April, 2011

I wanted to announce a number of upcoming events, in case anyone is interested.

First, this Saturday, April 9, 2011, I am one of the presenters at a conference being held at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. The topic is “Railroads, Raids, and Ruins–Laying the tracks of destruction in Virginia’s Civil War”, and it focuses on precisely what it sounds like. The speakers are Professor Peter Coogan (Hollins), Chris Calkins, Gordon Hamilton, a special appearance by Dr. James I. “Bud” Robertson, and me. My friend Clark “Bud” Hall was also supposed to present, but some pressing personal business has forced Bud to cancel, which means that I’m going to cover his slot. My first talk–the one I was scheduled to do–is a study of Union cavalry raids on Virginia railroads, 1862-1865. The second one is titled “A Tale of Two Railroads: The Baltimore and Ohio and Virginia Central Railroads During the Civil War.” Click here for registration information.

Then, on Sunday, April 10, I will be signing books in Greencastle, PA at the kick-off of the Greencastle-Antrim Historical Society’s Sesquicentennial of the Civil War celebration. It’s a full weekend event, but I obviously can’t there before Sunday due to the conference at Hollins. For information about this event, click here. Other authors who will be signing include my fellow blogger Scott Mingus, Sr. and Dennis Frye.

On April 12, I am speaking to the Civil War Roundtable of Atlanta, Georgia. My topic will be Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride to Gettysburg. Click here for sign-up information.

On May 19, I am speaking to the Powhatan Civil War Roundtable in Powhatan, Virginia. The topic will be the same as my Atlanta talk. Click here for information regarding the meeting.

On June 11, I am leading a tour of about half of the sites associated with our book Plenty of Blame to Go Around for the First Defenders Civil War Roundtable from my hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania. Click here for registration information.

I will be in Williamsport, Maryland all day on Friday, July 8, 2011 and for just over half a day on Saturday for Retreat Through Williamsport, sponsored by the Town of Williamsport and the National Park Service Chesapeake and Ohio Canal unit. On Saturday at 1:00, I will be speaking on the retreat from Gettysburg, and I will be signing books all day Friday and on Saturday morning. Click here for information regarding the event. We have to head out after my talk, as we have a beach house reserved in Wilmington, NC for the next week.

On September 14, I am speaking to our own Central Ohio Civil War Roundtable on how Revolutionary War tactics affected Civil War tactics. That’s going to be a completely new talk for me that ties up two of my favorite topics. Click here for information about the meeting.

From September 23-25, I will be leading a tour of Central Virginia cavalry battlefields for Woodbury Historical Tours. Battlefields visited will be Kelly’s Ford, Brandy Station, and Trevilian Station. Registration is limited to 15 or so, and the first dozen get free copies of my book on the Battle of Brandy Station. The schedule and registration information can be obtained by clicking here.

And, although this is way in advance, it’s never too soon to promote one of my favorite events. I’ve been invited to be a presenter at the annual Middleburg Conference on Leadership in the Civil War this year again, for the fourth time. This event always features an impressive array of talent and benefits a great organization, the Mosby Area Heritage Association. This year’s conference is September 30-October 2, and the title is “The Conference on the Art of Command in the Civil War: Cavalry of the North and South”, and it features some first rate talent. Scroll down the page for the schedule and for information on registration. Here’s the schedule:

Friday, September 30
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Registration, Reception & Book Browsing
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Horace Mewborn, Behind Enemy Lines with Rangers and Comanche’s! John Mosby and Elijah White
6:15 p.m. -7:15 p.m. – Clark B. Hall, From Bull Run to Brandy Station: JEB Stuart and the Emergence of the Confederate Cavalry

Saturday, October 1
8:00 a.m. – Registration, Coffee & Snacks
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.- Robert O’Neill, Colonel Percy Wyndham, A Question of Loyalty
9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. – Marshall Krolick, Riding for the Union – Recollections from the 8th Illinois Cavalry
11:00 a.m. – 12 noon – Robert Trout, In Pelham’s Shadow: the Commanders of the Stuart Horse Artillery after John Pelham
12 noon – 12:45 p.m. – Lunch
12:45p.m. – 1:45 p.m. – Bruce Venter, General Insubordination: Custer vs. Kilpatrick in the Third Cavalry Division
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – Clark B. Hall, Redemption is at Hand! Emergence of the Federal Cavalry after the Battle of Brandy Station
3:15 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. – Eric Wittenberg, Plenty of Blame to Go Around: JEB Stuart’s Controversial Ride to Gettysburg
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Panel Discussion and Book Signing
6:15 p.m. – Cash Bar Opens at American Legion Hall
7:00 p.m. – Banquet Dinner
8:00 p.m. – JEB Stuart, IV, Jeb Stuart at West Point and in Federal Service Out West

Sunday, October 2
8:00 a.m. – Buses depart Middleburg for a tour of Brandy Station Battlefield (box lunches included)
5:00 p.m. – Buses return to Middleburg

This is going to be a good one, folks. Check it out.

That’s it for now. As always, I will continue to update my schedule of events as things go.

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