behind AotW

A new front-page feature with supporting exhibits on the Battle of Crampton’s Gap is now up on AotW. Thanks again to Tim Reese for sharing his expertise and letting us capture the best of his former website.

Back in 2002, Timothy J. Reese launched his Crampton’s Gap website. Before that, the 1862 battle was woefully underrepresented online. Prior to his books (1998, 2004*), the battle was underrepresented in print, as well.

I believe his crusade to get Crampton’s respect and formal recognition as a battlefield park were the original motives for putting the website up. The political winds strong against him, he has taken the site down. Taking a break. Tired of banging against it.

I was very sorry to see the work he’d done online disappear, so I asked him to let me pull it over onto AotW and get it back on the air. For the last few days I’ve been importing his page content and illustrations, and formatting them to work with the rest of the AotW site. Assuming Tim approves of what I’ve done, I hope to have it up this weekend.

[Tim’s Crampton’s Gap material begins here]

Although the decision to save his stuff was instinctive, I am expecting to hear from people who do not agree with his perspective.

I laughed this morning, after a double-take, on loading AotW. It’s all green! I’d forgotten about a little code I put in a couple of years back which automatically loads the St Patrick’s day style sheet on March 17th. It looks very odd. But it’s green.

Happy St Patrick’s Day! Ask the Wild Geese to find you a parade.

There should be lots of material out there in the blog-o’sphere today. (Other) Civil War junkies will wax eleoquent about Irish Brigades and regiments. As well they should.

Here’s one of ours, LCol Patrick Kelly. He was in command of the 88th New York Infantry at the Bloody Lane at Antietam. Lost his life in action later in the War at Petersburg, Virginia. Saints preserve him.