On April 25, 2019, BGES celebrates 25 fantastic years of fronting Civil War education and preservation. In that time, we’ve scoured related sites both large and small with our premier study tours, and branched off into other important areas of American history as well. We’ve launched some important legacy preservation projects, grown our Wounded Warrior tours for America’s heroes, and published books and monographs. And through it all, we’ve been honored to engage with some of history’s and the military’s greatest minds. To commemorate our 25th anniversary, in the days leading up to the Big Day some of our members will be sharing their favorite BGES stories on these pages. Be sure to return to the website often to relive some poignant memories.
I was living in Mississippi when the organization was getting started. Len and I are both VMI grads, and I met him during a talk he gave. We soon became friends. My best memory is when he called me up out of the blue on a fine summer morning to invite me on a tour of the Vicksburg battlefield with Parker Hills. It was a great experience and one I remember fondly.