At the top of each broadsheet, you are given the opportunity to send a message on Twitter through Morse Code . Since most people don't have a Morse Code translator on their Twitter client, you only need to use the code to generate your message. Tap out your message, and the app converts it to regular text. It's harder than you'd think, but worth trying a few times.

You also have the option to change the background shown behind the broadsheet. If you drag the page all the way down, you can see the whole background image, which pans to either side as you tilt the iPad. Swipe to change the scene. Each one also has a few informational points to tap on, and has music to go with the scene. The music automatically shuts off when you drag the page back up.When you start up The Civil War Today each day, the app automatically puts you on the newspaper for today's date 150 years ago. If you are behind, however, you can easily jump to any day you like. Also, while the app works in both orientations, it seems to be designed for portrait. Other options available from the main screen include viewing a couple dozen biographies of notable Civil War figures; viewing the articles, images, and letters that you marked as favorites, which are organized by month and year; seeing which items in that day's newspaper you have read or missed; referring to a glossary of Civil War era terms; and finding out more information about the app.

There is enough material to easily spend an hour or more per day keeping up on the progress of the war, or you can just read the highlights or a sampling and be done in ten minutes. I can't say enough good things about this app. It is a fantastic way to experience a retelling of the Civil War, and it makes the most of the iPad functionality and size.

While the main articles are written in modern times with the perspective of 150 years, much of the content is piecemeal, coming day to day, just as it would have come to people at the time. They didn't know what came next.

So, watch the story of the Civil War unfold through letters and diary entries from people who were witness to actual events. Read other things that were going on in the newspaper articles from the time. Follow the body count for both sides of the war. Read all this information every day and you realize how much happened each day of the war, and how that went on for four years.

At $7.99, The Civil War Today is not an impulse buy, but considering the amount of incredible daily content you get, for four years, it's a bargain. Get this app now and catch up to the current day. History lovers and those involved in education will not be disappointed.

The Civil War Today is available in the iTunes store. Get it today and follow along as the war took place, 150 years ago. You will come away with a much better sense of a very important time in the history of the United States.

Note: I received a copy of the app for review purposes, though I would have happily paid three times the retail price for it.