Rebel Victory at Vicksburg By Edwin Bearss (Pioneer Press, 1963) The legend outlives the man and our memories of Ed Bearss long overshadowed our objectivity, and so picking up a book written before Ed became a legend is both daunting and filled with land mines. What if he was all bluster, a showman who was … Read more
The World War II Memorial was dedicated in 2004 on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall, honoring the 16 million people who served as part of the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, including more than 400,000 who died. It’s a spell-binding structure, with a splashing fountain surrounded by concrete pillars and pavilions. And it’s filled … Read more
The life of a career National Park Service professional, seasonal or full-time, is a transient one, nomadic in nature. The novelist Nevada Barr, herself a former Park Service ranger, has made an alternative career of fictionally documenting the rootless odysseys of rangers, historians, and superintendents. Neil Mangum is one such Park Service denizen, who has … Read more
There are two sides to every story. Sounds like a cliché, right? Don’t tell that to historian, archivist, and BGES member Tim Mulligan. He built his entire career—34 years at the National Archives and Records Administration, plus three books on World War II—on this belief. And it continues to guide him in his retirement. “As … Read more
Long after the battles raged, Civil War battlefields have taken on a peaceful mode, providing serene places to stroll among preserved landscapes. Any time of year, the woodlands, meadows, rivers, and streams are beautiful places to walk, but springtime is especially special as wildflowers put on a colorful show, moving from one dazzling species to … Read more
Dee Brown’s Civil War Anthology By Dee Brown, edited by Stan Banah (Clear Light Publishers, Santa Fe, 1998) Like many of you, the name Dee Brown is somewhat familiar to me. If you collect books, you have seen many of his books in a reprint edition by Konecky Press or some other secondary publisher, oftentimes … Read more
The life of Nathan Bedford Forrest has been the purview of many talented historians over the years. But no one has offered greater insight into the subject than Brian Steel Wills, a professor of history at Kennesaw State University and the director of the Center for the Study of the Civil War Era. Wills has … Read more
It might surprise you to learn that one of the more robust Civil War tour companies on the planet is run by a British national and operates out of England. But Peter Gascoyne-Lockwood, the son of a British Naval Officer, considers himself a citizen of the world, and his company, Old Country Military & History … Read more
The Civil War By Robert Paul Jordan (National Geographic Society, 1969) It has been said a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is so, then Robert Jordan’s book is War and Peace. It was written as a survey reflection on the Civil War amid a country torn apart by antiwar riots, political discourse that … Read more
While we’re featuring Gettysburg this month in our “Tour Talk,” one of the Civil War’s most famous battles, there are plenty of other sites in Pennsylvania that aren’t as well known—but all have fascinating stories to tell. So if you’re heading out to Gettysburg, don’t forget to visit some of the state’s “other” sites as … Read more
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