diff --git a/src/meshcore_hub/api/routes/dashboard.py b/src/meshcore_hub/api/routes/dashboard.py
index 3711255..f85f438 100644
--- a/src/meshcore_hub/api/routes/dashboard.py
+++ b/src/meshcore_hub/api/routes/dashboard.py
@@ -9,7 +9,11 @@ from sqlalchemy import func, select
 from meshcore_hub.api.auth import RequireRead
 from meshcore_hub.api.dependencies import DbSession
 from meshcore_hub.common.models import Advertisement, Message, Node, NodeTag
-from meshcore_hub.common.schemas.messages import DashboardStats, RecentAdvertisement
+from meshcore_hub.common.schemas.messages import (
+    ChannelMessage,
+    DashboardStats,
+    RecentAdvertisement,
+)
 
 router = APIRouter()
 
@@ -123,6 +127,55 @@ async def get_stats(
         int(channel): int(count) for channel, count in channel_results
     }
 
+    # Get latest 5 messages for each channel that has messages
+    channel_messages: dict[int, list[ChannelMessage]] = {}
+    for channel_idx, _ in channel_results:
+        messages_query = (
+            select(Message)
+            .where(Message.message_type == "channel")
+            .where(Message.channel_idx == channel_idx)
+            .order_by(Message.received_at.desc())
+            .limit(5)
+        )
+        channel_msgs = session.execute(messages_query).scalars().all()
+
+        # Look up sender names for these messages
+        msg_prefixes = [m.pubkey_prefix for m in channel_msgs if m.pubkey_prefix]
+        msg_sender_names: dict[str, str] = {}
+        msg_friendly_names: dict[str, str] = {}
+        if msg_prefixes:
+            for prefix in set(msg_prefixes):
+                sender_node_query = select(Node.public_key, Node.name).where(
+                    Node.public_key.startswith(prefix)
+                )
+                for public_key, name in session.execute(sender_node_query).all():
+                    if name:
+                        msg_sender_names[public_key[:12]] = name
+
+                sender_friendly_query = (
+                    select(Node.public_key, NodeTag.value)
+                    .join(NodeTag, Node.id == NodeTag.node_id)
+                    .where(Node.public_key.startswith(prefix))
+                    .where(NodeTag.key == "friendly_name")
+                )
+                for public_key, value in session.execute(sender_friendly_query).all():
+                    msg_friendly_names[public_key[:12]] = value
+
+        channel_messages[int(channel_idx)] = [
+            ChannelMessage(
+                text=m.text,
+                sender_name=(
+                    msg_sender_names.get(m.pubkey_prefix) if m.pubkey_prefix else None
+                ),
+                sender_friendly_name=(
+                    msg_friendly_names.get(m.pubkey_prefix) if m.pubkey_prefix else None
+                ),
+                pubkey_prefix=m.pubkey_prefix,
+                received_at=m.received_at,
+            )
+            for m in channel_msgs
+        ]
+
     return DashboardStats(
         total_nodes=total_nodes,
         active_nodes=active_nodes,
@@ -132,6 +185,7 @@ async def get_stats(
         advertisements_24h=advertisements_24h,
         recent_advertisements=recent_advertisements,
         channel_message_counts=channel_message_counts,
+        channel_messages=channel_messages,
     )
 
 
diff --git a/src/meshcore_hub/common/schemas/messages.py b/src/meshcore_hub/common/schemas/messages.py
index 105b751..feeeb02 100644
--- a/src/meshcore_hub/common/schemas/messages.py
+++ b/src/meshcore_hub/common/schemas/messages.py
@@ -187,6 +187,20 @@ class RecentAdvertisement(BaseModel):
     received_at: datetime = Field(..., description="When received")
 
 
+class ChannelMessage(BaseModel):
+    """Schema for a channel message summary."""
+
+    text: str = Field(..., description="Message text")
+    sender_name: Optional[str] = Field(default=None, description="Sender name")
+    sender_friendly_name: Optional[str] = Field(
+        default=None, description="Sender friendly name"
+    )
+    pubkey_prefix: Optional[str] = Field(
+        default=None, description="Sender public key prefix"
+    )
+    received_at: datetime = Field(..., description="When received")
+
+
 class DashboardStats(BaseModel):
     """Schema for dashboard statistics."""
 
@@ -205,3 +219,7 @@ class DashboardStats(BaseModel):
         default_factory=dict,
         description="Message count per channel",
     )
+    channel_messages: dict[int, list[ChannelMessage]] = Field(
+        default_factory=dict,
+        description="Recent messages per channel (up to 5 each)",
+    )
diff --git a/src/meshcore_hub/web/templates/network.html b/src/meshcore_hub/web/templates/network.html
index 0e806a1..a590ae7 100644
--- a/src/meshcore_hub/web/templates/network.html
+++ b/src/meshcore_hub/web/templates/network.html
@@ -130,39 +130,48 @@
         </div>
     </div>
 
-    <!-- Channel Stats -->
+    <!-- Channel Messages -->
+    {% if stats.channel_messages %}
     <div class="card bg-base-100 shadow-xl">
         <div class="card-body">
             <h2 class="card-title">
                 <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" class="h-6 w-6" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24" stroke="currentColor">
                     <path stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" d="M7 20l4-16m2 16l4-16M6 9h14M4 15h14" />
                 </svg>
-                Channel Messages
+                Recent Channel Messages
             </h2>
-            {% if stats.channel_message_counts %}
-            <div class="overflow-x-auto">
-                <table class="table table-compact w-full">
-                    <thead>
-                        <tr>
-                            <th>Channel</th>
-                            <th class="text-right">Count</th>
-                        </tr>
-                    </thead>
-                    <tbody>
-                        {% for channel, count in stats.channel_message_counts.items() %}
-                        <tr>
-                            <td>Channel {{ channel }}</td>
-                            <td class="text-right font-mono">{{ count }}</td>
-                        </tr>
+            <div class="space-y-4">
+                {% for channel, messages in stats.channel_messages.items() %}
+                <div>
+                    <h3 class="font-semibold text-sm mb-2 flex items-center gap-2">
+                        <span class="badge badge-info badge-sm">CH{{ channel }}</span>
+                        Channel {{ channel }}
+                    </h3>
+                    <div class="space-y-1 pl-2 border-l-2 border-base-300">
+                        {% for msg in messages %}
+                        <div class="text-sm">
+                            <div class="flex items-baseline gap-2">
+                                <span class="font-medium text-xs opacity-70 whitespace-nowrap">
+                                    {% if msg.sender_friendly_name or msg.sender_name %}
+                                    {{ msg.sender_friendly_name or msg.sender_name }}
+                                    {% elif msg.pubkey_prefix %}
+                                    <span class="font-mono">{{ msg.pubkey_prefix[:8] }}</span>
+                                    {% else %}
+                                    Unknown
+                                    {% endif %}
+                                </span>
+                                <span class="text-xs opacity-50">{{ msg.received_at.split('T')[1][:5] if msg.received_at else '' }}</span>
+                            </div>
+                            <div class="break-words" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">{{ msg.text }}</div>
+                        </div>
                         {% endfor %}
-                    </tbody>
-                </table>
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+                {% endfor %}
             </div>
-            {% else %}
-            <p class="text-sm opacity-70">No channel messages recorded yet.</p>
-            {% endif %}
         </div>
     </div>
+    {% endif %}
 </div>
 
 <!-- Quick Actions -->