Winter is finally over, and I hope my long absence from this blog is as well. I am working on the last post for my Fredericksburg trip in January and also a mini-review of Wilson's Creek, a great book by William Piston and Richard Hatcher III featuring detailed coverage of the battle and an analysis of unit loyalties and identities in early war armies.
This weekend also marks the beginning of my Spring hiking schedule. The staff at Antietam began last week with a hike focusing on the Irish Brigade (I missed this one). This week's hike will explore Confederate artillery positions on and around Nicodemus Hill, and offers a rare opportunity to explore privately held land. I'm told Brian Baracz is leading this one, so I expect to cover some challenging terrain (briars, steep slopes -- who knows). He also has a knack for selecting poignant vignettes from memoirs and diaries to highlight the significance of otherwise unobtrusive terrain features, so I'm looking forward to it.
The hike starts at the North Woods stop around 1:15pm on Sunday. Hope to see you there!
20 hours ago
2 comments:
Bill Piston was one of my professors in grad school. One of the perks was a guided tour of the Wilson's Creek battlefield. At the time (late 1990s), he was still focused on the initial stages of primary material gathering, and didn't offer too much in the way of interpretation. I haven't had a chance to read his current work, but am looking forward to it.
Just posted my review. The book changed my opinion of Lyon, as I think the authors convincingly demonstrate his vacillation on the eve of battle.
Also added your blog to my blog roll. An interesting hobby, and a useful reference for someone like me.
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