I am occasionally asked what I look for when I evaluate new books to see whether I might want to buy them. I have a pretty well established routine that I follow.

The first thing that I do is to look at the bibliography. I want to know what sources that author has used in drawing his or her conclusions. Did the author use almost all secondary sources? Did the author use a mix of primary and secondary sources? Within the primary sources, what’s the mix of published vs. manuscript materials? The thing that I’m looking for most of all is whether the author has done his or her homework. That’s why I will not even purchase a new book …

Continue reading

Yesterday’s post on the contrast between Appomattox Court House and Bennett Place got me thinking about this issue further. The following is a National Park Service list of the battles that occurred in North Carolina or significant Civil War sites located in North Carolina:

Albemarle Sound
Averasborough
Bentonville
Fort Anderson
Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher
Fort Macon
Goldsborough Bridge
Hatteras Inlet Batteries
Kinston
Monroe’s Cross Roads
New Berne
Plymouth
Roanoke Island
South Mills
Tranter’s Creek
Washington
White Hall
Wilmington
Wyse Fork

Distinctly missing from this list are Fayetteville, site of street fighting on March 11, 1865, and Bennett Place.

Roughly half of these sites pertain to Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign or to the Wilmington Campaign that preceeded it. Some of these sites …

Continue reading

David Terrenoire posted a comment in response to my entry “Of Books and Dilemmas”, and mentioned that he lives about a mile from Bennett Place, the site of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s surrender to William T. Sherman on April 26, 1865. His post reminded me of the absolutely stunning difference between the Bennett Place site and Appomattox Court House, the site of Robert E. Lee’s surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia.

The entire village of Appomattox Court House was purchased by the War Department and was turned into a shrine. It’s now part of the National Park Service, with many of the buildings–including Wilmer McLean’s handsome home–having been reconstructed as replicas of the original structures. The …

Continue reading

Andy MacIsaac, who apparently indulges my rants regularly, has entered the blogosphere with a new new blog titled “First Maine Forward”. Andy is working on a history of the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery, and has apparently been inspired to start blogging on his own. I’ve also added a link to Andy’s blog from my list of “Blogs I Like”. Take a look, and welcome, Andy.

Continue reading

As some of you know, I’ve been working on a new regimental history of the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry, also known as Rush’s Lancers, for more than a decade. The actual writing has taken over six years of working on it on and off, typically more on when the next new batch of information appears. The manuscript is largely complete; all that remains to be done on the manuscript side is to complete the review of a few Record Groups at the National Archives, and incorporate any pertinent material from those Record Groups. The gathering of that material is underway, and should be completed by March 1.

This book was to be a joint project between Ed Longacre and me. I …

Continue reading

I can’t decide whether it’s a good thing or a pathetic thing when one has to move in order to accommodate one’s library. That is, however, precisely the dilemma that Susan and I are facing. And the decision that we ultimately made is not to get rid of books but instead to get rid of the house.

Here’s the situation. We bought our existing home in 1995. It was never our dream house; it was very convenient, and it was what we could afford at the time. Most importantly, it was exactly halfway between Susan’s mother’s place and her grandmother’s place. Both had significant health issues, so accessibility was an important thing. Unfortunately, both women are no longer with us, …

Continue reading

Russ Bonds, fellow lawyer and Civil War historian, has been working on his first book. I’ve been trying to give Russ tidbits of guidance along the way. Today, I got the following question from Russ: “As a writer, what do you do about asking others to read and comment on your manuscript? I often see authors thanking colleagues, professors, friends, etc. in their acknowledgements for reading the manuscript and ‘saving them from many errors.’ To me, there are two issues here–seeking expert advice on your manuscript to be sure it’s technically, militarily and factually accurate; and seeking the opinions of ‘lay’ readers (i.e., wives, friends, non-Civil War types) to be sure the thing is readable and interesting. However, I believe …

Continue reading

In response to yesterday’s bout of shameless self-promotion, I was led to ponder once again a question that I get asked often–why do I write?

The answer is simple–because I need to do so. It’s no secret that I don’t much like my job–I’ve bored all of you to death with that already, and won’t beat that poor dead horse any more than it’s already been beaten. However, my dissatisfaction with my employment leaves me with a need to find an outlet. I have always found the writer’s art–finding ways to put words together in a fashion that tells a story–absolutely fascinating. One thing about how I make my livelihood–you quickly learn the power of words and you quickly learn …

Continue reading

Today, I’d like to engage in a bit of shameless self-promotion….

I’m pleased to announce the release date of my new book, which is the first detailed tactical study of the March 10, 1865 Battle of Monroe’s Crossroads, fought on the grounds of what is today Fort Bragg, near Fayetteville, NC. In this important action, Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton, commanding Wheeler’s Cavalry Corps and Maj. Gen. Matthew C. Butler’s cavalry division from the Army of Northern Virginia, launched a stunning dawn surprise attack on Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick’s sleeping camp. Kilpatrick was nearly captured, and had to beat feet to safety in swamp, clad in only his nightshirt in what has become known as “Kilpatrick’s Shirt-Tail Skedaddle”. Kilpatrick rallied his …

Continue reading

Today is December 7, 2005, the sixty-fourth anniversary of the Japanese sneak attack on the U. S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. The next day, when he addressed Congress to ask for a declaration of war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said:

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing …

Continue reading