A native son of Virginia, born in Richmond “right in the shadow of Jeb Stuart,” Art Taylor was drawn to Confederate lore from an early age. “The Seven Days’ Battle culminated at my ancestor Watt’s house, with third grandmother Sally Watt being carried out as battle began,” he says. A former V-Dot employee, he’s a … Read more
A few days before Mike Movius sat down to talk with the BGES Blog, he had cataracts surgery. The prognosis? The procedure was a success, and he is on his way to a full recovery. Movius speaks with similar optimism when it comes to the CWRT Congress and Civil War roundtables. But there is a … Read more
The Civil War wasn’t just a man’s war. For the first time in American history, women played a significant role in the wartime effort. Women took on jobs beyond their society-mandated ones inside the home, including spy, nurse, and soldier. Clara Barton once claimed that the four-year war advanced the social position of women by … Read more
AMAZING CIVIL WAR BOOK COLLECTION. Sadly a Civil War buff out West recently passed away, and his widow wants to give his Civil War book collection to other buffs to give them the same pleasure, access, and joy that he experienced in studying the Civil War. The gift has run into a few snags, and … Read more
Congress at War: How Republican Reformers Fought the Civil War, Defied Lincoln, Ended Slavery, and Remade America, by Fergus M. Bordewich (Knopf, February 2020) I love to read and always have two or three books in progress at any given time. Eventually, one book will win out and will get all the attention until … Read more
In the annals of classic military confrontations, the Overland Campaign stands out as a clash of the titans. And it was for sure, as Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee matched wits for the first time in a grueling six-week battle for precious Virginia territory. But as BGES member and noted historian Gordon Rhea … Read more