1. Galveston and the Civil War: An Island City in the Maelstrom
by James M. Schmidt (The Hist Pr, 2012).Edward Cotham has gifted us the military side of Civil War Galveston and now Jim Schmidt delves into a wider set of issues.
2. To Antietam Creek: The Maryland Campaign of September 1862
by D. Scott Hartwig (Johns Hopkins UP, 2012).I did not know until this year that Scott Hartwig was working on a Maryland Campaign mega-history. This first volume, covering origins through September 16, is a huge book, its narrative, maps, appendices, and notes filling around 800 pages. The Sesquicentennial has been far kinder to some subjects than others and Antietam students have been among the best treated. I can't imagine a serious Antietam reader without this one.
3. Battlefields of Honor: American Civil War Reenactors
by Jeannine Stein and Mark Elson (Merrell, 2012).This is a text and photographic study of reenacting, one that attempts to replicate the look and feel of period images.
Hartwig's book looks great. I'm glad it was finally published. I hope I can eventually get a copy.
ReplyDeleteI know he has been working on it for at least 15+ years because he did the essay on Lee and the Antietam camapign in the collection 'Lee The Soldier' by Gary Gallagher from '96 and I think the project was mentioned in his bio. I might have heard him discuss the project on TV in the last '90s.
It was one of those American history projects I wondered if it would ever really get published like the mythical Gary Gallager bio on Jubal Early that has been 20+ years and Paul Andrew Hutton's supposed bio on Davy Crockett that has been also been as long.
Chris
That's one of the reasons why I don't like to hear of people giving up on projects just because they 'heard someone else was already doing it' and got discouraged.
DeleteHello Drew
ReplyDeleteI've ordered my copy of To Antietam Creek. Quite pricey, but hopefully it will be worth the wait. I'm wondering if there are some other pleasant surprises upcoming?
Don Hallstrom
Don,
DeleteI am sure there will be many, including more than a few that miss their Sesquicentennial deadline.