by Doug Smock On Wednesday, May 12, I escaped my 15-month pandemic-imposed confinement in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and arrived in Tennessee for an introductory evening talk by Greg Mertz, a recently retired National Park Service historian. He distributed three-ring binders full of battle information, including maps, mostly made by Civil War cartographer Hal Jespersen, who … Read more
Sometimes it takes a village. That was the case seven years ago when Fort Clinch, located on a peninsula near the northernmost point of Amelia Island in Florida, got a full-scale operating 10-pounder Parrott Rifle artillery piece. Built in 1847, the fort was part of the “Third System Fortifications” that gained prominence after the War … Read more
Unless you traffic in oxymorons, concise and historian are two words that aren’t often seen in the same sentence, much less paired together. That’s what makes BGES member Michael Beard such a rare breed. In a career that has spanned more than 40 years, he has served as a teacher, researcher, site interpreter, preservationist, and … Read more
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
Gary Wilson has joined many BGES tours over the years, and his discipline in tour participation has been consistent and interesting. Armed with a book of maps, he moves meticulously through the tour, orienting himself to the field and placing the combatants in relation to each other. We asked him to share his insights into … Read more
Sometimes a connection to the past hits you in such a personal way that it catches you completely off-guard. BGES member Nancy Crago understands that phenomenon as well as anyone. As a kid growing up in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County, Crago barely gave the Civil War a passing thought, even though she lived less than an … Read more
Today, BGES celebrates 25 fantastic years of fronting Civil War In that time, we’ve scoured related sites We’ve 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, some of our members have been sharing their favorite BGES stories on these pages … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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