Emerging Civil War · May 2017
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Please take our survey · 10 Questions with...Dan Davis ·
ECW Bookshelf: Battle Above the Clouds
Behind the Scenes: Writing Books with Chris Kolakowski · News & Notes
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From the Editor
In my interview last month with
Civil War bookseller Marc Ramsey, Marc shared an important if melancholy insight: We’re living with an attrition rate in the Civil War world. “The world of Civil War book readers—a lot of them are getting old and dying,” Marc said, “and I don’t see them getting replaced by like numbers of young people.”
You’ve probably talked about it yourselves at your roundtables or on your battlefield tours or just over a cup of coffee with your Civil War buddies. As I travel the lecture circuit, people from group to group ask me if I see the same thing when I visit
other groups. “What can we do to get more young people involved?” people ask.
We’re asking that very question ourselves at Emerging Civil War—and we need your help. We’re doing a little marketing research about our readership. We would REALLY appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to complete a survey about Emerging Civil War.
You can find it here
.
The research is being conducted by a graduate student in St. Bonaventure University’s Integrated Marketing Communications program,
Hannah Gordon.
We really appreciate your help.
-- Chris Mackowski
Editor-in-Chief
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Fourth Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge
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August 4-6, 2017
Great Defenses of the Civil War
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10 Questions with . . . Daniel T. Davis
Dan Davis, who helps keep Emerging Civil War’s blog on an even keel as managing editor, is the author of three books in the Emerging Civil War Series. He smiles a lot more than his photo suggests.
Every year on May 10, you go to Spotsylvania and retrace the steps of Col. Emory Upton as he led an attack on the Mule Shoe. What's that all about?
I find it to be a very interesting episode of the battle. It marks a change in offensive warfare in Virginia. Emory Upton recognized that the complexity of the Confederate field fortifications at Spotsylvania rendered traditional tactics obsolete. His answer to the Confederate innovation was to innovate himself. He came up with a concept of attacking in a massed column over a much smaller front. When Upton execute this new tactic, despite the lack of support, it worked. U.S. Grant and George Meade then adopted Upton's assault tactic, using it twice more at Spotsylvania, during both major Union attacks at Cold Harbor, and in the closing days of the war at Petersburg.
Why do you think it's important to "walk the field" as a historian?
It gives us a different perspective than what we would get by reading an Official Report, diary or memoir. Exploring a battlefield allows us to see what the soldiers saw. Studying and tramping the ground offers insight into why officers made certain decisions and how battles developed. It helps develop a better understanding of that particular engagement, the men who influenced it, and how it impacted them on future battlefields.
Brandy Station was your favorite battlefield growing up—and then as a historian, you ended up writing a book about the battle. How did that feel?
Amazing. Some of my first battlefield memories are of trips to Brandy Station with my dad. Presenting him with a copy of the book brought those childhood experiences full circle. It was a way to say "thank you." It was also fantastic to work with Eric Wittenberg on the project. Eric is the recognized expert on Civil War cavalry operations. His insight into writing was invaluable.
For the Emerging Civil War Series, you've also hit the Valley Campaign of '64 and the battle of Cold Harbor. What's next?
I am working on a manuscript that traces George Armstrong Custer through the Civil War. I've always had a strong interest in Custer. I think the common view of Custer is far too often through the lens of 1876. While the book does cover his experiences from 1861-1865, I also address his final campaign against the Sioux and Cheyenne.
You spend a lot of your focus on cavalry—Federal cavalry, in particular. What's the deal—do you own a horse or something?
I actually do not own a horse. I think art of it is through my fascination with George Custer. But during the initial stages of the war in the East, the Federal cavalry was the underdog. It was not until 1863 that their combat prowess rose to the level of their opposition. Their evolution, which continues into 1864, is very interesting. While it can be traced to better organization, equipment, and logistics, I think much it is due to improved leadership . That, however, does not take anything away from the Confederates. The mounted forces of the Army of Northern Virginia remained a formidable foe.
Lightning Round (short answers):
Who’s the most overrated person of the Civil War era?
Philip Sheridan
What’s your favorite Trans-Mississippi site?
Palmito Ranch
What’s your favorite regiment?
6th Michigan Cavalry
What’s one Civil War book you would recommend as indispensable?
The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant
What’s one question about the Civil War no one’s asked you but you wish they would?
What battle outside a State or National Park system would you recommend I study?
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Behind the Scenes
Chris Kolakowski on Book Writing
Periodically I get asked something about my writing process, usually couched in terms of "How long did you work on this?" or "Did you go there?" or something similar. People, especially those I encounter on my speaking trips, are curious about what all goes into producing a work of whatever length. In an effort to pull back the curtain, let me offer three key points about the book-writing process—or at least my experience of it.
First, you are in a long-term relationship with your topic. Each of my four books (
The Civil War at Perryville;
The Stones River & Tullahoma Campaigns,
Last Stand on Bataan; and
The Virginia Campaigns of 1862) took several years of research and at least 6-12 months of intense writing on weekends to complete the manuscript. I also traveled to key locations and repositories for materials and to learn. You'll need a level of passion about your topic to sustain you through a project of this size. And frankly, it should be fun!
Second, I write starting on page 1 and going sequentially. Each time I sit down to work more on the book, I don't sit down to "write a book," instead I focus on the segment right in front of me and what I want to get done in that session/weekend. A good analogy is a road trip from New York to Chicago; you don't drive that in one hop, rather you do it in segments to get to your goal.
Third, writers read—to see what scholarship is out there, to hone their skills as a storyteller, and to get ideas about how to effectively present material.
Happy writing and happy reading!
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The roll-out of our spring titles in the Emerging Civil War Series continues! Just in time for the Civil War Trust’s annual conference, being held June 7-11 in Chattanooga, we are pleased to announce the release of
Battle Above the Clouds: The Lifting of the Siege of Chattanooga and the Battle of Lookout Mountain by ECW’s award-winning author
Dave Powell. This is the first of a two-volume series on the battles for Chattanooga, which Dave has written as a follow-up to his amazing three-volume hardcover masterpiece The Chickamauga Campaign.
Battle Above the Clouds includes a great narrative of the battle, maps by Hal Jespersen, tours of the Chattanooga Campaign and of Lookout Mountain, an appendix by Frank Varney that examines the myth around Grant’s “cracker line,” an appendix about Joe Hooker’s famous “Battle Above the Clouds” painting, and a foreword by ECW’s Lee White, who works as a ranger at Chickamauga/Chattanooga National Battlefield Park. It is, as you can see, jam-packed with great stuff.
And don’t forget
Steve Davis’s All the Fighting They Want: The Battles for Atlanta, from Peachtree Creek to the City's Surrender, the second book in his two-volume treatment of the battles for Atlanta, released last month. The book picks up with John Bell Hood’s ascension to command all the way through the surrender of the city.
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News & Notes
Phill Greenwalt is helping the Miami Civil War Round Table and Book Club get up and going. The group will meet every 3rd Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the West Kendall Regional Library in Miami, Florida, starting on June 22, 2017. “We plan to have historians and book writers speak every month or as often as possible,” says organizer David Marshall. “Each month club members will read a different book and discuss the title. On months that an outside speaker is not available, club members will provide a brief lecture on a specific topic.” Anyone who has questions or are interested in speaking or joining the group can contact Marshall at
moustacheman50@earthlink.net or Phill at
psgreenwalt@gmail.com.
Brian Matthew Jordan will be the keynote speaker for this year's 2017 Emerging Civil War Symposium. Before the August gathering though, Brian will be quite busy speaking on numerous topics and touring several battlefields. A little over a week ago he presented several programs for the The Gettysburg Foundation in Nashville, Tennessee, in a joint event hosted by the Tennessee Historical Society. Brian will be speaking to the Gettysburg Civil War Roundtable on May 25 on his book
Marching Home, and touring the battlefields of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Five Forks, and Appomattox between June 14-18 with the Yale Alumni Association.
Chris Mackowski was an invited presenter for Liberty University’s annual Civil War conference, held April 22 in Lynchburg, Virginia. Mackowski presented, “Grant’s Closing Chapter in the West,” a look at the fall of Vicksburg, Mississippi in July 1863, as the turning point in the career of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. Grant exemplified this in his own memoirs by ending volume one after Vicksburg and opening volume two with his promotion just before Chattanooga.
Chris also has an article appearing in the August 2017 issue of
Civil War Times magazine, hitting newsstands now, titled, “Stonewall’s Greatest Joy.” The article focuses on Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and his role as a father. Chris wrote a blog post earlier this month
offering additional background on the article.
Kevin Pawlak will be be presenting for the Brandy Station Foundation's Summer Series lectures on June 25 at 2 pm. Kevin’s talk is titled "Raised from Obscurity": The Cavalry Battles of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville on the Road to Gettysburg
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Dave Powell and
Kris White will be among the historians leading tours and doing programs for
the Civil War Trust’s annual conference in Chattanooga early next month. The Trust’s conference runs June 7-11 and will highlight events related to the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga.
A special shout-out to ECW Chief Financial Officer
Jennifer Mackowski and our partner,
Stevenson Ridge. Stevenson Ridge was recently honored by the Sierra Club with its
Living Green Award, presented to an environmentally friendly company that promotes sustainable business practices. The Sierra Club got wind of Stevenson Ridge's efforts because a board member attended last year's Emerging Civil War Symposium and saw all the efforts being made to recycle. That led to further conversations. So, thanks, Symposium attendees for your part "Living Green!"
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3rd: Meg Groeling, "Dr. Jonathan Letterman: Building the Foundation of Modern Military Medicine" Gazette665's Civil War Conference, Temecula, CA
3rd: Sarah Kay Bierle, "Then Christmas Came: The Justification & Condemnation of War in 1862," Gazette665's Civil War Conference, Temecula, CA
3rd-4th: Chris Mackowski, bus tour of Spotsylvania, Robert E. Lee Civil War Roundtable of Central New Jersey
4th: Daniel T. Davis, "Five Days of Awful Fighting: The Cavalry at Cold Harbor," Cold Harbor, Richmond National Battlefield
4th: Chris Mackowski, "Grim Arithmetic: The 1864 Overland Campaign," Cold Harbor Visitor Center, Richmond National Battlefield
5th: Chris Mackowski, "Strike Them a Blow: Battle Along the North Anna," Robert E. Lee Civil War Roundtable of Central New Jersey, Woodbridge, NJ
9th - 10th: Chris Kolakowski, "If This Is Hell, I Am In It: The Fall of 1862," Baton Rogue Civil War Roundtable Conference, Baton Rogue, LA
9th - 10th: Dave Powell, Chickamauga Battlefield Tours for the Civil War Trust Annual Meeting, Chattanooga, TN
11th: Ryan Quint, "Determined to Stand and Fight: The Battle of Monocacy," Manassas Museum, 1:30 p.m.
13th: Chris Mackowski, "Spotsylvania's Bloody Angle," Atlanta Civil War Round Table
21st: Edward Alexander, "Generals Under Fire - April 2, 1865: Grant, Lee, and Hill,"
Books With A Past at the Gary J. Arthur Community Center, Cooksville, MD
21st: Chris Mackowski, "Spotsylvania's Bloody Angle," Phil Kearny Civil War Roundtable, Wayne Township, NJ
25th: Kevin Pawlak, "'Raised from Obscurity:' The Cavalry Battles of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville on the Road to Gettysburg," Brandy Station Foundation
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And for our readers on the West Coast...
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Gazette665's 2nd Annual Historical Conference, “
1862: Searching For Victory,” will be held June 3, 2017. Coordinated by ECW member
Sarah Kay Bierle, the event brings seven historians and researchers to Southern California for a full day of presentations, discussions, book-signings, raffles, lunch, and more!
Meg Groeling from ECW will be attending and presenting her research on Dr. Jonathan Letterman, while Bierle will share about civilian and military reactions to war and Christmas in 1862. If you're not able to attend the event, follow on
Facebook or
Twitter for photos and updates!
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Emerging Civil War · www.emergingcivilwar.com
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