This is a post that I have been waiting to write for a long time to write, and I cannot tell you how pleased I am to do so. I actually have known about this for some time, but it’s been hard keeping such wonderful, exciting news to myself. But now I can share it with all of you….

Today, Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia announced that the Commonwealth had conveyed a $700,000+ grant to the Civil War Trust for assistance in acquiring the 58 acres of Fleetwood Hill represented by the Troilo family’s holdings. These most-recent funds helped put us over the top. meaning that we were able to raise the entire $3.6 million, and that the closing on …

Continue reading

J. D. Petruzzi filmed a joint interview with Tom Carhart as part of the PCN coverage of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg this past July 3. J.D. and Carhart debated the merits of Carhart’s nonsensical theory about the fighting on East Cavalry Field – prior to the interview, J.D. and Carhart agreed that the conversation would remain civil, which it did. Each time that J.D. raised the issue that the evidence did not support his theory, Carhart’s response was to the effect of “I’m a trained soldier, and I know that this is how it was.” At one point, Carhart got so frustrated by J.D.’s insistence that the evidence does not support his theory, he held up …

Continue reading

Time for a good afternoon chuckle.

Famed Columbus humorist James Thurber wrote a whimsical article lampooning so-called “alternative history” (I call it fiction, but that’s just me) in 1930 that was published in Scribner’s Magazine. This little gem is titled “If Grant Had Been Drinking at Appomattox”. Enjoy!

IF GRANT HAD BEEN DRINKING AT APPOMATTOX -James Thurber

The morning of the ninth of April, 1865, dawned beautifully. General Meade was up with the first streaks of crimson in the sky. General Hooker and General Burnside were up and had breakfasted, by a quarter after eight. The day continued beautiful. It drew on. toward eleven o’clock. General Ulysses S. Grant was still not up. He was asleep in his

Continue reading

For those of you who find Sherman’s 1865 Carolinas Campaign as fascinating as I do, please check out this excellent program at Bentonville on September 14-15, 2013. There are some really good speakers, and a bus tour with Mark Bradley and Ed Bearss. How can you possibly go wrong?

Ticket sales are brisk, so please sign up if you’re at all interested in attending. I hope to see some of you there.

Continue reading

I’ve agreed to participate in what promises to be a really fun event. More than a dozen Savas-Beatie authors are going to assemble in Gettysburg from July 28-30 for what Ted Savas is calling the “author conclave.” The idea is that we authors will assemble there for an opportunity to interact with–and lead tours for–our readers. It will be a chance for many of us to get together for the first time as a group. Ted will be there, as well the Savas-Beatie marketing director, Sarah Keeney.

Here is the schedule:

Sunday, July 28: Gettysburg
Morning (time TBD): Lance Herdegen Tour – Gettysburg: July 1, 1863: The failure of Archer’s Attack on McPherson’s Ridge
1:30 – 3:00 pm: Lance Herdegen …

Continue reading

Some of you may recall that in May 2010, I found a headless statue of William T. Sherman in nearby Pickerington, Ohio, and set about trying to solve the mystery. A few weeks later, I spoke to Headless Billy’s owner, who assured me that a fix was in the works. I am pleased to say that Headless Billy is headless no more! Sadly, though, he remains handless Billy. Hopefully that will also be rectified soon.

Thanks to my friend Mike Peters for the photo of No Longer Headless Billy that graces this post. All’s well that ends well. Click on the image to see a larger version of it.

The following article appeared in last Friday’s edition of Columbus …

Continue reading

I’m proud and pleased to welcome two new sponsors to this blog.

First, I’d like to welcome the fine magazine The Civil War Monitor aboard as a sponsor. My old friend Terry Johnston, who is the editor and publisher, is doing a fine job of it, and I’m proud to have Terry and his excellent publication aboard.

The other new sponsor is a favorite organization of mine, the Chambersburg Civil War Seminars, as a sponsor. My pal Ted Alexander, the chief historian of the Antietam National Battlefield, runs these programs for the Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce, and Ted does a great job of it. These are some of my favorite programs each year, and I hope you will check …

Continue reading

For Clint Schemmer’s excellent article on the Brandy Station Sesquicentennial tour that appeared in today’s edition of the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star newspaper, please click here. Clint has some excellent photographs in his article, which is why I’m not just repeating it here. It’s definitely worth a read.

Nice job, Clint!

And here’s Scott Manning’s take on the tour. Thanks for the kind words, Scott!

Continue reading

I made the banzai run to Culpeper, Virginia for the sesquicentennial tour of the Battle of Brandy Station on Friday, which is a 7+ hour drive. This was a once-in-a-lifetime tour of the battlefield that featured several stops on private property. I’ve been to the battlefield literally dozens of times, including any number of times with Bud Hall, but we visited some sites that I had never seen before. Bud also announced that this would be his final tour of the battlefield, so the moment represented a passing of the torch.

More than 200 people attended. I had some very serious misgivings about the logistics of moving so many people from place to place without the benefits of buses, but …

Continue reading

Below are the details of the Brandy Station sesquicentennial tour, set for Saturday, June 8, 2013. ONLY THOSE WITH CONFIRMED RESERVATIONS ARE PERMITTED TO ATTEND. RESERVATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER THURSDAY, JUNE 5.. For a larger version of the map, please click on it.

A Message from Loudoun County Civil War Roundtable:

Dear Tour Registrant,

Thank you for registering for the Brandy Station 150th Anniversary Tour hosted by the Loudoun County Civil War Roundtable (LCCWRT).

As the date for the event is fast approaching, please make note of the following information:

1. Our first “rally point” on June 8 will be the Civil War Trust’s property on the north end of the Culpeper Airport. Please refer to the

Continue reading