Key Battles of the Civil War

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The Civil War was the most important event in American history. That's because it decided what kind of nation America would be and whether or not the promise of universal liberty would be fulfilled. And what decided the outcome of the Civil War was its battles.

Hosted by history professors James Early and Scott Rank, this podcast explores the ten most important battles in the Civil War. It features every major conflict, from the initial shots fired at the Battle of First Bull Run to the end of the war at Appomattox Court House. Key battles include Shiloh, the Seven Days Battle, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Vicksburg, Chickamauga & Chattanooga, and the Overland Campaign. James and Scott explore additional topics such as emancipation, the naval wars of the Civil War, and weapons technology. Plus they get deep into the biographical backgrounds of the Union and Confederate generals (Grant, Sherman, McClellan, Thomas, Lee, Jackson, Beauregard, and Longstreet).

Recent Episodes

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Recent Reviews

Pjcrowley

Enjoying it.

Definitely enjoying it. However, the first episode has some very flimsy opinions on why poor whites in the south fought. It was not because they wanted to preserve slavery so they weren’t the bottom rung of the social ladder and it wasn’t because “someday” they might get to own their own slave. Only like 1-2% of southern whites owned slaves and it had been in existence for over 100 years. Did not even mention the tariffs on manufactured goods imported from England, 90% of which were paid by southern states. Conversely, 90% of the proceeds of these tariffs were spent on civic infrastructure projects in the north like roads, bridges, and railroads. Only 10% of these tariff proceeds were spent in southern states. This was a huge issue for southerners.
Jhsams

Excellent Work

Thank you for these Podcasts helps me learn more about these battles in our Nation's history!
Just a Civil War Aficionado

Excellent Civil War Podcast

I’ve enjoyed Professor Early’s podcasts. He’s knowledgeable, well versed in any subject he covers, and has a great sense of humor. Listen to anything he does: you won’t be disappointed!
History lover 5

Needs some adjustment

Great topic but they present it in a dry way. Discussing a map for 10 mins was unnecessary and reminded me why some history classes can put you to sleep. Guys perhaps write a loose script. Love the topic but you need to work on your presentation.
PJB1835

Battles Of Civil War

Finally a way to learn history and be interesting. Best podcasts. Anything with James Early
Former BR Fan

Great Podcast!

Love content from Scott and James! Well done. Listen to both revolutionary and civil war podcasts!
taking advantage of kids

An exciting story

James and Scott tell the stories of the Civil War in a fun and interesting way that makes it possible to Binge-Listen on 5 hour drives. They explain the battles, the politics, the military, the medicine, the personality of the leaders, and the culture of the times with memorable details and in a way that makes the history stick. They are humorous and folksy using football, movies and mental maps all while poking fun at themselves. They are balanced and clear historians in the best tradition of history as story telling and I was grateful to be able to learn from such great teachers.
Deep801Powder

Former student

Scott is woke.
chase 135798642

Loved the whole thing

I loved the WW1 show and this one shattered my expectations of what they were going to do, this was a great podcast, highly recommended
NewDad89

Interesting and fun

I enjoyed listening to these guys. I like to think that they gave me a conversational understanding of how the battles of the civil war played out. I personally liked the mental images they provided and the movie references.
JPatrickbird2

Civil War updated!

Just appreciated this podcast! I was on my way to get a horseback tour of Gettysburg and stumbled across this. I ended listening to many of the episodes. I like how user friendly it is. References are explained and movies are made so its easy for today’s mind to rewind and don’t feel like an idiot. I also liked how they don’t get bogged down in today’s politics and keep history based on its time period. This is real “updated” like up to the date of the event and accesible to today’s listener. Thank you! Jay
country_boy201487

Early’s Pro Confederate Bias

This guy’s pro confederate bias is so obvious and obnoxious. He makes the podcast hard to listen to.
thelyell

Good but not great

Good summary of each battle. Felt like episodes could be a bit longer providing more details of each battle. For instance Fredericksburg. More time could have spent describing the flanking maneuver by the Union that almost broke Jackson’s line or in Manassas where General Bee died moments after saying “There stands Jackson like a stonewall.” These are key moments in each battle that provide more context to the outcomes and overall stories.
max's tree service

Max

Why do y
Dale 55

Movie and documentary review

Perfect for anyone who’s new to the war. But seems to just be a review of Ken Burns documentary. Regurgitated quotes and anecdotes. No mention of sources or books. Lacks details. Oversimplified. Obviously, they’re trying to cover whole war so…what’s to expect. Again, great for anyone new to the topic.
jhned

Inaccurate and biased.

This podcast seems like it’s based on factoids somebody found in a “Trivia of the U.S. Civil War” book plus every inaccurate myth that’s been presented in pop culture since the war concluded. It is not a good representation of what actually happened. Fun fact: if the podcaster is saying things like “Grant felt this,” or “Lee thought that,” that’s the podcaster putting their own thoughts and feelings onto the historical figure. Real historians will quote the primary source and supplement with facts to draw conclusions. This podcast is all opinions with very little history sprinkled in.
WBON22

Conversational History

A great, relaxed discussion of one facet of the Civil War, as they mention, the machinations are numerous. Lots of information without being dry.
OC Chicago

Too little discussion of the actual battles

Like all their shows, there’s a lot of “background” but not much discussion of the battles themselves.
Danny Doogan

Entertaining but shallow historically.

I enjoyed the podcast. You should listen to it if you have interest and you’ll probably learn something. But the history presented here lacks some depth and maybe deeper understanding of these events. I found myself frequently thinking they relied on popular misconceptions or mythology or cliche to explain why people acted the way they did or things happened the way they did
BillBlaster1

Excellent History Podcast

These two historians were providing excellent material and I really enjoyed their work. I’m going to miss this podcast, as it was really entertaining. Best wishes to them both.
Jimschaefer123

Terrific series

Scott and James were a terrific tandem and very informative. The podcast was very entertaining and they had great chemistry. The only problem is that it’s over. I look forward hearing from them in the future. And … there is homework. Jim S
VT BrianM

Really great podcast of the Civil war

I just finished this entire podcast. All episodes were very informative. I didn’t know that much about the Civil War before this and I learned a lot. We also visited Gettysburg while I was in the middle so that episode is a favorite that I have listened to a few times. I really liked the hosts. They are humble, thoughtful and really likable.
Maine cpo

Great lesson in history

I’ve read plenty of books on the civil war. Learned a few good things that I have forgotten. Great pod cast!
Ken__K

Lost Credibility First Episode

I can’t believe the discussion about the causes of the Civil War brought up the “states rights” myth, along with several other possible factors, but never mention the “Cornerstone Speech” in which Confederate Vice President Alexander Stevens declared that “the new Confederate government was based upon ‘the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man.’” Anyone who conveniently ignores this clear declaration by a Confederate leader doesn’t have any credibility.
magaoingo

Great Content

As a US History teacher I really enjoy this show. Some stuff I already knew, quite a bit I didn’t. Strongly recommended.
Any restaurant employee

Overall

Richly detailed, and politically dispassionate in the right way. The best thing on the civil war since Ken Burns. Thank you.
Shawnny B

Prof. Rank and Prof. Early are great

These two orators for this Podcast are informative and fun. They make learning more about our nation’s history enjoyable. I started with their WW2 podcast first (which is excellent) and then hopped on over to this Civil War series. It’s crazy to hear how many poor soldiers fought and died in this very important war.
Spencer Shooter

Spencer Shooter

Very well done!! It’s mostly for beginners but good!
Trilolight

Great show

Very well done and informative
nbjoyce

Excellent!

Thoroughly enjoyed listening to these podcasts on a Civil War road trip with the family. Loved listening to the podcasts before/after visiting battlefields—really helped understand & visualize everything. Great job, guys!
Bubbles6094

Must Listen

An absolute must listen for any history buff. This is up there for one of my favorite history podcasts.
Zhopzh

Another Great Historical Podcast

A great podcast. I listened to the American Revolution podcast first, which is in historical order but not in the published order. It was refreshing to not be referred back to another podcast all the time. But regarding the Civil War, I enjoyed their work again. Best way to get the most out of this: have a map ready to review, and overlook the way James says “peninsula”
ABCjd

Easy listening and great content

Your favorite history professors got together and surveyed the civil war’s battles and then some. With cheesy professor jokes and academic enthusiasm the hosts really set the tone for comfortable listening where you learn a great deal about the civil war without feeling like you are taking a graduate course.
JonMike1974

Awesome podcast!

Very informative and interesting. Highly recommend for anyone with interest in history.
andy199389

Social Studies Teacher Approved!

As a High School SS teacher I love the podcast. It is so engaging and informative. It makes learning so easy to do!
rpburk

I stopped at

Direct quote, “Plantation owners, if they’d lost all their slaves, well gee what are they going to do? Go out and (narrator laughs) dig in the dirt themselves?” Entire ‘explanation’ of slavery was punctuated with laughter. Personally. I don’t think the enslavement of 60 million humans is (ha) funny. From a narrative arc, this was ~10 minutes into the first episode about civil war battles, and there has been no discussion of a civil war battle. Zero Stars.
Jmendels

Outstanding

A top-notch overview of key battles. It's perfect if you want to get an understanding of things without getting too weighed down in the soup of details. I was already familiar with many of these, but I've found myself listening (and relistening) to some of these as a refresher. Great job guys!
gshr_89

Appreciation

Very insightful and storytelling keeps the listener engrossed ! Thank you very much
staceyrandy

Well done!

Thank you very welll done! Enjoyed every moment and learned so much.
cpdalmore

Rank is rank

States his opinion as fact
Englebert Fistybuns

It’s ok.

Very basic overview of battles. Doesn’t get into specifics and glosses over a lot of finer details. The Gettysburg episode basically just rehashes the movie which is entertaining but is full of errors and speculation. It really just promulgates every regurgitated, cliche narrative that’s out there. “Jackson would’ve taken Cemetery Hill” and “Chamberlain saved the flank” type of talk. It’s ok if you are just getting into the Civil War but you’ll be frustrated if you’re already knowledgeable and are looking for a deep, detailed dive into the info.
Chocolate 🍫🍫🍫

Great Show

Amazing podcast. Enjoyed every episode. Highly recommend it.
Clownprince1701

Awesome series

Just finished this series and my mind was blown by a cannon ball of awesomeness. Very informative and entertaining. I now know when the Confederacy really lost the war. Disclaimer: Don’t drink while listening.
Sparkster1

Great podcast!

I really enjoyed this podcast, a great overview of the Civil War from two knowledgeable historians.
top notch history

Very well done

This podcast was very informative and enjoyable. All history buffs should make it a priority.
El Mateo 1047

SO....SLOW

Takes way too long to get to “Key Battles....”. Maybe it’s just me, I just wanted what the title states but it takes way too long to get there. The podcasters voice and cadence are great, but four episodes to even almost discuss their first key battle?
weldguy6

Enthralling

Everything was perfect for the fan who wants a lot of knowledge in a entertaining and engaging way.
DAVID235

Amazing

I love this podcast! I love history so much, it really helps me pass by another day in quarantine!
C-money28

So Good

Best Civil War podcast I have listened too. My only issue is that during the episode on naval warfare the movie Sahara starring Matthew McConaughey was not mentioned. I feel like this was a huge missed opportunity for the host to make their listeners take a drink. Other than that excellent work all around guys such a good listen.
Susdoobie

Excellent

This series is so entertaining and educational! I learned so much but had so much fun listening at the same time! I've listened twice through!