Blue and Gray Magazine is in the middle of a stunningly good five-part series by Chickamauga expert William Glenn Robertson. Through Part III (.pdf link), Robertson is just opening the battle itself. His operational history of the campaign up to that point is the clearest, best written account I've come across. Thanks to Dave Roth and the rest of B&G, each volume contains more maps than one can expect to find inside even the best of battle histories. The attached driving tour guides make the series even more valuable. I look forward to the final two installments, and get the feeling the series will be a valuable collector's item as well.There is something to be said for a family run publication, one that starts with deep commitment and maintains consistent editorial oversight. It's gratifying to see a popular Civil War magazine that demonstrates such conspicuous improvement in content and presentation with each passing year.
Hello Drew
ReplyDeleteI had heard at one time that Glenn Robertson was working on a Chickamauga book? Have you ever heard that rumor. Or have you heard of anyone else working on a new book covering the campaign?
Regards
Don Hallstrom
Don,
ReplyDeleteNone that I know of. It's been suggested that Robertson is doing this magazine series in lieu of a book, but I don't know how much truth is in that conjecture.
Drew,
ReplyDeleteIndeed there is, and Dave Roth does a great job with B&G.
Dave tells me that this series of articles is the serialization of Robertson's book on the Chickamauga Campaign, so this is what you get. Dave said that Robertson decided to do it this way rather than publish it as a book. I'm guessing here, but I'm guessing that he didn't want to do the extra work necessary to make it long enough to constitute a book-length study of the campaign.
As for new books on Chickamauga, old friend Dave Powell is doing a Maps of Chickamaugau volume much like Brad Gottfried's recent Maps of Gettysburg for Savas-Beatie. I know that Dave's been working on this for years and that there are more than 100 maps coming. Should be a great one.
Eric
Eric,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. The magazine series already has a feeling of completeness. I wouldn't be surprised if B&G later repackaged it in some form as a General's Books publication.
Powell's map study project sounds wonderful. As a model, I like Gottfried's general approach.
Drew,
ReplyDeleteI think it's quite likely that Dave with do that.
It's appropriate that Savas-Beatie public Dave Powell's map study, too.
Eric
I had the honor of accompanying Glenn on a couple of staff rides at Chickamauga, and over the years we have talked about his book project. He has material that casts new light on some of the most controversial aspects of the battle, and a number of us who love the field have long hoped that he would get these interpretations into print.
ReplyDeleteWhile I love the B&G series - it proves without a doubt that Glenn is the master of this subject - I do suspect the idea of a larger book just seemed too massive for Glenn to tackle, what with his ongoing duties at CGSC, and his family requirements.
My own projects concerning this Chickamauga continue apace. In fact, with S/B's publication of The Maps of Gettysburg, this seemed an ideal vehicle to get my own map project into print - it had lain fallow for several years as I contemplated the best way to present it.
Dave Powell