Neil Chatelain just finished a spring break of edits for an upcoming book project and exploring the mouth of the Mississippi River by boat.

Joshua Frye is making the best of his time in Atlanta while his niece rehabs by spending some time researching the Atlanta Campaign and shooting films for his YouTube channel. He recently visited the site of the battles of Peachtree Creek and Kennesaw Mountain and the site of the Atlanta Surrender. He plans on making his way to many almost-forgotten sites during his time in Georgia.

Dwight Hughes is busy cleaning up the gardens, planting annuals, and re-sodding the lawns--and therefore getting little writing done. It's spring, after all.

The Scottsdale (AZ) Civil War Roundtable recognized Chris Mackowski with its 2025 Ed Bearss Memorial Award for public history.

Tonya McQuade ended March with the South Bay Civil War Round Table in San Jose where she presented "Paddy's Lament and the Irish Brigade." She was thrilled that six women were in the room, instead of only two!

Check out her presentation here.

This month, Evan Portman appeared as a guest on our very own Joe Ricci's podcast Home Brew History, which he hosts alongside Bo Trisler. Evan talked about the armies after Gettysburg and the leadership of Meade and Lee in the aftermath of battle. Joe and Bo also hosted Chris Mackowski for a talk about Chris's book A Tempest of Iron and Lead: Spotsylvania Court House.

At the end of March, Darren Rawlings finally ticked something off his bucket list by visiting the beautiful city of Krakow, Poland. The main reason for his visit was to go to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It's important to note that the camp is not located in Krakow itself; it’s in a small town west of the city called Oświęcim, which is about an hour and a half away by bus. The bus fare and entrance to both camps are very affordable. 

There are two camps to visit: Auschwitz which is referred to as the museum, is where it all began not long after the Nazis invaded and occupied Poland. However, it was too small, so the second camp, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, was created a few miles away. This larger camp is infamous for the trains that brought many unfortunate souls, as seen in most of the photos we recognize. Both camps are incredibly powerful places to visit and will truly make you think, putting things into perspective. He highly recommends this experience. 

As for the city of Krakow, it’s only two hours from the UK and very affordable for a return flight. Krakow has a rich history and plenty of amazing things to see and do. His trip was short, so he didn’t get to explore much, but as Darren's good friend Gina Denham once said, “to be continued.” One last thing—CHEERS!

Cecily Zander wrote a piece about Thaddeus Stevens and the Power of the Purse for History News Network. You can find the article here. In addition, she also appeared on an episode of American History Hit, discussing the Confederacy's chances to win the Civil War. To watch the episode, click here.

Shrouded Veterans

by Frank Jasztrembski

In 1873, a destitute ex-Civil War cavalry lieutenant living in London plagiarized Mark Twain's work — and the prolific author unknowingly aided him.

To read more about the ex-Civil War cavalry lieutenant, check out the latest Shrouded Veterans here.

April

1: Bert Dunkerly, “Myths of Cold Harbor,” Civil War Discussion Group, St Augustine, FL

3: Brian Kowell, “John Barleycorn in the Civil War: Alcohol in the Blue and Gray,” North Fort Myers CWRT

4: Chris Mackowski, “Grant’s Last Battle,” Harrisburg (PA) Civil War Roundtable

4: Ryan Quint, “Battle of Monocacy,” Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation’s Conference

4: Jon-Erik Gilot, “Hunter’s Retreat from Lynchburg,” Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation Conference, Winchester (VA)

4: Neil P. Chatelain, “The People’s Civil War: Five Individuals in the Conflict,” Lone Star College North Harris Civil War History Conference, Houston, TX

8: Bert Dunkerly, “Myths of Cold Harbor,” Charlottesville Civil War Round Table

9: Bert Dunkerly, “The Final Bivouac,” Civil War Talk

7: Dave Powell, “The Atlanta Campaign,” Atlanta (GA) Civil War Round Table 

9: Kevin Pawlak, “Mosby’s Rangers at the End of the Civil War,” Harpers Ferry CWRT

10: Derek Maxfield, Puget Sound CWRT, Seattle, WA

10: Chris Mackowski, “The Surrenders of the Confederacy,” American Civil War Museum at Appomattox (VA)

12: Daniel Welch, “Never Such A Campaign: The Effects of the Second Manassas Campaign on the Battle of Antietam,” Antietam Institute

12: Kevin Pawlak: “In the Wake of Antietam: The 1862 Loudoun Valley Campaign,” Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Museum Civil War Symposium, Carnegie, PA

12: Chris Mackowski, “Stonewall Jackson and the Surrender of Harpers Ferry,” Antietam Institute Spring Symposium

23: Kevin Pawlak, “Battle of Bristoe Station,” Fredericksburg CWRT

24: Jon-Erik Gilot, “John Brown’s Raid,” Whitehall Historical Society, Pittsburgh, PA

26: Chris Mackowski, “Grant’s Last Battle,” McCormick Civil War Institute Symposium, Shenandoah University

29: Bert Dunkerly, “Surrenders of the Civil War,” Henrico County Gayton Library (VA)

May

2: Dave Powell, Northern Illinois Civil War Round Table, Arlington Heights IL

5: Daniel Welch, “Never Such A Campaign: The Second Manassas Campaign,” Atlanta Civil War Round Table

5: Brian Kowell, “The Magnificent Seven: Pook’s Turtles in the Civil War,” Quincey Gilmore Civil War Round Table, Lorain Community College, Lorain, OH

6: Tyler McGraw, “James Robinson & Manassas,” Heritage Hunt Community Center, Gainesville, VA

10: Evan Portman, “Civilian Stories of the Battle of Gettysburg,” Armstrong County Historical Society, Kittanning, PA

13: Derek Maxfield, NE Cleveland CWRT, Cleveland, OH, 7:00 pm

13: Kevin Pawlak, “Battles of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville,” Cumberland Valley (PA) CWRT

14: Bert Dunkerly, “The Revolution in Virginia,” Colonial Heights Historical Society (VA)

15: Derek Maxfield, Cincinnati CWRT, Cincinnati, OH, 7:00 pm

15: Bert Dunkerly, “The Greensboro Surrender,” Hershey Civil War Round Table, Hershey, PA

19: Jon-Erik Gilot, “Hunter’s Retreat from Lynchburg,” Greater Pittsburgh CWRT, Pittsburgh, PA

20: Sean Chick, “Shiloh,” Mobile Area Civil War Round Table, Mobile, AL

21: Kevin C. Donovan, “The Court Martial of Fitz John Porter: Fair or Fixed?”, York CWRT, York, PA

21: Evan Portman, “The Old Man and His War Horse: Robert E. Lee and James Longstreet,” Western Pennsylvania CWRT, Sewickley, PA

22: Kevin Pawlak, "Never Such a Campaign,” Gettysburg CWRT