Civilians: December 2008 Archives

The cover photo for this upcoming book is courtesy of Chambersburg, PA history buff and taltented photographer Will Dupuis, who specializes in Gettysburg-related photography. For more of his work, click this link or visit his homepage.

My latest book of human interest stories from the Gettysburg Campaign, Gettysburg Glimpses: True Stories from the Battlefield, will be available in March 2009. Watch this blog for ordering information! Autographed first edition copies will be available for pre-order in February.

There are several new stories from here in York County in this 153-page collection of more than 200 stories from the battlefield and the campaign. The vast majority of these anecdotes and incidents will be new to you. Some are ironic, some humorous, some tragic, but all are sure to be of interest.

Here are a few examples from this new book, which is a companion to my two-volume Human Interest Stories of the Gettysburg Campaign.

More than 700 York County residents suffered losses to the passing armies during the Gettysburg Campaign. In a few cases, they were victimized more than once, and at times to both the Union and Confederate forces. One such multiple unfortunate was wealthy Hanover merchant and land owner Josiah W. Gitt, whose properties were in the wrong places at the wrong times.

Edward L. Ayers is the current President of the University of Richmond. A celebrated historian of the American South and the Civil War, he is hosting a FREE series of lectures in te Robins Center, the university's basketball arena and assmbly hall.

The University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, will host the first event in its Civil War Sesquicentennial series on April 29, 2009. Registrations are now being accepted. The focus will be on the catalytic event that stirred passions and helped lead to the Civil War--the John Brown raid on Harpers Ferry.