I received a request to provide an update as I haven’t posted anything since last Spring. It’s my pleasure to do so.

• Presentations: Linda and I have been doing quite a few presentations lately. Most have centered around our Lincoln Comes to Gettysburg book. We’ve now divided the presentation into two parts: “The Creation of the Gettysburg Soldiers’ National Cemetery” and “Lincoln’s Visit To Gettysburg.” We recently spoke to a very well-informed group at the York Civil War Round Table and a question was asked about why the book did not get into more detail. The beauty of the Emerging Civil War series is their brevity– under 200 fully-illustrated pages. They are not meant to be the be-all, end-all, as much as a primer to get folks interested so they can continue their journey of learning more about a topic.

• Two recent book projects: As I may have mentioned, my major activity during the pandemic-induced hibernation was Lee Invades the North: A Comparison of the Antietam and Pennsylvania Campaigns.” The book continues to sell well– mainly on Amazon and at bookstores (e.g., Civil War and More; For the Historian; Gettysburg Heritage Center). The beauty of print on demand, self-publishing is that it can be edited/changed on the fly.

The other recent book is The Antietam Paintings of James Hope. This is a slim booklet– just less than 50 pages, but is in full color and can be characterized as a “labor of love.” Linda and I worked on this together and I hope to post an update on the book in the near future.

• Maps of Spotsylvania Through Cold Harbor: Is slated to be out sometime in April, 2023. This will be a larger book than most of the other map books with the exception of Gettysburg. The Overland Campaign was supposed to span three map books, but my publisher wanted it cut back to two and most of the cutting was in this book. It is missing about 20 map sets, but will still be a good contribution to the literature.

• Upcoming book: Emerging Civil War Series book still needing a title– Could be “After Gettysburg.” Linda and I had such a positive experience in working with Chris Mackowski on the Lincoln book that we decided to pen another. This one deals with Lee’s retreat/Meade’s pursuit after Gettysburg. The drama of this period is palpable and it is unfortunate that many folks don’t know much about it. We hope to change that with this book. It is being prepared for publication now and will probably be published at the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024. Dean Shultz was so helpful in reading the manuscript and hauling me around the areas that we wrote about. Stay tuned.
• Upcoming book: Maps of Second Bull Run. I just finished the first draft and am now going back and reviewing/modifying the text/maps. It weighs in at about 120 map sets and begins with John Pope assuming command of the Army of Virginia and ends with the Battle of Chantilly and the beginning of the Maryland Campaign. Not sure when this will be published, but I hope sometime in 2024.
• Upcoming book: Maps of Shiloh. I am an Eastern Theater guy, but am co-authoring the Shiloh book with Sean Chick. He is a wonderful historian who is going the extra mile to make sure everything is just right. We have finished the first draft and will be editing it in the near future. Not sure when this book will be published.
• Thanks for all of your interest!