University of Nebraska Press to Publish Gettysburg Magazine

Gettysburg Magazine #47
July 2012

The University of Nebraska Press will be the new publisher of Gettysburg Magazine. Would you like to work for them? They are hiring an editor.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this. I have hopes. Being now an academic journal I hope they keep the same no advertising policy as before. As long as they can keep on a regular schedule I am sure that many folks will be happy. My fear is that the cost will be raised and more in line with other academic journals.

Another thought: Does anybody have an idea what will become of the back issues and will Gatehouse Press continue to sell the bound volumes? I guess I need to look into picking those up in the near future.

History Press New Releases

Thanks to my good friends at The History Press for sending along copies of a couple of their new releases.

First up from prolific author Michael C. Hardy is Watauga County, North Carolina in the Civil War.

From the publisher: Some say that Watauga County's name comes from a word meaning "beautiful waters," yet during the Civil War, events in this rugged western North Carolina region were far from beautiful. Hundreds of the county's sons left to fight gloriously for the Confederacy. This left the area open to hordes of plundering rogues from East Tennessee, including George W. Kirk's notorious band of thieves. While no large-scale battles took place there, Boone was the scene of the beginning of Stoneman's 1865 raid. The infamous Keith and Malinda Blalock called Watauga County home, leading escaped POWs and dissidents from Blowing Rock to Banner Elk. The four brutal years of conflict, followed by the more brutal Reconstruction, changed the county forever. Join Civil War historian Michael C. Hardy as he reveals Watauga County's Civil War sacrifices and heroism, both on and off the battlefield.

 

Mike Bunn is the executive director of the Historic Chattahoochee Commission and the author of Civil War Eufaula  

From the publisher: Told here for the first time is the compelling story of the Bluff City during the Civil War. Historian and preservationist Mike Bunn takes you from the pivotal role Eufaula played in Alabama's secession and early enthusiasm for the Confederate cause to its aborted attempt to become the state's capital and its ultimate capture by Union forces, chronicling the effects of the conflict on Eufaulans along the way. Civil War Eufaula draws on a wide range of firsthand individual perspectives, including those of husbands and wives, political leaders, businessmen, journalists, soldiers, students and slaves, to produce a mosaic of observations on shared experiences. Together, they communicate what it was like to live in this riverside trading town during a prolonged and cataclysmic war. It is the story of ordinary people in extraordinary times

 

Press Release--The Dreaded Thirteenth Tennessee Union Cavalry

The History Press is pleased to introduce the new title:

The Dreaded Thirteenth Tennessee Union Cavalry

Marauding Mountain Men

 

Melanie Storie

  

Tennessee’s Thirteenth Union Cavalry was a unit composed mostly of amateur soldiers that eventually turned undisciplined boys into seasoned fighters. At the outbreak of the Civil War, East Tennessee was torn between its Unionist tendencies and the surrounding Confederacy. The result was the persecution of the “home Yankees” by Confederate sympathizers. Rather than quelling Unionist fervor, this oppression helped East Tennessee contribute an estimated thirty thousand troops to the North. Some of those troops joined the “Loyal Thirteenth” in Stoneman’s raid and in pursuit of Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Join author Melanie Storie as she recounts the harrowing narrative of an often-overlooked piece of Civil War history.

 

A scholar and teacher of American history for more than twenty years, Melanie Storie is a graduate of East Tennessee State University. In 1991, she earned her master’s of arts degree in history, and for the past ten years, she has had the pleasure of teaching for her alma mater. In addition to teaching survey courses in U.S. history, she has also taught Tennessee history and women’s history. While she enjoys researching, writing and teaching about many historical topics, her main research interest centers on nineteenth-century U.S. history, with a special emphasis on the American Civil War. She lives in Elizabethton, Tennessee, with her husband and two children.

 

ISBN: 978-1-62619-112-9  •  Paperback   •   160 pages   •   $21.99  •  October 2013

 

This new book is available at local stores and online at www.historypress.net

It retails as an E-BOOK via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the iBookstore, Kobo & OverDrive.

 

 

Book Review--Hidden History of Civil War Tennessee

Jones, James B. Jr. Hidden History of Civil War Tennessee. Charleston, The History Press, 2013. 126 pages, 100 pages of text, notes, bibliography, b/w photos, ISBN 9781609498993, $19.99.

Tennessee has an interesting history in the Civil War with the state being pretty well divided between Union and Confederate. Tennessee's Civil War Battlefields: A Guide to Their History and Preservation appears to adequately cover the battlefield portion of the war but other areas still need wider coverage as the role of the state continues to be under appreciated.

 Author James B. Jones, a public historian with the state of Tennessee, has put together an interesting little book dealing with lesser aspects of the war and the state. The chapters of the book appear to be either magazine articles or reworkings of prior articles based upon the "author's note."

The chapters include (not the exact chapter names): safety and vigilance committees in west and middle Tennessee 1860-1862, the battle against prostitution and V.D. in Nashville and Memphis, public health in middle Tennessee, Colonel John M. Hughes and the 25th TN Infantry, Negley's Raid May 31-June 9, 1862 and William T. Sherman and the occupation of Memphis.

In any book like this there will be portions that appeal to readers more than others. For me, I found the chapters dealing with health issues to be the most interesting. It is interesting to read that while the U.S. Army was responsible for much of the disease and pestilence that ran through Nashville they did work to correct the issues. Of course, they tried to fix things due to soldiers being stationed there not in order to protect the civilian population. Prostitution was a problem for officers to try and contain and when it could not be controlled in Nashville the army attempted to eradicate it by shipping the women away. Nobody would accept them however and when the ship returned to port the easiest thing to do was license the women.

A large collection of end-notes documents the chapters allowing those wanting more information an excellent starting point. A small bibliography is included but Jones suggests readers check the Tennessee Civil War Sourcebook for a more complete listing of resources (it is very large I promise).

For those with family history in Tennessee such as myself or those interested in smaller pieces of war history this is a book you will possibly want to take a look at. If you are searching for an in-depth work dealing with the state or perhaps on a certain regiment you would be advised to look elsewhere. That's not what this book is about. While not as thoroughly illustrated as many books from the History Press the text reads well and is overall worthy of consideration.

Thanks to The History Press for sending a complimentary copy.

Press Release--New World War II and John F. Kennedy DVD and Blu Ray Collections to Be Released

WWII 3-Film Collection

Arrives On Blu-ray Disc and DVD October 22

 

 

Viewers will find themselves on the front lines of key battles from the most widespread war in history when the WW II: 3-Film Collection arrives on Blu-ray Disc and DVD October 22 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The immersive 4-disc Blu-ray set and 5-disc DVD set offers fans the chance to own three of HISTORY’s^® most celebrated and visually stunning specials for the suggested retail price of $29.99 on Blu-ray Disc and DVD $24.98, respectively.

The WW II: 3-Film Collection from HISTORY^® offers viewers the chance to deconstruct the deadliest conflict in human history from three separate perspectives. The remarkable set features three critically acclaimed programs including WWII in HD, WWII in HD: The Air War and WWII from Space, offering an amazing look at one of the most talked about time periods in history from an all-new perspective.

 

The JFK Collection

Arrives On 3-Disc DVD Set October 22

HISTORY^® presents The JFK Collection, an impressive 3-disc DVD set exploring one of America’s most legendary families available on October 22 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Chronicling the life and legacy of our nation’s 35^th President John F. Kennedy, the 8-film collection arrives just in time for the 50^th anniversary of one of the most talked about moments in American history. Featuring hours of content celebrating his iconic life, The JFK Collection 3-disc DVD set will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.98.

Go inside the life of John F. Kennedy, a reckless rich kid who lived on the edge and became a WWII hero and a president who challenged the nation as it had never been before. This comprehensive family portrait also includes hour-long biographies of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Joseph P. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Ted Kennedy.

 

Press Release--Explosion on the Potomac

Explosion on the Potomac  

The 1844 Calamity Aboard the USS Princeton

Kerry Walters

In 1844, the USS Princeton was the most technologically sophisticated warship in the world. Its captain, Robert Stockton, and President John Tyler were both zealous expansionists, and they hoped that it would be the forerunner in a formidable steam-powered fleet. On a Potomac cruise intended to impress power brokers, the ship’s main gun—the Peacemaker—exploded as the vessel neared Mount Vernon. Eight died horribly, while twenty others were injured. Two of Tyler’s most important cabinet members were instantly lost, and the president himself had a near miss—making it the worst physical disaster to befall a presidential administration. The tragedy set off an unpredictable wave of events that cost Tyler a second term, nearly scuttled plans to add Texas to the Union and stirred up sectional rancor that drove the nation closer to civil war. Author Kerry Walters chronicles this little-known disaster that altered the course of the nation’s history.

An award-winning author and editor of thirty books, Kerry Walters has been a professor at Gettysburg College for over a quarter century.

ISBN: 978-1-62619-197-6 •  Paperback   •   128 pages   •   $19.99  •  September 27, 2013

Early Issues of Battlefield Photographer Available for Download

This may not be new but I just found out about it. The Center for Civil War Photography has added downloadable PDF copies of Battlefield Photographer to their website. These are the issues from 2003-2010. Click here to be taken to the appropriate page. This is a great newsletter and I am really glad that I joined the CCWP. I highly recommend checking these out.