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Hal Jespersen and Ed Bearss in Suffolk area, Virginia, 2007. |
I am an amateur historian of the American Civil War. I don't do re-enacting, but I read a lot, I write articles and draw maps for Wikipedia, I am a professional cartographer of Civil War topics, and I'm an enthusiastic traveler to Civil War battlefields and history seminars. Here are some links of interest.
News
- I took a tour of the Vicksburg Campaign with Parker Hills and BGES. Read my report.
- I visited Charleston and Savannah. Read my report.
- I attended a presentation by Kevin Starr about California in the Civil War.
- I have launched my new mapping website, www.cwmaps.com. Please visit for free maps and my custom cartography services.
- I was interviewed for the Civil War Preservation Trust website. Read the interview.
Travelogues
If you would like to be notified of new travelogues, connect to me via Facebook or send me an e-mail (see the link in the left column).
- 2013 Touring — A lecture in Walnut Creek, a visit to Charleston and Savannah, a tour of the Vicksburg Campaign, and a list of committed and potential future trips.
- 2012 Touring — Shiloh with CWEA, CWI at Gettysburg.
- 2011 Touring — Charleston for the Sesquicentennial, a BGES walking tour of Chancellorsville, Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, Baltimore, Mosby conference on cavalry and Brandy Station, Richmond, CWEA tour of 1864 Valley Campaign, Huntington Library seminar, the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon, and a BGES tour of Grant's Chattanooga Campaign.
- 2010 Touring — Atlanta, Gettysburg NPS Seminar, CWPT in Kentucky, ALBG seminar in Gettysburg, Mosby seminar about Fredericksburg, CWEA in North Carolina, various sites in DC and Virginia, CWPT Advanced Guard meeting in Richmond, West Coast CW Round Table Conference in San Francisco, and a staff ride with the U.S. Army to Charleston.
- 2009 Touring — CWEA Sarasota CW Symposium, some CW stops in Washington, DC, University of Virginia seminar on Petersburg and Appomattox, Chambersburg Civil War Seminar on Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibit in Sacramento, West Coast Civil War Round Table Conference, Blue and Gray Education Society Staff Ride of the Battle of Franklin.
- 2008 Touring — Vicksburg with Parker Hills, Chickamauga/Chattanooga, West Coast CWRT Conference, and Hood's Tennessee Campaign at Spring Hill, TN.
- 2007 Touring — Civil War Preservation Trust meeting in Portsmouth, Virginia, Chambersburg Seminar on Antietam, Mosby Heritage Area Association seminar on Second Manassas, Blue & Gray Education Society Walking Tour of Perryville.
- 2006 Touring — Blue & Gray Education Society December staff ride of Forts Henry and Donelson; NPS seminar at Gettysburg, CWPT Memphis meeting, UVa seminar in Richmond, Civil War Institute, West Coast Civil War Conference.
- 2005 Touring — UVa seminar in Charleston, Gettysburg, Civil War Institute, the Harrisburg CW museum, another Gettysburg, Assoc. of Licensed Battlefield Guides, CW Preservation Trust, and Blue & Gray Education Society December staff ride of Stones River.
- 2004 Touring — GDG Muster, Virginia touring, Gettysburg on Columbus Day, and The Killer Angels as a stage play.
Wikipedia
I have written about 275 Civil War articles in this free, open-source Internet encyclopedia (and have edited/improved many more). This link takes you to the page where I list all the significant ones. Some of my favorites:
- Gettysburg topics: Gettysburg, First Day, Second Day, Third Day cavalry battles, Gettysburg Campaign, Cemetery Hill, Culp's Hill, Little Round Top, Pickett's Charge, Retreat
- Battles (120+): Antietam, Cedar Creek, Chancellorsville, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Cold Harbor, Corinth, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Fort Sumter, Franklin, Fredericksburg, Harpers Ferry, Kennesaw Mountain, First Manassas, Second Manassas, Shiloh, Perryville, Stones River, Trevilian Station, Vicksburg, Wilderness
- Bios (130+): E.P. Alexander, P.G.T. Beauregard, Ed Bearss, Braxton Bragg, Ambrose Burnside, Bruce Catton, George S. Greene, Henry W. Halleck, Winfield S. Hancock, Herman Haupt, Jedediah Hotchkiss, John Bell Hood, Henry J. Hunt, Joseph E. Johnston, James Longstreet, George B. McClellan, George G. Meade, Albert J. Myer, George Pickett, Leonidas Polk, John Pope, William S. Rosecrans, John F. Reynolds, Phil Sheridan, Daniel Sickles, Jeb Stuart, Traveller, Emory Upton, Gouverneur K. Warren
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Other Campaigns: Eastern Theater overview article, Western Theater, Appomattox Campaign, Hood's 1864 Tennessee Campaign, Maryland Campaign, Knoxville Campaign, Sherman's March to the Sea, Jackson's Valley Campaign, Overland Campaign, Peninsula Campaign, Seven Days Battles, Siege of Petersburg, Tullahoma, Vicksburg - Signal Corps, Field Artillery, and Cavalry
Maps and Stuff
- Maps — I have created more than 190 battlefield and campaign maps for my Wikipedia work; the Adobe Illustrator source files and PNG graphic files are here.
- CWRT — Here are my PowerPoint slides and other materials for presentations to Civil War Round Tables. (I currently belong to three roundtables: San Francisco, Peninsula, and South Bay.)
- Zazzle — I have designed a series of T-shirts and coffee mugs with battle maps that you can buy from Zazzle.com. I sometimes wear the T-shirts on my CW trips.