I don't know if this is because of the Trayvon Martin case or it's just one of those cyclical things, but I've noticed another rise in Internet comment chatter about the Civil War and whether or not the South seceded because of slavery or "states' rights". I've always been of the opinion that it was primarily over slavery and the South's slave ( Read more... )

This is a condensed version of a story I just read in a new book called Confederate Outlaw: Champ Ferguson and the Civil War in Appalachia, by Brian D. McKnight ( Read more... )

My original plan for this weekend, which fell apart nearly at the last moment, was to head to Northern Virginia to (among other things) watch a massive reenactment of the First Battle of Bull Run commemorating the battle's 150th anniversary, complete with several thousand reenactors, one of whom is my friend Allen. That didn't happen, so instead I ( Read more... )

Last night I made an impromptu visit to my Aunt Isabel. We got to talking about family history, as we often do, and in the course of rummaging for things I discovered my great-grandmother's Bible--and inside that I discovered a treasure trove of photographs and other family-related documents. One real treasure was a 100-year-old portrait of my ( Read more... )

On the western edge of the New Market Battlefield is a wooded drop-off that plunges to the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. I was especially interested to see this, and the surrounding countryside, as two of the three families in Shenandoah live just upriver from this point. At first I was a little concerned that we got to the battlefield so ( Read more... )

Yesterday my friend Allen (a Civil War buff) and I drove up to the Shenandoah Valley so I could do a boots-on-the-ground research trip to the New Market Battlefield (roughly in the Valley's center) for Shenandoah. The battle that took place there on May 15, 1864 became notable for two reasons: one, one of the Confederate groups thrown into the ( Read more... )

PROGRESS REPORT FOR 12/22/08

New Words: 950 on chapter 6 ("The Defenders, 1860") of Shenandoah. Most of the soldiers of the First Virginia Brigade are still at that early point where they think war is all romance, glory, and chivalry.

Total Words: 175200.

Reason For Stopping: Research break.

Book Year: 1861.

Tyop Du Jour: Civil Warm.

( Read more... )

PROGRESS REPORT FOR 12/19-21/08

New Words: 3600 (500/1600/1500) on chapter 6 ("The Defenders, 1860") of Shenandoah. Fort Sumter fired upon! Lincoln calls for 75,000 troops! Virginia about-faces to secession! The militia mobilizes! War! And one of my Confederate characters is about to talk his way into taking over the federal arsenal at Harper's ( Read more... )

When I started doing serious research for Shenandoah again I naturally started with books I either already owned, that I was familiar with, and that were common in this area. Many of these books are old--as in late 19th century through the 1920's--but are still popular enough that they get reprinted every few years or so ( Read more... )

...is the nifty stuff you learn. This entry is primarily for fans of early- to mid-19th century American history.

My next chapter in Shenandoah will focus mainly on a fellow named Jordan Cooper who is a plantation-owning abolitionist. I'd had the storyline of this chapter worked out in my head for a long while now...or thought I did...but I then ( Read more... )