Blog

Reliving 15 Years of BGES Lectures

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Sometimes you instinctively do the right things from the start and then eventually realize what you have done was really important. So it is with BGES’s latest project, The BGES Video Archives. In October 1994 we assembled an all-star team at the Holiday Inn at the Richmond Airport to do a one-day symposium of lectures preceding … Read more

Tour Talk: March to the Sea, with John Derden

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One truth has always seemed universal among “Army brats”—they are fiercely proud of their upbringing. Longtime BGES member John Derden is no exception. The son of a career officer, Derden revels in the experience of growing up in a military family. The sense of wonder and curiosity engendered by his world-traveling lifestyle remains with him … Read more

Exciting Fort Branch Update—and an invitation

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I am excited to update the membership of the Blue and Gray Education Society about the progress being made on our interpretive project at Fort Branch, North Carolina. As you may recall, BGES partnered with Fort Branch to create and install six large and 12 small signs at the fort to enhance the visitor experience. … Read more

Announcing BGES’s 20th Monograph!

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After a long holiday, BGES is pleased to announce that it has finished editing and submitted for publication its 20th scholarly monograph. The Grand Gulf to Raymond Driving Tour Guide is a content-rich, 96-page publication that reveals the significance of the old historic road that linked the formerly thriving river town of Grand Gulf on the Mississippi River with the … Read more

Shattering the Revisionist Myths of Shiloh, with Hank Koopman

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Hank Koopman wants to correct decades of inaccuracies and revisionism in the various accounts of the two-day battle at Shiloh in April 1862. He has spent 20 years pursuing in-depth research, and he doesn’t mince words. Perhaps his great-great-grandfather’s suffering as a prisoner—he was captured with General Prentiss in the Hornets’ Nest at Shiloh—explains his … Read more

BGES Members Making a Difference: Norm Dasinger Jr.

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Living in the shadow of a famous father can be a curse to some. For Norm Dasinger, Jr., it has definitely been a blessing. His dad—a professor at Jacksonville State University for 25 years and later the school’s Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership—founded the Jefferson Davis Society and is also a member of the National … Read more

BGES Updated Mission Statement

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Sheridan and his generals.
The BGES Board of Directors recently undertook the process of evaluating our corporate documents as part of the process of updating our Strategic Plan and the operational parameters of the organization. The mission statement was approved by video conference in late July and is shared here for your consideration. Words mean things, and you can and should read between the lines as this provides the range and limitations of what the BGES will do in its operational mission. Maj. Gen. Bill Terpeluk, US Army Retired, is the head of the BGES Strategic Planning group.

The Blue and Gray Education Society is dedicated to the preservation of the legacy of the American Civil War and related events by the objective study and understanding of its battlefields and other historic sites. It provides engaging platforms through the conduct of field study tours and seminars, collaborative evaluation and publication of scholarly research and writings, sponsorship of interpretative projects, and open discussion of issues relating to the case for preserving its sites and artifacts. Its members and larger community actively promote the value and significance of the role of the American Civil War in the greater perspective of U.S. and world history.

Take another look at our website and see if you can figure out what we are doing and have done. I believe you will find us a very focused and mission-oriented organization, and that is what you are supporting. If you are not a member, you can join at http://www.blueandgrayeducation.org.
—Len Riedel
Executive Director

Len Riedel’s Birthday Challenge

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  Greetings from Chatham! Facebook has been a tremendous asset for the BGES, and I enjoy about 1,000 friends, many of whom are BGES members. At the same time, BGES has a FACEBOOK page that is liked and followed by approximately 1,600 people.  Each year Facebook offers its members the chance to raise money in … Read more

Stepping Up Our Game with Medford

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For more than 20 years, the BGES and the Medford Historical Society (MHS) have collaborated to digitize the priceless Gen. Samuel Crocker Lawrence Photographic Collection owned by MHS. Recently the digitization was completed, and now one of the nation’s premiere 19th-century photographic collections is available to review 24/7 from the privacy of your own home. While … Read more