As an award-winning author and the collateral descendant of a much-maligned Civil War figure, Sam Hood knows that retelling our nation’s history accurately often requires digging a little deeper. In fact, part of his impetus for writing John Bell Hood: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Confederate General was to set the record straight … Read more
What do you do when you hear an inner voice telling you to live out your destiny? You listen. At least that’s what S. Waite Rawls III did. Descended from Virginia ancestors who fought for the Confederacy, Rawls felt a deep connection to the Civil War as a child. But it wasn’t until a business … 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
Mention Old Town Alexandria, and most people think colonial history. And they’re not wrong. Founded in 1749, the town went on to become a hotbed of Revolutionary War activity, with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other patriots discussing the merits of democracy at Gadsby’s Tavern and worshipping at Christ Church. But Alexandria, located just 10 … Read more
BGES Treasurer Laurence Schiller retired in 2016 from his “real-life” profession at Northwestern University as history professor and the second winningest fencing coach in NCAA history. Interestingly, those jobs fit nicely into the broader scope of what Laurie loves to do—and continues to do: Reenact. He’s been a full-blown Civil War reenactor since 1994, typically … Read more
December 3rd, 2019, is a special day for nonprofit organizations around the world. The annual social media day of giving was designated “GIVING TUESDAY” to harness the power of the new media to do good for the tens of thousands of charities doing their work in the shadow of diminishing resources. Knowing that individuals fuel … Read more
In the midst of Civil War, both armies sought to control Chattanooga, the gateway to the Confederacy, and so they came to clash in the summer of 1863 at a nearby creek called Chickamauga. The Confederates won, and so they met again, this time at Chattanooga. The Confederates nearly dominated again … and then entered … Read more
Wil Greene’s “A Campaign of Giants” tour on September 25–28, 2019, did not disappoint. Populated with an intrepid group of 19 registrants, this was the BGES’s largest 2019 tour to date. After an opening overview of the Petersburg Campaign at the Hyatt Place hotel in Chester, Virginia, we started early the next morning, bringing the … Read more
American originals come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. Some are flesh and blood, and walk among us. Others are the product of a vivid and boundless imagination. Bestselling author and BGES member Winston Groom is undoubtedly one of the former. His most famous character, Forrest Gump, is one of the latter. Fortunately for … Read more
The Civil War era—and all of American history, for that matter—has had its fair share of colorful characters. For BGES member Bryan Hagen, this undeniable fact is one of the things that makes the study of our nation’s past so fascinating. And it’s even more fun for him when he gets to be “in character.” … Read more
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