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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