Tuesday, February 9, 2010

The passing of Dr. Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr.

Although I never had the opportunity to meet Art Bergeron in person, he was the only professional Civil War historian that I corresponded with on a regular basis, and I was greatly saddened to hear of his passing. When it came to his beloved Louisiana, he cheerfully helped me on so many occasions that it is impossible to count. And it wasn't just token help off the top of his head, he freely gave of his own time to do research for me. On a personal level, I will sorely miss his advice and generosity, and every serious student (amateur and professional) of Civil War Louisiana knows what a loss his untimely death truly is. My thoughts go out to his family and friends. Rest in Peace, Art.

[I have not discovered any online obituaries yet, but the website of the CWRT of Central LA has a nice professional bio (here).]

7 comments:

  1. Like you, I never met Art Bergeron in person, but I too corresponded with him a number of times over the years. He was always cordial, professional, and extremely generous with his time. I asked his advice about research projects that I was considering, and also he gave me leads on various primary documents. He will be greatly missed!

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  2. A great loss. I'm so sorry to hear about his passing.

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  3. I am really surprised by this news. Art helped us with many projects, and wrote for our Civil War Regiments journal.

    Art and I met once in person in Louisiana, where we enjoyed a good cigar and cold beer (I think Terry Winschel was with us) in Art's hotel room. I believe his only son was killed by a drunk driver when he was very young (in his teens). Let's hope they are together again.

    Rest in Peace, Art

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  4. That is sad news to hear. I enjoyed his book on 'Confederate Mobile' as I have always been interested in the history of Mobile during the Civil War. These types of Civil War scholars will be sorely missed.
    Chris

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  5. Sad news.

    Back in November Mr. Bergeron updated me on his projected biography on General Godfrey Weitzel: "I am still doing research for it. Unfortunately, I lost several computer files with my notes late last year and will have to revisit a couple of archives to go through collections about him again."

    I regret Arthur Bergeron's passing very much.

    Stefan

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  6. Art was so very helpful in freely sharing research and advice as I wrote The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign. He was an early reviewer and editor, and made so many valuable suggestions. He will be greatly missed.

    Scott L. Mingus, Sr.
    York PA

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  7. I just talked w/ Bob Driver in Rockbridge, Va. and he gave me the bad news about Art. What a loss to the historical community. Not only was Art generous with his time to help me with research on Fort Gregg whenever I visited the U.S. Army Military History Institute but he continued to send me bits of info as the years went by. I will miss him and I know that everybody whose lives he touched will miss him too.
    John Fox

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