Blog

As True as Steel: The Story of Elusive George Thomas

by

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

Tour Talk: Greg Mertz and Shiloh

by

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

End-of-Year Giving Opportunities

by

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

Books Make Great Holiday Gifts

by
Civil War: A Traveler's Guide

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

October Medford Gallery Cheat Sheet

by

Here is the info that we have for the October 2020 Medford Gallery photos. Thank you to everyone who contributed opinions and ideas! 

 

 

Telling the Civil War Through Art

by

You can learn a lot from paintings depicting events that happened during the Civil War, both on and off the battlefield. Winslow Homer, Frederic Edwin Church, and Eastman Johnson, all famed for their own distinctive styles and motifs, are among the American artists who captured various glimpses into the four-year struggle. Rather than following the … Read more

Historian Talk: Scott Hartwig and the Allure of Gettysburg

by

Scott Hartwig is a popular historian for BGES, and while he has spent his career at Gettysburg working for the National Park Service, his interest and scholarship is at Antietam. He has been working on the definitive campaign study in two volumes for the 1862 Maryland Campaign. Volume One was published by Johns Hopkins Press … Read more

BGES Members Making a Difference: Mike Green

by

Growing up on the West Coast shaped BGES member Mike Green’s life in ways that are still evident today. Born in Washington, he moved south with his family to California when he was 3. They settled in Redding, also known as Central Valley. Green was a good athlete who loved music and the outdoors. He … Read more

Book Review: Besieged, Mobile 1865

by

      Besieged, Mobile 1865 by Russell W. Blount, Jr. (Pelican Press, 2015), $26.95 In 1861, Union commanding general Winfield Scott articulated the Anaconda Plan, a strategy that would defeat the nascent Confederacy by closing down all its lines of commerce, thereby depriving it of a commercial base. Closing ports of trade would deny … Read more

Tour Talk: Tim Smith and the Real Horse Soldiers

by

For many historians, there is nothing more exciting than having a personal connection to their subject matter. BGES member Tim Smith knows this feeling very well. A native of Mississippi, he grew up a stone’s throw from the hills and valleys where Union Calvary general Benjamin Grierson famously led his troops on an attack in … Read more