Blogging

I forgot one of the new blogs that I had intended to include when I updated the blogroll the other day.

Mike Noirot has launched a really interesting new blog called This Mighty Scourge. It makes for an interesting hodgepodge of information that is worth your time.

Mike also maintains another interesting web site called Battlefield Portraits, which features some really excellent photography of Civil War battlefields. Check it out.

I’ve added the blog to the blogroll.

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I’m adding several new blogs to the blog. Okay, two are not so new, but they definitely deserve to be added.

Robert Grandchamp, graduate student and the authority on all things Rhode Island in the Civil War, has started a new blog on the 7th Rhode Island Infantry. It’s been added to the blogroll.

Next is my friend Scott Mingus’ York Cannonball blog, which, to be honest, should have been added long ago. Attribute it to laziness on my part. Scott has some really interesting material on the Civil War in York County, Pennsylvania. Scott was a big help to J.D. and me when we were writing Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride to Gettysburg. It has also been added to the blogroll.

Touch the Elbow has been resurrected yet again, so I have restored it to the blogroll. Let’s hope it doesn’t fade to black for a third time.

My alma mater, Dickinson College has an excellent project underway called The House Divided Project, which is a digital history archive. Prof. Matt Pinsker, a Lincoln scholar, is in charge of the project, which has its own blog. Matt is a regular poster, and I commend it to you.

I’m always on the lookout for new blogs on the Late Unpleasantness. If you know of any promising new blogs, please let me know.

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I apologize for being quiet this past week. It turns out that the lasting legacy of the whirlwind trip to Virginia last week was a badly pinched nerve in my neck as a result of that crappy bed and even worse pillow. I’ve been in a LOT of pain for most the week, although a visit to the chiropractor on Friday helped. It still hurts, and one of the things I’ve realized is that until it gets better (I’m going back to the chiropractor tomorrow), I need to limit my time on the computer.

I hope to be back to full speed later this week.

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I apologize for being quiet the past couple of days. I’ve been busy finishing a couple of pieces on the Philadelphia Phillies for the baseball project. I’m just having a blast working on this project.

Major hat tip to Drew Wagenhoffer for bringing the existence of this blog to my attention. The good folks from Civil War Interactive have started running news items in a blog format. I highly recommend it, and I have added it to the blog roll.

Since he’s taking an indefinite sabbatical from blogging, I have also removed the link to Paul Taylor’s blog. If he starts blogging again, I will immediately add a link back in.

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Time to do a little blogroll housekeeping.

Unfortunately, Touch the Elbow, always one of my favorite blogs, has apparently faded to black for the second time. There hasn’t been a new post since July 4, and even then, it was not a substantive post. I’ve deleted it from the blogroll.

Sarah Adler has not posted since August 31. She had indicated that she was going to take a moratorium from posting, so I’ve also deleted the link to her blog.

I have added a link to the excellent Gettysburg Daily, which is maintained by an unidentified Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide, and which provides an excellent photographic record of the many changes to the Gettysburg National Military Park.

I’ve also re-added Brian Dirck’s excellent Lincoln blog since Brian is back blogging again. Welcome back, Brian. You were missed.

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Back in August, Rob Shenk, the Director of Internet Strategy and Development for the Civil War Preservation Trust, contacted me and asked me whether I would be interested in being featured in a piece on blogging the Civil War that he was developing for the CWPT’s web site. I said sure and had fun putting it together.

The results of that collaboration have been published to the CWPT’s web site, and can be found here.

Thanks to Rob for asking. I hope you all enjoy.

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On September 23, 2005, the first post of this blog was made. There’s not much to it, other than a brief introduction. I started this blog to scratch an itch I’d had for a while; I had things to say and hoped someone would pay attention. Little did I know what I had started….

Three years, 806 posts, and 5134 comments later, this blog is still going strong. To my astonishment, not only were people interested in what I had to say, you have flocked to this site. This blog is regularly ranked within the top 200,000 listed on Technorati. Considering that this is very much a niche blog, and there are millions of blogs out there, it’s really humbling to have such a high ranking. Because there is so much traffic, I often exceed my bandwidth limitations and have had to increase them several times over the years. I’m absolutely blown away by the number of people who visit this site each day and who indulge my rantings.

I especially enjoy the interactions with you that take place in the comments; indeed, some of the best discussions I’ve had in recent years have taken place in the comments to this blog. I’m fortunate to have a literate and enthusiastic group of regular readers who enjoy the interactions as much as I do. Those discussions go a long way toward making this blog what it is, and I appreciate that very much.

All I can say is that I am flattered and humbled all at the same time. To all of you who come here every day, thank you. I’m still standing, and I still have plenty left to say. All I can say is that I hope you won’t be disappointed.

Thank you for your time and for your attention.

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Our friend, Ranger Mannie Gentile, has THE coolest blog post ever on his blog this weekend. If you’ve ever wondered about the fight for the Sunken Road at Antietam, I guarantee you that Mannie’s post will answer those questions forever.

Check it out.

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For the second time, John Maass has decided to pull the plug on his excellent blog, A Student of History, which has long been one of my favorite blogs. I understand the time constraints he faces and will miss the blog. Goodbye and good luck, John.

I’ve deleted the link to his blog, but will gladly restore it once more if John gets back into the game.

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As I’ve mentioned here previously, I get an e-mail every time a comment is posted to this blog. Pingbacks from other blogs qualify as comments, and I get these regularly. The vast majority of those pingbacks are from splogs (spam blogs) and I immediately delete them as spam. Because of that, I check them carefully when they come in. Today, one came through from an interesting looking new blog. I checked it out and liked what I saw, so I’m adding it to the blog roll.

It’s got the intriguing name of Past in the Present, and it’s maintained by a fellow named Michael Lynch. Here’s how he describes himself: “I’m an East Tennessee native with a master’s degree in U.S. History and an interest in the American Revolution in the South. I’ve done a little college-level teaching, I used to do collections/exhibits at a Lincoln/Civil War museum, and I’m a former executive director at a late-1700’s historic house site.”

Welcome aboard, Michael. I’ve added a link from my blog roll.

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