I am about to slip my cowboy boots on for the first time this semester. It's the start of my 25th year at the university. “Boots on!” is a rallying cry for my mojo, which comes from these boots. The click of their heels on the tile floors of the classrooms and hallways gives me power and sets the rhythm—a rhythm slow as honey. They make me mosey, which helps me better soak in the world and see the stories around me.

That’s the point I made to my students on day one: notice the world around you. That’s where the stories are. I’ll spend the semester teaching them writing, with a lot of focus on fundamentals and mechanics, but really, all that work is just in service to the larger task of telling stories. 

They might be news stories. They might be sports stories. They might be the story of a company or a product or a person. They might be short stories or novels. In my case, it’s history. “Story” sits at the heart of “history.”

Learning mechanics can be like chewing sawdust. But as any athlete or musician knows, you have to practice the fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. You have to practice your free throws. You have to practice your scales. Everything else you do is based on your mastery of the fundamentals and your ability to use them smartly. As Picasso said, “Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.”

The easiest thing in the world is for a reader to stop reading, so write in a way that makes people want to read. Maybe too many historians forget this, assuming their topic is intrinsically interesting enough to draw a reader in. I think people tell themselves that to excuse the fact that they don’t want to put in the hard work of making prose accessible, readable, and enjoyable. But that’s the thing about writing: it’s meant to be read—so make it readable. “No harm is done to history by making it something someone wants to read,” David McCullough once said—a guiding principle in my own work.

Each of my students will need to find the thing he or she is passionate about writing about. They will have to find their own stories. To do so, they will have to notice the world around them, and the things that fire them up. 

Boots on!

— Chris Mackowski, Ph.D.

Editor-in-Chief

Evan Portman spoke to the Providence Point Retirement community about "Civilian Stories of the Battle of Gettysburg" and delivered his presentation "Victory by Default: The Seven Days Battles" to the Greater Pittsburgh Civil War Round Table this month. 

August saw Emerging Revolutionary War kickoff one of its first "Rev War Revelry" about the build-up to Lexington 1775 with historian and author Alex Cain, followed by a conversation with historian Bert Dunkerly about Moore's Creek, a pivotal battle in North Carolina that also happened in 1775. Both videos are on our YouTube and Facebook channels. 

As August winds down and the calendar flips to September, check out the Emerging Revolutionary War as Rob Orrison and Mark Maloy head to Philadelphia to be on-site and interview of the staff at historic Carpenter's Hall for the 250th anniversary of the First Continental Congress.

If in Virginia, check out Mark Wilcox's talk on Lord Dunmore's War on October 2 for the Williamsburg/Yorktown Revolutionary War Round Table or on November 20 at the Richmond Revolutionary War Round Table when he discusses his book, co-authored by Rob Orrison, on the Battle of Camden. 



As always, check the blog, emergingrevolutionarywar.org to stay up-to-date about what Sunday night programs are upcoming this fall.

Tonya McQuade will be traveling to Missouri and Kansas in early October to promote her book, "A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree of Andrew County Missouri."

Tonya will be giving talks in several cities that played key roles in the war and in her book, including St. Joseph, Savannah, and Centralia, Missouri; and Lawrence, Kansas. On Oct. 3, she will be speaking at the St. Joseph Museum at 10:30 a.m., then later that afternoon at the Andrew County Historical Society in Savannah (time TBD).

In her talks, she will explain why many people believe the Civil War actually started in Missouri, read from some of the 50 Civil War letters included in her book, and share relevant photos, maps, and family trees. In St. Joseph, Savannah, and Lawrence, she will also discuss key events in the "Bleeding Kansas" border wars and "Bloody Andrew" events that played out in these areas. On Oct. 4, she will be speaking at the Book and Bean Bookstore in Centralia at 5 p.m., then the following day, at the Centralia Public Library (time TBD). In those talks, she will include a discussion of the Centralia Massacre and the Battle of Centralia, which will both be marking their 160th anniversary at the end of September. Tonya discovered she had family connections to Centralia on BOTH the Union and Confederate sides and wrote about these connections in earlier ECW posts. Finally, she will (hopefully) be speaking in Lawrence on Oct. 7 (time and location TBD).

Email Tonya at Tmcq1966@gmail.com for more information.

Upon their request, Dwight Hughes submitted an essay on "The Naval Campaign for Memphis, April 13-June 6, 1862" for the Essential Civil War Curriculum, A Project of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech. The essay expands on a previous post (A Most Curious Battle: Memphis, June 6, 1862) to explain in depth the only fleet battle on the rivers.

August was a very active month for Executive Administrator Joshua Frye. Besides experiencing his first Emerging Civil War Symposium, Josh was spent the month traveling and filming for his YouTube channel, History Savior 1941, where he visits battlefields and historical sites across the country to bring to life sites and events to help share history education and preservation efforts. Josh traveled to Petersburg, Henricus Historical Park, Chancellorsville, and many other places of historical interest. In addition, he continues work on his first book which highlights the role of Native Americans in the Civil War.

Emerging Civil War's Tyler McGraw interviews Tim Talbott during the 2024 Emerging Civil War Symposium.

ECW Bookshelf

For a great read this month, check out the latest from the Engaging the Civil War Series: The Lead Mine Men: The Enduring 45th Illinois Volunteer Infantry by Thomas B. Mack.

To destroy Confederate infrastructure, avenge the horrors of slavery, and shorten the war, the 45th Illinois Volunteer Infantry imposed the pillaging of hard-war philosophy upon Confederate lands. This comprehensive and engaging narrative explores the Civil War ordeals and triumphs of the “Lead Mine men” who hailed from eleven counties in northern Illinois. Thomas B. Mack uncovers the history on this unit of resilient midwesterners and how they brought hard-war to the Confederacy in 1862, earlier than other historians have previously suggested. 

During their service the regiment compiled an exceptional record. The 45th fought under General Ulysses S. Grant in the war’s western theater, earning honors at Vicksburg and in Tennessee. The men later reenlisted as veterans and served in General William T. Sherman’s Atlanta, Savannah, and Carolina campaigns. Mack considers the soldiers’ community, discipline, and faith in Providence during their service in the Union Army of the Tennessee and how, despite the unit’s high casualties, they upheld the lowest rate of desertion due to their fervent patriotism.

Throughout The Lead Mine Men, Mack’s focus remains on the soldiers—their extensive training in Galena and Chicago and their time in camp and in combat. He follows their experiences from recruitment to their celebratory march in the 1865 Grand Review to their postwar lives in which many struggled to adjust, receive their government pensions, and protect the unit’s legacy. In this book, Mack broadens our understanding of the Union soldiers who saved their republic and ended slavery within its borders. 

Thomas B. Mack taught for several years at Dallas College at El Centro. His research focus is the Civil War soldier, whether Union or Confederate, and he explores soldiers’ collective wartime and postwar experiences though writing modern regimental studies. 

The Lead Mine Men: The Enduring 45th Illinois Volunteer Infantry is now available for purchase from Southern Illinois University Press.

Shrouded Veterans

Brigadier General Robert Coleman Foster III was one of the three generals of the Provisional Army of Tennessee who were snubbed by Confederate President Jefferson Davis early in the war. Davis neglected to appoint them as brigadier generals in the Confederate States Army.

You can learn more about Foster and how a veteran headstone was eventually added to his grave here: https://emergingcivilwar.com/2024/07/28/shrouded-veterans-tennessee-general-snubbed-by-jefferson-davis/

September

5: Tim Talbott, “We Fight For Our Rights, Liberty, Justice and Union: The Battle of New Market Heights, September 29, 1864,” Libbie Mill Library, Richmond, VA

9: Dave Powell, “The Atlanta Campaign,” Ann Arbor Civil War Round Table, Ann Arbor MI 

9: Dwight Hughes, “Unlike Anything That Ever Floated: The USS Monitor and the Battle of Hampton Roads,” Rock Valley Civil War Roundtable, Rockford, IL

9: Phillip Greenwalt, “A Confederate Southwest Empire: The New Mexico Campaign of 1862,” Atlanta CWRT

10: Chris Mackowski, “A Tempest of Iron and Lead: Spotsylvania Court House,” First Defenders Civil War Roundtable, Reading, PA

10: Kevin Pawlak, “John Brown’s Raid,” Southern Maryland CWRT, La Plata, MD

13: Chris Mackowski, “Missed Opportunities of the North Anna,” Louisville (KY) Civil War Roundtable

19: Jon-Erik Gilot, “Dangerfield Newby’s Fight for Freedom,” Southeastern Ohio CWRT, Cambridge, OH

25: Chris Mackowski, “The ANV’s B-Team: Robert E. Lee’s Second String during the Overland Campaign,” Buffalo (NY) Civil War Roundtable

27-28: Dave Powell, Savas Beatie Author Meet-up, Fredericksburg, VA

28: Evan Portman, “The Germans of XI Corps at Gettysburg,” Civil War Symposium, Carroll County Community College, MD

28: Phillip Greenwalt, “Regional Impacts of the Civil War,” Civil War Symposium, Caroll County Community College, MD

28: Tim Talbott, “Making a More Perfect Union: Life Stories of USCT Soldiers Who Fought at New Market Heights,” Varina Library

28-29: Tim Talbott, “The Battle of New Market Heights: A Walking Tour,” Four Mile Creek Park, Varina, VA

October

4–6: Chris Mackowski, Art of Command Conference, Middleburg, VA

7: Chris Mackowski, Atlanta (GA) Civil War Roundtable, Atlanta, GA

8: Cecily Zander, Fort Worth Civil War Roundtable, Fort Worth, TX

10: Jon-Erik Gilot, Jenkins’s 1862 & 1863 Trans-Allegheny Raids, Harpers Ferry CWRT, Harpers Ferry, WV

12: Dave Powell, “The Atlanta Campaign,” Kenosha Civil War Museum, Kenosha WI

13: Chris Mackowski, Civil War Roundtable of Central Louisiana, “A Series of Civil War Scribblings: The ECW Series” and “Grant @ 200” (virtual)

13: Kevin Pawlak, “John Brown’s Raid,” Lovettsville Historical Society, Lovettsville, VA

14: Jon-Erik Gilot, “Dangerfield Newby’s Fight for Freedom,” Mahoning Valley CWRT, Canfield, OH 

14: Chris Mackowski, “Moments of Contingency and the Rise of Grant,” Rappahannock Valley Civil War Roundtable, Fredericksburg, VA

15: Jon-Erik Gilot, “John Brown’s Raid,” Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling, WV

16: Jon-Erik Gilot, “John Brown’s Raid,” Western Pennsylvania CWRT, Sewickley, PA

16: Derek Maxfield, “Man of Fire,” Miami (FL) Civil War Roundtable (virtual)