Unpacking your toolbox (historically speaking)

This is the second part of a series on writing regimental/brigade histories, and this post is all about what you need to have in your "toolbox." Many writers have used this phrase in their discussions of the craft. When I teach writing workshops, I recommend people pick up a copy of Stephen King's On Writing. It is an autobiographical account of his writing life, along with steps and tools that he uses in crafting his books. And, On Writing is funny!

In the world of literary criticism, scholars spend a great deal of time studying about just whom an author reads. Why? Because what we read has a great deal of influence on the way we write and what we write about. When writing about a regiment, you need to have certain items in that toolbox; these tools will help you to understand the men themselves, and to some degree, how a regiment functioned. The first book on the list:

The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy by Bell Irvin Wiley. Originally released in 1943, this book has not been supplanted by any other work. Different chapters cover the men in camp, in battle, religion, letters home, etc., etc. Back in my younger years, I read this book every year. I actually re-read it last year, prepping for Watauga County, North Carolina, in the Civil War. A regiment is composed of 100 officers and 900 common soldiers, hence the importance of the book. Wiley also wrote The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union, which I also have, but I since I doubt that I will ever write a Union regimental history, we'll stick to the Confederate side. A runner-up to The Life of Johnny Reb would be Soldiers Blue and Gray by James I. Robertson.

As an aside, if you are going to be writing about the Army of Tennessee, I would recommend picking up a copy of Larry J. Daniel's Soldiering the Army of Tennessee.

Military Justice in the Confederate States Armies by Jack A. Bunch might come next on my list. Regiments contain many different facets. There are some good books out there that cover different parts of a regiment. A regiment was regulated by the Articles of War, a series of "military laws" that defined what was expected of a soldier and outlined how he was expected to act.  Bunch's book breaks down the background of military justice, charges, findings, sentencing, and punishments. Bunch published a supplemental volume, an index of men brought up on charges, and what their punishments were. As an aside, a copy of the Regulations for the Army of the Confederate States (1863) is really handy. This was the "bible" that governed day-to-day lives of regiments. This volume has been reproduced several times, so finding an original will not be necessary.

Rebel Watchdog: The Confederate States Army Provost Guard by Kenneth Radley is another piece of the puzzle closely related to Bunch's Military Justice. Radley's volume breaks down the role of the provost, writing about the origins of the provost and his duties, like dealing with passports, stragglers, prisoners, etc. While this book is not geared toward the individual regiment, having this type of material in your toolbox will help you better understand how the soldiers dealt with furloughs, straggling while on the march, etc.

Doctors in Gray: The Confederate Medical Service by H. H. Cunningham is an older book, but still the standard on the medical service (There is also a Doctors in Blue). This book will give you the basics on the medical department, not only on the battlefield, but in camp as well. Along these same lines would be books about hospitals. I would probably recommend Chimborazo: The Confederacy's Largest Hospital by Carol C. Green or maybe Richmond's Wartime Hospitals by Rebecca Barbour Calcutt.

The Story of the Soldiers Wouldn't Tell: Sex in the Civil War by Thomas Lowry deals with the seedier side of soldiering. You will find in some records mentions of soldiers with certain venereal diseases, especially when a regiment was stationed near to a large city. To my knowledge, this is the only book that deals with this topic in (graphic) detail.

Christ in the Camp by J. William Jones deals with those who strove to keep on the straight and narrow. While Christ in the Camp is an older book (1887), could use an index, and is probably not laid out the best, I still find it extremely useful and written by someone involved in trying to bring Christianity to the troops. There are several other books on the role of chaplains, several of which I have read, but none that really jumped out at me. For background, I might recommend God's Almost Chosen Peoples: A Religious History of the American Civil War, but, it is a dense read (I've still not finished it).

The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War by Brent Nosworthy is just one book that covers fighting during the war. There are several other books in this same genre: Embattled Courage: The Experience of Combat in the American Civil War by General Linderman and Battle Tactics of the American Civil War by Paddy Griffin are two others that haunt my shelves. I personally like Bloody Crucible of Courage. While soldiers spent a great deal of time in camp, it really was the battlefield that defined them (in my opinion).

More to come in part three.........

Studying brigade histories

In the past couple of weeks, I have read Waters and Edmonds' history of the Florida brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia (A Small But Spartan Band) and James I. Robertson's The Stonewall Brigade. I must say that I found both of these books a little "light" in the research department. Neither book had any discussion of how a brigade functioned, of staff officers, or of armament. I understand that Confederate records can be sparse, but they are not that sparse. Last night, I started reading Hess's Lee's Tar Heels, a book I have owned a while, but don't recall ever reading it. I was impressed by what Hess wrote in the introduction:

"A unit history is a unique part of Civil War historiography... The ideal unit history should be complete and definitive, covering all aspects of its subject. Thus it is more than a mere recounting of that units battles; it should also describe the mobilization of manpower, the organization of the units, their acclimation to camp life, their initial combat experience, and the changing nature of the men's attitudes towards the war and the cause they fought to uphold. Ties to the home front, food, medical care, logistical support, political attitudes, social background, postwar life experiences, and many other topics ought to be covered as far as the available sources will allow."

In both of the regimentals that I have written, I've striven hard to make sure every one of those little pieces of the puzzle is portrayed within the text. I would add to Hess's list this: good maps and plentiful war-time images of the soldiers who fought in those regiments/brigades. In the books I wrote on the 37th NCT and 58th NCT, I went as far to include photographs of relics as well: flags carried, uniforms worn, gear carried, and in the case of the 37th NCT, their general and special order books. Added to this, post-war veteran reunion images, monuments the veterans helped erect, and an occasional tombstone of interest. If space allows, modern photos of places the regiment fought might be good. I did not do this in the 37th NCT book, but I added a photo or two of places in the 58th NCT book.

Up front, I can go ahead and say that there will not be any modern battlefield photos in the Branch-Lane book. I should have a surplus of war-time images from which to choose.

Since many people mention to me their own desires to write a regimental history from time to time, I think I will do a series of posts on "Unpacking your regimental toolbox." It should be a good exercise as I work on the Branch-Lane project.

Passing over the river...

Someone mentioned to me last night that we lost Michael W. Taylor a few weeks ago. Taylor, a lawyer who was living in Chapel Hill, was the author of To Drive the Enemy from Southern Soil: The Letters of Col. Francis Marion Parker and the History of the 30th Regiment North Carolina Troops (1998) and The Cry is War, War, War: The Civil War Correspondence of Lts. Burwell Thomas Cotton and George Job Huntley, 34th North Carolina Troops (1994). I don't recall having ever met Taylor, but we did correspond a few times.  You can see a short obit here.

I also learned a few weeks back that Dr. John G. Barrett passed away earlier this year. For some reason, I thought he was long gone. Barrett, whom I never met, penned the classic or standard study of North Carolina and the war, entitled The Civil War in North Carolina  (1963), along with North Carolina as a Civil War Battleground (1987), and with Buck Years, North Carolina Civil War Documentary (1980).  You can see a tribute here by one of his former students.

Barrett was obliviously the first modern scholar when it comes to North Carolina and the War, and many of us who pick up the pen today to continue the struggle of chronicling North Carolina's history rely heavily upon his work for background information.

On the road....

Friends, we'll have a few more occasions to get together and talk about the War before my almost hibernation mode sets in for the winter. Here's my schedule:

November 7 - Gen. James B. Gordon Camp, SCV, Wilkesboro, NC

November 9 - North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh

November 12 - Col Stowe Camp, SCV, Dallas, NC

November 13 - Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte

November 16 - Black Bear Books, Boone

November 19 - Elbert Ross Camp, SCV, Charlotte

December 6 - The History Museum of Burke County

I think I finally figured it out.

For years, people have asked my why I got into writing. Well, it surely isn't for the money.... Someone asked me the other day this very question, and I think I finally gave a good answer. I got into writing because I saw a need, a need to take all of these fragments of history from a hundred different sources and to put them together and tell a story. So often I say that this is their story (the people of the past), I'm just trying to get the people telling it into some type of context.

When I started working on the book on the 37th North Carolina Troops, which, by the way, came out ten years ago this year, there were what, two other modern regimental histories of Confederate regiments in North Carolina? (Those two would be the book on the 6th NCST and the book on the 11th NCT.) While there are now about a dozen modern North Carolina regimental histories, there is still a need. When I wrote that first nationally published article on Brig. Gen. Collet Leventhorpe, I saw a need. One afternoon, we were out on a ramble and stumbled across the general’s grave at the Chapel of Rest in Caldwell County. I wanted to know more about him. This new book on Watauga County and the Civil War is the same way. I saw a need.

So, as I embark on this new book venture on the Branch-Lane brigade, I am trying to fill a void - to get information from hundreds of different places, weave it together into a story, and get it into the hands of as many people as possible. It is just who I am.

North Carolina churches.

You would think, after so many years of doing this, I would still not be dumbfounded at the lack of material in some aspects of our history. Yet once again, here I am, doing a heap of background research.

For some time, I've wanted to work on a paper about the role of churches in western North Carolina and how they viewed the war, or what role they played, locally or nationally, in the war effort.  

A few months back, I read Bruce Gourley's Diverging Loyalties: Baptists in Middle Georgia During the Civil War. In looking through Gourley's bibliography, there are several articles on the role of Georgia churches during the war. Yet, in looking at places like JSTOR and NCLive, I find nothing that deals with denomination, nor any geographical area, in North Carolina, during the "Late Unpleasantries."

Why is this? Is it because I'm really the only person interested in such topics? Or does it have more to do with North Carolina being a "Progressive" state, and Progressives really aren't all that interested in the past?

So, I've been working on this paper, looking at how the western (mountain) counties reacted to the War. Maybe one day it will appear in print.

What's next....

On Monday afternoon, I dropped off at the post office manuscript number nineteen. This is a manuscript I mentioned sometime back. It deals with Grandfather Mountain, and will be a part of the Images of America series for Arcadia Publishers.

I've been taking a little time to reflect as of late, trying to figure out where to go next. Yes, I already have that next contract, a book dealing with the Branch-Lane brigade to be published by Savas-Beatie. I've been looking beyond that. Almost seven years ago, I gave up my job in a library at a local community college to write full time. And it has been an increasable experience. I've been to hordes of neat (historic) places, and met great people, and I believe, or at least hope, that I have been able to make some type of contribution to enrich the lives of people by my obsession with the past.

But it has not always been the most profitable of exercises. No, I never expected to get rich, and my writing at least pays for itself. But ever since the economy tanked, it just seems harder and harder to sell anything, even good history. So, I've been trying to step back and evaluate where I am and what I need to do next. So here are the choices that I've come up with so far:

1. Keep doing what I am doing - plugging along trying to turn out well-researched books that help preserve the past.

2. Kick up my travels a notch. Last year, I did a little over seventy public appearances. Maybe I need to try doing more events, like reenactments and civil war shows, etc. The problem with these events is that that they wear me out. I have no problems jumping into the car and driving two hours to spend another two hours with a group before coming home. I can handle that. It is the two days of almost constant conversation that wear me down. Plus, there is the added expense of traveling. For my short jaunts, I drive a Honda Civic - gets great gas millage. For a weekend event at a reenactment, I drive an F150 (crew cab, 4x4) - not so great gas millage, plus, some events charge a fee for me to set up, so the chances to make a profit are slim. If I go to a show, then there is the added expense of hotel rooms.

3.  Change my focus. I write about the Civil War (mostly) because it is what I know, what I understand, what I am passionate about. But over the past two years I have become keenly aware of how other areas of history, and other locations, suffer greatly for someone with a pen to write about that place or time period. Maybe I am that person. Maybe diversifying even more would be better.

4. Go back to school and finish that MA in history. This would at least give me a chance to adjunct teach and make a dollar or two, while still researching and writing, to a degree. Of course, it would also limit my ability to travel. Any grad schools interested in a well-published, non-traditional student?

5. Become more of an activist. If you follow me on facebook, you probably know that from time to time, I post about the lack of historical education, the lack of interest, or about the lack of people who read. Maybe I need to cut back on my writing a little to work more on getting people involved. I'm not quite sure how this would work, but it is a possibility.

6. Go find a real job - park service or historic site or something. Anyone interested in someone who has a really good understanding of mid-nineteenth century American history, with a very strong concentration in North Carolina?

So, on this rainy, blustery, cold fall day in October, that is where I am. Thoughts? Suggestions? Job Offers?

What's in a Name

A few of you probably know this, but for some time, I've been writing articles for a local magazine, Carolina Mountain Life. At the times, my articles cover topics related to the War, and at other times, they venture into other periods of history.

In the last issue of Carolina Mountain Life, I had an article entitled "What's in a Name" (part 1). In this article I look at how places here in the High Country of Western North Carolina  earned their names - like Boone (Daniel Boone) and Newland (Lt. Gov. William C. Newland). For a future issue, I've been working on part 2 - places that are not named so much for an individual, but for something else. Take for instance the Meat Camp community of Watauga County. It was so called because local hunters (in Daniel Boone’s time period) would store their meats and hides in the area while continuing to hunt.

Working in this article has shown me a real deficiency in local history. There are many, many place where the meaning of these names, and who they are named for, have been lost to time.

I've worked on an Avery County list for a number of years. I had a short list in my 2007 book Remembering Avery County.  That list has expanded, but is still woefully incomplete. Over the past few days, I've also started working on a list for Watauga County. It started by pouring over the topo maps, and listing every single summit, ridge, creek or river, and post offices (old and new). The list is ten pages long, so there is a lot of work that needs to be done on this list.

Of course, some places are easy. Boone was originally called Councill's Store, and in 1850, was changed to Boone, in honor of Daniel Boone. But many of these places remain a mystery.

So let me offer to you a challenge - sit down with a site like www.topozone.com (you do not need to subscribe), and create a list of all of the named places. Then, start trying to figure out for what or whom those places are named. Look at old county histories, old newspapers, or talk to the older person in your community. Just work on that list (and document where you get your information). Future generations will appreciate you for it.

Watauga County in the Civil War

My latest book, Watauga County in the Civil War, will be hitting the stands soon - as in next week. This project really means a great deal to me - I took eighteen years to research it. It is jammed with material - some of it old (but hopefully presented in a new light), and some of it is new material that you have probably never seen before. The book covers the War years, 1861-1865, and the events that took place in old Watauga County. Also, there are chapters on the soldiers who marched away, Reconstruction, the Remembrance process (like the veteran reunions), and Unionists.

So, I would like to offer you a chance to order a signed copy of the book. I've set up a page just for that process. Please visit http://www.michaelchardy.com/CWWatauga for instructions on ordering online, or via mail. If you would like the book or books inscribed to someone, please make sure you include that in your note. Books are $17.00 each, plus $3.00 shipping.

Of course, I will be speaking and signing in the Boone area. This includes:

Boone Heritage Festival, October 12, 2013 (all day)

Watauga County Public Library, October 22, 2013 (1:00 - 3:00 pm)

Autumn Leaf Festival, Jefferson, October 26, 2013 (all day)

Gen. James B. Gordon Camp, SCV, N. Wilkesboro, November 7, 2013 (7:00pm)

Black Bear Books, TBA

If you would like me to visit your group, please drop me a line.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed over the years to this project, and I look forward to hearing from you!

On the road....

Folks, I'll have a busy week ahead of me this next week. This includes:

Monday, September 16, Unicoi Historical Society, Erwin, Tennessee.  7:00 PM at the Erwin Tennessee Town Hall.

Tuesday, September 17, Col. John B. Palmer Camp, SCV, Burnsville Town Center, 7:00 pm (North Carolina at Chickamauga)

Thursday, September 19, Jefferson, North Carolina. "On the Same Page" : I'll be presenting my "So You Want to Get Published" workshop. Check out the web site: http://www.onthesamepagefestival.org/

Grandfather Mountain

If you follow me on facebook, you probably know that I have been working on a photo history about Grandfather Mountain for Arcadia Publishing. This will be my fifth book for Arcadia. Previous titles include Avery County; Caldwell County; Mitchell County; and the very popular Remembering North Carolina's Confederates. I signed this contract back last year.

Grandfather Mountain has a little Civil War history to it. It was up on Grandfather that Confederate conscription officers drove Keith and Malinda Blalock, after their brief experience in the 26th NCT. They supposedly hid out in a hog pen. And local tradition has it that the lower slopes of Grandfather were used as part of a local underground railroad, funneling escaped POWs and dissidents out of Salisbury toward Federal lines in east Tennessee.

Of course, there is much more recent history to Grandfather Mountain: events like the annual Singing on the Mountain -- started in 1924-- or the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, or the annual Girl Scout Day. So I am looking for photographs of people visiting the animal habitat, crossing the Swinging Bridge, or hiking the Profile Trail. If you have photographs, please drop me a line. They need to be scanned at a high resolution.

Thanks for reading - and, it is a good day to visit someplace like Grandfather Mountain!

U.S.S. Peterhoff

For the past couple of days, I've been reading Stanley South's autobiography, An Archaeological Evolution. Dr. South played a role in the early days of the Brunswick Town/Ft. Anderson and Ft. Fisher State Historic Sites. While I found much of interest, what really struck me was the story of the U.S.S.  Peterhoff.

   It appears that the Peterhoff was "a 416-ton iron-hulled yacht originally built for the Tsar of Russia" by a company in London. It had 140 hp steam engines and was launched in 1850. At some point, the ship transferred to Britain and was used as a cargo ship.

   On January 27, 1863, the Peterhoff set sail from Cornwall, and on February 20, she was boarded and searched by the crew of the USS Alabama. Papers from John Slidell in England to the Confederate Secretary of State were tossed overboard. Since there were no official means to hold the vessel, it was released. The Peterhoff reached St. Thomas, and then on February 25, set sail again. She was again boarded, and the captain claimed that he was bound for Matamoros in Mexico. But a crewman let slip that the vessel was actually bound for Brownville, Texas. The Peterhoff was seized, sold in a prize court, and after additional legal battles, in 1864, became a part of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She left Hampton Roads, Virginia, on February 28, 1864, to help with the blockade of Wilmington, North Carolina. Just a few days later, on March 6, 1864, the U.S.S. Peterhoff was rammed by the gunboat U.S.S. Monticello, and the Peterhoff  was sunk. When low tide came on March 7, Federal sailors boarded the Peterhoff and destroyed what they could.  After the war ended, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the owners of the Peterhoff, and the government was forced to compensate her owners.

The wreck lies off Kure Beech. Several cannon have been brought up over the years, including this one at Fort Fisher, and the wreck site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Wrong, wrong, wrong....

My readers might be tired of the ongoing mentions of the Blalocks, but there just appears to be so much bad information out there. Their life story seems as blown out of proportion as say, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's. I found the below article in a book edited by Lisa Tendrich Frank entitled Women in the American Civil War, Volume 1 (2008). So, I'm going to pick the article apart. I promise I will leave this subject alone for a while after this.

Blalock, Malinda [Sam Blalock]

(ca.1840-1901)

   Malina Blalock is thought to be the only woman to fight on both sides of the Civil War, and she is the only woman known to have fought as a man from North Carolina. [I know of two others from North Carolina who fought as men. One was from Yancey County and the other from the eastern part of the state.]

   Born Sarah Malinda Pritchard in about 1840 [her birth date, per tombstone, was March 10, 1839] in Caldwell County, North Carolina, to Alfred and Elizabeth Pritchard, Malinda married William McKesson "Keith" Blalock in April 1861, at a small church near Grandfather Mountain in Watauga County. [They were already married in 1860 when the census taker came around.] The two were Unionists. [Probably not technically- they were dissidents who used the Union army to continue a family feud.]

   Keith decided to join the Confederate army, desert as soon as possible, and join the Union army. Malinda cut her hair short and enlisted with Keith on March 20, 1862 as Sam Blalock in Company F, Twenty-sixth Regiment, North Carolina Troops. Malinda had assumed the name of Keith's half- brother, and she was his brother. [I don't recall Keith ever having any brothers.] The Blalocks shared the same tent and drilled side by side until April 20, 1862, when Keith deceitfully obtained a discharge. Having realized that deserting to join the Union would not be easy, Keith rubbed himself with poison sumac and was subsequently discharged. [This statement always puzzles me - the Union army was what, twenty miles down the road in New Bern? And while the poison was listed on his discharge papers, so was the hernia he also had, probably the real reason he was discharged.] Malinda then disclosed her identity as a woman and she was discharged as well. Keith's deception was soon discovered and he was charged with desertion. [Um, he was discharged, so he could not be charged with desertion. But, once he got better, he was liable for conscription, hence his problems with local authorities.] He lived on Grandfather Mountain with several other deserters before fleeing for a short time to Tennessee, where he became a recruiter for a Michigan regiment.

   Unionists at heart, [if true, why did he wait until mid-1864 to enlist in the Union army?] Malinda and Keith went back to the North Carolina mountains and played an active role in the guerrilla raids and personal vendettas that characterized the war in that part of the state in 1864. The Blalocks joined George W. Krik's partisan unit in North Carolina. [There is no historical documentation that the Blalocks and Kirk ever met.] Keith also served as a guide for Confederate deserters and for Unionists who were trying to make their way through the mountains to Federal lines in Tennessee.

   In 1864, Malinda was wounded in a skirmish, and in another engagement Keith was blinded in one eye. In 1865 Keith shot and killed a man whom he believed had killed his stepfather Austin Coffey. Keith was apprehended, but, before he was brought to trial, he was pardoned by Governor William W. Holden. [I believe that Keith actually surrendered.]

   After the war, the Blalocks became farmers in Mitchell County, North Carolina, and had at least four  children: Columbus, John, Willie, and Samuel. [Columbus was actually born in 1863.] Malinda died on March 9, 1901. She and her husband, who died August 11, 1913, are buried in the Montezuma Cemetery in Avery County, North Carolina.

So perhaps the Blalock story is even more embellished than Chamberlain's. I'm starting to think that only Davy Crockett and Pocahontas have been more distorted, and Disney hasn't even gone after Keith and Malinda....yet.

Fear in North Carolina

Recently, I finished reading Fear in North Carolina: The Civil War Journals and Letters of the Henry Family, edited by Karen Clinard and Richard Russell (2008). It is overall a great read, and fairly uncluttered by editorial remarks, which I really like.

The diary follows the life of William and Cornelia Henry, an upper-class, slave-owning  family living in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Cornelia started keeping her diary on January 1, 1860, and diligently kept pen to paper throughout the war years. The post-war entries are sporadic, and finally come to an end October 18, 1868.

Even though the Henrys were upper class, the diary provides and incredible look at life in the mountains of western North Carolina during the war years. The diary is concerned with everyday life - trying to raise children, managing a household with increasing shortages,  and from mid-1863 on, constant worry about the encroachment of both Yankees from Tennessee and home rogues up to no good. In the final days of the war, William Henry, who had served for a time in the home guard, during the "Laurel Wars," was forced into hiding and the farm was raided several times.  Equally important are the entries right after the war, in the beginning days of Reconstruction, as the family tried to adjust to what would become the new normal.

Overall, Fear is North Carolina is a great addition to the historiography of the War in North Carolina, and especially in the western part of our fair state.  

On the road

Folks, I'll be out and about our fair state the next week or so. If you are in one of these areas, please drop by and say hi!

August 8, 2013 - Little Switzerland Homemakers Club (Mitchell County), 1:00 pm.

August 9, 2013 - Avery County Historical Museum (scanning photos for the Grandfather Mountain project), 10:00 - 3:00 pm.

August 10, 2013 - Zebulon Baird Vance State Historic Site, Weaverville, NC (all day).

August 13, 2013 - SCV Camp, Garner, NC

August 14, 2013 - SCV Camp, Salisbury, NC

August 15, 2013 - Avery County and the Civil War - Avery County-Morrison Public Library, Newland, 6:30 pm.

A cheerful and happy view of history.

   What's wrong with this sentence? "The Blalocks moved into a cabin on Grandfather Mountain and lived happily ever after, cheerfully skirmishing with pro-South neighbors and helping Union soldiers to safety until war's end." This quotation came from a book entitled North Carolina by Sheila Turnage, a guide book published in 2009.

   First of all, the Blalocks weren't living in a cabin. As the story goes, after Keith and Malinda Blalock got back from their very brief stint in the 26th North Carolina Troops, they were forced to leave their home when confront by Confederate sympathizers and forced "still further up Grandfather and lived in a rail pen.  But they were followed even there, and on one occasion, Keith was so hotly pursued that he was shot in the left arm, and had to take refuge with some hogs which had 'bedded up' under the rocks." (Arthur, A History of Watauga County, 161) That certainly does not sound like living "happily ever after..."  Even if Turnage was making an attempt at humor or satire, it falls flat and misleads.

   And hence the problem with these glimpses of history. For three years, the Blalocks lived on the run, never knowing what the breaking of a twig on the forest floor might be. It could be one of those escaped prisoners, looking for a friend and guide over the mountains and into Union lines, or it could be members of the home guard, diligently trying to stem the tide of men passing through the area. Turnage's account, with words like "happily ever after" and "cheerfully skirmishing" make it sound, for lack of a better phrase, that the couple were simply out on holiday. For the Blalocks, the men they guided, the family they skirmished with, and the men who hunted them, it was anything but happy and cheerful.

   As my friend Sharyn McCrumb puts it so eloquently in The Ballad of Frankie Silver: "Happy stories mostly ain't true."

Watauga County in the Civil War editorial proofs

A couple of days ago, I received the editorial proofs for the Watauga County in the Civil War book, being published by the History Press. I've not looked at nor thought much about the manuscript in about a month, since I sent it along on its merry way. So, it was a fresh read for me. Is it a definitive, 150,000-word masterpiece on a poor mountain county and the great American tragedy? No... and yes. No, it's not 150,000 words, but I do believe that it is definitive. And most important (at least to me), readable.

Earlier this year, I picked up Martin Crawford's Ashe County's Civil War to give it a read. It is a book I've owned for several years, and while I have dug around it from time to time, mostly when working on the book on the 58th NCT, I had never read the entire book from cover to cover. I now have. And the first third was so arduous, I almost put it aside. But I stuck it out and finished it. One of the top goals of my writing is to make what I write readable for the general public. I do not want you to pick up one of my books, a read a few pages, and quickly come to the conclusion that I am educated, but a bore. History is not boring, or at least it should not be. The Watauga County book is full of stats and numbers, interspersed with story from period newspapers and passed down through families for generations: stories about how men marched away, raids on the countryside, and the shared experience of battle.

Not long ago, someone wrote a review of the Battle of Hanover Court House book. This person did not like the way I had used quotations to tell write the history of the engagement. He would rather have me summarize the information. I find that intriguing. What would you rather hear: me telling you what I think happened, or the people who witnessed it telling you what happened? I think their stories are more important. That's one of the reasons why I have put two books together for Ten Roads Publishing, both collections of letters, one on Chancellorsville, and the other on Gettysburg. They are the ones that have witnessed the war, and their words are the ones that are important.

The Watauga County project has some of their words. I have managed to eke out 40,000 words about the War and the county, not bad for such limited sources. But then again, I collected material for 18 years on the War and mid-nineteenth century Watauga County.

So in the end, when Watauga County in the Civil War is released, I hope you enjoy. And more importantly, I hope you learn something. I surely learned a lot. And I hope the generations of people who come after me, and pick up a copy of the book, will also be learning something as well. Just remember, it is their story, their shared experience. I'm just a collector and storyteller. 

Meet Renowned Civil War Artist Mort Künstler

Here’s your chance to meet nationally acclaimed artist Mort Künstler. He will sign prints of his new painting “Capitol Farewell,” featuring the North Carolina State Capitol as it appeared on Feb. 5, 1863. The artist will sign two items per person on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Museum Shop at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. Weekend parking is free.

            The Museum Shop is the first venue to have “Capitol Farewell” prints available for purchase. Call the shop at 919-807-7835 to reserve your print before Sept. 14.

            In addition to the print, the Museum Shop has items related to the painting “Winter Riders,” books, and other Künstler memorabilia. 

 Details About “Capitol Farewell”

            “Capitol Farewell” will be unveiled for the exhibit For Us the Living: The Civil War Art of Mort Künstler, opening Friday, Aug. 23.

            In the painting’s nighttime scene, a streetlamp illuminates a couple preparing to part during wartime. Snow blankets the Capitol grounds in this view from Hillsborough Street.

            In the exhibit text, Künstler describes “Capitol Farewell” in his own words. This excerpt focuses on soldiers leaving home. 

            “In this new painting, a young couple says good-bye, perhaps for the last time. Scenes of this sort took place thousands of times, all over the country, in both the North and the South. I have attempted to capture the drama of those moments and to show the difficulties of the soldier’s life.”

            An iron fence that was on the Capitol grounds at the time appears in “Capitol Farewell.” The fence was moved in 1899 to the Raleigh City Cemetery, where it stands today.

            “Capitol Farewell” is one of two paintings Künstler has created of the North Carolina State Capitol as it appeared on Feb. 5, 1863. The first such painting is “Winter Riders” (1995).

            “It is wonderful that Mr. Künstler has chosen to do a second painting of our beautiful State Capitol Building,” says Museum Shop Manager Lynn Brower. “Those who missed getting a print of ‘Winter Riders’ years ago will have an opportunity to purchase ‘Capitol Farewell.’ Of course, anyone who collects Künstler’s work will welcome the chance to add this new print to their collection.”

            Call the Museum Shop to reserve your “Capitol Farewell” print today!

For more information about the Museum of History, call 919-807-7900 or access ncmuseumofhistory.org or Facebook.

# # #

IMAGE

File Capitol Farewell: The painting “Capitol Farewell” will be unveiled especially for the exhibit For Us the Living: The Civil War Art of Mort Künstler, opening Aug. 23 at the N.C. Museum of History. The North Carolina State Capitol is prominent in this winter scene

About the N.C. Museum of History

The museum is located at 5 E. Edenton Street, across from the State Capitol. Parking is available in the lot across Wilmington Street. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The Museum of History, within the Division of State History Museums, is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

On the road

My journey continues this week. Please come on out and let's chat a spell if you are in the area. Everyone is welcomed at any of these events!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 - Johnson City, TN - SCV Camp - they meet at the Empire China Buffett on Roan Street at 6:00 pm.

Thursday, July 11, 2013 - Morganton, NC - Burke County Museum of History - 6:30 pm. This is a round table discussion.

Saturday, July 12, 2013 - Fayetteville, NC - Museum of the Cape Fear Complex - 1:00 pm. I be talking about Charlotte and Fayetteville, and taking your questions.

Writing about Gettysburg

Well, today's the day... the 150th anniversary of the conclusion of the battle of Gettysburg. I'll be the first to admit it: Gettysburg is not my favorite. Of course, confessing that one likes any site where thousands of men were killed and wounded might sound a little odd. But as battlefields go, Gettysburg is not a very high on my list. It probably has something to do with the air-brushed t-shirts and the ghost tours on every street corner. Just a few short miles down the road is my favorite: Antietam. But that is another post.

Yesterday, I was thinking on my own connections to the battle. No, I do not have any direct ancestors who fought in the battle (just a slew of cousins). My own ancestors (save one who wound up in the 11th Florida) were all in the Army of Tennessee, or the western theater, getting ready to get surrendered tomorrow at Vicksburg. My connections come from writing about the battle. My first published piece was on Col. Collett Leventhorpe, 11th North Carolina Troops, who was wounded on July 1 fighting the Iron brigade. That article appeared in North and South Magazine in 1997.The next time I had a published piece on Gettysburg was the chapter in the book on the 37th North Carolina Troops. That was released in 2003.

The chapter on Gettysburg in the 37th NCT book was the first chapter that I wrote. The publisher wanted to see a sample chapter, and I chose the July 1863 battle for that chapter. I'm not sure I remember why. It might have had something to do with the primary sources I had collected at the time, or maybe something to do with the wealth of secondary sources, but it was the first chapter that I wrote for the book, and it landed me a contract.

I then set out on a set of articles about North Carolina for Gettysburg Magazine. There are still others that I would like to write, I've just not gotten around to them yet.

In 2011, I returned to the battle - adding my own name to the seemingly countless others who have penned a book about the battle. In the course of my research over the past fifteen years, I have collected almost four score articles written by Tar Heel soldiers about the battle. These were lightly edited and put into a volume entitled ­North Carolina Remembers Gettysburg. I greatly enjoy this volume - it is like standing on the battlefield and listening to the soldiers themselves telling me about their time they spent on those rolling Pennsylvania hills.

So what is in store? As I said before, I still have an article or two I would like to write about the battle, and, with the recent contract with Savas-Beatie for a book on the Branch-Lane brigade, I will be returning to visit with some new friends. Who knows? Maybe I will write the Gettysburg chapter first.