Various Things

1.  Helpful reader Mark H. recently pointed me toward a recent Scott Hartwig Facebook update (dated April 15) discussing the progress of the much-anticipated second volume of the author's 1862 Maryland Campaign opus. The update notes that the writing is all done, and the author is currently beavering away on an "edit review of all twenty five chapters," with the goal of submitting the manuscript to the publisher (I can only assume it will be Johns Hopkins University Press again) before the end of the year.

2.  Published back in 2017, Thomas Cutrer's Theater of a Separate War was the first of its kind, a comprehensive military overview of the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi theater. Unfortunately, it was released in a semi-rough draft state riddled with factual errors and editing issues of all kinds. Oddly enough, most print reviewers failed to appreciate the seriousness of the book's shortcomings, and I did not believe it likely that we would get a corrected reissue. Much to my surprise and delight, however, the new UNC Press F/W catalog has announced that a Theater of a Separate War: The Civil War West of the Mississippi River, 1861–1865 - Revised Edition will be released in paperback in August. I have a review copy scheduled and am looking forward to seeing how thoroughly the first edition's problems were addressed.

3. Brad Butkovich, the author of an excellent history of the Battle of Pickett's Mill (see my 2013 review), published a tour book on the topic earlier this month (I learned about it too late to include it in May's "Coming Soon" list). I don't know if I will ever get down there myself, but The Complete Pickett's Mill Battlefield Trail Guide looks like it might be the next best thing to tramping around the battlefield in person. It seems that the book sample available in the 'Look Inside' feature found at the link above has been much reduced since my first visit. I don't have a copy in hand to refresh my first impression, but the samples of text and color maps that I saw earlier looked rather impressive.

4. As I've mentioned before, any new study related to the 1862 Kentucky Campaign will grab my attention, and it seems we will soon have another major treatment of the Battle of Richmond to go along with existing full-length studies from Hafendorfer and Lambert. Paul Rominger's The Battle of Richmond, Kentucky: 1862 Weather and Civil War Digest will be released next month by Acclaim Press, a frequent publisher of Civil War Kentucky-related titles. In addition to providing another account of the battle, it looks like the impact of that summer's dry weather on the campaign will be a major theme of the book.