Volume 04 Issue 07 | January 2020
January 2020 · Happy New Year!
Running the Numbers · 10 Questions...with Ryan Quint · Entertaining History · News & Notes
From the Editor
The February 2020 issue of Civil War News featured a front-page story that listed the Civil War books published in 2019. One-hundred and sixty one books made the list, although the paper suggested its list was probably incomplete. “If someone has a closer estimate or known quantity, let us know,” the paper apologized. Still, 161 is no small stack of books.

I wanted to take a second and, as the saying goes, “run the numbers.”

The article listed works by 39 publishers (plus a few self-published authors). Among the academic publishers, Louisiana State University Press led the way with 14 titles, followed by the University of North Carolina Press with 13 titles. Our partners at Southern Illinois University Press also had 13 titles, including one in the Engaging the Civil War Series that SIUP publishes with ECW (we highlighted that book, The Spirits of Bad Men Made Perfect: The Life and Diary of Confederate Artillerist William Ellis Jones by Constance Hall Jones, in our December 2019 ECW newsletter ).

Leading the charge among publishers overall was Savas Beatie, with 17 titles on the list, including five new titles in the Emerging Civil War Series, plus a great hardcover by ECW contributor Dave Powell that’s not part of the series, Union Command Failure in the Shenandoah . Of ECW authors, Dave had two books out during 2019, as did our colleague Steve Davis.

The very first name on the entire list (which was organized alphabetically by publisher) was ECW’s own Kevin Pawlak and his book Antietam National Battlefield . All told, ECW authors published 10 books during the year. And we can’t forget about Edward Alexander’s map

Books are a huge part of the culture in the Civil War world, and they’re certainly a huge part of the culture here at Emerging Civil War. Twenty-six of our regular contributors have published books in the course of their careers, including seven contributors who’ve published their first books because of their affiliation with us (with two more first-timers about to see print this spring).

I think of this robust list in the context of discussions earlier this year that ruffled the Civil War community in the wake of a controversial May 2019 Wall Street Journal article: Does the Civil War still matter? (We explored that question in a series on the blog in conjunction with Civil War Times .

The relationship between that question and Civil War publishing is a rabbit hole too far for us to get into in this limited amount of space, but remember, we as readers have a role to play in that dynamic, too. I often hear people lament, “If I bring one more book into the house, my wife will kill me....” However, if we stop bringing books into our houses, publishers will stop publishing—and then maybe we will be asking ourselves, “Does the Civil War still matter?” with a bit more urgency.

If nothing else, the list in Civil War News shows us that we live amidst an abundance of readable riches.

— Chris Mackowski, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief, Emerging Civil War

(In the Photo: Jack Melton, publisher of Civil War News, and me in Charleston, SC, in mid-January)
The Seventh Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge
Have you been following our Symposium Spotlight on the blog? We’re profiling all the presenters who’ll be on the docket for our Seventh Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge, August 7-9, 2020. Tickets are $175 each. This year’s theme is “Fallen Leaders.” You can find out more details on our symposium page .
10 Questions...
with Ryan Quint
We have books on the brain this month! For our 10 Questions, we’re speaking with ECW Book Review Editor Ryan Quint. He first profiled him in the February 2017 newsletter . You can read his full ECW bio here .

Read any good books lately?
Hampton Newsome’s  The Fight for the Old North State It’s extremely well-written, and covers a topic that hasn’t received much attention by historians before. I’m working on a review of the book to run on ECW. When I need to step back from the 1860s, I’ve been making my way through Roy and Lesley Adkins’  Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History Also very well-written. It’s a great book to reveal the scope of how extensive fighting went on in the name of the American Revolution.
 
With so many books out there, how do you go about deciding what to read and what to take a pass on?
I like reading books on new topics, or new approaches. I’ve grown tired of reading the same story over and over again. Being the book review editor for ECW, I also try to ask myself if I’m even qualified to review a certain book that may come my way. If I don’t think I’m the right fit, I’ll send an email out to our cadre of reviewers. I think that’s a great part of the stable of people we have here; everyone’s got their own specialty so they can really look at a book and evaluate its merit.
 
You've been working at Historic Williamsburg. What have you been doing there?
I work as part of Colonial Williamsburg’s Military Programs staff. During our programming season, generally March-November, it means daily demonstrations of musket or cannon firings. I also help interpret the Powder Magazine in town. Military equipment was stored there, and Virginia’s Revolution essentially got kickstarted there when the Royal Governor removed the gunpowder to prevent it from falling into the rebels’ hands. That’s simplifying the story to a degree—I guess people will just have to come on down for the full version.
 
You spent an earlier part of your career in the Fredericksburg area, where there's a lot of colonial and Civil War history. Now you're in the middle of Virginia's “Historic Triangle” on the Peninsula. What's it like living in that landscape? Similarities/differences to Fredericksburg?
Obviously living in the Historic Triangle, the focus is on the Colonial Period/American Revolution. You have to really dig to find the Civil War. For people who aren’t interested in the Civil War, that’s perfect for them, but I tell people I could work for Colonial Williamsburg for 100 years and I’d still be a Civil War historian, so that’s sometimes a challenge. But the biggest difference I think is an atmospheric one. Fredericksburg is a breathing city—it’s alive. Walk down Caroline Street any evening and you’re bound to find something going on. Williamsburg is different. When Virginia’s capital moved to Richmond in 1780, the city of Williamsburg kind of went to sleep, and I’m not sure it’s ever woken up. There’s a section of town called New Town, and that has shops, and restaurants, etc., but you have to leave the historic area to get to it—it’s not integrated like Fredericksburg. I guess this is a long-winded answer to say I miss Fredericksburg, and I hope I get to return some day.
 
You've been at work for a while on a book about Dranesville. How's that coming?
Really well, actually. When I started the project, I still worked for the National Park Service, and sometimes I’d get home from work and the last thing I wanted to do was keep thinking about or writing about the Civil War, so goings were slow. But to kind of tie in with the previous questions, when I get home from Colonial Williamsburg, I’m eager to jump from the 1770s back into “my” period. I have almost the entire manuscript written, and I’m working on the conclusion now. I’ve never been very good at conclusions, so it’s taking some more time. Then comes edits and rewrites, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel.
 
You take a bit of good-natured ribbing from some of our ECW colleagues about Dranesville. Why do they bust on you about that?
Most of ECW’s historians have worked for battlefield parks where tens of thousands of soldiers clashed, and where thousands died. So they’re used to these sweeping movements and grand assaults and the drama of that. And here I come with a small, brigade-sized action that lasted two hours and had, roughly, 270 casualties. As a result, I think to a certain degree they believe it’s not worth the energy. But I’m happy with that, because no one’s ever told this story before—at least not to the degree that I think it warrants. The few articles written about the battle almost all used just the  Official Records  for their sources, and there hadn’t been any serious digging in the archives. There’s a surprising amount of primary accounts written about Dranesville, someone just has to take the time to find them. If my colleagues want to read the 400th book about the battle of Gettysburg released just this year, that’s their prerogative.

And, to conclude on that, I want to swing back to those 270 casualties. Frank English was one of them. He was 16-years old when he was killed at Dranesville. To his family, Dranesville was the most important battle in world history, and I’m excited I get to tell that story.
 
Lightning Round (short answers with a one-sentence explanation)
Favorite primary source?
Official Records of the War of the Rebellion.  Flawed, sure, but it’s still the first source I pull out every time I want to research something.
 
Favorite Civil War-related monument?
The Pennsylvania State Monument at Gettysburg. Its grand-scale draws you in, but the names on all those plaques reminds you that the battle, and the war, were fought by individuals—each one with hopes and dreams.
 
Favorite unsung hero of the Civil War era?
George B. McClellan. Sure, everyone likes to kick him and somehow think they could have done a better job than him, but he  made  the Army of the Potomac. You’ve got to lay the foundations somewhere, and he did that.
 
What’s a bucket-list Civil War site you’ve not yet visited?
Chickamauaga. But I’ll be fixing that in March. Some friends and I are spending a long weekend hitting Atlanta, Kennesaw Mountain, and Chickamauga/Chattanooga.
 
Favorite ECWS book that’s not one of your own?
Richmond Shall Not Be Given Up   by Doug Crenshaw.   The Seven Days Battles are big, complex, and have the potential to confuse the hell out of people. Doug did a great job of boiling it all down.
ECW Bookshelf
We’re especially excited about the release of our newest book from Southern Illinois University Press as part of our Engaging the Civil War Series: Entertaining History: The Civil War in Literature, Film, and Song .

Twenty-one historians and writers contributed twenty-seven essays to this collection, edited by Chris Mackowski. According to SIUP’s website: “Popular media can spark the national consciousness in a way that captures people’s attention, interests them in history, and inspires them to visit battlefields, museums, and historic sites. This lively collection of essays and feature stories celebrates the novels, popular histories, magazines, movies, television shows, photography, and songs that have enticed Americans to learn more about our most dramatic historical era.” We’re supplementing content in the book with a slew of online content, as well, so there’s plenty to explore.

You can learn more about the book (and order a copy) at the SIUP website . You can check out our "book reveal" video on the ECW's YouTube page .
Emerging Civil War News & Notes
Looking back at 2019, Edward Alexander realized he made maps for 11 upcoming publications. You can see some of Edward’s map at his website, Make Me a Map, LLC .

Steward Henderson will be busy in February. On February 22, 2020, from 1 to 5 p.m., he will present a program titled “From Enslaved to Soldier” in Fredericksburg, VA. This is an African-American history tour of the Fredericksburg area that Steward created for Fredericksburg Tours . The tour discusses slavery in the area, the escape of 10,000 enslaved during the first Union occupation of the area, and the presence of a USCT division, featuring the 23rd USCT that comes back to fight in the Overland Campaign. Cost $45/person for the tour and bus ride. Steward will deliver the tour, mostly on the bus, but there will be some walking.

Chris Kolakowski and his wife Alice relocated to Madison, Wisconsin, just before Christmas, and on January 6, 2020, Chris became the new director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum (www.wisvetsmuseum.com). An educational activity of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, the museum tells the story of Wisconsin veterans of all branches from the Civil War to the present. It is the custodian of many Civil War-related artifacts, including the battle flags of Wisconsin units. 
ECW Podcast
The Emerging Civil War Podcast spent time in January with historian Dave Powell for a two-part conversation on leadership at Chickamauga. We focused on Federal leadership in our first podcast and Confederate leadership in our second. Podcast episodes are available on ECW's Patreon page .

Emerging Revolutionary War News
“Although George Washington used the phrase ‘Victory or Death’ as the password for entry into his camps and for the crossing of the Delaware to Trenton, the same term can be applied to the victories that marked the turning of 1776 to 1777. In January of 1777, after a win in Trenton, and after some deft maneuvering to escape from British General Lord Cornwallis in New Jersey, Washington and his forces won another stunning victory at Princeton. These twin victories are captured in the Emerging Revolutionary War Series 

book  Victory or Death by historian Mark Maloy. For more information on this volume (and to stay current on all your American Revolutionary Era happenings), check out our website .
Speakers Bureau Spotlight
Eric J. Wittenberg is a well-known and prolific Civil War author. His specialties are cavalry operations, the Gettysburg Campaign, and Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign of 1865. Eric is a native of southeastern Pennsylvania, and was educated at Dickinson College and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He is in high demand, and consequently has limited availability. Maximum advance notice is required.

Descriptions of Eric’s talks and a full bio are available as part of the 2019-2020 ECW Speakers Bureau Brochure,  available here .
Upcoming Presentations
February
13th: Doug Crenshaw, “The Battle of Glendale,” Richmond CWRT

13th:  Dwight Hughes, “Unlike Anything That Ever Floated: The USS  Monitor  and the Battle of Hampton Roads,” Civil War Roundtable of North Florida, Gainesville, FL

15th: Chris Kolakowski, “Civil War to World War,” Louisville CWRT

22nd: Steward Henderson, Tour: “From Enslaved to Soldier,” Fredericksburg, VA,  Fredericksburg Tours,  $45/person

24th: Jon-Erik Gilot, “Hardships & Dangers Will Bind Men as Brothers”: Mobilizing the Ohio National Guard during the Summer of 1864, Ohio Valley Civil War Roundtable, Wheeling, WV

25th: Steward Henderson, “Fighting for Their Freedom: The United States Colored Troops,” Celebrate Virginia History Club, Stafford, VA

March
21st: Chris Mackowski, Prince William County (VA) History Symposium

April
14th: Caroline Davis, “ The Hunley ,” Madison, IN

21st: Chris Mackowski, “The Battle of the Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania Court House,” Scottsdale (AZ) Civil War Roundtable