Civil War Day
I finally got my copies today of the second edition of The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson. Sharp-looking book!
After getting the boxes, I immediately drove to Jackson's school and had him called out of class, and I gave him the first copy. He had a rough time with all the time and attention I had to devote to books in the last month and a half, so it was my way of trying to say thank you. He was pleased and proud, and a little melancholy, too, I think. But we sat in the lobby of the school together and he put his head on my shoulder--twice--which is as close to a hug as he could come in school. It was really an experience that meant a lot to me.
From there, I drove to Lancaster, NY, to speak to the Civil War Roundtable of Buffalo. They expected about 40 people but they got about three times that many. Standing room only. It was packed.
My topic was Richard Ewell on the first day of Gettysburg. I was a little wary of the talk at first because it's not a topic I've spoken on before. Since the Civil War Times article I wrote about it a couple years ago, I've not had much other opportunity to revisit the story. As a result, I had to prep for it, which required time or energy I didn't really have. I managed to pull something together, and the more I went over stuff in the car on the way north, the more I realized that I knew more about the story than I gave myself credit for. Indeed, I probably could have gone longer with the material I had. I managed to pull together a coherent narrative, and I got a very, very positive reaction at the end, so I was pretty pleased. It was fun to talk about something different to such an appreciative crowd. (The Buffalo News sent someone, too.)
After getting the boxes, I immediately drove to Jackson's school and had him called out of class, and I gave him the first copy. He had a rough time with all the time and attention I had to devote to books in the last month and a half, so it was my way of trying to say thank you. He was pleased and proud, and a little melancholy, too, I think. But we sat in the lobby of the school together and he put his head on my shoulder--twice--which is as close to a hug as he could come in school. It was really an experience that meant a lot to me.
From there, I drove to Lancaster, NY, to speak to the Civil War Roundtable of Buffalo. They expected about 40 people but they got about three times that many. Standing room only. It was packed.
My topic was Richard Ewell on the first day of Gettysburg. I was a little wary of the talk at first because it's not a topic I've spoken on before. Since the Civil War Times article I wrote about it a couple years ago, I've not had much other opportunity to revisit the story. As a result, I had to prep for it, which required time or energy I didn't really have. I managed to pull something together, and the more I went over stuff in the car on the way north, the more I realized that I knew more about the story than I gave myself credit for. Indeed, I probably could have gone longer with the material I had. I managed to pull together a coherent narrative, and I got a very, very positive reaction at the end, so I was pretty pleased. It was fun to talk about something different to such an appreciative crowd. (The Buffalo News sent someone, too.)