Every topic, it seems, must have its "miscellaneous" category, to corral those articles that don't quite fit anywhere else. Our Civil War section is no exception. This page, therefore, offers a selection of articles on skirmishes and incidents not quite significant enough to qualify as "battles" or "campaigns." It also offers a host of statistics, generally compiled well after the war, on casualties and unit strengths and other issues. It brings you the complete "Memoranda of the Civil War" series from Century Magazine, and some interesting retrospective overview articles on the war written decades after its end. And it also looks at the lighter side. The Civil War brought us more than battles; it brought us music we still haven't forgotten (who among us can't actually whistle "Dixie"?). It also brought us rebel yells (and, apparently, Yankee yells), and some unusual forms of entertainment.

Century Magazine's Memoranda of the Civil War

The "memoranda" section in Century Magazine is filled with letters, editorials, commentaries and brief accounts on a wide variety of Civil War topics. Some of the comments and letters relate to feature articles previously published in the magazine; others stand alone. Where possible, we've added individual comments and letters to the article to which they refer; here you can read the memoranda in their entirety.

1885A • 1885B • 1886A • 1886B • 1887A • 1887B • 1888A • 1888B • 1889A • 1889B • 1890A

Johnny Reb at Play (Scribner's, 1879A)

Effects of Wind on the Sound of Battle (Century Magazine, 1885B)

The Songs of the War, by Brander Matthews (Century Magazine, 1887B)

Includes a special section on "Notes on the Battle Hymn of the Republic," by its author, Julia Ward Howe.

A Missing Confederate Cipher Dispatch, by R.E. Colston (Century Magazine, 1887B)

The Grand Strategy of the War of the Rebellion, by General W.T. Sherman (Century Magazine, 1888A)

The Last Victim of the War, by W.M. Dickson (Century Magazine, 1888A)

The Lost War Maps of the Confederates, by Henry C. Potter (Century Magazine, 1888A)

Union War Songs and Confederate Officers, by Richard Wentworth Browne (Century Magazine, 1888A)

The Chances of Being Hit in Battle, by William F. Fox (Century Magazine, 1888B)

An interesting article that separates anecdotes from statistics and points out that "casualties" is not synonymous with "killed in battle." As the author states, "A better way for the veteran to answer the question would be to state that in round numbers his regiment lost 100 men killed; that 200 died of disease; that 400 were discharged for sickness or wounds; that 100 deserted; that 100 were absent in hospital or on furlough; and so only 100 remained as present at the muster-out."

The Philosophy of Courage, by Horace Porter (Century Magazine, 1888B)

General McClellan's Baggage-Destroying Order (Century Magazine, 1889B)

Retaliation in Missouri (Century Magazine, 1889B)

Southern Cadets in Action, by T.C. McCorvey (Century Magazine, 1890A)

The destruction of the cadet school at the University of Alabama.

The Flag First Hoisted at Mobile, by Ambrose S. Wright (Century Magazine, 1891A)

A British Consul's Confidence in the Union Cause, by E.M. Archibald (Century Magazine, 1891B)

The Numerical Strength of the Confederate Army, by A.B. Casselman (Century Magazine, 1892A)

With a rebuttal from the Confederate viewpoint by Joseph T. Derry, followed by Casselman's response.

A Woman in the Ranks, by Eleanor Sherman Thackara (Ladies' Home Journal, 1892)

A short tale of a woman posing as a Civil War soldier.

The Yankee and Rebel Yells (Century Magazine, 1892A)

The Crisis of the Civil War, by Herman Haupt (Century Magazine, 1892B)

Escape of the Confederate Secretary of War, by John Taylor Wood (Century Magazine, 1894A)

"Dixie" and its Author, by Robert Sheerin (Century Magazine, 1895B)

Including the complete lyrics to the song "Dixie" and a facsimile of the hand-written original.

The Failure of the Hampton Conference, by Fitzhugh Lee (Century Magazine, 1896B)