I was asked this question:

When did Albert Jenkins’ cavalry brigade arrive on the battlefield at Gettysburg? Could part of the reasoning on Lee’s and/or Ewell’s part have been to keep Governor-elect Billy Smith out of harm’s way, thus using his brigade to watch the flank? Or, did they not trust Jenkins’ brigade? Or, maybe a little of both?

Here’s my answer:

Good questions all.

Let me answer the last one first. The Gettysburg Campaign was the first so-called “regular” service of Jenkins’ command, which had been considered to be partisan rangers prior. They were largely an undisciplined and unproven commodity. In addition, they were not armed with normal cavalry weapons. Instead, they carried two-band Enfield muzzle-loaders, which meant that

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I wanted to take a moment to wish all of my readers a happy and safe Independence Day, and to take a moment to thank all of our veterans, past, present, and future, for the sacrifices that they have made to give us a country where we can celebrate our independence not through martial displays, but through family gatherings and happy times spent with family and friends.

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Today, the CWPT issued a press release announcing that 270 historians, including yours truly, had sent letters to the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission opposing the proposed Gettysburg casino:

For Immediate Release
June 30, 2010

For more information, contact:
Jim Campi, CWPT, 202-367-1861 x7205
Mary Koik, CWPT, 202-367-1861 x7242

Nation’s Historians Speak Out Against Proposed Gettysburg Casino

In letter to Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, more than 270 American historians unite to urge rejection of proposed gaming resort one-half mile from Gettysburg National Military Park

(Gettysburg, Pa.) – To mark the 147th anniversary of the bloodiest battle in American history, 272 American historians, including some of the country’s most respected academics, today sent a letter to Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board chairman Gregory Fajt,

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It’s been quite a while since I’ve profiled a forgotten cavalryman, so I thought now would be a good time to do one. Tonight’s profile is of Col. Nathaniel P. Richmond of the 1st West Virginia Cavalry.

Nathaniel P. Richmond was born in Indianapolis on July 26, 1833. His father Ansel was from New York, and had his family roots in New England. He was a member of a prominent law firm, and served as the clerk of courts. His mother, Elizabeth S. Pendleton Richmond, was an Ohio native with Virginia roots who was a cousin of President James Madison.

At age 17, Nathaniel entered Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, but he did not complete his course of study …

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One of the myths that J. D. Petruzzi and I tried to dispel in our book Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride to Gettysburg is the criticism that Jeb Stuart failed to take steps to provide intelligence to Robert E. Lee during his ride to Gettysburg. That criticism is not well-founded, as Stuart did, indeed, forward significant intelligence to the Confederate authorities.

We know this because a June 27, 1863 dispatch from Stuart, reporting that the Army of the Potomac had moved north toward Leesburg and the Potomac River and had abandoned its base of operations at Fairfax Court House, was published in John Beauchamp Jones’ excellent 1866 book A Rebel War Clerk’s Diary. As …

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Marc Charisse, the editor of the Hanover Evening Sun wrote an interesting editorial for yesterday’s edition of the paper, addressing the many great books on the Battle of Gettysburg that cram his bookshelves. He gave a list of what he feels are ten indispensable books on the campaign, and J.D.’s and my Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride to Gettysburg made the list. Here’s the editorial:

Books battling for attention

By MARC CHARISSE
Posted: 06/13/2010 01:00:00 AM EDT

“Of making many books there is no end,” Ecclesiastes tells us, “and much study is a weariness of the flesh.”

Every year about this time, a whole new bevy of Gettysburg books appears on the shelves. And every

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The imbeciles who want to place a casino half a mile south of the battlefield of Gettysburg have now engaged in a campaign of disinformation, referring to South Cavalry Field as “a satellite area of the battlefield.” This intentionally misleading statement is an effort to warp the truth, and I could not allow it to pass unchallenged.

I responded, and wrote a letter to the editor of the Frederick News-Post that was published today:

Gettysburg casino near hallowed ground?
Originally published June 11, 2010

When President Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address, he explained: “We can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or

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Today, I spoke to the owner of Headless Billy, who is the owner of the shopping center where Headless Billy resides. He informed me that it has always been his plan to repair Bill and to restore him to capitation and two-handedness. He also said that he plans to hold some sort of a dedication ceremony once the monument has been repaired. Finally, he indicated that he plans on sprucing up the area where Billy resides. All of that news really pleased me because all I have wanted since I discovered the presence of Headless Billy was to see him restored to dignity and to see him back in the public eye. All of that will happen.

I gave the …

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About the same time that Mike Peters solved the mystery of Headless Billy, several readers, including David Woodbury, sent along links to information. Two different readers sent links to this article from the Toledo Blade from July 2008, which solves the mystery of Headless Billy. The photo is of Headless Billy before he became headless.

Ohio park, ‘Mount Rushmore of folk art,’ collection of statues to be auctioned
ASSOCIATED PRESS

FRAZEYSBURG, Ohio — A man who owns a hillside park with giant sandstone sculptures of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and other famous Americans said he’s selling the property so the artwork can be better preserved.

The sculptures in Baughman Memorial Park need to be restored and repainted, said Kevin

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“It gets curiouser and curiouser,” Alice said to the Cheshire Cat.

The mystery of Headless and Handless Uncle Billy gets curiouser and curiouser.

Last night, I mentioned that one of the attorneys in my office is a lifelong resident of Pickerington, where the monument is located. So, too, is his father, who is in his 70’s. Rick asked his father about it last night. It turns out that before the shopping center was built in the 1980’s, Rick’s father farmed that precise ground. He has never seen Headless Billy, even to this day. One would think that a farmer on a tractor would notice a white monument on a pedestal in the middle of a farm field, so it’s a …

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