As a proud son of Mississippi, Jim Woodrick has long wondered if it was unavoidable that he would become a Civil War buff. “I have always asked myself that question,” he says. “Looking back, it almost does seem that my fascination with the war was inevitable. Very early on I was somehow drawn to it.” … Read more
As the Civil War raged on for four years, four holiday seasons came and went. Famed illustrator Thomas Nast created enduring depictions of Christmas for Harper’s Weekly, giving us a sense of what celebrating Christmas amid the Civil War was like. Keep in mind, Nast was a political cartoonist and somewhat of a propagandist tool, … Read more
Historians might describe Gen. George Thomas as something of a cipher. He is the man in the plain blue uniform who comes to a party and yet no one remembers his arrival or departure. Thomas was in the thick of numerous battles: Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga and Atlanta, Stones River and Mill Springs, Peachtree … Read more
For a kid growing up on the outskirts of St. Louis in the 1960s, Americana was everywhere. You just had to decide which slice of it you wanted to grab. BGES member Greg Mertz, who is set to host “Shiloh, Bloody April” from April 8 to 11, 2021, made the most of the opportunity. For … Read more
BGES members and friends have really come through this year! Our various fundraising efforts have largely offset the lost but budgeted revenue created by the coronavirus. We have completed projects and raised funds when pledged funds were not received. We have funded and completed the projects we planned before the virus hit—thank you. Now we … Read more
As BGES navigated the troubled waters stirred by Coronavirus, we sought to sell 1,000 books to net an estimated $38,000. Pretty aggressive for a group of 400-plus members, but amazingly enough we did sell and ship nearly 400 books—a net of nearly $18,000, and we aren’t quite done. While a Silent Auction of rare collectors … Read more