tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44877826247833335902024-03-19T00:25:27.013-04:00Our Country's Fiery OrdealDan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.comBlogger222125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-13586687427856981652016-02-03T15:51:00.000-05:002016-02-03T16:07:00.088-05:00James Garfield and Hillsdale College<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For those who have visited this blog before, you might know
that I am a proud alumnus of Hillsdale College, a small school in
Michigan with a rich history and tradition of a classic liberal arts education.
Hillsdale has a strong connection with the Civil War in its history, as well.
During the 1860s, the campus was host to prominent abolitionists and speakers
such as Frederick Douglass and Edward Everett. During the war itself, there
were many Hillsdale students who left Michigan behind to don the Federal blue
and fight to preserve the Union. Hillsdale’s connections to the Civil War go
beyond those who spoke on campus and the students who fought in it, however. As
it turns out, Hillsdale is connected to one of the five Civil War veterans who
went on to become president: James A. Garfield.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In his early days, James Garfield did not have a discernible
direction to his life. Born in a log cabin in the old Western Reserve of Northeast Ohio in 1831, Garfield did
not live in a world of privilege. His father died when he was two, and his
mother Eliza struggled to raise her young family. It may be said that
Garfield’s upbringing was among the most difficult of any president other than
Abraham Lincoln. Despite these difficult times, Garfield developed a love of
reading. The pages of a book could take him away from his meager home life and transport him into new worlds. Through books, he developed
the desire to become a sailor, a job which he believed would lead to a life of
adventure. At the age of sixteen, he left his home and went to Cleveland
looking for a job on one of the ships traveling the Great Lakes. Unsuccessful
in Cleveland, Garfield instead found a job on the canal boat <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Evening Star</i>, where he worked for about
six weeks in the late summer and early fall of 1848. After falling into the
canal repeatedly and becoming ill, James returned home to his mother. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Upon coming home, Garfield was ill and unsure of what his
next step would be. Though he still wanted to return to his work on the canal,
his mother desperately wanted a better life for her son. She pleaded with James
to get an education, believing that schooling was the best path toward a better
life. Eliza’s efforts to convince James to go to school were aided by the
presence and influence of a young teacher at a nearby school in Geauga County.
Reverend Samuel D. Bates was just three years older than James, but he had been
one of the first students at the Geauga Seminary in Chester, Ohio. The school
had been founded by Free-Will Baptists in the early 1840s. The original charter
for the school from the Ohio Legislature was rejected by its founders because
it restricted the school from admitting any students of color, which was
contrary to the abolitionist principles of the Free-Will Baptists who founded
the school. The founders initially named the school the “Western Reserve
Seminary,” only to later rename it “Geauga Seminary” because of its location in
Geauga County. The school opened in 1842 in a church in Chester, Ohio, where students
met while other buildings were under construction. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to Garfield biographer Allan Peskin, it was
Bates’s enthusiasm which impacted the young Garfield. While many school
teachers were cold and austere, Bates was warm and engaging. In Bates, Garfield
saw something of himself. Bates was also a native of the old Western Reserve,
and he had used education to pull himself up and make a life for himself. With
the influence of Bates and his mother, Garfield agreed to enroll in the school
and leave his life on the canal behind. To do this, his mother gave him
seventeen dollars, which would cover part of his tuition. For the rest of it,
Garfield would have to work hard, save, and live a spartan existence with
nothing but the bare necessities. Thus, early in 1849, James Garfield became a
student at the Geauga Seminary. There, his path to a better life began.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4487782624783333590#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmp3Bkhn5k8Lp99kb8EDOQ4SW05Qu3uwujo7hKYblfNVY5b4sc3FFD8fE37-pSM20y44l_ppgcjE9aH0e8qFwEaVPyijVn3BtDNlrcgMebWISZaIRb0_D0_APva_BIo-vZ0tVi0uoy0rfj/s1600/Picture11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmp3Bkhn5k8Lp99kb8EDOQ4SW05Qu3uwujo7hKYblfNVY5b4sc3FFD8fE37-pSM20y44l_ppgcjE9aH0e8qFwEaVPyijVn3BtDNlrcgMebWISZaIRb0_D0_APva_BIo-vZ0tVi0uoy0rfj/s320/Picture11.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
James A. Garfield during his days at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Over the next ten years, Garfield applied himself, studying
and working hard to make his way. In 1851, he became a student at the Western
Reserve Eclectic Institute (today Hiram College), a school founded by Disciples
of Christ, Garfield’s own Christian denomination. By 1853, Garfield had become
so proficient in his studies that he began to teach classes to his fellow
students. The following year, he left Ohio altogether and enrolled in Williams
College in Massachusetts, testing into the Junior Class. After graduating from
Williams in 1856, he came back to Hiram, where he resumed his teaching at the
Eclectic Institute. The following year, he became the president of the school.
On top of his duties in Hiram, Garfield became a well-known speaker and
preacher, traveling the circuit and delivering passionate sermons throughout
Northeast Ohio. In 1859, he was elected to the Ohio State Senate as a Republican
in the same week that John Brown led his raid on Harpers Ferry (Brown had lived for several years in Garfield’s Senate District). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9khEJCVQoO-ELP1GwLlaajSThttpyDblveYbGLuHUZPiju4cMbGgN0ngyzpfo_9f_50G1nMGH7N77l8SLFxd_BFZ2d0D_5IS0O43NMt4CWQn4o0fisoXdZp9QED4YUHxV_eeYYoXdjRiC/s1600/06455r+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9khEJCVQoO-ELP1GwLlaajSThttpyDblveYbGLuHUZPiju4cMbGgN0ngyzpfo_9f_50G1nMGH7N77l8SLFxd_BFZ2d0D_5IS0O43NMt4CWQn4o0fisoXdZp9QED4YUHxV_eeYYoXdjRiC/s320/06455r+%25282%2529.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
General Garfield</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two years later, when the Civil War began, Garfield lobbied
Ohio Governor William Dennison for a position in the army, finally securing the
command of the 42<sup>nd</sup> Ohio Volunteer Infantry. By the end of the war,
he had risen to the rank of Major General and had been elected to the House of
Representatives. After seventeen years as a Republican in Congress, Garfield
was elected the 20<sup>th</sup> President of the United States in 1880. While his meteoric rise to the presidency had great promise, his time in office was not long. His
heroic life met a tragic end just months into his term, when he was shot by
Charles Guiteau on July 2, 1881, dying of his wounds several months later.
Today, James Garfield is largely forgotten as an obscure president, with many
only knowing him for his assassination and death despite his fascinating life. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9O0SKdrMDNBrblz4k9QDt35OMfIChPWNI74BIh_cw6_oeD6zFTPacjGKi0iguh7QPx2yGhlDHzTYIwETfS69EBO6zW1TAbzViCamSgryxviZFFgDmSLGPF20qQSJUq-IVTXMGHBNK5Bj0/s1600/02118v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9O0SKdrMDNBrblz4k9QDt35OMfIChPWNI74BIh_cw6_oeD6zFTPacjGKi0iguh7QPx2yGhlDHzTYIwETfS69EBO6zW1TAbzViCamSgryxviZFFgDmSLGPF20qQSJUq-IVTXMGHBNK5Bj0/s320/02118v.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Garfield's assassination in 1881</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And yet, what connection does James Garfield have to
Hillsdale College?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hillsdale College and the Geauga Seminary, where James
Garfield enrolled in 1849, were founded just two years apart. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1844, Free-Will Baptists established the
Michigan Central College in Spring Arbor, Michigan. The school was founded with
the same principles in mind as the Geauga Seminary; it was to admit all
students regardless of race, gender, or religion, making it one of the first
schools in the United States, and the first in Michigan, to do so. By the
mid-1850s, the school moved south to Hillsdale, where it changed its name and
became known as Hillsdale College. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the key figures in Hillsdale’s founding and early
history was Ransom Dunn. A native of Vermont, Dunn became an influential figure
in the Free-Will Baptists as a preacher, theologian, and educator. He taught at
numerous educational institutions during his lifetime, including Hillsdale.
Dunn was instrumental in raising funds for the construction of a new campus in
Hillsdale, including Central Hall, which still stands in the center of
Hillsdale’s campus today. Without Dunn, the school likely would not have
survived through its early years, as well as the tumultuous times of the
American Civil War, when many other schools died out when their students left
for the Union army. Hillsdale sent a higher percentage of students to the army
than any other school in the state of Michigan, surviving the ordeal and
continuing to provide a strong liberal arts education while its students
defended the Union on the battlefields of the South. Four Hillsdale students
won the Medal of Honor during the war, and sixty died during the conflict. Dunn
helped the school to survive these trying years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dunn’s association with Hillsdale College was just one part
of his long and productive life in education. Indeed, he was involved with
schools in other states, including several in Ohio, one of which just so
happened to be the Geauga Seminary. Dunn was on a commission of Free-Will
Baptists that founded the Geauga Seminary, and he taught at the school as well.
Thus, Geauga Seminary and Hillsdale College shared the same principles in their
founding, as well as some of the same professors.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-sGPwQNlLidaO8iowusIYjosHuebInSwkbVM0gkX3hE4e9Vyb4vgjboZLemYEy9sDcRJ0RzkV_Wk0ZwwhPcFzJvRJYAKvBYlILZqeD7rOky-ZWt74zjVFnEne7WgIh7ED0MZ899rNoW9B/s1600/Ransom_Dunn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-sGPwQNlLidaO8iowusIYjosHuebInSwkbVM0gkX3hE4e9Vyb4vgjboZLemYEy9sDcRJ0RzkV_Wk0ZwwhPcFzJvRJYAKvBYlILZqeD7rOky-ZWt74zjVFnEne7WgIh7ED0MZ899rNoW9B/s1600/Ransom_Dunn.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Ransom Dunn, a man critical to the success of Hillsdale College...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
and future President James Garfield</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Indeed, the two schools would end up sharing more than just
professors. According to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Consecrated
Life</i>, an early biography of Ransom Dunn, the establishment of the school in
Hillsdale led to dramatic changes for the Geauga Seminary:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“When Hillsdale
College was established it was thought best to centre the educational work
there, and through the influence of Ransom Dunn and Samuel Philbrick, the funds
and apparatus were turned over to the college, the building sold for a public
school, and the useful work of the [Geauga Seminary] merged into the new and
larger institution.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4487782624783333590#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An essay by John Patterson in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pioneer History of the State of Michigan</i> explores the combining of
the two schools further:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">On motion of Ransom
Dunn, a committee was appointed to negotiate with the authorities of Geauga
Seminary, with a view to consolidating the two schools. This seminary had been
established by the Free-Will Baptist denomination in 1843 at [Chester] Geauga
County, Ohio, and had been the result, to a very large extent, of the labors of
Elder David Marks, who had acted as its financial agent. The trustees of this
institution had rejected the first charter granted to it by the Legislature of
Ohio, for the reason it excluded colored students from the privileges of the
school. It was here that James A. Garfield commenced his studies. He was
persuaded to enter this seminary by Rev. Samuel D. Bates, one of the founders,
and for many years a trustee of Hillsdale College. Here Garfield recited to
Prof. Ransom Dunn and Rev. George E. Ball, then teachers in the seminary, now
of Hillsdale College and here he determined to purse a course of study.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hon. Samuel B.
Philbrick, H.D. Johnson, J.E. Snow, and Daniel Branch were among the founders
and friends of this school. Daniel Branch, Mrs. Daniel Branch, John Beech, Miss
Abigail Curtis, Rev. George E. Ball, D.D., Rev. Ransom Dunn, D.D., Rev. George
T. Day, D.D., Prof. Spencer J. Fowler, A.M., and Rev. C.B. Mills, A.M., were
among the teachers of the school. The last five persons named have been members
of the faculty at Hillsdale.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">After a year of
negotiations, Geauga Seminary was sold, its scholarships redeemed, and the
remaining effects, amounting to two thousand dollars and upwards, were
transferred to Hillsdale College. Elder David L. Rice and Hon. Samuel
Philbrick, of Ohio, rendered great service in procuring this transfer. Geauga
Seminary and Michigan Central College were thus consolidated, and became the
principal organized factors of Hillsdale College.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4487782624783333590#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0l1WopoMSABkweHZCr3zRthPUYUr6eyPgQj60q4FjC9cB8L3KtFSLGaUN15DRjVUuzb14Uk6F5SQ6TiQBWGBOM8lU183lLf_4178xbRDjB2axSkX89MRli-IUDZ6xQ9t-WPgTwywh6jCj/s1600/Hillsdale_College_photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0l1WopoMSABkweHZCr3zRthPUYUr6eyPgQj60q4FjC9cB8L3KtFSLGaUN15DRjVUuzb14Uk6F5SQ6TiQBWGBOM8lU183lLf_4178xbRDjB2axSkX89MRli-IUDZ6xQ9t-WPgTwywh6jCj/s320/Hillsdale_College_photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Hillsdale College in the 1850s</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s right. Geauga Seminary, where future Union general
and 20<sup>th</sup> President of the United States James A. Garfield received
his first truly formal education, was not only founded with the same principles
as those of Hillsdale College and shared some of the same professors and
faculty; the school itself was incorporated into the Michigan Central School,
becoming a part of Hillsdale College in 1854. By this time, Garfield himself
had moved on to other schools. While Garfield had left, the Geauga Seminary’s
influence on him was not over. It was there at that school where Garfield met
young Lucretia Rudolph. Though it would take time before a strong relationship
would develop between the two, James and Lucretia married in 1858. Thus, not
only did Garfield attend school at the Geauga Seminary, but it is also where he
met the future First Lady Lucretia Rudolph.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even more than its influence in introducing Garfield to his future wife, the Geauga Seminary helped to light the fire of education
within the young Garfield. Ransom Dunn was not only instrumental for Hillsdale
College in its early years, but he taught and helped to shape a young James
Garfield in his youth. Dunn was among several others who had an impact on the
future president, teaching him to pursue higher education and truth with a
strong work ethic. Garfield would go on to become one of our nation’s most erudite presidents. He was literate in several languages, well versed in
science and literature, and his oratory was informed and influence by his firm
grasp of the Classics. By the time he was in his mid-twenties, Garfield was
teaching classes at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, becoming the
school’s president in 1857 when he was only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">twenty-six
years old</i>. Surely, his quick rise in academics is due in large part to the
schooling he received when he was young, something which was influenced
dramatically by Ransom Dunn.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And what of Reverend Samuel Bates, the young man who helped
to convince James Garfield to attend the Geauga Seminary? The Reverend Bates
went on to found and preach at several churches and teach at several schools.
Later on, he served as a Trustee at Hillsdale College for fifteen years. Throughout his life, Bates
maintained a close friendship with Garfield, who never forgot the influence
that the Reverend had on him. Without Bates, it is not clear
if Garfield would have enrolled at the Geauga Seminary, dramatically altering
his life story and his rise to prominence. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And yet, the connection between Garfield and Hillsdale
College goes further than this. Just as Garfield always remembered the
influence of the Geauga Seminary, so too did his professors there remember him.
When Garfield died of an assassin’s bullet in 1881, mourning spread across the
United States. Memorials were held in churches, schools, and public venues
throughout the nation. It was no different in Hillsdale, where the connection
between the school and Garfield was not lost on the mourners. A memorial
service was held at the college, and among those who spoke was none other than
Garfield’s former teacher, Ransom Dunn. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 60.5pt;">
Dunn’s daughter, Helen Dunn Gates,
described the difficult days surrounding the president’s death in her biography
of her father, noting the strong connection between the late president and
Hillsdale College:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 60.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 60.5pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">But
with the waning days of summer [Garfield’s] life went out and a nation mourned.
Hillsdale joined with others in memorial services, and none more appropriately;
for, as Dr. Ball said, “if there had been no Geauga Seminary from which to send
out a teacher, S.D. Bates, to teach in Garfield’s school district and urge
James Garfield to go to school, if there had been no Geauga Seminary at Chester
Hill, five miles from his home, to which he could go in his poverty and there
find help and encouragement, there would have been no General Garfield, no
President Garfield. He was one of the early fruits of Free Baptist sacrifice in
the cause of Christian education.’ And Geauga Seminary was now a part of
Hillsdale College, and so it was eminently fitting that Ransom Dunn, who helped
to found both, should speak at the Garfield memorial service. The suggestion
was made by citizens that the remaining one of the group of five buildings be
erected and named ‘Garfield Hall.’ But it is still waiting for some good friend
of Garfield or of the college to give the necessary sum to erect and equip it,
which we trust may soon be done, for the college needs today as much as then
more buildings, better equipment, and larger endowment.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4487782624783333590#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 60.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 60.5pt;">
But for the lack of a financial
backer, Hillsdale College may very well to this day have a “Garfield Hall” on
its campus, in honor of the martyred president whose life was forever changed
by the efforts of Ransom Dunn and other Free-Will Baptists. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 60.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 60.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 60.5pt;">
Without the efforts of Samuel
Bates, Ransom Dunn, and others, James Garfield would never have become the man
he did. These men and others at the Geauga Seminary were key to Garfield’s rise
from the poverty of a log cabin to the battlefields of the Civil War, and from
there, to a life and career in national politics that eventually led him to
become the 20<sup>th</sup> President of the United States. And of course,
Bates, Dunn, and others, would also be so important to the founding, survival, and
success of Hillsdale College. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 60.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 60.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuefTI0wsni2hknhyZ1Faa9hFt-M2vPomuvE-ARX0-MYB5vB89ws8MwSfa4NQrmffociqwEBdgIBJ-gFu2OBjbh-Syz0kxVpGJvz21MzAMnFJMOiwWlxpqGjTF71dRaQ82cHyw2yALd-pJ/s1600/Garfield+Inauguration+LOC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuefTI0wsni2hknhyZ1Faa9hFt-M2vPomuvE-ARX0-MYB5vB89ws8MwSfa4NQrmffociqwEBdgIBJ-gFu2OBjbh-Syz0kxVpGJvz21MzAMnFJMOiwWlxpqGjTF71dRaQ82cHyw2yALd-pJ/s320/Garfield+Inauguration+LOC.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
March 4, 1881. James Garfield is sworn in as the 20th President of the United States</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 60.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I want to thank by good friend and college buddy Pat Maloney
for his help on this research. Having just published my book on Garfield, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">James Garfield and the Civil War: For Ohio
and the Union </i>(Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2015), I was unaware of
this connection until Pat brought it to my attention. While I was familiar with
Hillsdale’s background and founding by the Free-Will Baptists, and with the
story of Ransom Dunn, I did not know about Dunn’s involvement with the Geauga
Seminary until recently. It was only after looking into a source that Pat
passed along that I realized the extent to which Hillsdale’s own Ransom Dunn
and Samuel Bates impacted the life of the young James Garfield. Having grown up
a short distance away from the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in
Mentor, Ohio, I have always felt a close connection with President Garfield,
which led me to write a book on his Civil War career and the impact the war had
on his life and rise to the presidency. Learning about his connections to
Hillsdale only augments my appreciation for and connection to Garfield and his
story.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pat and I are both alumni of Hillsdale College, proud of its
continuing legacy of standing for what is right through the years. From its
initial charter prohibiting any discrimination based on race, gender, or
religion, to its contribution to the Union cause during the Civil War, to its
continued pursuit of a strong liberal arts education rooted in the Judeo-Christian
tradition today, Hillsdale has been a stalwart example of the best of American
education for over 170 years. Its connection to James A. Garfield is yet another noteworthy part of that tradition.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4487782624783333590#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Allan Peskin, <i>Garfield: A Life</i> (Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1978), 13.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4487782624783333590#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Helen Dunn Gates, A Consecrated Life: A Sketch of the Life and Labors of Rev.
Ransom Dunn, D.D., 1818-1900 (Boston: Morning Star Publishing, 1901), 65-67</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4487782624783333590#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
John C. Patterson, “History of Hillsdale College” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pioneer Collections: Reports of the Pioneer Society of the State of
Michigan, together with Reports of County, Town, and District Pioneer Societies</i>,
Vol. 6 (Lansing, MI: W.S. George and Co., State Printers and Binders, 1884),
151.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4487782624783333590#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Gates, A Consecrated Life, 199-200.</div>
</div>
</div>
Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-31536059758458192462015-12-05T10:51:00.003-05:002015-12-05T10:51:14.103-05:00December 5, 1863: James Garfield Resigns from the Army<div class="MsoNormal">
152 years ago today, on December 5, 1863, James Garfield
resigned his position in the Union army. He did so having achieved the rank of
Major General of Volunteers, a promotion he was given for his service in the
Battle of Chickamauga. Indeed, the date of rank for his promotion was September
19, 1863, the first day of Chickamauga. It was also, as fate would have it,
eighteen years to the day before he succumbed to his wounds from an assassin’s
bullet as president in 1881. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Garfield leaving the army at the rank of Major General of Volunteers was remarkable for a man who had risen so quickly. He was leaving the army at the age of thirty-two, just one year shy of his father's age when Abram Garfield died in Ohio in 1833. In almost the same amount of years, he had gone considerably farther in his life than his father ever had. He had been a professor, college president, state senator, and now, a general in the Union army.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Garfield had mixed feelings about leaving the army in
December 1863. He did so in order to take a seat in Congress that he had been
elected to the previous year. When his name had come into consideration for a
congressional nomination in the summer of 1862, Garfield pledged to his friends
and supporters that if he were elected, he would leave the army to serve his
constituents in Congress. At the time, however, Garfield and the Union were in
the midst of one of several low points during the war. While Confederates made
gains on the battlefields of the South, Garfield had grown frustrated with the
pace of the war and his role in it, which he believed to be quite lackluster at that time.<br />
<br />
Garfield
won his election in October 1862 while he was in Washington awaiting a
new assignment in the army. That month, Garfield was embroiled in the fervor of
Civil War Washington, growing frustrated at the lack of progress being made on
the battlefields in stemming the tide of the Confederate rebellion. Garfield
developed a strong disdain for a number of West Point educated and professional
army officers, believing that too many of them adopted a conservative approach
in the war that would only lead to Southern victory. In the same month in which
he was elected to Congress, Garfield passionately wrote, “If the Republic goes
down in blood and ruin, let its obituary be written thus: ‘Died of West Point.’” With such an attitude, it is no wonder that he had a desire to leave the army for the arena of politics.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Following Garfield’s election, Congress was not meeting for
its first new session until December 1863. Thus, Garfield had time before he
had to leave the army, allowing him to serve as the Chief of Staff for William
Rosecrans and the Army of the Cumberland through most of that year. This
continued service was not a sure thing, however. At least not at first. Early
in 1863, Garfield wrote to Attorney General Edward Bates to ask him what he was
legally required to do as a Congressman-elect who was active in the army. Did
he have to resign right away? Bates assured Garfield that he did not have to
resign until he took his seat in Congress, guaranteeing Garfield several months
more active service in the Union army. This allowed Garfield to continue
gaining invaluable experience and to help orchestrate and take part in the
Tullahoma Campaign and to play an important role in the midst of the maelstrom
of war that was the Battle of Chickamauga. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Even in late 1863, Garfield still had qualms about leaving the army. In a meeting with President Lincoln, Garfield expressed his reservations over resigning his position to serve in Congress. Lincoln encouraged Garfield to take his congressional seat, telling the young Ohioan that he needed congressmen "who know the wants of the army from practical knowledge."</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
With the advice of the president and his past promises in mind, Garfield resigned from the army 152 years ago today. He was taking the same enthusiasm for the war which he had displayed in the army and transforming it into his congressional career. He would no longer fight as an army officer; now, he would fight as a congressman.<br />
<br />
Beyond his conflicted feelings about leaving the army, Garfield entered into Congress in a moment of great personal grief. On December 1, his first-born child Eliza died in Ohio. Nicknamed "Trot" after a character in a Charles Dickens novel, Eliza was born on the eve of the war in July 1860. Garfield's letters home throughout the war frequently spoke of her, asking his wife Lucretia to "kiss Trot" for him.<br />
<br />
Just days after Eliza's funeral, Garfield
found himself in Washington, leaving the “wild life of the army” behind, as he
described his military experiences in a letter to his wife Lucretia. He was about to embark on a new and entirely different endeavor, one which would eventually lead him to the White House.<o:p></o:p></div>
Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-76549627849535363432015-12-04T12:25:00.000-05:002015-12-04T12:25:09.042-05:00James Garfield in Civil War Washington<br />
<br />
Wanted to share the video from a talk I did last month. This was my keynote talk at the James Garfield Symposium at Lakeland Community College, sponsored by the Friends of the James Garfield National Historic Site. The symposium's topic was Garfield in Washington.<br />
<br />
While most of the talks focused on Garfield as a Congressman and President, I instead focused on Garfield's introduction to Washington during the Civil War. His time in the capital while he was still in the army aided him in making political connections and emerging on the national political scene in the midst of some of the most harrowing times in American history.<br />
<br />
The video is courtesy of Lakeland Community College, which filmed the program for their youtube and television channels.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3ilOLWldigI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3ilOLWldigI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-6252164155608687312015-11-24T10:00:00.000-05:002015-11-24T11:06:38.667-05:00Thanksgiving 1881<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Because of his tragically short presidency, there were many things which James Garfield did not have the opportunity to do as President of the United States. One of those was to declare a national day of thanksgiving. This was a long standing tradition in American history, but it had been formalized into an annual event ever since 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln called for the fourth Thursday in November to be a day of giving thanks. In the years before Garfield's presidency, the president had issued a proclamation in October or November declaring a day of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, by that point in 1881, Garfield had died of wounds from his assassination. <br /><br />Thus, it was up to Garfield's successor, the 21st President of the United States, Chester A. Arthur, to issue a proclamation of Thanksgiving that year. On November 4, 1881, Arthur issued the following proclamation, declaring November 24, 1881, 134 years ago today, to be a day of thanksgiving for the nation, just over two months after Garfield's death. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><div style="text-align: center;">
By the President of the United States of America </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A Proclamation </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It has long been the pious custom of our people, with the closing of the year, to look back upon the blessings brought to them in the changing course of the seasons and to return solemn thanks to the all giving source from whom they flow. And although at this period, when the failing leaf admonishes us that the time of our sacred duty is at hand, our nation still lies in the shadow of a great bereavement, and the mourning which has filled our hearts still finds its sorrowful expression toward the God before whom we but lately bowed in grief and supplication, yet the countless benefits which have showered upon us during the past twelvemonth call for our fervent gratitude and make it fitting that we should rejoice with thankfulness that the Lord in His infinite mercy has most signally favored our country and our people. Peace without and prosperity within have been vouchsafed to us, no pestilence has visited our shores, the abundant privileges of freedom which our fathers left us in their wisdom are still our increasing heritage; and if in parts of our vast domain sore affliction has visited our brethren in their forest homes, yet even this calamity has been tempered and in a manner sanctified by the generous compassion for the sufferers which has been called forth throughout our land. For all these things it is meet that the voice of the nation should go up to God in devout homage.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Wherefore I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States, do recommend that all the people observe Thursday, the 24th day of November instant, as a day of national thanksgiving and prayer, by ceasing, so far as may be, from their secular labors and meeting in their several places of worship, there to join in ascribing honor and praise to Almighty God, whose goodness has been so manifest in our history and in our lives, and offering earnest prayers that His bounties may continue to us and to our children.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Done at the city of Washington, this 4th day of November, A.D. 1881, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and sixth.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
CHESTER A. ARTHUR</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
President of the United States</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
JAMES G. BLAINE,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Secretary of State</div>
</span>Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-14207390409154253832015-11-16T13:57:00.001-05:002015-11-16T13:57:59.909-05:00Garfield Interview<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Wanted to share an interview I did with the folks at the Mentor Channel in Mentor, Ohio, the home of the James A. Garfield National Historic Site. I did a talk and book signing there last week, and Ante Logarusic stopped by before hand to do a short interview on the book. </div>
<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9FgvcN80Ibw/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9FgvcN80Ibw?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-60822189423809520372015-11-02T10:46:00.003-05:002015-11-02T10:46:37.688-05:00James Garfield and the Civil War--Now Available!!November 2, 1880 was an important day in American history. Across the United States, the final votes were being cast to determine who would become the 20th President of the United States. James Abram Garfield, a longtime member of the United States House of Representatives and a former Major General in the Union army, was the Republican candidate, while Winfield Scott Hancock, himself a former Major General as well, was the Democratic nominee. Over 9 million votes were cast for president that year, representing 78% of the eligible electorate, the highest number of voters to turnout up to that time in American history. Once all the votes were finally tabulated, James Garfield of Ohio was the victor. <br />
<br />
Garfield spent that day at his farm in Mentor, Ohio, greeting well wishers and handling his daily business of overseeing his farm. That night, he was in the small campaign office behind his home, receiving updates on the polls from across the country. When he retired for the evening at 3 a.m., Garfield had heard good news regarding the results of voting in the Northern states. By the morning of November 3, Garfield knew for certain that he had been elected President of the United States.<br />
<br />
Garfield's election to the presidency was the crowning achievement of his life. Unfortunately, his grand story of rising from poverty and a log cabin all the way to the White House is marred by its tragic ending. Nine months to the day after his election, President Garfield was shot twice in a train station in Washington, DC on July 2, 1881. One bullet hit his arm, and the other lodged in his back. He did not die from his wounds right away. Instead, he suffered immensely for several months while doctors did everything within their power to treat him and remove the assassin's bullet from his back. Ultimately, their efforts were unsuccessful, only augmenting the infection and effects of his wound. On September 19, 1881, Garfield succumbed to his wounds, making him the second president to die from assassination. <br />
<br />
While these events are no doubt historic and important, they often overshadow other parts of Garfield's life and legacy. Eighteen years to the day before his death, Garfield was a general in the Union army, serving as the Chief of Staff for the Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Chickamauga, one of the great battles of the American Civil War. Garfield's Civil War service, at Chickamauga and elsewhere, is often a footnote in his life story. Far from a small piece of his story, Garfield's Civil War career was essential to who he was and to his rise to the presidency.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKy93rmVgVTbDO39AxyyhwM1tIDogBociSdk6Q6wlgpioAk0ihkwieEMnJeZXk36YPADPjhBgshS2PVazY5PLfhQ_5U2x1FOCh8dpTf2bsztZb2b6xBzu2kkRFy2nTc9-VYkyxbTX1wMJl/s1600/Cover1+-+Copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKy93rmVgVTbDO39AxyyhwM1tIDogBociSdk6Q6wlgpioAk0ihkwieEMnJeZXk36YPADPjhBgshS2PVazY5PLfhQ_5U2x1FOCh8dpTf2bsztZb2b6xBzu2kkRFy2nTc9-VYkyxbTX1wMJl/s320/Cover1+-+Copy.png" width="212" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
I am pleased to announce that today, on the 135th anniversary of Garfield's election to the presidency, my new book <em>James Garfield and the Civil War: For Ohio and the Union</em> is now available. Today is the official publication date for the book, and in it, I hope to tell a part of James Garfield's story which has languished in obscurity for far too long. The book is not an exhaustive look at Garfield's life on a day by day basis, but rather, it tells the story of his Civil War career, placing the future president in the larger events of the war from 1861 to 1865, focusing on his service in recruiting the 42nd Ohio, commanding troops in the field in Kentucky and Tennessee, taking part in political fights in Washington, serving as the Chief of Staff for the Army of the Cumberland in 1863, and ultimately taking his strong views about preserving the Union and abolishing slavery to the halls of Congress. Garfield's Civil War service saw him take part in several of the grand campaigns and battles of the war. He crossed paths with leading figures like Don Carlos Buell, William Rosecrans, George Thomas, Edwin Stanton, Salmon Chase, and Henry Halleck. Along the way, Garfield made friends and enemies, and he experienced his share of highs and lows during the war. Like all veterans, his Civil War service lingered with him through the rest of his days. Even when he was the Republican nominee for president, many still knew him first and foremost as "General Garfield."<br />
<br />
I hope you enjoy the book! I will be doing several book talks and signings in Northeast Ohio this upcoming weekend and next week. If you are in the area, I hope to see you there!<br />
<br />Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-44252699271517219452015-10-29T19:00:00.000-04:002015-10-29T19:00:00.758-04:00Book Talks November 2015With the publication date for <i>James Garfield and the Civil War: For Ohio and the Union</i> coming next week (November 2, 2015), I wanted to post some information about talks and book signings that I will be doing in the Cleveland area in the second week of November.<br />
<br />
These talks are all focused on the new book and the story of James Garfield's Civil War career. I hope to have copies of both the Garfield book and my book on Kennesaw Mountain available at each place. Follow the links for more information, or send me a message through the blog.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKy93rmVgVTbDO39AxyyhwM1tIDogBociSdk6Q6wlgpioAk0ihkwieEMnJeZXk36YPADPjhBgshS2PVazY5PLfhQ_5U2x1FOCh8dpTf2bsztZb2b6xBzu2kkRFy2nTc9-VYkyxbTX1wMJl/s1600/Cover1+-+Copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKy93rmVgVTbDO39AxyyhwM1tIDogBociSdk6Q6wlgpioAk0ihkwieEMnJeZXk36YPADPjhBgshS2PVazY5PLfhQ_5U2x1FOCh8dpTf2bsztZb2b6xBzu2kkRFy2nTc9-VYkyxbTX1wMJl/s320/Cover1+-+Copy.png" width="212" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Saturday, November 7th:</u><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lakelandcc.edu/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=10f8c751-4c86-417d-a3cb-80216ccd7388&groupId=870840" target="_blank">James Garfield Symposium 2015: Garfield in Washington, Lakeland Community College, Kirtland, Ohio</a><br />
<br />
Keynote Speaker and Book Signing<br />
<br />
<i>Sponsored by the James A. Garfield National Historic Site and the Friends of the James A. Garfield National Historic Site.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Sunday, November 8th:</u><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nps.gov/jaga/index.htm" target="_blank">James A. Garfield National Historic Site, Mentor, Ohio, 2 PM</a><br />
<br />
Author Talk and Book Signing<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Monday, November 9th:</u><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.reed.lib.oh.us/content/james-garfield-and-civil-war" target="_blank">Reed Memorial Library, Ravenna, Ohio, 2 PM</a><br />
<br />
Author Talk and Book Signing<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Tuesday, November 10th:</u><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.macsbacks.com/event/james-garfield-civil-warcleveland-world-war-ii" target="_blank">Mac's Back-Books, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, 7 PM</a><br />
<br />
Author Talk and Book Signing<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Wednesday, November 11th:</u><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lorainccc.edu/Library/Civil+War+Discussion+Series.htm" target="_blank">Lorain Community College, Elyria, Ohio, 7 PM</a><br />
<br />
Part of the ongoing <a href="http://www.lorainccc.edu/NR/rdonlyres/EEE5BE7C-1F7B-4DC4-BF96-2BC7E078AF9E/22058/Fall2015CivilWarSeries2.pdf" target="_blank"><i>1865: Appomattox and Beyond, the Legacy of the Civil War</i> Lecture Series</a><br />
<br />
Author Talk and Book Signing<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Hope to see you in Ohio!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-73111343344390371462015-08-27T15:43:00.001-04:002015-08-27T15:43:10.142-04:00James Garfield and the Civil War: For Ohio and the Union<div style="text-align: left;">
Greetings all!</div>
<br />
<br />
I am excited to say that a project which I have been working on for a little over a year is now almost finished. With a publication date of November 2, 2015, I am pleased to announce the publication of my second book, <i>James Garfield and the Civil War: For Ohio and the Union</i>. The front and back cover are below:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9SR9aDFtKCU8ILwlrvs16GNLEXR-ANbVEbDTc-KYUQN3gUMSoq3sTOI1eRAgvFWlrasxFvH_MEHVLXeVGyRtojMzx_6QQlJdfSYN6kY-qQeibw5xcAg0ueeyp4ZEluDTfsGWkKBvWLHO_/s1600/Cover1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9SR9aDFtKCU8ILwlrvs16GNLEXR-ANbVEbDTc-KYUQN3gUMSoq3sTOI1eRAgvFWlrasxFvH_MEHVLXeVGyRtojMzx_6QQlJdfSYN6kY-qQeibw5xcAg0ueeyp4ZEluDTfsGWkKBvWLHO_/s320/Cover1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
This project, being published by The History Press, focuses on the Civil War career of native Ohioan and 20th President of the United States James Abram Garfield. I have been fascinated by Garfield for many years, having grown up just a short 20 minute drive from his home in Mentor, Ohio. Over the past few years, I have gotten to know the staff at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site, and have had the pleasure to do some volunteer work there, taking part in the park's Major Battles of the Civil War lecture series. It is a great NPS site, and I encourage you to visit there if you are ever in the Cleveland area.<br />
<br />
While other presidents who served in the army during the Civil War have had books written which chronicle their service, no such books exist for the military career of James A. Garfield. From 1861 to the end of 1863, Garfield served in the Union army, raising a regiment of Ohio troops, leading men in combat in Kentucky, taking part in the second day of the Battle of Shiloh, sitting on a court martial of a prominent Union general, and serving as the Chief of Staff for the Army of the Cumberland. His Civil War career was as eclectic as it was important. Garfield had a hand in several of the war's most important battles and campaigns, and his experience shows how hard work and perseverance allowed a man born in a log cabin in the old Western Reserve of Northeast Ohio rise to become a major general in the Union army.<br />
<br />
<br />
This book tells the story of Garfield's Civil War service, following him through the conflict and examining the role this famous Ohioan played in our nation's most trying hours. While the focus is on his time in the army during the war, I also discuss his early years and career before the war began, as well as his post-war political career, and how the Civil War had a continuing impact for the rest of Garfield's life. Garfield held many titles throughout his life, but none was more meaningful to him than "General Garfield." While Garfield's presidency was tragically cut short by his assassination in 1881, twenty years earlier he bravely donned his country's uniform and took part in the American Civil War. Just as the war changed the United States, it also changed the lives of those who took part in it. James Garfield was among them. His post-war political career and his eventual rise to the presidency were made possible by his heroic service to the Union cause during the Civil War.<br />
<br />
<br />
I hope to post more on this forum in the coming weeks and months, sharing more regarding the life and Civil War career of James Garfield and the publication of the book. Stay tuned for updates!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-32199119685539220072014-12-25T10:50:00.001-05:002014-12-25T10:50:09.962-05:00I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
"I feel it to be my first duty to do what I can for my country and I would willingly lay down my life for it if it would be of any good".</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
With these words, Charles Appleton Longfellow notified his father, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, that he was joining the Union army in 1863. The younger Longfellow was wounded in November 1863 during the Mine Run Campaign in Virginia, giving his father great cause to worry about the life of his son. With his own son having shed blood in the war and the conflagration of death and suffering across the nation showing no sign of ending soon, Christmas of 1863 saw Henry Wadsworth Longfellow pen the words to a poem which would eventually become one of the most celebrated Christmas Carols of all time.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
I heard the bells on Christmas Day</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Their old, familiar carols play,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and wild and sweet</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The words repeat</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And thought how, as the day had come,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The belfries of all Christendom</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Had rolled along</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The unbroken song</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Till ringing, singing on its way,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The world revolved from night to day,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A voice, a chime,A chant sublime</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Then from each black, accursed mouth</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The cannon thundered in the South,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And with the soundThe carols drowned</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It was as if an earthquake rent</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The hearth-stones of a continent,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And made forlornThe households born</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And in despair I bowed my head;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"There is no peace on earth," I said;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"For hate is strong,And mocks the song</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Wrong shall fail,The Right prevail,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
With peace on earth, good-will to men."</div>
Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-52507733738089107582014-07-04T06:47:00.000-04:002014-07-04T06:47:31.086-04:00July 4, 1864: Ohio Soldiers Reflect on Independence Day150 years ago today, the United States–a nation mired in the fourth
year of a bloody Civil War–was celebrating the anniversary of its
independence from Great Britain. In the ranks of the vast Union armies
fighting to preserve that nation, the significance of the day did not go
unnoticed.<br />
<br />
On July 4, 1864, hundreds of thousands of Union soldiers were spread
out across the Southern United States, occupying lands of the
Confederacy in what was the final year of the American Civil War. Most
notably, two Union commanders were on the precipice of seizing major
southern cities. In Virginia, Grant was settling in near Petersburg,
beginning a months long siege that would force he and his men to wait
until 1865 until their goals of victory in the campaign for Richmond
could be realized.<br />
<br />
Far to the south, in the state of Georgia, William Tecumseh Sherman’s
army group, consisting of the Army of the Cumberland, the Army of the
Tennessee, and the Army of the Ohio, rested just miles from Kennesaw
Mountain, the imposing height which had stalled Sherman for the latter
half of June and the first several days of July. It had only been on the
morning of July 3rd that Union soldiers discovered that Confederates
had vacated their Kennesaw trenches, having been forced out by yet
another flanking maneuver from Sherman. Kennesaw Mountain had been a
resounding defeat for Sherman’s men, as each attacking column the
Federals sent forward on the morning of June 27, 1864, was handsomely
repulsed. Yet, one week later, the Confederates had retreated, and the
Union soldiers who had seen their comrades slaughtered in such great
number in front of the Kennesaw Line were preparing to push for the
Chattahoochee River and toward Atlanta itself.<br />
<br />
Thus, 150 years ago, Union soldiers had cause for both sadness and
gratefulness, for both remorse and relief. The troubles of Kennesaw
Mountain were past, yet the struggle for Atlanta lay firmly in their
future.<br />
<br />
<br />
<em>“One year ago were in Shellbyville Tenn. Wonder next 4th will
find us, or me. Enjoying the blessings of peace, I hope. Hardly think it
will. One consolation, my term of service will have nearly expired.
Weather very warm. A man would have been called insane three years ago,
who would have prophesied that the war would last till July 1864”</em><br />
<em>O.M. Scott, Commissary Sergeant, 121st Ohio Volunteer Infantry </em><br />
<em> </em><br />
<em>“This is a holiday to all Americans whether it will be so to us remains to be seen.”</em><br />
<em>Sgt. Israel Connell, 51st Ohio Volunteer Infantry</em><br />
<br />
<em>“We are celebrating the birthday of the Nation by firing an
occasional salute on the works of the foe in our front. Company E was on
the skirmish line all day, and it was very interesting. A year ago we
were at Shelbyville, Tenn., and on that day Vicksburg was taken by
General Grant. Where will we be July 4th, 1865?”</em><br />
<em>Francis McAdams, 113th Ohio Volunteer Infantry</em><br />
<br />
<em>“Thankful should we be to Divine Providence that our ever honored
and memoriable National Birthday is thus made the more sacred by a
victory over the Nation’s and Freedom’s enemies.”</em><br />
<em>Albert Champlin, 105<sup>th</sup> Ohio Volunteer Infantry</em>Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-73957881702608342082014-06-19T06:59:00.000-04:002014-06-19T06:59:42.938-04:00Traveling to Georgia!!<br />
<em><strong> </strong></em>One week from today, I will be in the great state of Georgia once again!! I am traveling for the Kennesaw Mountain 150th. It will be my great privilege to be bringing my ranger hat to Georgia to assist the staff of Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park by providing interpretive programs next weekend at the battlefield park. I don't know where I will be stationed just yet, but I do know that I will be quite busy!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
In addition to my NPS work in Georgia, I will be doing several author talks and book signings in the area. The schedule is listed below. You will have plenty of chances to catch up with me if you are in the area. I am particularly pleased to be speaking at the park on the morning of the 27th on the lives of Charles Harker and Dan McCook, two exemplary individuals who sacrificed everything at Kennesaw Mountain. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><strong></strong></em>If you live in the Atlanta area, or if you will be traveling there for the Kennesaw 150th, I hope to see you either at the park or at one of my book talks in the area!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><strong>Athens Clark-County Public Library, Athens, Georgia–June 26, 2014</strong></em><br />
1:00 Author Talk and Book Signing<br />
<em><strong>Atlanta History Center–Atlanta, Georgia, June 26, 2014</strong></em><br />
8:00 Evening Lecture and Book Signing<br />
<strong><em>Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park: 150th Anniversary Events–Kennesaw, Georgia, June 27, 2014</em></strong><br />
Author Talk (10:00) <em>“Facing Fearful Odds: Colonel Dan McCook and Brigadier General Charles Harker at Kennesaw Mountain”</em> and Book Signing<br />
<strong><em>Marietta Museum of History–Marietta, Georgia, June 28, 2014</em></strong><br />
Author Talk (2:00) and Book SigningDan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-19759047776323892332014-05-07T19:17:00.000-04:002014-05-07T19:17:01.092-04:00May 7, 1864: Grant Turns South<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">150 years ago this evening, the American Civil War took yet another turn. After two days of bloody, chaotic, and brutal fighting in the Wilderness west of Fredericksburg, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant faced a key decision. In the past, generals with names such as McClellan, Pope, Burnside, and Hooker had turned back after difficulties and defeats. The Wilderness had not been a total defeat, simply an impediment to Grant's southward push. Lee's Confederates had proven themselves able to deliver vicious blows into the Federal lines, leaving thousands of men in Blue and Gray bleeding among the Virginia forest, some of them burning from the fires among the leaves set by the blaze of muskets and cannon. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On the evening of May 7th, with the fires of the Wilderness still smoldering, Grant began to move. Instead of turning back to Washington to recuperate, Grant and his army turned south. The sight of Grant continuing southward sent waves of admiration through the men of the Army of the Potomac. They knew that unforeseen and unknowable difficulties and trials lay ahead. They knew that turning south meant more fighting, killing, and dying. Yet, with Grant in command, these veteran soldiers were ready to make the final push into Virginia, hoping that with this campaign, the days of the war were numbered. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The situation has been best described by the words of Bruce Catton, whose work <i>A Stillness at Appomattox</i> still stands as a gold standard of writing on the Civil War, or on any history topic for that matter. For myself, and for many others who have written books about the Civil War, Catton is a standard to which we always aspire to reach but will always fall short. His work shows us that history can be well written and truthful. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i>This army had known dramatic moments of inspiration in the
past—massed flags and many bugles and broad blue ranks spread out in the
sunlight, with leadership bearing a drawn sword and riding a prancing horse,
and it had been grand and stirring. Now there was nothing more than a bent
shadow in the night, a stoop-shouldered man who was saying nothing to anyone,
methodically making his way t of the head of the column—and all of a moment the
tired column came alive, and a wild cheer broke the night and men tossed their
caps in the darkness.</i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i>They had had their fill of desperate fighting, and this
pitiless little man was leading them into nothing except more fighting, and
probably there would be no end to it, but at least he was not leading them back
in sullen acceptance of defeat, and somewhere, many miles ahead, there would be
victory for those who lived to see it. So there was tremendous cheering, and
Grant’s big horse Cincinnati caught the excitement and reared and pranced, and
as he got him under control Grant told his staff to have the men stop cheering
because the Rebels were not far away and they would hear and know that a
movement was being made.</i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i>It was the same on other roads. Sedgwick’s men backtracked
to Chancellorsville, and as the men reached that fatal crossroads the veterans
knew how the land lay and knew that if they took the left-hand fork they would
be retreating and if they turned to the right they would be going on for
another fight. The column turned right, and men who made the march wrote that
with that turn there was a quiet relaxing of the tension and a lifting of
gloom, so that men who had been slogging along quietly began to chatter as they
marched. Here and there a regiment sang a little.</i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i>Back by the wagon trains one of Sedgwick’s officers came
upon Burnside’s division of colored soldiers, so dust-colored the men looked
white. They were heading south like everyone else, and the officer saw a big
colored sergeant prodding his men on with the butt of his rifle and ordering,
“close up dere, lambs.”</i></span></div>
</blockquote>
Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-87101938779556436332014-04-30T10:21:00.000-04:002014-04-30T10:21:18.315-04:00Book Review--Confederate Combat Commander: The Remarkable Life of Brigadier General Alfred Jefferson Vaughan, Jr., by Lawrence Peterson
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">While there are far too many books on the Civil War to
count, there are surprisingly few on the Confederate forces of the war’s
Western Theater actions. In the theater which many historians argue saw the
largest impact on the overall strategic outcome of the war, there is a dearth
of biographies and examinations of key Confederate leaders. This extends from
the relative lack of studies on Braxton Bragg to lesser known generals and
officers. One of these lesser known officers is Brigadier General Alfred Vaughan
Jr., a brigade commander in the Army of Tennessee who lost his leg to an
exploding artillery shell near Smyrna, Georgia, in early July 1864. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I drew interest in Vaughan because his brigade was
positioned at the “Dead Angle” position at Kennesaw Mountain, seeing some of
the fiercest fighting during the days of struggle at Kennesaw in late June
1864. But a recent biography by Lawrence K. Peterson--Vaughan's great-great grandson--opened my eyes to the
remarkable Civil War career which Vaughan had, stretching far beyond Kennesaw
Mountain. Vaughan’s career in the Army of Tennessee extended back to the very
origins of that army. His personal list of battles reads as a list of the
bloodiest and most important battles of the West: Shiloh, Perryville, Stones
River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and the Atlanta Campaign. If one wanted to
follow one officer through the worst of the West, battle by battle, Vaughan is
an excellent choice.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Peterson’s biography is well written and well researched,
providing great insight on Vaughan’s leadership and experiences. The narrative
focuses heavily on Vaughan’s actions in each of the major battles, as well as
the behind the scenes action in the Army of Tennessee, which, considering the
personalities in that army, could be just as complex as the battles themselves.
The primary source used appears to be Vaughan’s own account of his regiment,
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Personal Record of the Thirteenth
Regiment, Tennessee Infantry, C.S.A. </i>(Memphis: S.C. Toof, 1897). Vaughan
was instrumental in the formation of the regiment, serving as the first Captain
of Company E, which was previously a militia group known as the “Dixie Rifles”,
a group of Mississippians (Vaughan’s adopted home state was Mississippi,
despite his Virginia birthplace) who were armed and equipped by the state of
Tennessee. By June 1861, Vaughan became the lieutenant colonel of the regiment.
During the fighting at Belmont in November 1861, Vaughan assumed command of the
regiment, and was promoted to the rank of colonel after the battle. He served
with distinction at Shiloh, and later in 1862 he rose to brigade command.
Peterson follows Vaughan and the Army of Tennessee through the rest of the war
with a nice balance between the biographical narrative and the broader history
of the campaigns and battles which Vaughan was involved in. It was only after
his stellar conduct at Chickamauga in September 1863 that Vaughan was promoted
to the rank of brigadier general, receiving praise and recommendations from
numerous commanders, including Patrick Cleburne and Benjamin Cheatham. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The author makes mention several times that Vaughan had a
“personal servant” with him during the war, named Roach Howard. Howard was, of
course, one of the Vaughan family slaves. Peterson notes that after the war
Howard was set free, but does not give further detail into why or how this
occurred. It is only one small instance in a larger book, but this reader
wished that more information and detail was provided in the text on the life of
Howard, as well as the master-slave relationship between the two men.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Peterson's biography goes beyond Vaughan's war years as well, discussing the general's post war years, a subject often neglected by Civil War studies of particular officers and units. These insights, as well as the detailed focus on Vaughan and his brigade through the western theater of the war, make this a very well rounded book, the likes of which there are too few, especially in regards to the leaders and brigades of the Army of Tennessee.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For those looking for a deeper understanding of the Army of
Tennessee, as well as a deeper knowledge of the major battles of the war’s
Western Theater, pick up Lawrence Peterson’s biography of Alfred Vaughan,
published by The University of Tennessee Press, titled, <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Confederate-Combat-Commander-Remarkable-Brigadier/dp/1572339519/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398867156&sr=8-1&keywords=alfred+vaughan+jr" target="_blank">Confederate Combat Commander: The Remarkable Life of Brigadier General Alfred Jefferson Vaughan, Jr</a></em>. Peterson deftly examines the
life of an important yet little known Confederate brigade commander who saw
some of the war’s fiercest combat.</span></div>
Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-20333666903406161242014-04-11T16:36:00.001-04:002014-04-11T16:43:55.931-04:00Now Available...Very proud to say that my book, <i>The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain</i>, is now available!!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXL1yy8XFBGWWXSupGTMm0QjC08QEgQ9163PISZQChFOJB0qidbg_w20NY4tp3cmzgE1QBCR1H0xpkk0eTkDXo2B7efSWpWrSR6v53QKnyGL0EAOMkYQ5xFDA720ILN6RBgjWK5DSPxKV/s1600/3888-KENNESAW-cvr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXL1yy8XFBGWWXSupGTMm0QjC08QEgQ9163PISZQChFOJB0qidbg_w20NY4tp3cmzgE1QBCR1H0xpkk0eTkDXo2B7efSWpWrSR6v53QKnyGL0EAOMkYQ5xFDA720ILN6RBgjWK5DSPxKV/s1600/3888-KENNESAW-cvr.jpg" height="320" width="224" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
If you are interested in ordering a copy, you can learn more by visiting the new "Buy the Book!" page at the top of the blog. It is currently available through The History Press, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble, and will soon be in bookstores!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-89698144988279188682014-04-01T10:18:00.002-04:002014-04-01T10:18:38.714-04:00One Week to Go...<div style="text-align: center;">
Only one week to go before the publication date for <i>The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain</i>...</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
You can pre-order your copy today at amazon.com or historypress.net.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiSQlqpMXgciFXMHv3LXwVHY8ZyFpkel_2wBmKLpLqKeTwTlB8DnmO_nDTmcZ42I1heKDRDAyBKHO71qyKVXWskJL4TSKs8mN38J2no6hZxk082cauSUNbCt83gmgekBFdiTQjO5LEfCSq/s1600/9781626193888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiSQlqpMXgciFXMHv3LXwVHY8ZyFpkel_2wBmKLpLqKeTwTlB8DnmO_nDTmcZ42I1heKDRDAyBKHO71qyKVXWskJL4TSKs8mN38J2no6hZxk082cauSUNbCt83gmgekBFdiTQjO5LEfCSq/s1600/9781626193888.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-14267750174020559902014-03-08T16:00:00.002-05:002014-03-08T16:00:18.015-05:00One Month To Go...Just wanted to let everyone know that the official publication date for my book on Kennesaw Mountain is April 8, 2014, meaning that as of today, there is one month to go before my first book is published!<br />
<br />
After many months of hard work, this is very exciting, and I am looking forward to having my own book sitting on my bookshelf next to so many others which I have read for so many years.<br />
<br />
For those who are interested, <i>The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain</i> is currently available for pre-order from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Kennesaw-Mountain-Civil-Sesquicentennial/dp/1626193886/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394311607&sr=8-1&keywords=vermilya" target="_blank">Amazon </a>and <a href="https://www.historypress.net/catalogue/bookstore/books/Location/Civil%20War/Civil%20War%20Sesquicentennial/The-Battle-of-Kennesaw-Mountain/9781626193888" target="_blank">The History Press</a>. <br />
<br />
Hope you enjoy the book!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6m14-xDLvOVjp0T_QOd-O28fd3RUOcQOoUiDRAd8l5N6vPpgoVZsHWDdUMJCZcJb27E9NDQWrmaaugV2MLgOXW_270vsvonPz4u3O89mpsSr0ab0UH47mxmw2RG_-gkWZlzbj3Z1QfmD/s1600/3888-KENNESAW-cvr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6m14-xDLvOVjp0T_QOd-O28fd3RUOcQOoUiDRAd8l5N6vPpgoVZsHWDdUMJCZcJb27E9NDQWrmaaugV2MLgOXW_270vsvonPz4u3O89mpsSr0ab0UH47mxmw2RG_-gkWZlzbj3Z1QfmD/s1600/3888-KENNESAW-cvr.jpg" height="320" width="224" /></a></div>
<br />Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-89735351577437000572014-02-28T10:02:00.001-05:002014-02-28T10:02:26.818-05:00Kennesaw Mountain Book Cover!It has been quite some time since I posted on here, and lots has been going on.<br />
<br />
For example, last fall, I was married. This winter, I finished my book on Kennesaw Mountain, and this spring, I am starting back at Gettysburg to lead education programs for school groups, before returning to Antietam for the rest of the season.<br />
<br />
<br />
Look for me to make a few more posts on here this year. For now, I wanted to share this picture. It is the cover of my Kennesaw Mountain book, which is being published in the first week of April!<br />
<br />
You can order a copy now by going to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Kennesaw-Mountain-Civil-Sesquicentennial/dp/1626193886" target="_blank">Amazon, where it will be available in paperback and Kindle form</a>.<br />
<br />
As some of you probably now, I have started another blog, devoted solely to Kennesaw Mountain and the Atlanta Campaign. You can find it here: <a href="http://www.kennesawmountain.wordpress.com/">www.kennesawmountain.wordpress.com</a><br />
<br />
Thanks to so many of you who have followed this blog for what is almost three years now. Your friendly comments, visits, and support have been a great encouragement to me. I hope you enjoy the book, and I hope you all enjoy some warmer weather which will hopefully be on its way soon after this bitter winter!<br />
<br />
<br />
For now, here is the cover for my upcoming book on the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeckGJ0jzW6AdA4cp66J9J59oqf8zdNKWJG6seRHofi_5OIBYjFClHj56SAR5Z3MClwbU3B-Cpz6nRiJwXEw18AxNDXygAGc1aspRq0q_6AyuxTkarxfP0ia08q7FIhsTlvcD_hRn3_c2E/s1600/3888-KENNESAW-cvr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeckGJ0jzW6AdA4cp66J9J59oqf8zdNKWJG6seRHofi_5OIBYjFClHj56SAR5Z3MClwbU3B-Cpz6nRiJwXEw18AxNDXygAGc1aspRq0q_6AyuxTkarxfP0ia08q7FIhsTlvcD_hRn3_c2E/s1600/3888-KENNESAW-cvr.jpg" height="320" width="224" /></a></div>
<br />Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-61578756656121988682014-01-01T14:54:00.001-05:002014-01-01T14:54:27.628-05:00New Year, New BlogHappy New Year!!<br />
<br />
<br />
Now that it is 2014, the 150th anniversary of the Atlanta Campaign and Kennesaw Mountain is here. Because my book on Kennesaw will be out in a few months, I am starting and launching a new blog on Kennesaw Mountain and the Atlanta Campaign: <a href="http://www.kennesawmountain.wordpress.com/">www.kennesawmountain.wordpress.com</a>.<br />
<br />
Please check out the new site, which will have a definite focus on Kennesaw Mountain, as the title states, as well as William Tecumseh Sherman, Joseph Johnston, and the others who fought in Georgia during the summer of 1864. <br />
<br />
<br />
Don't worry, I will still be posting regularly on here as well, and probably posting some things on both blogs. Thanks for your comments and continuing to visit this site. I really enjoy maintaining this blog, and look forward to starting a new one in this new year!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-5040870562873600582013-12-24T16:06:00.001-05:002013-12-24T16:06:48.921-05:00Christmas Eve 1863: An Illinois Colonel's Letter 150 Years Ago<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
41 year old Colonel Luther Bradley of the 51st Illinois wrote a letter home to his sister on December 24, 1863, 150 years ago today. His regiment was a part of the Army of the Cumberland, and had taken part in the grand fight at Missionary Ridge just one month prior. Colonel Bradley had missed out on the Battle of Missionary Ridge, because of wounds received at Chickamauga two months before. Bradley's letter home tells of a soldier's desire to see an end to the bloodshed, and hope of peace on earth and good will toward men. The upcoming year, however, would be far from peaceful, and by next Christmas, Bradley's regiment had suffered many losses in the Atlanta Campaign. A part of Charles Harker's brigade, the 51st Illinois took part in the charge on Confederate lines at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. Bradley himself assumed command of his brigade that day, as Brigadier General Charles Harker was mortally wounded during the fight. By Christmas 1864, Bradley was a Brigadier General, and the war was not yet done...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAlROMxeydrMSZKOA5xvzI8ye3s7N0BW_K07GNm3WWrnN24tHHfNT8hjjs9BnpHrWa32M-Pnj1I9CXzPkhNQrhfP8IR-QK3PN6ABYyz1_1sJefqIG-g8qTpWwJks6WQggaZ9zjisWjYP7/s1600/L_P_Bradley_ACW_colonel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAlROMxeydrMSZKOA5xvzI8ye3s7N0BW_K07GNm3WWrnN24tHHfNT8hjjs9BnpHrWa32M-Pnj1I9CXzPkhNQrhfP8IR-QK3PN6ABYyz1_1sJefqIG-g8qTpWwJks6WQggaZ9zjisWjYP7/s320/L_P_Bradley_ACW_colonel.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Col. Luther Bradley</div>
<br />
<br />
My dear Buel,<br />
<br />
This is the most beautiful Christmas Eve I ever saw. Clear bright moonlight and warm enough to sing carols without taking cold. One year ago today we started on the march which ended with the battle of Stones River. I hope we shall have a quieter New Years than the last. I had begn to think there was a leak in the mail bag for until I got your letter of the 13th I had not heard from home but once since leaving Nashville—Just now a band in an adjoining camp is playing “When this cruel war is over”, and I feel like (echoing) it with all my heart. I hope that next Christmas will see us all at home again.<br />
<br />
Yesterday General Thomas offered e the command of a column of 3,000 men and a long train of Wagons going to Knoxville. But as it was to be a long trip of 10 or 12 days, which the prospect of fording streams every day and being pretty constantly wet I declined it. The first time I have ever asked to be relieved from any duty in the field. So you see, I am getting prudent.<br />
<br />
As my regiment is at Knoxville and little prospect of its returning I shall join it by steam boat in a few days. I quite like the idea of mutering there as there is nothing of interest doing her and we can return in time for the spring campaign.<br />
<br />
Chattanooga is simply a huge entrenched camp and for some time will be poorly supplied with rations. My Christmas dinner will be a piece of smoked bacon and hard crackers, with perhaps a potatoe.<br />
<br />
Many a man here will not have so liberal a spread as this.<br />
<br />
Col. Davis is getting along but slowly. He is suffering terribly from the injury to the bone and nerves of the leg and this keeps him down. He lacks the muscular power to withstand the drain on the system occasioned by wounds. He will get well but I doubt if he has a sound leg in a long time. I shall try and get him off to Nashville before I go as he has friends there who will take excellent care of him and he will be altogether more comfortable there than he can be here. He often speaks of you all and wishes to be kindly remembered. He may call on his way home in a few weeks.<br />
<br />
Enclosed I send a letter which I found here on my return and which I think you will like to read. I need not tell you that I have answered the request contained in it. You may keep the letter for me. <br />
<br />
So you are glad I was not at “Mission Ridge” that’s mean of you. It was the finest thing that has been done during the war and I’d not have missed it for a hole in my jacket. I have been to see all my wounded boys in the hospital and when they say, “Oh! Col. You ought to have been at Mission Ridge” I feel envious of their pride. You should see their eyes glisten when they tell of it.<br />
<br />
A Merry Christmas to you all.<br />
With love and remembrance,<br />
Yours ever,<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Col.
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-82570834804482242372013-12-13T15:41:00.001-05:002013-12-13T15:41:57.154-05:00Book Reviews- Smithsonian Civil War: Inside the National Collection<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Smithsonian-Civil-War-National-Collection/dp/1588343898" target="_blank">Smithsonian Civil War: Inside the National Collection</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This review is much different from others that I have done.
While most books that I review on here are typical monographs, where an author
is either presenting a history or an argument of some kind, the latest book
from the Smithsonian on the Civil War is more of a picture/coffee table book. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That being said, don’t miss it. It is incredible.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The book highlights the best from the Smithsonian’s Civil
War collection, as well as short pieces describing the artifacts and what their
meaning or significance is to the larger war. I spent some time going through
it with my wife the other night, and we were both hooked. It is a very well
done book, with a fantastic hard cover exterior and clean, bright pages with
great design and amazing photographs. These are high quality pictures of
Smithsonian items. It is almost as if you have the item in front of you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Among the high resolution pictures of Smithsonian items are
an image of a shattered tree trunk from Spotsylvania, cut down by musket fire;
the masks worn by the Lincoln assassination conspirators during their
imprisonment; the famed painting <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Grant
and his Generals</i> by Ole Peter Hansen Balling; the sword of Union Colonel Strong
Vincent, mortally wounded at Little Round Top on July 2, 1863; a uniform coat,
pistol, and chess set belonging to George McClellan; and the sword which
Sherman wore at Shiloh. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I found these after just a few minutes of flipping through
the pages.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The accompanying text is a nice addition, but for me, the
artifacts pictured in the book, as well as its nice layout, are enough to make
this an awesome addition to my library. Having recently moved in with Alison in
our apartment in State College, I set up a few small book shelves in the living
room with some nicer books that I like having out. This book is certainly one
of them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The book is a timely reminder of the most compelling
artifacts from our nation’s most important war. During the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, we need to look back and remember the war in its reality. Seeing dramatic photographs and artifacts such as
these bring the war to us in a very real way. If you can’t visit the
Smithsonian to see these items, buying the book is a great way to have them
with you at home. Jon Meacham’s Forword for the book lays out a case for the
importance of the Smithsonian’s Civil War collection, and this book, quite
adeptly:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Americans
of the twenty-first century need books like this and institutions like the Smithsonian,
for without photographic images of the brutally scarred back of a slave or of
the dead on battlefields and in trenches that we tend to associate more with
the Somme than with our own land, the Civil War risks receding into fable
rather than urgent fact.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you need a Christmas present for the Civil War buff in
your life, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Smithsonian-Civil-War-National-Collection/dp/1588343898" target="_blank">Smithsonian Civil War: Inside the National Collection</a>, is a perfect
choice.</div>
Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-11981372775871439632013-12-02T17:24:00.001-05:002013-12-02T17:24:22.499-05:00Book Review: John Bell Hood-The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Confederate General, by Stephen Hood<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had originally wanted to publish this review much sooner, but alas sometimes life gets in the way. Look for more reviews on here in the coming weeks, as my season at Antietam has drawn to a close in time for me to finish some of the other projects that are ongoing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And now, for the review...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/John-Bell-Hood-Resurrection-Confederate/dp/1611211409" target="_blank">John Bell Hood: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Confederate General, by Stephen Hood </a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There has been much discussion over Stephen Hood’s new book
“John Bell Hood: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Confederate General.”
The volume, published by Savas Beatie, is a fresh examination of Hood, not as
much the man or the general, but rather how he has been perceived through the
generations. The book is organized by chapters which each tackle a separate
Hood “myth” or misunderstanding. Much of the text is spent discussing
historiography and what others have said about Hood. Among the specific topics taken on the author discusses how certain “myths” about the
general came about, such as his alleged use of Laudanum and misstatements about
the bravery of his men. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During the course of these arguments, the reader picks
up quite a bit of information about Hood. I have seen other historians and
writers criticize the book as being shallow on historiography. I cannot
understand why, as every chapter devotes significant attention to various
authors and historians who have perpetuated myths regarding Hood. Of all the
things that can be said of this book, saying the author doesn’t take
historiography into account is certainly not one of them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Overall, the book is a worthwhile addition to the literature
on Confederate generals, especially on Hood. I can’t imagine anyone writing on
Hood in the near future and not having to either read, cite, consult, or address Stephen Hood’s
new book. At the end of the day, that is perhaps one of the most important
things that can be said of any work. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That being said, I didn’t find every argument the author
made to be compelling, and there were some points that were made with which I just
flat out disagreed. The author addressed some of the myths or charges against Hood by deflecting attention and blame onto other commanders. For example, when discussing
claims that Hood was ruthless or that he spoke poorly of his men, the author
cites Sherman’s writings and conduct following Kennesaw Mountain as an
example that other generals occasionally spoke in cold, calculating terms about
bloodshed on the battlefield. This example doesn’t really address the stated
issue of the chapter, nor does it specifically refute the idea of Hood as a cold general when it came to loss. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There certainly were other arguments which I found unconvincing. I agree in part with Carole Emberton's review of the work, published on the Civil War Monitor <a href="http://www.civilwarmonitor.com/book-shelf/hood-john-bell-hood-2013" target="_blank">here</a>. Emberton raises some issues with the book that are legitimate (I'll leave it to you to read her arguments and take part in the debate), but her judgment that the book misses the mark because it fails to provide a new view of Hood is incorrect. The author is quite clear in stating that this book is not a biography, but rather a defense of Hood in light of the negative aura that historians have built around the general for decades. Knowing that going in to the book is a key part to understanding its arguments.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t let this distract
you or dissuade you from taking the book seriously, however. The point isn’t
whether I was entirely convinced by every chapter and every argument. In some
instances, my opinion was changed. In others, it wasn’t. An author shouldn't have to make his reader agree with every point in the book for him to accomplish his job. The point is that each
chapter and each argument caused me to stop, think, and reevaluate my own understanding
of Hood. I can think of few higher compliments that can be given to any new
book. That fact alone means that the author and the book are doing something
right. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of my complaints with the work is that throughout, many
mentions are made of the author having a set of new, never before published
personal papers from Hood. The papers are quotes or referenced selectively, and
the reader is left desiring to learn more about this collection. I have recently learned, however, that there is a forthcoming volume of these new Hood papers, edited by Stephen Hood, and being published by Savas Beatie. I am in part reserving some judgment on the book until these papers are published. Because the papers mentioned in the book were brought up sparingly and selectively, I am curious to learn more and see how they may or may not further support the author's arguments. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I finished the book, I had a renewed respect for John
Bell Hood. Many of the “myths” surrounding him were soundly, efficiently, and
entirely dismantled, such as the idea that Hood was addicted to laudanum. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite this being one of the most talked about part of the
book in various reviews and online blog posts, I found it to be a rather small
piece of the larger story. Viewing this book as an argument that Hood never
used laudanum is to miss the forest for the trees. The point isn’t the alleged
drug use; the point is to clarify, and where necessary debunk, the wild rumors which have impeded our view and understanding
of Hood for so many years. The author's efficient and systematic dismantling of this myth was a small, yet important part of the book in that regard.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I
have read biographies on the general before, and expected this to be more
biographical in nature. However, despite the book taking a different approach
than I expected, I still finished it glad that I had read it. The field of
Civil War scholarship needs more books like this one, with more authors like
Stephen Hood, being willing to challenge long held and deeply entrenched myths
about the American Civil War. I have long believed that the average history
buff knows more fiction than fact about the Civil War. Books like this have a
place, and are needed in scholarship to correct such myths, start conversations,
fuel debates, and give us pause to reflect upon whether or not our opinions are
formed by fact or by years of misstatements and mythology. If you have an
interest in John Bell Hood, or if you have an interest in fresh new approaches
to writing about the Civil War, I would recommend <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">John Bell Hood: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Confederate
General</i> by Stephen Hood. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-35209164587316950552013-11-19T11:26:00.000-05:002013-11-19T11:26:01.301-05:00Seven Score and Ten Years Ago
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">150 years ago today, Abraham Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, defining the American Civil War in one of the most important
speeches in history. He was there to deliver “a few appropriate remarks” at the
dedication of a cemetery for the Union dead from the Battle of Gettysburg, the
biggest and bloodiest battle ever fought in North America. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg on November 18, just after dusk had
settled upon the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Thousands had flocked to the
city, crowding the streets of the small southern Pennsylvania town with
outsiders for the second time in 1863. Lincoln spent that evening in the David
Wills home on the town square, where 36 people stayed that evening. Lincoln
spent that night finishing his remarks for the following day. He was asked to
speak to a group of well wishers outside the Wills home, but declined, stating
only that he preferred not to speak extemporaneously that evening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next morning, Lincoln rose early to tour the Gettysburg
battlefield. He wanted to visit where Major General John Reynolds had been killed on July 1, 1863,
and thus rode to the Herbst Woods on McPherson Ridge, part of the July 1
battlefield. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Upon returning to the town, Lincoln took part in a
procession to the new cemetery. After entering the cemetery from Baltimore
Street, Lincoln and other dignitaries made their way to the speaker’s rostrum.
Speaking first was Edward Everett, who famously delivered an oration stretching
over two hours. Then, it was Lincoln’s turn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As Lincoln stepped forward, he was speaking amidst a climate
of death and destruction. All around the still unfinished cemetery, there were
fresh graves, holding the remains of soldiers who had recently given their
lives that this nation may live. When Lincoln arrived at the train station the
day before, there were coffins stacked nearby, waiting to be used for the
remains of brave soldiers who paid the last full measure of devotion. During
his tour of the battlefield, he saw graves of soldiers who had not yet been
reinterred to the new cemetery, as well as the landscape which still bore the
scars of battle. And, when Lincoln stepped forward at the cemetery dedication,
around his famed top hat was a black band, signifying that he was still
mourning the loss of his son Willie, who died in February 1862. Lincoln was, in
many ways, still a grieving father who, although he had not lost a son due to
war, was speaking to a nation of grieving parents whose children had perished
on farmers fields across the United States in a struggle for the future of the
nation. He stepped forward that day to answer a question: was all of the death
and suffering that was tearing apart the country ultimately worth it. Lincoln’s
answer was yes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; margin: 0in 0in 16.8pt 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #020202; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent,
a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all
men are created equal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; margin: 0in 0in 16.8pt 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #020202; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or
any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a
great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that
field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that
nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; margin: 0in 0in 16.8pt 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #020202; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we
can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled
here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The
world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never
forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated
here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly
advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining
before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that
cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here
highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation,
under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the
people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The war would go on. Thousands more would die, including Lincoln himself. And yet, despite these deaths, despite the pain and destruction of the war, the nation and its ideals would continue to live. It continues to live today, a testament to the sacrifices that were made so many years ago. And yet, there is still "the great task remaining before us," a task that has remained and will remain for each generation of Americans, to ensure that the democratic government that Lincoln spoke of 150 years ago today "shall not perish from the earth."</span></o:p></div>
Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-10238221019896386452013-10-22T10:51:00.002-04:002013-10-22T10:51:46.832-04:00Life Interrupts Blogging<div style="text-align: center;">
It has been quite awhile since my last post on here, but I wanted to assure everyone that I am still here. I have just been a bit preoccupied lately by life. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I don't post too much about my non history life and adventures on here, but five years ago I began dating a wonderful girl named Alison when I was a senior at Hillsdale College. On October 12, she became my wife.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hdHI9UG1hjsgsC6mINxdBq5QZ_WVIWS2Up9g2lZP6lz6m-M5Zf_KEDBuj9w899AJ0cjvj49TjRePd4salcjvA-eW8Jaohm0CTyDQEPCM6tbWff7YgAVSiULi3zI5IEqvhbGvxtd5PyzY/s1600/530369_637049909669079_2130516707_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hdHI9UG1hjsgsC6mINxdBq5QZ_WVIWS2Up9g2lZP6lz6m-M5Zf_KEDBuj9w899AJ0cjvj49TjRePd4salcjvA-eW8Jaohm0CTyDQEPCM6tbWff7YgAVSiULi3zI5IEqvhbGvxtd5PyzY/s320/530369_637049909669079_2130516707_n.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We just got back from our honeymoon in Charleston, SC. I will post some pictures on here soon. Saw lots of amazing sights and of course, couldn't help but see some Civil War sites too!!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-43008298437991831392013-09-05T10:48:00.003-04:002013-09-05T10:48:48.545-04:00Book Review: Connecticut Yankees at AntietamHello all,<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I wanted to post about a new book out on Antietam by John Banks, who runs a great blog on Connecticut soldiers at Antietam and Gettysburg (his is one of the featured blogs in my links section on the side of the page). <br />
<br />
<br />
I have had the chance to meet John a few times, and I am very glad he has published a book on Connecticut soldiers at Antietam through the History Press, which is churning out a large number of high quality works as of late. <br />
<br />
<br />
John's book doesn't look at the battle in any sort of regiment by regiment fashion, following various Connecticut units movements on the field. Rather, he approaches the topic by telling stories. With a background in journalism (he actually works for ESPN!), Banks writes with the narrative ability of a natural story teller. The book is an incredibly good read, and the material used in the stories provides some incredibly moving examples of humanity and suffering at Antietam. Certainly, Banks spent many hours doing thorough research for this volume. Each chapter is relatively short (as is the book, a typical size for History Press works), which makes it very accessible for novices and experts alike. <br />
<br />
<br />
One story that stood out the most for me among the moving stories featured in <em>Connecticut Yankees at Antietam</em> is that of Captain Newton Manross of the 16th Connecticut, who wrote to his wife explaining his decision to serve his country, "You can better afford to have a country without a husband than a husband without a country." Manross was killed at Antietam. <br />
<br />
What a powerful quote. Nearly every story featured in this book has material that will be sure to captivate a wide audience from park rangers to those picking up their first book on Antietam. <br />
<br />
I have really enjoyed reading through this new volume, and I highly recommend it. With battle anniversary just around the corner, I will likely be including some of Banks's Connecticut stories in my programming for the upcoming Antietam 151st, especially on my Burnside Bridge hike on Sept 14th. I highly recommend this new work, which you can find on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Connecticut-Yankees-Antietam-Civil-War/dp/1609499514" target="_blank">amazon.com here</a>. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487782624783333590.post-51059922361429676982013-08-28T11:34:00.002-04:002013-08-28T11:34:23.953-04:00For What They Died, I Fight a Little Longer<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the summer season has drawn to a close, thus my time at Gettysburg has ended. If you have followed this blog regularly, you will have noticed that I posted very little this summer. I have been incredibly busy over the past few months. I did 12 new interpretive program at Gettysburg this season, including the programing for the Gettysburg 150th this summer. On top of my other projects, there wasn't much time for blogging.<br />
<br />
This past Sunday, I returned to work at Antietam (Saturday was my last at Gettysburg). Now, on my first day off in a week, I am sitting in the Smith House at Antietam at my desk (hooked up to the internet, which I don't have in my park housing), looking out over Bloody Lane on a rainy day, reflecting on the past few months. <br />
<br />
<br />
My time at Gettysburg, and my return to Antietam, has reminded me that what we do in the National Park Service is incredibly important. Fifty years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" Speech in Washington on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. In some of the pictures, you can see NPS rangers working the event, as the Lincoln Memorial was and is an NPS site. In the Park Service, we are the caretakers of our nation's heritage and greatest treasures. If we continue to do our jobs, our nation's history and dreams will continue to live on for future generations. I am very proud to be a part of this organization. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I thought the following letter from Rufus Dawes to his wife in 1881 appropriately summarized the meaning that sites such as Antietam, Gettysburg, and others provide for us today. Dawes, a veteran of the 6th Wisconsin, was a member of Congress at the time, and he took part of a day to visit the graves of 24 soldiers who were killed under his command during the Civil War. These graves were just a few of the many buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The letter is very moving and reminds us of the strength and lessons we can draw from our past. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i><i><br /></i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
December 18, 1881<br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">My Dear Wife: I have to-day </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">worshiped</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;"> at the shrine of the dead. I went over to the Arlington Cemetery. It was a beautiful morning and the familiar scenes so strongly impressed upon me during my young manhood, were pleasant. Many times I went over that road, admiring the beautiful city and great white capitol, with its unfinished dome, going to hear the great men of that day in Congress. An ambitious imagination then builded castles of the time when I might take my place there. Now at middle age, with enthusiasm sobered by hard fights and hard facts, I ride, not run with elastic step over the same road, with this ambition at least realized, and warmth enough left in my heart to enjoy it. My friends and comrades, poor fellows, who followed my enthusiastic leadership in those days, and followed it to the death which I by a merciful Providence escaped, lie here, twenty-four of them, on the very spot where our winter camp of 1861-1862 was located. I found every grave and stood beside it with uncovered head. I looked over nearly the full 16,000 headboards to find the twenty-four, but they all died alike and I was determined to find all. Poor little Fenton who put his head above the works at Cold Harbor and got a bullet through his temples, and lived three days with his brains out, came to me in memory as fresh as one of my own boys of to-day, and Levi Pearson, one of the three brothers of company ‘A,’ who died for their country in the sixth regiment, and Richard Gray, Paul Mulleter, Dennis Kelly, Christ Bundy, all young men, who fell at my side and under my command. </span><i style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;">For what they died, I fight a little longer. Over their graves I get inspiration to stand for all they won in establishing our government upon freedom, equality, justice, liberty and protection to the humblest.</i></span></blockquote>
<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The letter continues on after this section, but the last sentence here is the key. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Perhaps, people will leave sites such as Gettysburg and Antietam knowing the cost that was paid here, and will resolve to fight a little longer for all that was won and secured for us by our fore fathers seven score and ten years ago.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">I loved every day of my experience at Gettysburg, and I return to Antietam with mixed emotions. I will miss Gettysburg and my colleagues there, but I am certainly very grateful to be returning to such an important and hallowed place. There is no time for rest. The Antietam 151st is just around the corner!!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span>Dan Vermilyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432345682562009779noreply@blogger.com1