How to Study the American Civil War
Go to a museum., Watch a documentary., Find a good one-volume history of the War., Study more specialized subject matter.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Go to a museum.
While it won’t turn you into an expert, one of the best ways to get a feel for the Civil War period is by going to a museum or exhibit about the War.
Naturally, the contents of museums vary, but there are many fantastic institutions with extensive collections of Civil War artifacts.
Some of these include:
The American Civil War Museum, in Richmond, VA.
This is one museum with three locations: the Tredegar Iron Works, which was the Confederacy’s largest Iron Works, the Confederate White House, and the Museum of the Confederacy, located in Appomattox, just outside of Richmond.
It houses the largest collection of Civil War artifacts in the world.The Confederate Memorial Hall Museum, in New Orleans, LA, houses the second-largest collection of Confederate memorabilia in the world, including flags, weapons, and personal items.
It is located just a few blocks away from the National World War II Museum, in New Orleans’ Central Business District.The National Civil War Museum, located it Harrisburg, PA, is just a stone’s throw from the Gettysburg Battlefield site.
Affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute, the National Civil War Museum is among the youngest major Civil War museums, and has some the highest quality artifacts, mementos, and memorabilia anywhere. -
Step 2: Watch a documentary.
Documentaries can be a fun and entertaining way to learn the basics of a subject that seems inaccessible.
While there are a number of good Civil War documentaries out there for you to choose from, one stands out:
Ken Burns’ The Civil War.The Civil War by Ken Burns is a 1991 PBS documentary series told in nine parts across 11 hours.
Not only is it a great Civil War documentary, but it is one of the best all-around documentaries ever.
You can stream several full episodes from PBS for free at http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/civil-war/watch-videos/.
The series in its entirety is available on YouTube.
This will help you familiarize yourself with the basic issues of the war. , Once you’ve soaked up what you can from museums and documentaries, it’s time to do some reading on the War.
There’s simply no substitute for the detail and nuance the printed word captures, but as a new student of the War, you want to avoid starting off with books that are so specialized you get bogged down in the details.
That’s why one-volume histories are good.
While eminent historians such as Bruce Catton, Shelby Foote, and Alan Nevins all produced multivolume masterpieces, they can be tens of thousands of pages long.Instead, try something like James McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom.
Coming in at under 1000 pages, this Pulitzer Prize winning work did much to establish the modern consensus about the causes and conduct the War.
McPherson is now considered by many to be the dean of the field of Civil War Studies. , Once you’ve gotten a handle on the War as a whole, you should pick narrower areas to study.
These can be military or political campaigns, the Lincoln assassination, the home front, or even the psychosocial impact of the mass deaths that occurred during the period.
With the depth of scholarship about the War, there’s virtually no limit to what you can study. -
Step 3: Find a good one-volume history of the War.
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Step 4: Study more specialized subject matter.
Detailed Guide
While it won’t turn you into an expert, one of the best ways to get a feel for the Civil War period is by going to a museum or exhibit about the War.
Naturally, the contents of museums vary, but there are many fantastic institutions with extensive collections of Civil War artifacts.
Some of these include:
The American Civil War Museum, in Richmond, VA.
This is one museum with three locations: the Tredegar Iron Works, which was the Confederacy’s largest Iron Works, the Confederate White House, and the Museum of the Confederacy, located in Appomattox, just outside of Richmond.
It houses the largest collection of Civil War artifacts in the world.The Confederate Memorial Hall Museum, in New Orleans, LA, houses the second-largest collection of Confederate memorabilia in the world, including flags, weapons, and personal items.
It is located just a few blocks away from the National World War II Museum, in New Orleans’ Central Business District.The National Civil War Museum, located it Harrisburg, PA, is just a stone’s throw from the Gettysburg Battlefield site.
Affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute, the National Civil War Museum is among the youngest major Civil War museums, and has some the highest quality artifacts, mementos, and memorabilia anywhere.
Documentaries can be a fun and entertaining way to learn the basics of a subject that seems inaccessible.
While there are a number of good Civil War documentaries out there for you to choose from, one stands out:
Ken Burns’ The Civil War.The Civil War by Ken Burns is a 1991 PBS documentary series told in nine parts across 11 hours.
Not only is it a great Civil War documentary, but it is one of the best all-around documentaries ever.
You can stream several full episodes from PBS for free at http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/civil-war/watch-videos/.
The series in its entirety is available on YouTube.
This will help you familiarize yourself with the basic issues of the war. , Once you’ve soaked up what you can from museums and documentaries, it’s time to do some reading on the War.
There’s simply no substitute for the detail and nuance the printed word captures, but as a new student of the War, you want to avoid starting off with books that are so specialized you get bogged down in the details.
That’s why one-volume histories are good.
While eminent historians such as Bruce Catton, Shelby Foote, and Alan Nevins all produced multivolume masterpieces, they can be tens of thousands of pages long.Instead, try something like James McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom.
Coming in at under 1000 pages, this Pulitzer Prize winning work did much to establish the modern consensus about the causes and conduct the War.
McPherson is now considered by many to be the dean of the field of Civil War Studies. , Once you’ve gotten a handle on the War as a whole, you should pick narrower areas to study.
These can be military or political campaigns, the Lincoln assassination, the home front, or even the psychosocial impact of the mass deaths that occurred during the period.
With the depth of scholarship about the War, there’s virtually no limit to what you can study.
About the Author
Patricia Cooper
Enthusiastic about teaching DIY projects techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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