

©2025 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.

The American Civil War remains one of the most pivotal and complex periods in our history. While much has been written, countless fascinating questions still spark our curiosity. In our podcast Civil War Curious, we enlist expert historians to answer your lingering questions about the conflict.

On this episode, we're joined by Anne Sarah Rubin, a professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she teaches courses on the Civil War, American South, and the 19th-century United States. Her most recent book is The Perfect Scout: A Soldier’s Memoir of the Great March to the Sea and the Campaign of the Carolinas. In 2014 she published Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory, a study of the significance of Sherman’s March in American culture. She discusses the significant and lasting impact of William T. Sherman's March to the Sea.

©2025 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.

How did the civilians and soldiers who lived through Sherman’s March view its impact years later? How central was music to the lives of Union and Confederate soldiers? And what is the real story behind Ulysses S. Grant’s supposed drinking problem?

I’m Terry Johnston, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Civil War Monitor. The American Civil War is a period of our history that we’re still trying to fully understand. Even with everything that's been written, there are still plenty of questions that deserve a closer look—from the personal character of its leaders to the way the war is portrayed in popular culture.

Welcome back to Civil War Curious, the podcast where we ask expert historians to help us navigate the complexities of the conflict. In our second season, we’ll be discussing a number of subjects, including the long-lasting impact of Sherman’s March to the Sea, the importance of music in the armies, and the truth about Grant’s relationship with alcohol. We’ll also take a look at the movie Gettysburg to see what it got right and where it took some creative liberties.

Civil War Curious Season 2 premieres soon. I hope you’ll join us.

©2025 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.