Many New Civil War Blogs, Part 2

In yesterday’s post, I talked about the recent surge of new Civil War blogs, and mentioned Civil Warriors and behind AotW as two of those entries. Today, I’ll preview the other three blogs that have come to my attention recently. Again, these are in no particular order.

1. War of the Rebellion Revisited by Sean Dail
Sean is a Civil War buff and practicing lawyer out of Raleigh, North Carolina. He describes his interests as “primarily a reader (and aspiring writer) of American Civil War history and a “stomper” of Civil War battlefields”. One thing I always want to do more of is go tour the numerous Civil War Battlefields in this country. I’ve made trips east to Virginia and south to Tennessee and Mississippi, but I still haven’t been to Gettysburg and Antietam, Petersburg, Chickamauga, Perryville, and many others too numerous to mention. From my initial look, it appears that Sean’s blog will be similar in scope and format to my own and also Drew Wagenhoffer’s blog. I look forward to Sean’s contributions to the burgeoning Civil War blogosphere.

2. Strike The Tent… by Andy Etman
Andy is a senior History major at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. He also substitute teaches and reviews books for H-CivWar. His blog is “to be used as a companion and reference guide to HIST 320-02, “Topics in History: The Civil War” being taught by Professor Dr. Frances Jones-Sneed at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts”. It looks to be similar to Mike Koepke’s and Dimitri Rotov’s in that Andy keeps us up-to-date on recent Civil War news, while he also shares some background in common with History Teacher / Author Kevin Levin. Andy also provides regular features such as “Today in Civil War History” and “The Civil War on Television”. His blog looks like another solid addition to our niche of Civil War bloggers.

3. A. Lincoln Blog by Brian Dirck
You have to give Brian credit. He describes the early attempts to dissuade him from his goal of becoming a Lincoln scholar, citing the “been there, done that” attitude of some. Instead of following that advice, Brian thankfully has made our 16th President his life’s work as a Professor of History and a Lincoln scholar. His blog is his way of sharing “updates on [his] various Lincoln-related research projects, reactions to current Lincoln scholarship, appearances of Lincoln in current events, and various random musings about Lincoln’s life and legacy, and the Civil War in general”. Brian’s blog is unique in the Civil War blogosphere in that it concentrates on one individual, though you could say (mainly with tongue planted firmly in cheek) that Dimitri’s Civil War Bookshelf has as its main focus one George Brinton McClellan. Brian’s blog has been around for a long time (at least in blogging terms) and in several incarnations, having been created earlier than the four others I’ve mentioned in this two-part post. I look forward to continued posting from Brian, both for his unique blog and for his vast knowledge of all things Honest Abe.

I want to thank all of these bloggers for jumping into the fray. My only humble advice would be to find a posting pace that doesn’t overwhelm you. The average blogger lasts four months or so, as I’m sure some or maybe even all of you are aware, and not surprisingly I found myself hitting a wall around that time. I had originally envisioned an “every day” posting schedule that I couldn’t handle because it interfered with other interests and grew to be too much like work rather than fun. My new once to twice a week program fits me and my schedule much better than my former posting methods. Some, such as Kevin Levin, Eric Wittenberg, and Dimitri Rotov, seem to be perfectly comfortable in more prolific posting habits, and more power to them for that. I can honestly say that I’ve learned a lot from the other Civil War bloggers out there, and I look forward to learning even more as we go.

Check out Beyond the Crater: The Petersburg Campaign Online for the latest on the Siege of Petersburg!


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2 responses to “Many New Civil War Blogs, Part 2”

  1. Brian Dirck Avatar

    I just wanted to say thanks for your kind words about my Lincoln blog; it’s nice to get noticed. I’m not sure if my Lincoln knowledge is as vast as you say, but I’m getting there. Thanks a bunch!

    Brian Dirck

  2. Brett S. Avatar

    Brian,

    No problem. You’re very welcome.

    Brett