Month: September 2007
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Civil War (and other) Research
When I was in college 25 plus years ago, doing research consisted mainly of going to the library, pulling books and journals off the shelf, slogging through reel after reel of microfilm and, if you were lucky, finding a gem or two that was buried deep within a dry dusty tome. While the basics of […]
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One of my favorite pastimes – used book stores
I just love browsing through used book stores! In three decades of heavy business travel, I have made it a point over the years of finding stores that cater to my hobbies and interests – baseball card shops, miniature wargaming stores, and used bookshops. The latter is the most prevalent by far, and often the […]
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Trapped By a Poem!
My first posting, Brett informs me, should be one of personal introduction, something with which I’ve almost always had great difficulty. But it helps to be a little crazy, so I’ll push stalwartly on like the old grenadier that I’ve been lately pretending and imagining myself to be. It feels extremely comfortable and somehow vindicated […]
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I Confuse My Students
Lectured on John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. They learned the name “John Brown” in connection with Bleeding Kansas last class. This class I passed out a photograph of Brown without identifying him and asked for their impressions. Brown looks fairly grim in all his photos and the responses were predictable. I revealed him as […]
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Rebel Spy Story Just a Good Yarn
Stuart’s joke lands woman in jail, but she weds a Northern officer When the American Civil War began in 1861, Antonia Ford was a 23-year-old woman living in Fairfax Court House, Virginia, in the home of her father, a prominent local businessman. The Ford family was secessionist, and Antonia’s brother, Charles, enlisted in the Confederate […]
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Civil War Talk Radio: September 21, 2007
Air Date: 092107 Subject: Civil War Top Ten Lists Book: The History Buff’s Guide to the Civil War Guest: Thomas R. Flagel Summary: Author of, The History Buff’s Guide To The Civil War, Thomas R. Flagel joins Gerry this week for an in depth discussion. Brett’s Summary: Community College Professor Thomas R. Flagel discusses his […]
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A Small Lesson in Tactics Part 1
Lessons of Thermopylae The battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC has long stood as the premier example of defending against a force that largely outnumbers the defenders. Fought in a small pass in the northern province of Greece, Analyzing this battle can teach many aspects of tactical planning and development that can be used even […]