Books: March 2009 Archives

If you happen to be in south-central Pennsylvania over the next couple of months, here are some personal appearances and book signings...

April 4 - 25th Annual York Book & Paper Fair at the York Fairgrounds on W. Market Street in York PA, 11:00 AM until noon.

April 18 - History Meets the Arts at various venues throughout the day in Gettysburg, PA including Gallery 30.

April 26 - Butternut & Blue Civil War Day at the York Emporium on W. Market Street in York PA, 2:00 PM

May 9 - Gettysburg National Military Park Visitors Center Museum Gift Shop on Taneytown Road in Gettysburg, PA; 11:00 until 3:00 PM

May 12 - Cumberland Valley Civil War Round Table (Franklin Fire Hall in Chambersburg, PA) 7:00

May 28 - Susquehanna Civil War Round Table in Sunbury, PA, 7:00 PM Visit their website for location and more information.

Jim Durney of Tampa Bay wrote on various Civil War and book review sites:

"Histories of the Gettysburg Campaign dismiss The Pennsylvanian response with no more than a page. The hapless state militia breaks at the first rumor of an attack, dropping all government issued equipment in their haste to run away. The Army of Northern Virginia's veterans make jokes about the militia's lack of performance while reequipping themselves at U.S. Government expense. Somehow, the local militia manages to burn the critical bridge over the Susquehanna River stopping the Army of Northern Virginia from capturing the state capitol. This piece of almost mindless good luck saves the Lincoln administration from a major embarrassment and contributes to the South's defeat. During the Battle of Gettysburg, only one man, John Burns, stepped forward to fight for his home.

The question is how do you turn 120 odd words into book of over 600 pages? More important, can you make that book a marketable product that people will want to buy? First, any book that is part of The Discovering Civil War America Series, merits consideration. This outstanding series of histories on the Civil War are informative, fun to read and inexpensive. This is a Gettysburg book and any Civil War person will automatically look at a book on Gettysburg. The opening paragraph is only half in jest. I have read a few books on Gettysburg but never read much more than a page on this operation. You might stop in York to look at the tablets saying Early took the town in 1863. Maybe you stop in some of the small towns on the way to the park from York. However very few of us know much about this area and we really want to get on the battlefield.

Scott Mingus Sr. makes an important addition to the story of Gettysburg by filling a void that we were unaware of by replacing our comfortable assumptions with a detailed study of the action from June 26 to 30, 1863. This is a rich layered story with unexpected complications. The first 90 pages set the stage as the author starts the invasion of 1863. While some of this is familiar territory, the focus moves us toward Pennsylvania and the state's building response. The balance of the book moves us from Gettysburg on June 26 to the Susquehanna River and back to Gettysburg on July 1.

Jim and Pam Lewin of the York Emporium are organizing and promoting this year's York Book and Paper Fair at the York Fairgrounds on Saturday, April 4, 2009. There will be used and collectible book dealers (including Civil War topics), comic books and paper memorabilia, related collectibles, guest appearances, book signings, etc. at what promised to be an eclectic and very interesting event. I will be signing copies of Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863 from 11:00 AM until noon.

Have a look at their website for more information!

My new book on one of the most famous brigades in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the Gettysburg Campaign will be published (as was my recently released Flames Beyond Gettysburg) on archival quality, acid-free premium book paper from Glatfelter. Click on the icon above to learn more about the permanent, library-quality paper used by many leading printers and book publishers across North America.

I received formal notification today from LSU Press that my upcoming book, The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863, will indeed appear in their Fall 2009 book catalog.The book will be 352 pages, with a footprint of 6"x9". It will have 8 maps, some of which I am using under license from Brad Gottfried (maps of the Second Battle of Winchester). The forward to the book is by noted New England author Brent Nosworthy, who wrote the classic Civil War book Bloody Crucible of Courage.

ISBN 978-0-8071-3479-5

Cloth-bound hardback, dust jacket. October 2009.

$34.95 MSRP.

Here is a snippet...

U.S. Congressman Joe Pitts (R - PA) and Pennsylvania author and wargamer Scott L. Mingus Sr. met on March 9 to discuss the Civil War in Lancaster and York counties. Here, the writer (right) presents Congressman Pitts with a personalized copy of Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863. Pitts is a long-time supporter of Lancaster-area historical venues and in particular has been interested in the burning of the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge during the American Civil War.

Two of Mingus's children graduated from Lancaster County colleges (Millersville University and Elizabethtown College), and Professor Scott L. Mingus, Jr. teaches World History at Harrisburg Community College's Lancaster regional campus.

Washington writer Guy Breshears has always been interested in the military and social history of the state and the Pacific Northwest as a region. One of his particular interests is Major Granville Owen Haller, a York native who plays the antagonist role in my book, Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863. A couple of years ago, Breshears chronicled the court-martial proceedings of Major Haller, who was accused by another Civil War officer with York ties, Clark Wells, of making disloyal comments about the Federal government and President Lincoln at a late 1862 wine-tasting party at a military campsite near Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Letters flew back and forth between Wells and Haller at the start of 1863, and Haller apparently thought the matter was settled. He commanded the forces that tried to defend Adams and York counties during the Gettysburg Campaign, and then, after the emergency was over, found that he had been dismissed from the army for disloyalty. He was not reinstated for nearly two decades, during which time he amassed a fortune in Washington as a businessman. The army finally reinstated Haller and promoted him to colonel.

Guy Breshear's book, Major Granville Haller: Dismissed with Malice, was published by Heritage Books and is available from leading book dealers such as amazon.com. It is mostly a collection of Haller's official reports, statements made by him that are contained in his widely circulated rebuttal to the charges, and a transcript of the court proceedings that reinstated him to the service.

Civil War and More is a retail store in downtown Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Located at 10 S. Market Street, it's an easy drive from central or northern York County. The store has an interesting selection, which ranges from neckties to books of all sorts to ship models. Owner Jim Schmick is a long-time fixture in Harrisburg-area Civil War circles, and store manager Jack Thomas I first met when I spoke at the Hershey Civil War Round Table three or four years ago.