Addressing Gettysburg

Delivered on Sunday, June 11, 2023 by Dr. Megan Kate Nelson at the 2023 CWI Summer Conference at Gettysburg College.

From Megan's website:

"Hi there! I'm Megan Kate Nelson, a writer, historian, road cyclist, and cocktail enthusiast.

I am the author of The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West (Scribner, 2020), which was a Finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in History.

My new book, Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America was published by Scribner on March 1, 2022, the 150th anniversary of the Yellowstone Act, which created the first national park in the world. Saving Yellowstone has won the 2023 Spur Award for Historical Nonfiction, and is one of Smithsonian Magazine's Top Ten Books in History for 2022.

I am an expert in the history of the American Civil War, the U.S. West, and popular culture, and have written articles about these topics for The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, The Atlantic, Slate, and Smithsonian Magazine.

A fellow of the Society of American Historians, I am also a regular guest on radio shows and TV documentaries about western history and popular culture.

Before leaving academia to write full-time in 2014, I taught U.S. history and American Studies at Texas Tech University, Cal State Fullerton, Harvard, and Brown. I earned my BA in History and Literature from Harvard University and my PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa."

If you like these glimpses into all of the awesome history-related events and programs in Gettysburg, please consider becoming a Patron so that we can continue to do so. Go to www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg

Early on in the life of Addressing Gettysburg, Dr. Peter Carmichael became a friend and supporter of the show. Patrons, you might already know that the vast majority of the authors we have on the show are due to Pete's assistance. He got us on UNC Press's book reviewer list and that has enable us to bring these guests to you each month. Pete also invited AG to cover the conference in 2022 and 2023 and again in 2024 so we can bring the events and guests to you, wherever you are. He also loves to wear scarves. I do urge you to try your best to attend a conference ASAP. Thanks to Pete for all the work he does to spread the history of the deifining moment in American history, the Civil War and for his friendship to AG.

Peter S. Carmichael received his Ph.D. in History from Penn State University in 1996. His academic interests include 19th-century US history, Civil War and Reconstruction, southern history, public history and cultural history. Carmichael's most recent book, The War for the Common Soldier, was published by University of North Carolina Press in November 2018 as part of the Littlefield History of the Civil War Era series. The culmination of nearly ten years' work, this cultural history of soldiering in Civil War armies explores how soldiers endured the brutal and unpredictable existence of army life during the war years, drawing heavily on close examination of the letters and records left behind by individual soldiers from both the North and the South.

His previous books include The Last Generation: Young Virginians in Peace, War, and Reunion (UNC, 2005) and Lee's Young Artillerist: William R. J. Pegram (Virginia, 1995). In addition to his books, he has also published a number of articles for both scholarly and popular journals, and he speaks frequently to general and scholarly audiences. Carmichael has recently appeared on the PBS Robert E. Lee documentary for the American Experience series and on the popular TV show "Who Do You Think You Are." View Professor Carmichael's talks on C-SPAN.

After completing his doctorate at Penn State University under Dr. Gary W. Gallagher, Professor Carmichael went on to teach at Western Carolina University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and West Virginia University, before coming to Gettysburg College.

In addition to holding seasonal interpretive positions at several National Park Service sites, Carmichael served as Gettysburg National Military Park's first Scholar-in-Residence in 1999, and has developed a lasting relationship with the NPS. In addition to overseeing multiple interpretive workshops for National Park Service staff, he directed a 2010 seminar at Gettysburg NMP to discuss new interpretive approaches to the Civil War sesquicentennial and co-directed (with Jill Ogline Titus) the joint GC/GNMP conference, The Future of Civil War History: Looking Beyond the 150th in 2013.

Caroline Janney's (University of Virginia) talk, "The Gray Ghost: John Singleton Mosby," given on Sunday, June 11, 2023 in the CUB Ballroom at Gettysburg College.

Enjoying these tastes of what the Summer Conference is like? Grateful for them? Then, maybe it's time you joined the AG Community by becoming a Patron. 9 out of 10 dentists agree that you should. Just go to www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg and prepare to be overwhelmed with history content that can't be replicated.

Listener (and one of the sponsors of this episode) Casey Turben arranged for us to go to Winchester, Virginia ( a great city surrounded by beautiful scenery) and reocrd a show with historian Jonathan Noyalas from inside of Star Fort on the outskirts of the city. There we talked about Robert Milroy's occupation and subsequent ousting from Winchester during the Battle of Second Winchester, June 13-15.

From the American Battlefield Trust:

"The Battle of Second Winchester was the second engagement of the Gettysburg Campaign. After his victory at Chancellorsville, Lee decided to invade the North once again to provide relief to war-ravaged Virginia. He hoped to fight and win a decisive battle on Northern soil. Lee planned to march up the Shenandoah Valley to cross into Maryland, where the army's movements would be screened by both the Blue Ridge Mountains and Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry. Lieut. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's II Corps received the mission to clear the valley for the rest of the army, and at Winchester, succeeded in doing so."

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Here's one for those of you out there hungering for more Southern stuff. Our buddy Dr. Peter Carmichael came to the studio to talk about Confederate reactions to the Battle of Gettysburg. Wanna keep the show going? Then please consider becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg Peter S. Carmichael received his Ph.D. in History from Penn State University in 1996. His academic interests include 19th-century US history, Civil War and Reconstruction, southern history, public history and cultural history. Carmichael's most recent book, The War for the Common Soldier, was published by University of North Carolina Press in November 2018 as part of the Littlefield History of the Civil War Era series. The culmination of nearly ten years' work, this cultural history of soldiering in Civil War armies explores how soldiers endured the brutal and unpredictable existence of army life during the war years, drawing heavily on close examination of the letters and records left behind by individual soldiers from both the North and the South.His previous books include The Last Generation: Young Virginians in Peace, War, and Reunion (UNC, 2005) and Lee's Young Artillerist: William R. J. Pegram (Virginia, 1995). In addition to his books, he has also published a number of articles for both scholarly and popular journals, and he speaks frequently to general and scholarly audiences. Carmichael has recently appeared on the PBS Robert E. Lee documentary for the American Experience series and on the popular TV show "Who Do You Think You Are." View Professor Carmichael's talks on C-SPAN.After completing his doctorate at Penn State University under Dr. Gary W. Gallagher, Professor Carmichael went on to teach at Western Carolina University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and West Virginia University, before coming to Gettysburg College.In addition to holding seasonal interpretive positions at several National Park Service sites, Carmichael served as Gettysburg National Military Park's first Scholar-in-Residence in 1999, and has developed a lasting relationship with the NPS. In addition to overseeing multiple interpretive workshops for National Park Service staff, he directed a 2010 seminar at Gettysburg NMP to discuss new interpretive approaches to the Civil War sesquicentennial and co-directed (with Jill Ogline Titus) the joint GC/GNMP conference, The Future of Civil War History: Looking Beyond the 150th in 2013.

Kevin Levin, author of Searching For Black Confederates, talks about Robert gould Shaw and his time BEFORE the 54th Massachusetts. Lecture took place in the Mara Auditorium on June 10 at Gettysburg College.

Help us help you get more Gettysburg an d Civil War History. We are able to cover the entire Summer Conference because of our Patrons. Become one today if you'd like to hasve more Addressing Gettysburg. Go to www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg

Weather, especially weather during the Civil War, dictates more of what we do than you might think. Kenneth Noe talks about it in this lecture given on June 9, 2023. If you enjoy this lecture and want to diver deeper into the subject, please consider becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg

A native of Virginia, Ken Noe is a graduate of Emory & Henry College, earned masters degrees at Virginia Tech and the University of Kentucky, and received his doctorate from the University of Illinois in 1990. He taught at the University of West Georgia for a decade and then at Auburn University from 2000 until 2021. He is the author or editor of eight books, most recently The Howling Storm: Weather, Climate and the American Civil War, a Lincoln Prize finalist in 2021 and co-winner of the 2022 Colonel Richard W. Ulbrich Memorial Book Award. Twice a Pulitzer Prize entrant, he also received the 2002 Peter Seaborg Award for Civil War history for Perryville, the 1997 Tennessee History Book Award for A Southern Boy in Blue, and several teaching awards. He is currently researching the myths and realities of Abraham Lincoln's tenure as Commander-in-Chief. When not thinking about the Civil War, he is hiking or following Liverpool FC, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and every school he ever attended.

Contact him for book reviews or speaking engagements at [email protected].

Check out Ken's website https://kennethwnoe.com/

We hope you enjoy this lecture given by Christian Keller at the CWI's 2023 Summer Conference, June 9, 2023. You can hear an interview with Christian about this topic on our Patreon channel. Just go to www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg

Since 2011, Dr. Christian B. Keller has been Professor of History in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the United States Army War College, Carlisle, PA, where he teaches courses for senior leaders on the theory of war and strategy, national security policy and strategy, and the American Civil War. In 2017 he was named the General Dwight D. Eisenhower Chair of National Security and in 2019 became the Director of the Military History Program for the school.

Previously, he served as Professor of Military History for five and a half years at the Army Command and General Staff College, Ft. Belvoir, VA, and has also taught at numerous civilian institutions, including Shippensburg University, Gettysburg College, Dickinson College, and Washington and Lee University. In 2001-2002, after completing his Ph.D, Dr. Keller was a Fulbright Professor of American History at the University of Jena, Germany.

Along with many scholarly articles focusing on strategic, operational, and ethnic topics in the Civil War, he is author of The Great Partnership: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and the Fate of the Confederacy (Pegasus, 2019); author of Chancellorsville and the Germans: Nativism, Ethnicity, and Civil War Memory (Fordham, 2007); co-author of Damn Dutch: Pennsylvania Germans at Gettysburg (Stackpole/Rowman-Littlefield, 2004); co-author of The Civil War: A Visual History (Dorling-Kindersley/Smithsonian Institution, 2011); and co-author of Pennsylvania: A Military History (Westholme, 2016). His newest book, Southern Strategies: Why the Confederacy Failed was published by the University Press of Kansas in June 2021.

Dr. Keller's next project, a new narrative of the Army of Northern Virginia based on dozens of previously unpublished wartime letters written by generals and staff officers, is currently in the final research phases with a prospective publication date in early 2024.

A native of Carlisle, Dr. Keller lives with his wife, Kelley, in an antebellum house that witnessed the occupation of Carlisle Barracks by Confederate troops at the end of June 1863.

Back in September of 2022, Matt, Six Questions Lentz, LBGs Chris Army and Tracy Baer and friends went down to Culpeper, Virginia to take a tour of Brandy Station battlefields with Clark "Bud" Hall and then record a show on Fleetwood Hill. Bud has led a remakable effort to preserve hundreds of acres of battlefield over the decades and it's truly an amazing place to visit. The grounds saw far more activity that just that famous cavalry battle on June 9, 1863.

From the American Battlefield Trust:

"Fought in the second week of June 1863, Brandy Station was the largest cavalry battle ever fought in North America. With momentum firmly in hand after his stunning victory at Chancellorsville, General Robert E. Lee decided to launch a second Northern invasion. On June 3, the Army of Northern Virginia began the movement away from Fredericksburg. The first leg of the march took the Confederates to Culpeper Court House. From there, Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry division was to screen the infantry as the march continued to the Shenandoah Valley. Stuart's concentration, however, was detected by Union cavalry led by Alfred Pleasonton. Under the assumption that Stuart planned a raid around his right flank toward Washington, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, the commander of the Army of the Potomac, directed Pleasonton to cross the Rappahannock River and destroy the Confederate cavalry. Early on the morning of June 9, Pleasonton sent columns over the Rappahannock at Beverly Ford and Kelly's Ford. Following the crossing at Beverly Ford, the Union troopers truck Stuart's camp in the vicinity of a rail station on the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, Brandy Station. The Confederates quickly rallied, and the Federals ran into stiff resistance at St. James Church and the Richard Cunningham farm. After moving over Kelly's Ford, the Union cavalry split up. One division headed for Brandy Station while the other made their way to Stevensburg. The arrival of blue troopers at Brandy Station threatened the rear of Stuart's position. Stuart countered by deftly shifting his brigades, and the two sides clashed in mounted combat on a long, low ridge that rose from the station called Fleetwood Hill. Correspondingly, Pleasonton's force at Stevensburg were stymied by Confederate horsemen. Unable to break through Stuart's position, Pleasonton abandoned the field after fourteen hours of fighting."

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Lisa Samia joins Matt to talk about her latest book "The NAMELESS & the FACELESS of the CIVIL WAR, Gettysburg, Manassas and More: BOOK THREE: A Collection of Poems, Essays and Photos". BOOK THREE / A collection of poems & essays by Award Winning Author, Lisa G. Samia. Includes 28 poems and 28 essays with photos. This collection is for the men, women, and soldiers who witnessed the Civil War but their lives and experiences were lost and forgotten in the pages of history. Step back in time and listen as the voices of the silent past come back to life. LISA G. SAMIA is an award-winning Poet, Author, and Speaker. She is the recipient of two National Park Service Artist in Residence Awards. The first in September 2020 from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for Poetry. The second from Manassas, Virginia for Poetry in Fall 2021. Many of the photos in this collection were taken by Lisa during her Artist Residency. Available now! Get your copy here Listen to the rest of this episode, support the show and receive early access to special events by becoming a Patron. www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg