Len Riedel 
The arrival of Coronavirus in the midst of a great 2020 program flared up as we were doing the final registration forms for 2020 and had just agreed with historians and received approval for our 2021 program. With the rolling cancellations on 2020 and leaving the possibility of doing some of the schedule later in … Read more
Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War by Elizabeth R. Varon (Oxford University Press, 2019) Dr. Varon is the Langbourne M. Williams Professor of American History at the University of Virginia—certainly a prestigious posting that would suggest cutting-edge scholarship is the norm. So it was with some high expectations that I … Read more
The first month of the Great Photography Hunt has passed with five featured photographs, one released each Wednesday morning at 7 AM, having been circulated. We will summarize each month giving those who participated feedback and those who did not encouragement to join the fun. Let’s open with what the Hunt is and what it … Read more
Over the past 26 years, BGES has completed some significant educational enhancements that stand in their own right as exceptional. However, a less heralded characteristic of the organization is its commitment to maintain whatever it does. If it has a BGES logo on it, it will be and is maintained. Pamplin Historical Park The latest … Read more
I am tired of talking about viruses and germs—aren’t you? What I would like to talk about is a really well-conceived, worldwide, coordinated effort to help the countless nonprofit groups around the world. GivingTuesday started in 2012, and since then has rallied increasing numbers of charities to work with their supporters to shore up fundraising efforts … 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
Tour: Texas Two Step Dates: February 7–17, 2020 Tour Leader: Neil Mangum See below for an update and photos of the successful Fort Clinch symposium in January 2020. As my field opportunities will be more limited, I get the luxury of deciding which programs I will support, and a trip to Houston and San Antonio … Read more
Charleen Lambert was a member of the Blue and Gray Education Society for more than 20 years before she passed away in early 2019 at the age of 83. I am raising her profile because she never received the accolades she deserved for all she did for the preservation community and the BGES. I met … Read more
Civil War Barons: The Tycoons, Entrepreneurs, Inventors, and Visionaries Who Forged Victory and Shaped a Nation, by Jeffry D. Wert (DaCapo Press, 2018) Every once in a while, even the most disciplined reader comes upon a break in their routine that makes sense and which brings an unexpected surprise and pleasure. Having received … Read more
You must be logged in to post a comment.