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The
United States Service Magazine rigorously examined the war through the
double lens of military science and military history. Published in New
York by Charles B. Richardson, the pro-Union periodical featured articles
on ordnance and strategy in addition to recent developments on the battlefield
and the history of warfare. The first issue appeared in January, 1864.
To entice military and naval personnel to subscribe to the
publication, the journal published important orders, presidential appointments,
and other official intelligence, including promotions, resignations, and pay
tables. The journal supplemented its military content with the standard
fare of poems, short stories, and book reviews.
It was the multi-talented editor, Henry Coppée, who made the
United States Service Magazine such a compelling and engaging Civil War
periodical. Educated at Yale University, a West Point graduate, a Mexican
War veteran, and a professor of literature and history at the University of
Pennsylvania, Coppée showcased his expertise
in military history and military science in the impressive range of articles
that appeared in every issue. His editorial expertise was masterfully
complemented each month in the "Editor's Department," a column in which he
provided an excellent overview of the war's most important developments.
When Coppée became president of Lehigh College
in early 1866 he resigned his editorship at the
United States Service Magazine. With increased competition from the
Army and Navy Journal and without its gifted editor, the periodical
suspended publication after its June, 1866 issue.
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