In this episode we present an interview with Jeff Shaara, author of Gods and Generals and many other books of historical fiction. Jeff is introduced by Sarah Kay Bierle Education Coordinator at the  American Battlefield Trust, and interviewed by Chris Mackowski, a Copie Hill Civil War Fellow at the American Battlefield Trust and the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Emerging Civil War.

The little hamlet around Sudley Church hosted troops during two battles and was a hospital in between, as well as a popular photography spot for locals. Garry Adelman summarizes it all!

Garry Adelman sets the scene for the beginning of the Civil War in the Eastern Theater, and explains how the Union and Confederate armies came to clash outside of Manassas, Virginia on July 21, 1861.

One of the most photographed battles of the Civil War, Port Hudson is not well remembered. In this episode, Garry Adelman heads down to Louisiana to discover the southern end of the Vicksburg Campaign at the Port Hudson State Historic Site where he is joined by special guest Daniel Goyer.

We continue our tour of Vicksburg museums at the Museum of Mississippi History in Jackson, MS to check out their incredible Civil War collection. Explore more of the Museum of Mississippi History: www.mmh.mdah.ms.gov.

Vicksburg National Military Park can make a claim that no other battlefield park can . . . they have a Civil War era ironclad. The USS Cairo spent over 100 years at the bottom of the Yazoo River before being located and raised in the 1960s. Special Guest Dr. Tim Smith is with Kris White and Chris Mackowski for a tour of the famous gunboat.

Our Vicksburg coverage comes to a close for a full tour of the 3rd Louisiana Redan area with Garry Adelman, Kris White and Dr. Chris Mackowski.

Listen in as we tour the grounds of the most iconic building in the City of Vicksburg, the Old Courthouse - which hosted Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, 1863.

The southern end of the Vicksburg Battlefield receives less attention from visitors, but that does not take away from its beautiful landscape and historical importance. Join Garry Adelman and Dr. Chris Mackowski for a recap of the action surrounding the Railroad Redoubt and Vicksburg preservation stories.

We are back to Vicksburg National Military Park for numerous tours throughout the battlefield. Our first stop is the Stockade Redan with Garry Adelman, Dr. Chris Mackowski and Kris White. This assault was named "The Forlorn Hope" by William T. Sherman. “A forlorn hope,” associated with the Civil War according to one Wikipedia entry, “is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the kill zone of a defended position, where the risk of casualties is high.”