Putting in a Good Word

My regular readers know I do a lot of conferences/seminars. I’ve tried to cut back over the past couple of years. It becomes too time consuming and keeps me away from the office too much at times. I’ve been trying to limit my participation in these events to a minimum, meaning that there are only a few that I will do regularly. One is the annual Middleburg Conference on Leadership in the Civil War, put on by the Mosby Heritage Area Association every October. Another is the annual Shenandoah Civil War Associates seminar, sponsored by James Madison University (this one starts a week from tomorrow, and I will be there; more on this later).

The other, which I try never to miss when I’m invited, is old pal Ted Alexander’s annual July Civil War extravaganza, sponsored by the Greater Chambersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. Ted invites me to present or lead a tour most years, but this year’s program is Antietam, and while I enjoy the Battle of Antietam a great deal, nobody would ever call me an expert on it. Consequently, I wasn’t invited this year for the first time in a LONG time.

This year’s event promises to be the ultimate Antietam fest. There are forty speakers lined up, including Ed Bearss, James McPherson, Dennis Frye, Jeff Wert, Ethan Rafuse, Mark Snell, Tom Clemens, and anyone who’s anybody regardng the Battle of Antietam. The conference runs from July 25-29, and is based in Chambersburg. There are numerous lectures and lots of good choices for battlefield tours.

This promises to be the Antietam event to end them all, and I can tell you from six or seven years of prior experience that Ted runs a first-rate operation. Next year’s event will be Gettysburg oriented, and J. D. and I will be doing a bus tour of the some of the sites associated with Stuart’s ridge, as discussed in our book Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride to Gettysburg. If I didn’t have an event next weekend and another one the following weekend, I would really consider attending, but I’ve got too much on my plate as it is and I can’t afford the time away.

The cost is reasonable–it’s $685 for the entire program, which includes hotel, buses, tours, etc. There are also options to do part of the program. Ted has a lot of loyal folks who come back year after year. Part of the fun each year is catching up with the regulars. Ted also uses these events to raise money for battlefield preservation. Each year, there is a live auction, and there are multiple book raffles, and lots of money is raised for donation for good battlefield preservation causes.

I can’t say enough good things about Ted’s programs. Check them out. You won’t be disappointed.