behind AotW

Santa Claus as Thomas Nast pictured him in Harper’s Weekly in 1865

All the best to you and yours this Season and through the New Year. I’m also thinking of our troops in harm’s way this Christmas Eve, and look forward to having them back safe and soon.

Is blogging evolving, or am I just looking for validation of my own tendency to post less often?

In between the slow bloggers and the rapid-fire ones, there is a vast middle, hundreds of thousands of writers who are not trying to attract advertising or buzz but do want to reach like-minded colleagues and friends. These people have been the bedrock of the [blogging] genre since its start, yet recently there has been a sea change in their output: They are increasingly turning to slow blogging, in practice if not in name.

Go see Dan Cohen for a thoughtful examination of (scholarly) blogging and a pointer to Sharon Otterman’s New York Times piece quoted above. I like his take that

… personal content management systems (what blogging platforms really are) are, despite the genre's early, unpromising forms, perfectly suited for serious thought and scholarship. With blogging, there is no requirement for frequent posting, and I subscribe to many scholarly blogs that have infrequent, but substantive, posts. Put us in the slow blogging camp…

I like the personal publishing concept, and departing from the stereotype of blog as vanity outlet.

If you can get to the battlefield, and especially if you’ve never done this before, make a point to be there on Saturday, December 6.

It’s the 20th Annual Memorial Illumination. It will be stunning. You’ll be awestruck, I promise.

Volunteers place over 23,000 candles on the battlefield; each representing a casualty from the bloodiest single day battle in American History. Driving tour begins at 6:00 p.m.on Route 34 east of Sharpsburg. In the event of high winds or heavy rain, this event will be rescheduled to December 13. Note: The visitor center will be open from 8:30 a.m through 3:00 p.m. Several of the park roads will not be available to tour after 3:00 p.m.

Also this year …

Pry House Field Hospital Museum-Living history, barn and house exhibits conducted before the Illumination. House closes at 5pm. Illumination gates open at 6 pm at the entrance on Route 34. For more information, call 301-695-1864 or visit us online at www.civilwarmed.org.

It’s below freezing and we’ve seen snow flurries here in Northern Virginia. A good time to burrow in and wish for Spring. Or at least for warmer battlefield tramping weather.

I am inspired to plan some serious hikes by the news that the new Three Farms Trail is open at Antietam National Battlefield. Roulette, Newcomer (below), and Sherrick, are the three, I’d guess. This new path ties together a network of 9 trails which covers much of the battlefield terrain which saw combat 17 September 1862.

So, with a goal to follow all of the trails and tramp the whole battlefield in a season, I’m wondering what would be the best way to do it? I’ll take a shot at a plan over the next few weeks … who’s with me?

Eric Wittenberg has put up a fine post featuring James Childs, Colonel, 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry, killed at Antietam on 17 September 1862. Elements of the Fourth were among the few Union cavalrymen engaged at Sharpsburg that day – the Federal mounted arm was not a major factor in the battle.

Eric’s study – and that distinctive photograph of the Colonel – reminded me of a gap in my digital collection of portraits. In particular the face of the man who followed Childs in command of the unit, his Lieutenant Colonel James K. Kerr. As usual, looking for Kerr led to other serendipitous connections and people … thanks Eric!

Fourth Pennsylvania Cavalry [McClellan Drilling Troops, 1861] (artist unknown, Phila Museum of Art)

It is alive.

I’ve installed and configured a wiki for like minded folk to discuss using blogs as a means of getting history online. And anything else that relates to practical digital history.

This seems like a good tool for remote collaboration, and stems from a rash of recent posts and comments on the subject by Harry, Robert, Craig, Jenny, Don, Nick, and others.

I’ll try a more serious post later, and hope to do more with the wiki over the next few days. In the meantime, have at it!

I’ve been poked by Molly Gannon of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI), alerting me to the new blog by columnist Linda Wheeler. I’ve enjoyed her newspaper articles for some time, and look forward to what she’ll be doing online.

Civil War columnist Linda Wheeler brings her successful A House Divided writings to washingtonpost.com after a” 10-year run as a column in the newspaper. Sometimes news-breaking but always interesting, the blog will cover issues of importance to Civil War enthusiasts across the country and around the world. She will report on conferences and seminars, find little-known battlefields and sites to explore, check on the latest books and advice on upcoming events, and more. Wheeler welcomes comments on the blog, as well as tips and ideas for coverage.

Keep an eye out!

146 years to the day after the historical events, a lucky group of us tracked the unlucky 118th Pennsylvania Volunteers to the places and views of the Battle of Shepherdstown Ford (20 September 1862). Under the capable guidance of Dr Tom Clemens and members of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association (SBPA), we waded the Potomac, scaled the heights, and walked the field.

ANB Visitor’s Center – a postcard perfect day

We gathered Saturday the 20th at the Antietam Visitor’s Center, drove in convoy to the Dunleavy spread near Shepherdstown, WV, and then carpooled to the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal Park [NPS site] back on the Maryland side of the Shepherdstown (Boteler’s, Packhorse, Blackford’s) Ford…

Mannie sneaks up on the prey

I drove through the fog to Sharpsburg yesterday, much earlier than is usual for me to be up on a Saturday. Arrived too early for the ANB Visitor’s Center to be open, in fact, but in time to catch Mr. Mumma cutting blossoms to place inside. Ranger Mannie was out early, too.

Still no time to blog, more’s the pity. Life intervenes. But I’m making time for a couple of trips to Sharpsburg in this Anniversary month. I hope some of you can join me.

Next weekend – the 13th and 14th – will be the biggest of the year at the Park. The Park Service page for the Anniversary events has all the information. I haven’t decided yet which event specifically, but will be there early Saturday morning, so I’m leaning toward the first hike going off at 8am called the Opening Guns: the role of Artillery on the morning of 17 September 1862.

The annual Heritage Days festival is in town in Sharpsburg the same weekend. I plan to catch the three SHAF historical speakers Saturday afternoon, at least. Much to do in Sharpsburg all day (and Sunday). Steven Recker is doing his O.T. Reilly tour of the town both days at 1pm, too. I can’t do that one, but hope you got a spot: he’s only taking 25 each day.

There’s also the annual battlefield tradition of the all-day hike on the battle anniversary date, proper. This year, as it did in 1862, September 17th falls on a Wednesday. If you can get there, you can spend the day chasing the battle action (and an intrepid Ranger or two) across the whole field in approximate time-step with the sequence of events.

The following weekend I’ll return to the area to wade the Potomac Saturday, where the Army of Northern Virginia crossed back into Virginia after the battle of Sharpsburg. In this case chasing Dr Tom Clemens on a tour of the ford and battle area of 20 September 1862. A rare opportunity I’m looking forward to grabbing, thanks to our friends at the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association (SBPA). There may be food and beverages. Bonus.

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I’m still working on the second installment on Federal artillerist Horatio Gibson (part one now months back). Presently having fun with one apparent aspect of his personality which I’ve also seen in a particular type of modern military officer: the ringknocker. If you recognize the term.

Here’s the ring, which is all you get til I finally post …. the rest of the story.