North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial interview.

After our discussion last month about North Carolina and the upcoming sesquicentennial, I asked Chris Meekins at the Department of Cultural Resources if he would be interested in an interview about the plans of the Department of Cultural Resources. Please find below my questions and the DCR’s answers. I hope you enjoy. You can learn more about the sesquicentennial at DCR’s website.

How will North Carolina’s Civil War Sesquicentennial differ from the centennial remembrance?

There are many differences in the two events due to both the intervening history between the events and to the way in which the committees were organized.

The first significant difference is that the Confederate Centennial Commission was a legislative creation and the North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee is not. The authority of the sesquicentennial committee derives from the Department of Cultural Resources (DCR). As steward of many historical sites, objects, and records associated with the Civil War era, the DCR Deputy Secretary, North Carolina Office of Archives and History, Dr. Jeffrey Crow recognized the coming importance of the sesquicentennial and organized a committee to prepare the DCR for the commemoration. In 1959 (renewed in 1961), the General Assembly created the Confederate Centennial Commission; charging that body with planning and conducting programs to commemorate the centennial of the Civil War and the Assembly ordered the commission to cooperate when possible with individuals, unofficial organizations, and agencies of the federal government and other states. While the Sesquicentennial Committee will perform similar responsibilities as the prior Confederate Centennial Commission it does not have the mandate or charge of the General Assembly. Thus the North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee’s authority is limited to the DCR proper.

Major historic events and new approaches in the craft of History have expanded our knowledge and understanding of the Civil War era. New historical methodologies challenged the interpretation of the war and asked important questions about the home front, soldier’s activities, African American participation as soldiers and freedmen, and women’s issues. More recent historical interpretation seeks to understand the way memory and remembrance interacts with facts to create a particular understanding of the events in both place and time. Advances have also been made in presenting living history and historic site interpretation. Understanding the Civil War era in North Carolina is no longer regulated only to the experience of the soldiers in battle; it is no longer contained in the entirety by the old “Rebel Boast” of “First at Bethel, Fartherest at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, Last at Appomattox.” Understanding the Civil War era in North Carolina is a multifaceted approach to teaching the many and varied components that created, sustained, and challenged the state during the era.

The names of the two committees reflect that change in understanding. Without question the focus of the centennial event was on North Carolina’s Confederate status. The Sesquicentennial Committee seeks to focus on the entirety of the Civil War experience and not just the Confederate heritage (which remains an integral component).

To that end, the North Carolina Sesquicentennial Committee is planning many public events to expand (hopefully) the understanding of the war era. Three major conferences are scheduled and structured around the three interpretive themes of Freedom, Sacrifice, and Memory. Every state historic site that interprets the Civil War era has scheduled major and minor events throughout the sesquicentennial period including lectures, re-enactments, and living history days. The committee is committed to an open forum on the Civil War era. State museums are developing exhibits, workshops and teacher institutes (for renewal credit). The State Archives is planning talks, workshops, exhibits, and online presentations. Our hope is to provide stimulating and compelling educational opportunities for the public to explore North Carolina’s rich Civil War heritage.


What message does the DCR want to get across to the people of North Carolina during the sesquicentennial?

The Sesquicentennial Committee wishes to invite the people of North Carolina to explore their rich, diverse, and significant shared history. To that end Deputy Secretary Dr. Jeffrey Crow charged the committee to prepare appropriate and historically accurate activities which will bring understanding of the complex issues and events to all North Carolinians. The DCR encourages participation in the various planned programs.


What areas of scholarship do the personnel of the DCR hope to see emerge during the sesquicentennial?

The DCR personnel are committed to remain up to date with current trends in historical analysis and reflect those approaches when presenting any historical interpretations to the public. Such recent trends include (but are not limited to) the study of Memory, guerilla warfare, soldier’s experience, Confederate nationalism, home front experiences, women’s studies (such as the development of political power through Ladies Aid Societies), and the African American experience (including United States Colored Troops, Emancipation Proclamation, free blacks and slaves in the Confederate forces). In addition, it would be worthwhile to revisit studies of battles, brigades, generals, and statesman - the familiar Civil War stories which continue to inform us about the Civil War era.


What can local folks in the communities around the state do to make sure that the sesquicentennial is remembered where they live?

The biggest thing that local people can do is to become involved and engaged to ensure that the Civil War sesquicentennial is remembered where they live. There are endless opportunities for such groups as local history groups, genealogy groups, heritage groups such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Sons of Union Veterans, and Sons of Confederate Veterans, to have educational forums, speakers at their meetings, coordinate local history days, etc. Citizens should consider forming Civil War 150 committees for their municipality and or county that would plan and execute activities that would resonate with local constituencies. Keeping in mind that these activities should seek to draw a wide audience and be based in objectivity and sound scholarship. It may help the local committee in planning by using the three themes – Freedom, Sacrifice, Memory – as touchstones in their activities. In addition, local committees can draw resources from the NCCivilWar150.com web site. The DCR, and in particular the North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee, stands ready to assist local groups who ask for such aid. However, the impetus for such commemoration must come from a local source. The DCR is planning regional activities within the frame work of its Historic Sites, Museums, and the Archives but is not authorized to go beyond the bounds of the agency.

And along those lines, would the DCR be interested in partnering with or supporting other civic, historical, economic, and other organizations across North Carolina in an effort to expand the understanding and appreciation of the American Civil War?

The role of the DCR Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee is to plan events to promote and further the public understanding of the Civil War era. The committee is both empowered and constricted in being only an agent of the DCR (rather than a mandate from the General Assembly). On a limited basis the committee is partnering with entities and or institutions when such a partnering furthers the DCR’s outreach and educational goals. In all such instances (for example, two of the three symposia are partnered with academic institutions as host schools) the Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee retains control over the event (content, promotion, etc.). The best way for the DCR to assist civic groups is to remain, for the most part, in an advisory capacity. When opportunities arise for partnering the committee will review such opportunities and make recommendations for a course of action (partnering, advising, etc.).

A look around the Old North State - 2010

Here we are entering the second week of January, and I guess it is time to have a look around at headlines related to the War and the Tar Heel State.

The 13th Annual Confederate Prison Symposium will be held in April this year in Salisbury. You can check out a list of the speakers here.

The Winston-Salem Journal has a review of Richard Reid’s new book, Freedom For Themselves: North Carolina’s Black Soldiers in the Civil War Era. Check it out here.

There are numerous events going on in the Fort Fisher area commemorating the 145th anniversary of the battle. You can find more information here.

On January 14, there will be a screening of “Civil War Letters of Macon County” at the Jackson County Genealogical Society. You can get more information here.

UNC Greensboro is sponsoring a exhibit entitled “Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln’s Journey to Emancipation” from January 25 until March 5, 2010. You can learn more here.

Readers and researchers can now access one of North Carolina’s war-time newspapers through a new search engine put out by the state. This is a part of the N. C. Digitization Project. You can learn more about the program here.

The cost to bury a soldier…

A few weeks ago, I posted a little about the life of Jacob Evans, a Tar Heel who served in the US Navy during the war. I found Evans’s grave while on a ramble in Avery County. I dug out another piece of information: how much it cost to bury Evans after his death in 1926. It cost a grand total of $85.00. Here is the breakdown:

Coffin - $25.00 (J. C. Harmon)
Services rendered - $5.00 (W. M. Estes)
Burial service - $2.00 (F. G. Cook)
Burial service - $2.00 (Leonard Storie)
Burial service - $2.00 (Joe Parlies)
Livery - $5.00 (Earnest McGuire)
Clothing Expenses - $44.00 (Hobert Church)

Pretty remarkable, considering how many soldiers, during the war, simply got wrapped in a blanket and buried in a grave with someone else.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I meant to post this a couple of days ago, but between the snow, ice, loss of power, and trips to see in-laws and parents, I just never got around to it. I’m home now, and have electricity. But it is still cold, about eight above as I sit and write at 8:30 this morning, and they are saying that this weekend will be colder than the last. I do hope you had a great Christmas and New Year season.

I have many great things to share this year, including interviews (which I have only done infrequently), book reviews, news reports, and observations about the Old North State and the War. I hope you enjoy.

Regards,
Michael

Good News!

Greetings from a very snowy western North Carolina. We have about eight inches right now – expecting about another ten more. I am happy that the book on the Fifty-eighth NCT finally has a front cover. I like it – what do you think?

News and notes...

I’ve found a couple of interesting items in the last few days that I thought I would share. The 26th North Carolina Troops (reactivated) has released a great new recruiting video. Check it out here.

Great article talking about Mt. Jefferson in Ashe County being used as a refuge for runaways (slaves, Tar Heel Citizens, escaped prisoners) at the Mountain Times. You can check it out here, along with a few comments from your humble scribe.

The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History will be having a special program on North Carolina Women and the War on Thursday evening. You can get more information here.

There is some good information about the town of Mooresville in this article.

Rambling.... again

If you have been following this blog for any length of time, you have probably noticed that blog posts get kind of slim in the month of December. By December every year, I am tired – tired of writing, tired of blogging, tired of answering email, tired of traveling. This year is a little better. I’ve been tired since October, and I’ve tried really hard to take it easy. I’ve been reading, sitting on my porch, playing with my kids, and reflecting. A lot of reflecting. I have four projects sitting here in my office that are one or two research trips away from the writing process. Three of them focus on North Carolina and the war, and the other on one of the most famous individuals of the war. That project has been ready to go for some time, and I actually have the first two chapters finished, or at least in draft form. For some reason, I’ve not been able to jump and get this one finished. Maybe it is the almost foot-high pile of primary research that needs to be culled through. I’ve also got a fifth project that I’ve been dabbling with the past couple of weeks. To be honest, I will probably not do anything until the first of the year, and then it will be time to go back to work.

As I have written before, there is so much that still needs to be done, researched, and written about to understand the role of North Carolina and the War. I could not begin to tell you the number of emails that I get from people wanting to know when I am going to write about this regiment, or that person. No, I’ll never be able to get to all of it. But I look forward to seeing what I can accomplish.

I am looking forward to next year. I’ve got some “first rate” things that I’ve found recently that I look forward to sharing. And, I’ve a few more trips planned. May try and go back to Gettysburg. The 58th NCT book will be released, and I’ll be traveling around promoting the book. I am hoping to do a mini-reunion at Chickamauga. The plan is to invite all those folks I have corresponded with for the past decade and explore the role of the 58th NCT at that battlefield. Maybe we could do a similar trip to Bentonville.

Well, I’ve probably rambled enough here this morning. – Y’all have a great day.

A trip through the South

Interesting article today on North Carolina Miscellany blog. The article tells of a true Northern soldier (not one of our home-grown Yankees) who took a little trip through the South, including North Carolina, in 1868. What I find interesting is how this former soldier was treated by the former Confederates. Several months ago, I had a good argument with an acquaintance on this very subject. His premise was that the vast majority of Southerners, following the war, would have rather bushwhacked this chap than give him a carriage ride, or three cheers. Do I doubt that there were some in the South that hated those from the North? No, not one bit. However, to not help someone in need, or to not stretch out the hand of friendship to a passerby, is a strictly un-Southern attitude.

This brings to mind another conversation that parallels the thought above. At one of our recent round table talks, the conversation turned to commanders of the local home guard companies here in western North Carolina. Two of those commanders, the ones for Watauga and Yancey Counties, were forced to relocate after the war. I wonder how many of the others were forced to move out of the area after the war? I know that Watauga County’s Home guard commander, Harvey Bingham, had to leave because of the way he enforced state and Confederate laws. Bingham did return for a short time, but later settled in Iredell County where he ran a law school.

Just random thoughts for today.

You can check out the article at North Carolina Miscellany here.

In Salisbury Tonight

Folks – I’ll be speaking this evening at 6:30 pm at the Rowan County Public Library in Salisbury. Topic will be my program on Gravestone Art, which includes over 100 images of gravestones that I’ve taken over the past ten years. Drop by and say hi!

Also, do you need books for Christmas presents? I’ve got all of my books in stock – 37th NCT; Remembering North Carolina’s Confederates; the Brooksville-Bayport Raid; Mitchell County Images; Families, Friends, and Felons: Growing Up in the Avery County Jail; and many more. Drop me a line or visit my web page if you are interested. But please order soon…

Sesquicentennial??

This past Saturday, I was at the Appalachian Authors’ Festival in Old Fort, North Carolina. There were several other authors there, including Richard Russell, editor of Fear in North Carolina: The Journals and Letters of the Henry Family (great book if you don’t already have it!).

I was surprised to see David Madden, founder of the U. S. Civil War Center at LSU and Lincoln Bicentennial Member. We had a very interesting talk about the upcoming sesquicentennial of the War. One part of our conversation centered on what appears to be a lack of community input and participation in our upcoming sesquicentennial plans. Sure, the state has a web page, but look at the North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee – every single person on this Committee works for the state. Look at the plans of the sesquicentennial committee – academic symposiums to be held in Raleigh, Wake Forest University, and (probably) UNC-Wilmington. The committee plans to hold programs and events at thirteen of the state’s historic sites (two each year per site). That’s great. What about the dozens of historic sites across the state that are not within the state’s system? I can think of three historic sites within an hour of my house – has anyone from the state contacted them to see if they are interested?

This is not to bash the folks on the Commission – this is just to say that the focus seems a little one-sided.

I took a look at the Sesquicentennial plans in Virginia. Their commission seems dominated by politicians. While I do not think that this system is the best, at least they are answerable to the people. What is nice to see is that just about every county, and a few of the large cities, have formed their own sesquicentennial committees. Wow – the entire state working together. Sure, I know, some of these committees will be working harder than others, but at least something is happening.

Most you know that I have been working on promoting an open discussion about the war in the western part of the state. I’ve been working in five different counties, trying to get people out and talking about the War, both in terms of the men (and women )who marched away, and the events that took place at home. I am going to continue to do this, and I hope to expand in the next couple of years. As I told Madden on Saturday, I would love to see this type of local dialogue happen in each of North Carolina’s 100 counties. I would love to be a part of each one, which is probably not a very realistic goal. But, if I can work with the counties that are interested and the counties that are nearby, then maybe something can happen to educate and preserve what took place 150 years ago. Maybe I’ll even head down to the next Avery County Commissioners meeting to try and get approval for a local Avery County Sesquicentennial Committee.

Come on North Carolina, you supplied more men and lost more men than any other Southern State. We can do better than what we are doing.

In Old Fort Today

The Appalachian Authors’ Festival is today in Old Fort in McDowell County, from 12:00 pm until 3:00 pm. It is being held this year in the old Train Depot/Museum. If you are in the area, stop by and say hi!

News and notes...

Well, let’s have a little look around the Old North State to see what is brewing in the news.

The Sun News (Raleigh) had an interesting article on a soldier in the 15th NCST who suffered from PTSD (even though the article does not quite go that far). The soldier ended up in the NC State Insane Asylum and is buried in the hospital’s cemetery. The article can be found here.

Rob Neufeld continues his writings on western North Carolina and the War with an article on Thomas L. Clingman. It is interesting that while Neufeld calls Clingman that “fire eater from the Carolina mountains” due to Clingman’s stance on secession, he makes no mention of that fact that Clingman owned no slaves. Check out the article here.

Another article dealing with the battle at Deep Creek appeared recently in the PJStar (Peoria, IL). Read more here.

The Mount Airy News reports on a living history held recently Horne Creel Living History Farm. Check it out here.

Check out this article on the cemetery at Mount Bethel Evangelical Church in Summerfield.

Davidson County

It has been a while since we looked at one of North Carolina’s counties and the war. So, I thought we would pick up and take a look at Davidson County, located in the Piedmont section of the state.

Davidson County was formed in 1822 from Rowan County and was named for William Lee Davidson, a patriot during the Revolutionary War who was killed at the battle of Cowan’s Ford, on the Catawba River, in 1781. The county seat is located in Lexington, named for the 1775 battle of Lexington at the start of the Revolution. The railroad arrived in Davidson County in 1855. Another principal town is Thomasville.

In 1860, Davidson County had a total population of 16,601 people, including 3,076 slaves and 147 free people of color. In the 1860 presidential election, 1,186 men voted for Bell, 728 for Breckinridge, and 15 voted for Douglas. In the February 1861 vote on whether or not to call a convention to consider secession, Davidson County men voted 368 for and 1806 against the convention. Their elected delegates were Benton C. Douthitt and Benjamin A. Kittrell. Douthit was born in 1811 and served in the house of Commons in 1844 and the State Senate in 1858. He was a Unionist who switched when Lincoln called for troops. Kittrell was born in 1831, attended UNC, and studied law under Judge Pearson. He also opposed secession.

Davidson County sent nearly 2,000 men into Confederate service. Some of those men served in Companies B and I, 14th North Carolina Troops; Company A, 21st North Carolina Troops; Companies A and I, 42nd North Carolina Troops; Company K, 45th North Carolina Troops; Companies B and H, 48th North Carolina Troops; and Company A, 54th North Carolina Troops.

There are many interesting sites throughout the county. Several soldiers took advantage of the depot at Thomasville and left for the war from that point. A NC Civil War Trail Marker marks the site. Near Main Street and Salem Street in Thomasville is another marker. This one teaches us about a site nearby that was a hospital and a refugee camp. The hospital started out for Confederate soldiers, but later provided care for soldiers from both armies. Not far away is the Thomasville City Cemetery. There are 36 soldiers interred in the soldiers’ plot. Certain websites write that the Thomasville City Cemetery is the only cemetery in the world where Confederate and Union soldiers are buried together in a single gravesite. Thomasville was also the site of a shoe factory that helped supply Confederate soldiers during the war. In Lexington, the county courthouse was burned in February 1865 and General Kilpatrick stayed at the home of Dr. Holt at the close of the war. General Stoneman was stopped in a skirmish on April 12, 1865, at the Yadkin River bridge, and Jefferson Davis camped in a “pine grove” on April 16, 1865, as he sought to evade Federal troops.

In September 1905, “Several thousand people from Davidson and surrounding counties gathered to witness” the unveiling of Davidson County’s Confederate monument. Among the throngs were an estimated 300 to 400 Confederate veterans. The monument was originally in the center square in front of the courthouse, and it was frequently hit by automobiles. In the 1950s the monument was relocated to a less dangerous place, not far from the original site.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I was hoping to get some things posted before taking a small break for Thanksgiving, but alas, I’ve just not been able to get to anything. I’ve been putting together two notebooks on the Hardy and Glanton families for a family reunion we are having over Thanksgiving. No, these are not my North Carolina families. I did find a slew of ancestors in the 50th Alabama Infantry, along with the ancestors I already knew about in the 9th Alabama Cavalry, and 37th Alabama Infantry.

I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving break. We’ll see you on the flip side.

Anniversary

Twenty-seven years ago this weekend, I went to my first re-enactment. It was held in Orange Springs, on the edge of the Ocala National Forest. I was ten. I don’t remember all of the details. Something in the back of my mind says that site was an actual skirmish site, or maybe the church there was the one that Capt. J. J. Dickinson attended. I don’t remember exactly. I do know this – I’ve been hooked since 1982. I’ve been to scores (hundreds?) of events, from the small to the great, and I’ve meet amazing people (including my darling wife). I would just like to say publicly – Uncle Jeff, my life would have been dull without you.

I’m still not really working on much. I was in Asheville last night talking to their SCV Camp – good bunch of folks. I’ve been trying to answer email, and I’ve been slowly reading through some material and taking notes for my next project. I am kind of tired and burned out. Working 15+ hours days for about six weeks while I finished the 58th NCT book has taken its toll. So, I am just going to kind of glide for the next month or so. I’ve several appearances to make, and a family reunion to attend. So, blogging will be slow until after the holidays. Maybe I will get back to my county-by-county study soon.

CSS Appomattox found!

Not much going on in the news related to the war this week except all of the stories connected to the discovery of the CSS Appomattox. According to one of the articles below, the CSS Appomattox was “part of what was known as the Mosquito Fleet — a collection of small armed steamers that defended the northeastern North Carolina sounds during the Civil War. The boat was set on fire in February 1862 by its own crew as they were attempting to escape Federal gunboats after the Battle of Elizabeth City. Though they attempted to get through the Dismal Swamp Canal, the boat proved too wide. Rather than have it captured by the Union Navy, the crew set the boat ablaze…”

You can learn more by checking out these articles:

DailyAdvance.com

Associated Press

The Virginia Pilot

Jacob Evans – US Navy

This past Sunday afternoon, I took a little ride here in Avery County. I was researching something and got distracted by a couple of cemeteries. One of them was the Fall Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, also known as the Fall Creek Graveyard. In this cemetery, I found the grave marker for Jacob Evans. There was a marker (one of the flat bronze type, stating that he had served in the United States Navy during the war. I did some digging this morning and found Evans in the Navy Survivor Certificates. He has an interesting story. Evans was born in 1847 in Surry County, North Carolina. In 1865, he was living in West Virginia and working on a steamboat. On March 1, 1865, he enlisted in the United States Navy in Cairo, Illinois. He served aboard the USS Nymph, Forest Rose, and Red Rover. He was in and out of the hospital while in service, for a variety of reasons, including diarrhea, lame foot, fever, cough, and influenza. Evans was issued a medical discharge September 1, 1865. Evans moved around quite a bit after the war. He was married for the first time in 1870 in Surry County. His first wife was dead by 1900. In 1906, Evans was living in Cranberry (then in Mitchell County). In 1909, he had relocated to Sullivan County, Tennessee. In 1911, Evans married Jane Greer in Elizabethton, Tennessee. They returned to Elk Park, now in Avery County, to live. In 1913, Evans was in the Soldiers Home in Washington County, Tennessee. Evans soon put in for a transfer and, in 1918, was in Montgomery County, Ohio, in another Soldiers Home. It is that year that he applied for and was granted a divorce, which was granted by a Montgomery County, Ohio, judge. The divorce was based upon the idea (fact) that Mrs. Evans was not fulfilling her responsibilities as a wife, even though it was Jacob Evans that left and removed himself several hundred miles away. When a month Mrs. Evans later was informed that she was no longer married, she wrote the pension office, stating that this was the first time she has heard of it, and that Jacob had abandoned her months beforehand and she had not heard from him. Of course, this is only part of the story. The rest is probably lost. In 1921, Jacob Evans returned to Johnson County, Tennessee, and in 1924, was back in Avery County. He required a nurse, who was Robert Church. Evans died at the home of Robert Church in 1926.

Avery County CW Round Table Tonight

Not much going on here in the western part of the Tar Heel State. We’ve had some beautiful weather the past week, but it is raining today (and tomorrow). For the first time in a long time, I am blogless– I really don’t have much going on. I’ve kind of been “on vacation” as of late. When I go “on vacation” I read broadly and spend a great deal of time outside.

I had the chance on this past Saturday to participate in a living history here in Avery County for our local home school group. We worked with about 75 kids and parents (and a few people that just stopped by). We set up six different stations that the groups rotated through. These stations included: the war in the mountains, common soldiers, weapons, cooking, children’s lives, and care packages. We all had a great time, and were asked a lot of great questions. I absolutely love this type of hands-on programming.

Tonight, I am participating in a Avery County and the Civil War program at the local library. I’ve been a part of this type of program for th epast three or four years in Yancey, Mitchell, Avery, Watauga, and Caldwell Counties. Basically, we sit around in a circle, and for two to three hours, talk about the war, both locally and nationally. While I facilitate the program, I am always learning something. If your historical society, SCV camp, or UDC chapter would like to host this type of program, please drop me a note – I would love to help.

Yes, I am “working” on my next project, but I’m not ready to announce what it is. I’m really just doing some reading and taking a few notes. I’m also working on a couple of article queries. No, I’m not sure when I’ll really start writing seriously again. I’m still “on vacation.”

The photo is our group of interpreters from this past Saturday.

News and notes...

A lot going on this week, both in the news and with me (see previous entry). Here is what I found on my weekly crawl through the news.

There is a new monument to Confederate soldiers in Weldon. Check out information regarding it and the war-time hospital in this article in the Salisbury Post.

The Statesville Record and Landmark has an article about resources available at the Public Library in Statesville. Check it out here.

Information regarding the skirmish at Deep Creek (Swain County), and effort to place a historical marker at the site, may be found here.

The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources has announced that advanced tickets are available for the 145th anniversary of the battle of Bentonville. Learn more here.

There is some great information on Dr. Edward Warren, a North Carolina born doctor who wrote "An epitome of practical surgery, for field and hospital (1st Edition. Richmond, Va., West & Johnston, 1863)," one of the most widely used guides used during the war by Southerners. You can read more here.

And, there is a new web site devoted to the life of Harriet Jacobs, put together by the Edenton-Chowan County Tourism Development Authority and developed with Historic Edenton State Historic Site. Check it out here.

Book signings and articles

Lots of news – An article that I wrote a couple of years back (while researching the book on Hanover Court House) on Federal general Irvin McDowell is in the current issue of America’s Civil War. The new issue should be hitting newsstands right about now. Also, I was recently interviewed for an article written by Sharyn McCrumb on Civil War re-enacting. The article is in the current issue of Blue Ridge Country. I saw one on a local newsstand on Saturday, and I encourage you to check it out.

I will be on the road some this week. I am speaking tomorrow night (Tuesday) in Raleigh at the Barbecue Lodge at 4600 Capital Boulevard. Dinner is at 6:30 pm. I plan to do a little research in the archives beforehand. On Thursday evening I’ll be in Barnardsville at the Big Ivy Community Center. The meeting starts at 7:00 pm. I’ll also be participating in a living history this weekend here in Avery County. This event is for our local home school group.

I often comment that I try and take much of October off. I took a good deal of it off, but alas, October is over, and it is time to go back to work.