A native son of Virginia, born in Richmond “right in the shadow of Jeb Stuart,” Art Taylor was drawn to Confederate lore from an early age. “The Seven Days’ Battle culminated at my ancestor Watt’s house, with third grandmother Sally Watt being carried out as battle began,” he says. A former V-Dot employee, he’s a … Read more
A few days before Mike Movius sat down to talk with the BGES Blog, he had cataracts surgery. The prognosis? The procedure was a success, and he is on his way to a full recovery. Movius speaks with similar optimism when it comes to the CWRT Congress and Civil War roundtables. But there is a … Read more
The Civil War wasn’t just a man’s war. For the first time in American history, women played a significant role in the wartime effort. Women took on jobs beyond their society-mandated ones inside the home, including spy, nurse, and soldier. Clara Barton once claimed that the four-year war advanced the social position of women by … Read more
AMAZING CIVIL WAR BOOK COLLECTION. Sadly a Civil War buff out West recently passed away, and his widow wants to give his Civil War book collection to other buffs to give them the same pleasure, access, and joy that he experienced in studying the Civil War. The gift has run into a few snags, and … Read more
Congress at War: How Republican Reformers Fought the Civil War, Defied Lincoln, Ended Slavery, and Remade America, by Fergus M. Bordewich (Knopf, February 2020) I love to read and always have two or three books in progress at any given time. Eventually, one book will win out and will get all the attention until it is … Read more
In the annals of classic military confrontations, the Overland Campaign stands out as a clash of the titans. And it was for sure, as Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee matched wits for the first time in a grueling six-week battle for precious Virginia territory. But as BGES member and noted historian Gordon Rhea … Read more
Tour: Texas Two Step Dates: February 7–17, 2020 Tour Leader: Neil Mangum See below for an update and photos of the successful Fort Clinch symposium in January 2020. As my field opportunities will be more limited, I get the luxury of deciding which programs I will support, and a trip to Houston and San Antonio … Read more
A picture is worth a thousand words, so the saying goes. If that’s the case, then the General Samuel C. Lawrence’s Civil War Photo Collection has a lot to say. This vast collection of beautifully preserved large-format battle site landscapes, carte-de-visite studio portraits, and “half stereographs” (unmounted and cut into two images) was donated to … Read more
Charleen Lambert was a member of the Blue and Gray Education Society for more than 20 years before she passed away in early 2019 at the age of 83. I am raising her profile because she never received the accolades she deserved for all she did for the preservation community and the BGES. I met … Read more
The Civil War drama unfolded on a political front at the White House in Washington, D.C., where Lincoln ran the war. This walking tour in the White House neighborhood showcases sights related to life at the White House as Lincoln experienced it. Just don’t go knocking on the White House door without an invitation! See … Read more