From the Editor

“Swim!” the instructor yells. The half-dozen kids in the taekwondo class bolt across the room, trying to evade the “shark” in the middle of the practice mat who’s trying to tag them with a swimming pool noodle. The pool noodle is the closest anything in the game gets to swimming, but “Sharks and Minnows” is a favorite nonetheless. The kids love the running and the instructor (and parents, watching from the gallery) love the energy the kids burn off.

My youngest son, Maxwell, is among the minnows. When it’s time for the fish to sprint across the room, he likes to watch himself in the floor-to-ceiling mirror that runs the length of one of the walls. Sometimes the shark gets him because he’s paying too much attention to the mirror and not the shark.

After class, we huddle up to talk about his strategy. “You’ve got to watch where you’re going,” I tell him. “You can’t watch yourself or the other students in the mirror. You have to keep your focus on where you’re going.”

This advice, in a way, comes from Ulysses S. Grant in the Wilderness. With Robert E. Lee trying to find some kind of leverage on Grant’s larger army in the tangled forest, and Confederate artillery fire creeping closer to Union headquarters, staff officers began to get agitated. Grant, until then unperturbed, snapped. “I am heartily tired of hearing what Lee is going to do,” he growled. “Some of you always seem to think he is suddenly going to turn a double somersault, and land on our rear and on both our flanks at the same time. Go back to your command, and try to think what we are going to do ourselves, instead of what Lee is going to do.”

This has generally been my approach with ECW, too. There’s a lot always going on in the Civil War world, and it could be easy to get distracted. However, “keeping up with the Joneses” is not really an end unto itself.

Focus on what you’re doing, not what the other person is doing. Run your own race, and run it the best you can.

-- Chris Mackowski, Ph.D.

Editor-in-Chief

ECW News & Notes

From Edward Alexander: “It was a rewarding month for cartography creation, with the printing of four different ECW and ERW books to which I contributed the maps. I am also wrapping up the maps for Harold Kundsen's revised study of James Longstreet's generalship, Ryan Quint's upcoming Dranesville book, and Matt Reardon's campaign narrative of the American Revolution battle of New London.”

Sarah Kay Bierle (pictured, right) enjoyed a recent Saturday in the Shenandoah Valley on a battle anniversary tour of Cool Springs Battlefield led by Jonathan Noyalas from McCormick Civil War Institute and later stomped around her favorite places in historic Winchester.

Sheritta Bitikofer has been flying at 100 mph to finish up some college classes and prepare for a grand, multi-week trip to battlefields and historic sites across several states, with the ECW symposium squeezed in the middle. On the 17th, she gave a Facebook Live presentation at Natural Bridge Battlefield for the Central Louisiana Civil War Round Table, which can be viewed on their page here.

Sean Chick just finished the first draft of the text portion of The Maps of Shiloh, which will be published as part of Savas Beaties map-book series.

Dwight Hughes spoke at the North American Society for Oceanic History (NASOH) Annual Conference, Pensacola, FL. The theme of the conference was maritime history and archaeology as they relate to larger connections concerning landscapes, heritage, and the preservation of cultural resources. Dwight presented on the subject “An Ironclad Connection: The Military, Technological, and Cultural Heritage of the USS Monitor.“

Chris Mackowski presented a program, “Teaching Controversy in the Classroom,” for the American Battlefield Trust’s Virtual Teacher Institute in July. The program offered specific strategies for approaching history-related topics when they turn into controversial headlines, such as flags, statues, and monuments. With partner-in-crime Kris White, Chris also co-lead a tour of the Payne’s Farm battlefield at Mine Run on Friday, July 23, as one of the Trust’s Twilight Pop-Up Tours.

Derek Maxfield has been working feverishly to finish an ECW biography of William Tecumseh Sherman, which should be out in 2022. In the meantime, he will do two book talks and signing events in August on his first book, Hellmira: The Union’s Most Infamous Civil War Prison Camp – Elmira, NY. On August 2, Derek will appear at the Gates Public Library in Rochester, NY. On August 18, he will speak at the Holland Land Office Museum in Batavia, NY. Derek will also be participating in the Savas Beatie Authors Weekend in Gettysburg, PA, August 13-15. On Saturday, he will participate in a panel discussion at the Gettysburg Heritage Center.

Jon Tracey started a new position as the Historian and Cultural Resource Program Manager at Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park.

ECW Bookshelf

The latest book in the Emerging Civil War Series offers a look at one of the best-known and perhaps one of the most beloved figures of the Civil War: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.

Passing Through the Fire: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain in the Civil War by Brian F. Swartz, published by Savas Beatie, goes beyond the well-known story of Little Round Top to explore Chamberlain’s entire Civil War career. Swartz, author of the blog Maine at War is, like Chamberlain, a “Brewer Boy”—both from the same home town along the Penobscot River—and he offers the kinds of insights, and access to sources, that only a local expert can know.

For more details or to order, click here.

ECW Behind the Scenes

By Sarah Keeney

Aside from her role as marketing director at Savas Beatie, LLC, Sarah Keeney serves as the company’s front-line Emerging Civil War liaison. Her official title is “Editorial Consultant,” which is a fancy way of saying the Emerging Civil War Series doesn’t happen without her. For her years of behind-the-scenes work, ECW recognized her this year with our Brig. Gen. Thomas Greely Stevenson Award for Service to ECW. We asked her to share a little bit about what she does to make the book series happen.

I just checked the Savas Beatie database, and I added the name “Chris Mackowski” as a contact in 2011. That must be the same year I added fun phrases like “cool beans” and “groovy” to my vocabulary.

Since then, I’m happy to say that I’ve helped the Emerging Civil War Series behind-the-scenes in a fun and rewarding way. There are now 38 ECW titles on my bookshelf and two more shipping to me from the printer as I type this. (If you’re missing some of the collection on your shelf, see the list on the left-hand side of this page.)

I have my hand in a variety of production and marketing activities from a book’s conception to its happy home on your bookshelf. Here’s a look at some of them:

·     Discussing different title and image options with the author for the book’s front and back cover to catch your eye.

·     Making sure a book description appears in book databases to capture prospective readers’ attention.

·     Coordinating the formatting and proofreading of the book so it’s ready for you to enjoy.

·     Sending the book to the printer and making sure it’s ready in time for that battle anniversary or author event you’ve been looking forward to attending.

·     Spreading the word about the latest release, just in case you didn’t know you wanted it (and now you have another book on your “To Read” list!).

Proudest ECW-related moment: I was double-checking the book file for The Summer of ’63: Vicksburg and Tullahoma: Favorite Stories and Fresh Perspectives from the Historians at Emerging Civil War before sending it to the printer. There was a placeholder for the joint book dedication! I noted this to editors Chris Mackowski and Dan Welch. Later, as I hit “upload” to submit the final book file to the printer, I was surprised and touched to see that the editors had dedicated the book to me. It will always hold a special place on my bookshelf, and in my heart.

10 Questions . . .

with Paige Gibbons Backus

Paige Gibbons Backus is ECW’s social media manager. We first profiled her in September 2018. You can read her full ECW bio here.

When last we profiled you, you were running a site for Prince William County, Virginia, that focused on Civil War medicine. You’ve shifted sites since then. Tell us about your current work. 

I am still with the Office of Historic Preservation in Prince William County, and I currently serve as the site manager of Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre and Lucasville School. These two sites cover 200+ years of history that allow me to broaden my knowledge and interpretation of social and military history.

Brentsville was founded in 1820 as the County Seat of Prince William County, where all government business took place; it also served as the social, recreational, and political center of the county for 70 years. Not only do I get to interpret the court cases and law in 19th century Virginia, I get to interpret how daily life in a rural community changed for everyone who lived in Prince William County over the years. I get to interpret the Civil War, Reconstruction, World War I, World War II, Great Depression and more!

Brentsville is a little-known, yet significant site in Civil War history. It was where Prince William County voted to secede, where several units were mustered into service, troops passed through the town all years of the war, and soldiers were hospitalized in its community. It was where Dangerfield Newby’s wife was enslaved, and where the Freedmen’s Bureau was based after the War—just to mention a few of the stories.

With all that history, you’re still doing programs on Civil War medicine here and there, as well. That seems to be a topic that really fascinates you. Why so? 

While Civil War Medicine isn’t the main focus of my work, it’s still my passion, and I jump at the opportunity to talk about 18th and 19th century medicine when I get the chance. It’s fascinating to see how much technology and knowledge has changed over the years and how it affects our daily lives. While it might be gruesome and seem outdated to us, people can do amazing things with the knowledge and resources they have available to them.

I am also fascinated with it because, in 2018, I dislocated my ankle and tri-fractured the joint while on vacation out west. If I had sustained that injury 100 years ago, my leg would have likely had to be amputated, and my chances of survival would have likely been slim. People take modern medicine for granted, so when I get the opportunity to tell people how far we’ve come, it makes them more appreciative where we are today. 

It’s a topic that really fascinates a lot of Civil War buffs, too. Why do you think that is? 

It’s grim and gruesome, and I think a lot of people are interested in it for the same reasons that I am. When we learn about the Civil War, we learn about the people and the battles, but it is interesting to think that there was another war that was taking place at the same time in the medical field: a war against life and death where time, resources (or lack of), and knowledge created challenges that had to be overcome. It is those challenges that propelled us into the modern medical field faster than any other event in history. 

What else are you working on these days? 

I wear many hats these days in both of my personal works and my career. From the opening of the Brentsville Jail Museum, programming and summer camps, to planning the 200th anniversary of the establishment of Brentsville as a county seat, it’s been a busy year! In addition to my work, I’ve been doing some work for the ABT as well as speaking at a few Civil War Roundtables over the summer. My hope is to find some time soon time to sit down and write my own book!

Your husband, Bill, is also a Civil War scholar. Have the two of you had any particularly cool Civil War adventures lately? 

Ha! Yes, he is, and we also seem to find something related to the Civil War wherever we go. We most recently drove to my home state of Wisconsin where we stopped at several sites along the way including Indianapolis, Indiana; Bloomington, Illinois; and Madison, Wisconsin. We love to travel, and have found Civil War history all over the place, including California, Colorado, Georgia, and South Carolina, just to name a few. But some of the coolest things we’ve found were on our trips outside of the U.S. For example, we found a statue of Abraham Lincoln in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Lightning Round (short answers with a one-sentence explanation) 

Favorite primary source? 

Medical & Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. Hands down. You could even take it a step further and include the primary resources (specimens) found at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, formerly known as the Army Medical Museum established during the Civil War. 

Favorite Civil War-related monument? 

The Wisconsin monument at Vicksburg. It has my 4th Great-Grandfather’s name on it: Calvin Hyde, 20th WI Co. H. 

Favorite unsung hero of the Civil War era?

I’m not going to name just one. The unsung heroes of the Civil War were those nurses, medical personnel, and volunteers who were forced into unimaginable situations to try and save as many lives as possible in field hospitals. 

What’s a bucket-list Civil War site you’ve not yet visited? 

I love searching out the smaller, little-known sites (like Brentsville!), and I’ve explored Savannah, but otherwise I’ve just driven through Georgia. I’d like to take the time to explore all around and find the small sites throughout the state. 

Favorite ECWS book? 

Meg Groeling’s The Aftermath of Battle: The Burial of the Civil War Dead is a fascinating read! While I don’t have an ECWS book of my own yet, I’m hoping I can take my medical research and add a book focusing on the medical field to the ECW series! 

By Phill Greenwalt

Across the United States, July 4 is celebrated as the Independence Day, the day in 1776 that President John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, affixed his signature to the bottom of the document. Yet, according to John Adams of Massachusetts, July 2 should have been the day set aside to commemorate the decision to break from Great Britain. That was the day the Congress voted to pass the declaration written by Thomas Jefferson. To get the full story on Independence Day, checkout the "Rev War Revelry" from 2020 on Emerging Revolutionary War's YouTube page.

The "Rev War Revelry" series continued on Facebook Live, via Emerging Revolutionary War's Facebook page, on July 25. Check out our page for details on the topic. 

If the warm weather has you feeling cooped up, we have the cure. On November 12-14, 2021, Emerging Revolutionary War will conduct its first bus tour of the Trenton and Princeton campaigns. Spots are still available for the weekend. To find out more information and how to secure your spot, check the link out on our blog, www.emergingrevolutionarywar.org.

And of course, don’t forget about the latest addition to the Emerging Revolutionary War Series: The Winter that Won the War: Valley Forge.

Emerging Civil War is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. If you’re interested in supporting “emerging voices” by making a tax-deductible donation, you can do so by clicking here or by visiting our website: www.emergingcivilwar.com.