History and Friends

Little Bighorn Associates in Indianapolis was the chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones.

Sandy and Betty Barnard, of AST Press, (with me, above) hosted this auspicious event and it's worth the drive from Topeka to Indianapolis just to visit with them! Father Vince Heier of the St. Louis Civil War Roundtable was the dinner speaker and I joined colleagues for talks during the daylong seminar. New friends include Kevin Connolly (left) from Chicago who presented a marvelous paper on Custer during the Civil War. Later on, he and his lovely wife, Liz, joined us in the hotel lounge for historical and musical discussions. The lounge was a hoot. The house band invited Gary to sit in on keyboards and they had a blast and so did the listeners.

How can you beat a weekend that includes a hot tub, Custer, friends and music?

Nerds of a Feather

Gary considers himself a "nerd in training" now. This was his first "vacation" that included cemeteries.

On the return trip from Indianapolis, stopped to see our dear friends Dave and Teresa Chuber and went with Dave to Fort Leonard Wood yesterday morning. He was addressing a new class of soldiers and we joined them on their tour of the Chemical School Museum. Outstanding. In the top photo, Dave is explaining the trench warfare characteristic of WWI. The exhibit was really excellent.

Today, onto Winfield where we'll leave behind the nerds and progress to obsessive/compulsive musicians.

Details on the trip and the Little Bighorn Conference to follow._______________________________________
And now, from the Civil War World. . .

a word on my man Jeb from the good folks in Philly. . . . I would love to attend this conference!

Chambersburg Civil War Seminars - Oct. 8-11, 2009:
“Riding with J.E.B. Stuart”

Dear fan of history,

Come to Pennsylvania, just a few miles from Gettysburg, to enjoy a
weekend Civil War seminar in October with some of the top Civil War
historians in the nation.
“Riding with J.E.B. Stuart” will be offered by the Greater
Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce from Oct. 8-11 at the Four Points
Sheraton in Chambersburg. Tours and discussions will focus on the brave
and resourceful cavalry commander and feature authors and historians Ed
Bearss, Eric Wittenberg, Jeffry Wert and others.
James Ewell Brown “J.E.B.” Stuart – then a federal soldier -- was
among those who crushed John Brown’s raid of a federal arsenal in Harper’s
Ferry in 1859. Brown had planned the raid while staying in Chambersburg.
Three years later, Stuart led his Confederate troops in a raid of
Chambersburg in 1862 and masterfully eluded 100,000 Union troops during
their return to Virginia.
Some of the nation’s top Civil War historians will discuss that raid
and its impact. Historians Ted Alexander, Ed Bearss and John Thompson on
Oct. 9 will lead a bus tour, “Stuart’s Chambersburg Raid,” which will
follow the route that Stuart and his men took on the first wartime raid of
Chambersburg, an event that shook the Union all the way to the Oval Office.
“Stuart`s Chambersburg raid was an event of national significance,”
said Alexander, chief historian at Antietam National Battlefield and the
coordinator of the seminar. “The national publicity generated by Stuart’s
Chambersburg raid was an embarrassment to the Lincoln Administration. It
also was one of the final nails in the coffin of the military career of
Union General George B. McClellan. He let a Confederate raiding party slip
around his army, penetrating onto Pennsylvania soil, taking hostages,
livestock and inflicting tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage. A
few weeks after the raid, Lincoln relived McClellan of command,” Alexander
said.
The seminar, “Riding with J.E.B. Stuart,” also will include Stuart’s
work as a frontier soldier, his reputation as a cavalry commander and his
retreat from Gettysburg, which includes a bus tour on Oct. 10. The tour
will be followed by a period-style dinner.
The seminar concludes on Oct. 11 with a discussion of Stuart’s death
during the war, and a panel discussion about Stuart in the Gettysburg
campaign.
For more information about the seminar, contact Cindy Baker at (717)
264-7101 or see the Web site, http://www.chambersburgcivilwarseminars.org.
Costs vary depending on the sessions attended. Price includes motor coach
transportation for guided tours, seminar materials and some meals.
Click here to see J.E.B. Stuart brochure

Civil War seminar to honor historian Ed Bearss and Ted Alexander

Since 1989, the Greater Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce and historian
Ted Alexander have offered several Civil War seminars each year and
donated more than $125,000 for battlefield preservation.
To celebrate the milestone, the Chamber will honor Alexander and
historian Ed Bearss, considered the dean of Civil War experts in the U.S.,
as part of the kickoff of the Chamber’s October seminar focusing on J.E.B.
Stuart, the Confederate commander who raided Chambersburg in 1862.
A dessert reception will be held at Four Points Sheraton, 1123
Lincoln Way East, from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 8, and will include presentations
to Alexander and Bearss. John Thompson, author of a book about Stuart’s
raid of Chambersburg, will be the featured speaker. Cost is $25.
Chambersburg is about 25 miles west of Gettysburg and just a bit
farther from Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Md.

Little Bighorn

Today is the anniversary of Custer's Last Fight--June 25, 1876. (I think D.K. Clark is at the battleground as I write. I am so envious.) I was so involved in my hectic life, I nearly forgot. This is the perfect time to remind you to read A Road We Do Not Know, by my friend, Fred Chiaventone. If my books weren't packed up from the move, I would read it now.

Fred was also a "talking head" on Bloody Dawn which aired on PBS last night. Based on Tom's book by that name, this excellent movie was producedKen Spurgeon and Lone Chimney Films. Joe Houts, another expert featured in the film, called me today from St. Joseph, Missouri. He said he had received lots of calls from folks who had seen it and been impressed. The DVD can be ordered at www.lonechimneyfilms.org. Oh, and the narrator is Buck Taylor. 'Nuff said!

Hopeless

Today, April 8, is my birthday. The bad news is -- they keep coming. The good news is -- they keep coming.

I share this day with a remarkable woman -- Elizabeth Bacon Custer. Today, I feel very jealous of Libbie who spent most of her life as a widow. She was wildly in love with George, "Autie," and followed him in one adventure after another until he and four other members of his family died at the Little Big Horn, June 25, 1876. Libbie lived until 1933.

I am envious of this awesome love--that even though the man died this love did not. I've always struggled to be myself in a relationship, sometimes losing myself in an effort to please. On the other hand, when I try to be open and honest, it just seems too much for someone else to handle. Many of us struggle with this, I suppose, striking that balance of what to share, how open to be.

"Never wear your heart on your sleeve," my mother reminded me. I never got it. When I feel, I just pour it out. After all these years, all these broken hearts, I still trust too easily, believe too easily, believe that love happens again and again.

Some romantics are never cured. We believe in love and continue to fight.

Workaday Week

So many great events over the past week I can't recall them all. . . .

Tuesday, we were treated to dinner by former Kansas Lieutenant Governor Shelby Smith at Topeka's own Brick Oven. It was bitter cold and icy but the interesting company and the Cajun mushrooms were worth braving the weather--a most appropriate way to spend Kansas Day. At 80, Shelby is as bright and interesting as ever.

Wednesday, after Cheryl and I thoroughly exhausted ourselves on our latest remodeling project, Tom and I headed to a Washburn ballgame. I don't know how the Ichabods lost because I yelled my lungs out.

Thursday, Tom and I stopped by the CGSC and visited with buds before heading over to see our friend Mark Neuse who had asked me to speak to the Leavenworth Main Street annual event. The caterer for said event is also the owner of the Blue Crab Bistro and Tampico's, both located in downtown Leavenworth. The food was incredible. And what a fantastic group of folks! Such energy, passion, and commitment was evident that night that I was just privileged to be in the company of such interesting folks--folks I hope to see again soon.

Monday and Friday Cheryl and I were working.

Saturday, up early then Noel and I headed to the Post for the Military Collectibles Show organized by our friend, Jerry Brown. While there, Armchair General's Jerry Morelock stopped by and gave Noel his last ball cap. Archaeologist Doug Scott dropped by and left a copy of his latest book on the Little Bighorn. Dave Chuber was set up next to me so it was like old home week. Noel got a Marine Corp sword. She was fairly dancing. Later, Noel and I went to the Goodwill Store where we ran into John Graham who invited us in to see his shop, Sally's at 412 Delaware. It was absolutely the coolest shop I have seen in ages. John, who makes the most creative lamps I have ever seen, well, he and I are making plans to bring tourists into downtown.
On to a Mardi Gras party at Steven and Marianne Tennant's home, and then the Chubers came home with us. . . . The rest is a blur. . . . .