Vol. 42, No. 8 155th Anniversary Battle Of Firs MIDDLETOWN, Va.—The Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation hosted the Battle of Bull Run - Manassas reenactment on the Battle of Cedar
Union artillery blast sends a demor Goss/Eagle Bay Media)
The Zouaves engaged in hand-to-hand Union gun positions. This was an im
anassas At C Creek Battle Va., on July was attended and infantry
dar Creek ield in Middletown, 22-24. The reenactmen by artillerist, caval from all parts of the
David Chirico, 4th Virginia Cavalry “Blackhorse” sends a round in attacking 2nd U.S. Cavalrymen charging toward him during the dusk encounter of the reenactment of First Manassas. Note the shorter firearm used by cavalrymen. Carbines, shotguns and musketoons were carried by the cavalry along with revolvers or other hand gu
Cavalry fights are furious, confusing events. Charlie Doutt, 2nd U.S., Co A crosses sabres with David Chirico, 4th Virginia Cavalr (“Blackhorse”) during the final cavalry battle of the reenactment
Cavalry fights are furious, confusing events as portrayed in this photograph by the talented photographer Sandy Goss. Inside this issue: 37 – Critics Corner 46 – Advertisers & Book Reviews 38 – Events Section 26 – Ask The Appraiser 13 – Inspection, ARMS! 6 – Black Powder, White Smoke 8 – The Source 27 – Book Reviews 7 – Through The Lens 44 – Classifieds 10 – The Watchdog
We are looking forward to cooler where at once so let us know if you weather and so are the wool clothed have an idea, suggestion or will be reenactors. As the summer winds attending something of interest. down and school starts back into full In this issue we’ve introduced a swing, the events for Civil War en- new column Inspection, ARMS! by thusiast come alive. Please check the Tim Prince. Tim is a well known fir events calendar to see what is hap- arms expert and very approachable pening around you. so if you go to a Civil War show he Civil War News has a new Book most certainly be there. Review Editor, Dr. Stephen Davis. Some say our hobby is dying off With his lifetime of experience Civ- but with the large turnouts at semi il War News has gained a valuable nars, bus tours, surge in roundtabl asset with having Dr. Davis on our interest and social media sites I f team. that even more people are intereste Please continue to submit articles in history. As an example the Atlan and photographs to Civil War News. Civil War Round Table sells out evAlthough we can’t fit everyone into ery event with a waiting list. This the paper we try very hard to do so. encouraging to say the least. As we travel the east coast attend- Correction: Book review of Viring events and historic sites we find ginia Iliad, a book by H. V. Traywi that there is an endless supply of top- Jr., in the August, 2016 issue of C ics, battlefields, museums and events War News was by Timothy Orr, not to cover. But, we cannot be every- Thomas A. Horrocks.
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Editorial & Photography Staff: Greg Biggs, Joe Bordonaro, Sandy Goss,
Gordon L. Jones, Michael Kent, George Lomas, John A Punola, Leon Reed, Gregory L. Wade, Joan Wenner Book Review Editor: Stephen Davis. Ph.D., Marietta, Ga. Book Review Advisory Board: Gordon L. Jones, Ph.D., Senior Military Historian, Atlanta History Center; Theodore P. Savas J.D., Managing Director,
Professor of History, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth TX.
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I am honored and delighted to as sume responsibilities as new book Some of you may remember that from 1984 to 2005 I served as Book Review Editor for Blue & Gray Magazine. It’ll be fun to resume this activity in my new role for Ja Melton, Owner and Publisher of Civil War News. Jack and Peggy are busy strength ening our newspaper in a variety of
ways. Their recent addition of colo to the book cover photographs accompanying each review is just one of them. I am proud of the wide range of titles which we bring to your atten tion in our Book Review section. In a recent message to the publishers Civil War books with whom we have established relationships, I listed categories of titles I discerned in
Civil War Trust Honors Preservation GETTYSBURG, Pa.—During an annual gathering of its members in
Gettysburg earlier this month, the Civil War Trust recognized some of the outstanding leaders of the battlefield preservation movement. The Civil War Trust is a national nonpr it organization dedicated to the pr tection of Civil War, Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlegrounds. “It is important to remember tha the cause of battlefield preservati benefits from the enthusiasm and hard work of countless individuals throughout the United States,” remarked Trust president James Lighthizer. “We cannot recognize all of these unsung heroes, but through ou annual preservation awards, we can acknowledge and celebrate the most outstanding champions each year.” Since their inception in 2001, t Trust has honored a wide variety of individuals and groups for their
achievements in protecting endangered Civil War battlefields with
its preservation awards. Previous winners include historians, scholars, National Park Service personnel, celebrities and even residenti developers. Despite such disparate backgrounds, all have given unique and lasting contributions to histor preservation. At the evening banquet, three awards were presented:
Edwin C. Bearss Lifetime Achievement Award: The Trust
presented the lifetime achievement award to Kay Jorgensen, who found-
• army studies • atlases • battles • biographies • Civil War on the frontier • diplomatic history • economic topics • essay collections • flags • letters/diaries/memoirs • local history • maps • medical topics • memory studies • naval history • political history • regimentals or unit studies • religious topics • slavery and freed people • wartime cultural studies • women’s roles in the war
Wow—that’s a lot. Just as important is the large number of Universit presses and commercial publishers whose works we like to feature. Again, just going through the past six issues, I counted more than seventy-five. LSU, North Carolina, McFarland and History Press are among
the most frequently featured. I look forward to maintaining our relationship with these “giants.” But we als remain open to small houses sending us their titles. Publisher Melton ha kindly agreed to have review copies mailed to his business office—look on this page for that address in Can ton, Georgia. Throughout our work, I will keep in mind the goal of our Book
ns At Conference her late husband Pete. The Civil War
News covered countless historic stories – including the sesquicentennia of the Civil War – and engaged the heart of the historic preservation community. The award is named after its first recipient, Edwin C. Bearss World War II veteran and chief historian emeritus of the National Park Service, who continues to share his vast knowledge of American history well past his 90th birthday.
Shelby Foote Preservation Legacy Award: The Trust presented the preservation legacy award to Clint Schemmer, a reporter at the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star who has been writing about battlefield prote tion since the mid-1980s, covering key preservation successes at places like Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, Brandy Station and Fredericks-
burg. The award is named after late historian and author Shelby Foote,
who dedicated his life to educating Americans on the Civil War.
State Leadership Award: The Trust presented the State Leadership Award to the Pennsylvania Historical
and Museum Commission (PHMC). The award was accepted by the commission’s executive director, Jim
tory agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which helped create a
Civil War 150th Advisory Board and works to preserve land across the
Ed Bonekemper back in November 2010. “One of my challenges,” Ed wrote, “is to ensure that we at CWN obtain copies of all significant Civil War-related books so that our reviewers can provide you, our readers, with an analysis of each of them in a reasonably timely manner.” We like to think that Civil War News publishes more quality book reviews per issue than any other Civil War publication in the country. This is not easy work. To assist our efforts, at Publisher Melton’s very good suggestion, we have formed a visory Board, consisting of a few well-respected Civil War experts to whom we can turn for advice. We staked out several slots for our Board: a distinguished professor, a prominent publisher and an experienced public historian. I am delighted that three eminently qualified individuals have stepped forth to join me on our Advisory Board: Steven E. Woodworth, Professor of History, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth TX; Theodore P. Savas, Man-
El Dorado Hills Calif.; and Gordon L. Jones, Senior Military Historian,
Atlanta History Center. Steve, Ted, Gordon and I look forward to conversations about the state of Civil War literature and the art of book re viewing. Our Book Review section will undoubtedly benefit from such discussions. So we’re off and running. I look forward to serving you all in the day ahead….Stephen can be reached at
Commonwealth – from the Drake Oil Well, the first active oil well i
the United States, to the Revolutionary War’s Brandywine battlefield outside Philadelphia.
Brian Pohanka Preservation Organization of the Year Award: Two outstanding local organizations were honored with the Trust’s Organization of the Year Award. The Princeton Battlefield Society has worked for decades to steward and interpret Princeton Battlefield State Park, and to prevent further development of the Princeton battlefield. Th Land Conservancy of Adams County, founded more than 20 years ago to protect the rural lands of Adams County, Pennsylvania, has worked to preserve more than 500 acres of Gettysburg battlefield. The award is named for the late Brian Pohanka, an outstanding historian and one of the
founders of the modern battlefield preservation movement.
The Civil War Trust is the largest and most effective nonprofit organization devoted to the preservation of America’s hallowed battlegrounds. Although primarily focused on the
protection of Civil War battlefields, through its Campaign 1776 initiative, the Trust also seeks to save th battlefields connected to the Revo-
lutionary War and War of 1812. To date, the Trust has preserved close t 43,000 acres of battlefield land in 2 states.
In response to Mr. Bonekemper’s Confederate article, I thought the following points would be helpful, as a part of this ongoing discussion I lean heavily on Bruce Catton’s causes of the war from his book The American Picture History of the Civi War, in it, Mr. Catton goes over sla ery’s role leading up to and during the war. He also covers many other valid issues leading up to the war a how they influenced the conflict. I’ve read that while traveling to see U.S. Grant in the field, his wif bought one of her slaves, named Julie, with her. Source NPS link to their site, covering this topic:
culture/jdgrant.htm (Don’t forget Grants anti-Semite General Order #11) As far as white supremacy taking place in the north during that era, I’d suggest reading about the Black Codes in the state of Illinois – her the link to the Illinois State Histo
illionois.gov/ihpa/research/pages/ AfAmHist.aspx As far as states with a low ratio slaves/family’s owning slaves seceding, Maryland is unique in terms of its being prevented from voting on secession. The POTUS had select state delegates arrested (no charges trial/representation) and jailed to prevent a vote. Here is the Maryland State Archives web page link: http://teaching.msa.maryland. gov/000001/000000/000017/html/ t17.html It includes some interesting firs person accounts of being arrested off the street and being incarcerate something many would expect in a third world country. Noted journalists have had their say on Lincoln’s ties to White Supremacy – check out Ebony Magazine’s Lerone Bennet Jr.’s book Forced into Glory-Abraham Lincolns White Dream, Henry Louis Gates Feb 12, 2009, article in The Root, among others. Was this the Lincoln, the seceding states were afraid of? The war is long over, best to stu and honor those that lived during that time. Regarding the accuracy of the sources I recommend, I think you should draw your own conclusions. Bob Brewe Gaithersburg, MD
or mail to: 6175 Hickory Flat Hwy. Suite 110-355
TO THE EDITOR: In response to Ed Bonekemper’s essay, “Why the Confederacy?” in your August issue, I will simply fall back on the old saw, “It’s complicated.” A statement, written by a member of Hood’s Texas Brigade, and published in the Houston Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Dec. 29, 1862, says it well. “Wanderer,” as he penned himself, found it hard to believe, after examining the battlefield of Cedar Mountain, that “two lines of fellow-humans of the same country, speaking the same language, profes ing the same holy religion, can st and hurl these death missiles at e other by the ton—all for the sake our peculiar views on an instrumen called a constitution.” (Quoted in Edward B. Williams, Hood’s Texas Brigade in the Civil War (Jefferson, NC, 2012. p. 120). Stephen Da Marietta,
The American Civil War I have an addition to make to M Punola’s interesting article about nadians serving in the American Ci il War. At Ontario Military Muster and elsewhere I have talked to Canadian descendents who told that t farm owned by the family was paid for by bonus money received for Civil War service. This seemed to quite true for farm land purchased the Canadian West. Ken Baumann Milan, Mi
TO THE EDITOR: This is to correct the spurious
statement by Allen C. Guelzo, Ph.D. in your July 2016 issue of Civil War News that my book, Gettysburg 1863—Seething Hell, does “not contain photographs of ‘ordinary soldiers’.” Guelzo is wrong—by a long shot. What makes his remarkable claim particularly odd is the fact that the very visual feature a reader immediately sees upon opening the front cover of my book is a broad collage of photographic portraits of 21 Confederate soldiers spread over the front two endpapers. Their faces are haunting; eyes stare out from 150 years ago. This special presentation is not accidental. Our talented graph ic designer placed these images here on purpose. The studio portraits these doomed young men sat for so long ago are riveting. The rear endpapers display parallel portraits of Union soldiers. All 40 of these men in opposing uniforms were killed, wounded or captured at Gettysburg. In prominent graphic keys on pages 394-97, each individual is accurately identified by name, rank, and regiment. I cite the source of each origi nal picture. In addition to the 40 endpaper images, 18 other portraits are placed throughout the full narrative in chronological order, generally according to when the boys, South and North, were in battle. Some accompany written biographical sketches. Many appear as large insets on the double-page landscape photos opening each chapter. These rare portrait are not hidden. I can’t imagine how anyone turning the pages could have missed them. An alert 10-year-old, shown what ambrotypes and tintypes of Civil War soldiers look like, coul have easily found them. Here, in order, are the everyday soldiers on dis play throughout Gettysburg 1863— Seething Hell that reviewer Guelzo says aren’t there: Page 1: Private Joseph B. Rahl, 150th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, killed at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. Page 3: Sergeant Patrick Henry Taylor and Private Isaac Lyman Taylor (killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863), First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. Page 62: Lieutenant George Washington Wood, 60th Georgia Infantry, killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.
CWN Book Review Editor, Stephen 6175 Hickory Flat Hwy. Suite 1 Canton, GA 30115
Page 66: Captain Thomas Goode Clark, 42nd Mississippi Volunteers,
killed at Gettysburg July 1, 1863. Page 67: Private Albert Henry Clark, 42nd Mississippi Volunteers, killed at Gettysburg July 1, 1863. Page 67: Corporal Jonathan Clark 42nd Mississippi Volunteers, killed at Gettysburg July 3, 1863. Page 68: Private John E. Ryder, 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry, killed at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863 Page 69: Corporal Alfred G. Ryder, First Michigan Cavalry, mortally wounded at Gettysburg, July 3 1863 (died July 24). Page 104: Private Caleb E. May, 13th North Carolina Troops, wounded and captured at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. Page 107: Colonel Henry King “Harry” Burgwyn, 26th North Carolina Troops, killed at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. Page 148: Private Charles Baker, First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. Page 151: Sergeant John Webster Chase, First Massachusetts Light Artillery, fought at and survived Gettysburg. Page 226: Private Simon W. Creamer, 12th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, killed at Gettysburg, Jul 1863. Page 229: Colonel Edward Porter Alexander, Alexander’s Battery, Army of Northern Virginia, fought a and survived Gettysburg. Page 250: Sergeant Jeremiah Sanders Gage, 11th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry, killed at Gettysbu July 3, 1863. Page 292: Private Benjamin Franklin Taylor, 26th North Carolin Troops, wounded at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. Page 294: Captain Decimus et Ultimus Barziza, Fourth Texas Infantry, wounded and captured at Gettys burg, July 2, 1863. Page 377: Private John Cassidy, 69th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, mortally wounded at Gettysburg July 3, 1863 (died July 16). I spent the better part of a yea tracking down these surviving images from diverse organizations ranging from the Virginia Military Inst tute to the Kenosha Museum System in Wisconsin to the Maine State Archives, as well as many other reput ble public and private sources. In my often frustrating search, of course, discovered that photos
of Civil War soldiers are relatively easily to find. But try finding those positively identified by name. And then try verifying those individuals who fought at Gettysburg! I sifted tediously through some 6,000+ pictures to get to these precious few. Anything suspect was rejected, no matter how interesting the portrayal—or how much I wanted to believe the individual may likely have been at Gettysburg. As it stands, this collection of a thentic period portraits of soldiers who fought at Gettysburg may be the largest such group heretofore published in a single book. If Allen C. Guelzo, Ph.D. (or anyone else, with or without “credentials”) can point to a book in print that includes more I’m sure your readers will welcome the information and the illumination. Guelzo has voiced vociferous distain for my new book. (“Oh, Yuck!” he declared in your May 2106 issue.) Fine. That’s his prerogative. Yet, in considering his latest shoot-fromthe-hip salvo, with some amusement I am reminded of the indelible words of the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan on the floor of the U.S. Senate: You, sir, are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts. reputation. Your publication prides itself on running more book reviews than all other periodicals in the gen combined—impressive. But I believe quality also matters. Accuracy matters. It seems to me that readers each new issue with confidence that your selected reviewers at the very least know what’s in a book he or she has been assigned—and report it fairly and thoughtfully. Basic intellectual integrity should never be in question. To print, as your newspaper did, the obviously incredible assertion that no photographs of actual Gettysburg soldiers appear in my book— in effect denying the 58 well-documented historic photos that my careful research has assembled—is beyond regrettable. In describing Gettysburg 1863—Seething Hell as empty of real portraits of Union and Confederate soldiers, Ph.D. Guelzo is either extraordinarily lazy (as in barely-examining-the-book lazy), or he is responsible for deliberately spreading falsehood. Which is it? There’s not much wiggle room. I believe an honest explanation me and to your loyal readers. Thomas R. Pero Author Gettysburg 1863—Seething Hell:
The Epic Battle of the Civil War in the Soldiers’ Own Words
EDITORS RESPONSE: The review of your book was not objective and this type of review wil not be tolerated with our new Book Review Editor. Guelzo is no longer staff.
