"Flames Beyond Gettysburg" book now available!

We at Ironclad Publishing are extremely proud to announce that Scott Mingus Sr.'s new book, Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863 is now available! This is the fifth volume in our popular Discovering Civil War America series.

One of the most strategically important parts of the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign today is virtually unknown to the modern battlefield tramper. In late June, Confederate Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon led a vital expedition through south-central Pennsylvania with a goal of seizing the mile-long Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge over the Susquehanna River. Along the way, Gordon had to deal with hastily recruited and barely trained state emergency militia whose mission was to delay the Rebels for as long as possible and then deny them the use of the river crossing. This book offers the most detailed examination of Gordon’s mission. Chapters include a treatise on the first fighting at Gettysburg (a series of skirmishes on June 26), the subsequent cavalry raid on Hanover Junction, Gordon’s triumphal Sunday parade through York, and the skirmish at Wrightsville that doomed the Gordon expedition to failure. The book includes several detailed driving tours and a complete order of battle for both Gordon’s Georgians and the Pennsylvanians who opposed them.

This is a meticulously researched and wonderfully written book that any Gettysburg student, Civil War student, and ardent battlefield tramper will want to own. Click HERE to go to our webpage for the book to see more and to order a copy.

Scott is giving many talks to Round Tables and various groups on the subject, as well as lining up driving/walking tours of the areas that comprise the narratives this summer. Just contact me for more details.

We are very proud of Scott and his new work, and we know that this book will be the standard work on this little studied and appreciated facet of the Gettysburg Campaign!

Thank you

I just wanted to take a moment on behalf of my family to thank each and every one of you for all you have done for us following my mother's passing. I and we have received an outpouring of cards, calls, emails, texts, flowers etc. and each one of them is greatly appreciated. I guess it's true that one doesn't really know how many good friends are out there until you truly need them. I am blessed by the friendship and support of all.

It has been a very difficult week, but the support has made it less burdensome to bear. For the rest of my days, I will carry memories of my Mom. She was blessed with 80 years of a good life, and I was blessed to have her for nearly 44 years. My family chose to take me as their own, as with my sister, and I have so much to be thankful for - family, friends, love and support.

I cannot express how much every kindess has meant - not only at this time, but in the past.

Thank you, and God bless all of you. You have done more than you'll ever know.

In Loving Memory - Marcella Monica Petruzzi (1928-2009)

I lost my Mom, Marcella, this past Thursday morning, February 5.

My parents go to Florida each winter, from December to April. Dad is 81, and my mother turned 80 in October. I've always been happy that they both can get away from these often-rotten Western Pennsylvania winters, and this current one has been an especially cold and snowy one.

My father has had a few serious health problems over the past few years, but he's always bounced back and today is in pretty good health. My mother, on the other hand, has hardly had any health issues at all. But last week, she told Dad that she was beginning to feel very tired all the time, and had little energy. This from a woman who has been very active all her life - still golfing and swimming, playing bingo about every night. Concerned, Dad took her to see her Florida doctor, and she was entirely checked out. No problems found with the heart or anything else. He adjusted her medications, and she seemed better. But this past Wednesday, she was feeling tired again, and had to sit down after walking only 10 feet or so. So Dad made an appointment the following day (Thursday) to get her in to see the Doctor and try to figure out what might be wrong.

When she came down to breakfast Thursday, she told Dad she wasn't feeling well again, but was hungry. Dad made her breakfast, and was ready to take her to the hospital for her appointment. But she suddenly began to faint while in her chair. Dad grabbed her, and had to hold her up. Unable to reach his phone, he couldn't dial 911. He says she began to come out of it slightly and he went for his phone and started dialing. But then she began to fade again, looked Dad in the eyes, and she died in his arms.

The cause of death, they tell us, was a massive heart attack. She was gone before the paramedics got there. But thankfully, there was no pain, no suffering, no weeks in the hospital. Just a few days of the fatigue and difficulties. To think that my Mom would suffer at all would be too painful to me, so it was definitely a blessing that she didn't - so many do before the end comes. But she went quietly, peacefully, and in the arms of the man she spent the last 56 years with.

I know many of you have lost a parent, and no one knows how difficult it is until you do. You think of everything at this time - what your mother cooked, the little things she did for you, all the ways she took care of you. Few know this, but my sister and I are adopted - Mom couldn't have children of her own. My most treasured picture is one of my mother holding me as a 3-week old baby at the front door of St. Joseph's Home for Orphans in Erie, Pennsylvania as they prepared to bring me home. And I've always said that I'm twice-chosen - they adopted my sister there five years before me, and Mom and Dad decided that Lisa could go into St. Joseph's and pick out her own little brother. It was completely her choice. She walked into the room where all the babies were in cribs, went straight to the far corner, and put her hands on my crib. "I want him!" she told them.

I had a family.

We flew Dad back up from Florida Thursday night, and that first day was very rough for him. He's doing fine now, and having so many family and friends around has helped immensely. We've been spending much of the past couple days talking about all our memories of Mom. I never imagined for one second, though, that when they left for Florida in mid-December that it would be the last time I'd see her. It hurts to not have been able to be with her, but I'm thankful that Dad was with her at the end.

It also hurts that she wasn't able to see my new book when it comes out. Steve Stanley has been sending page images of it as he completes the layout for it, and I had been able to at least show her a few. She loved the fact that it's in full color, and she kept saying over and over how "pretty" it was. She was really looking forward to seeing it this spring. When I finally hold it in my hands, it will definitely be bittersweet. Mom knew that this book was the one I've been wanting to do for years, and partnering with Steve has been a blessing - it wouldn't be half what it is without him. When I first see it I will think of her, and hope that somewhere she's looking at it and feeling proud of me.

Most of my waking hours are filled with thoughts of her. I keep remembering how she would rock me to sleep when I was up to about 3 years old (yes, I can remember it) and sing Polish lullabyes to me that she learned from her mother. I can still remember the words, although I haven't a clue what they mean. I have the melody in my head, and it's something I'll never forget.

Her food. Her laughter. Her yelling. Her smiles. Sometimes watching her sleep during naps. Her hugs and kisses. How she'd try to swear in Polish when she was mad. How she loved golf and bingo. And the fabulous time she had at our house during our big family Christmas party just a few days before leaving for Florida. She absolutely loved it - especially when we played the little bingo game.

Because of those out-of-state delays, and since she is right now (approximately) on a plane somewhere being flown up her to Pennsylvania, the funeral won't be until Wednesday the 11th. For the viewing Tuesday, it'll be the first time I'll see her since they left. That will be very hard. As my friend Eric Wittenberg assured me, I am more than allowed to cry. Thank goodness, because I'm preparing myself to do lots of it. I expect to be quite skilled at it after a couple minutes.

Since Thursday I have felt much, much older than my nearly 44 years. I'm tired, my joints ache, and my insides feel knotted and empty. Everything that goes along with grief. But I just think of the good times, and that picture of Mom holding me right after the adoption. I don't ever want to leave that day. I wasn't able to comfort her like she did for me a thousand-odd times, but I can hold onto my memories. My wife Karen loved her like her own mother, and I'm so glad they knew each other these past nine years and did so much together.

Thank you for my life, Mom. I hope I have treated that gift well so far. I hope I made you proud of me. One day you can tell me yourself. Until then, your inspiration will carry me through anything life has to throw at me.

Thank you for the lullabyes. I love you.

Page image from "The Complete Gettysburg Guide"

Above is a sample page image from the upcoming book by Steve Stanley and me - The Complete Gettysburg Guide. The page has been edited from this version a bit, but the layout, design, and colors will give you a good idea of the appearance of the book. All the maps are likewise in full color. This particular page is from the battlefield rock carvings tour.

Click on it for the big, honkin' version.

Ever wonder...

- What the other side of Mt. Rushmore looks like?

Now you know.

In other words, don't judge a book by its cover?

(This was so funny when I first saw it, I just had to post it here. I'm assuming that big butt must be TR's.)

Myles Keogh Blog

I just found a great blog dedicated to the life and career of Myles Keogh by a follower of this blog. It's really fabulous, and my friend Brian Pohanka would be very proud. I added the link to it to my blogroll, and I commend it to you.

Foreword to "Complete Gettysburg Guide"

This past week, popular Gettysburg National Military Park Ranger-Historian Eric A. Campbell sent in the Foreword to the new book by me and Steve Stanley, The Complete Gettysburg Guide. I've known Eric for many years, and have taken several tours by him as well as spent some quality time on the field with him. When I approached publisher Ted Savas with the idea for this book early last year, I already had one guy in mind for the Foreword, and that was Eric.

I always enjoy being around Eric. He's one of the most knowledgeable folks I've ever known, and I respect him greatly. Plus, being out on the field with him is always a great time - he's very animated when speaking and his passion gets contagious among the group he's talking with. I recall several years back taking a tour of Bigelow's 9th Mass Battery at Gettysburg on July 2 with him, and how much respect I gained for Bigelow and his gunners that day, all because of the way Eric presented the tour. At the time, Eric had just come out with his book, A Grand Terrible Dramma, containing the letters and sketches of battery member Charles Wellington Reed.

After reviewing the book's manuscript and most of the page images (the book is designed by co-author Steve, who also took all the modern photographs and created all of the maps), Eric wrote a wonderful Foreword. Steve and I are very honored by Eric's kind words and support for the book. Here are a few snippets from it:

The Gettysburg battlefield is truly a national treasure that is not only
sacred ground, but also contains thousands of sites and stories that can
literally take a lifetime to explore and learn. The main thing any visitor needs
to begin this journey is time. The second most important need is a good source
of knowledge to provide the necessary background and information to get started
and point the visitor in the right direction. In my opinion, The Complete
Gettysburg Guide by J. David Petruzzi and Steven Stanley provides that necessary
knowledge and direction in a way that no other book has yet accomplished.

This guide not only provides an overview of the main Gettysburg
battlefield, but includes background information on the Gettysburg Campaign,
explaining not only how the armies arrived at Gettysburg, but why—thus properly
placing the battle within the context of the entire war... I am confident that
all readers—from well-informed “students” of the battle to novices and those
just beginning their tramps over the fields of Gettysburg—will find this book
educational, constantly useful, and endlessly interesting. It is perfectly
suited for long use, over and over again, for each future return visit to
Gettysburg... Together, the text and maps contained in this work create
one of the most useful and comprehensive guides of America’s largest and
bloodiest battlefield available today, and I believe will remain so for some
time to come.

Thanks, Eric - we're so glad you are part of this work, and we hope all students of, and visitors to the field find it useful.

Release date: May 15, 2009

The forest for the trees

My father (who is basking in sunny Florida at the moment, the bum!) forwarded the following pictures to me. They're some of those illusions - the kind in which you see different things depending how you look at them. At first glance, some people see one thing, others see something different. When told what different items can appear in each one depending on your perspective, you may then see something completely different.

Like this one:

At first glance, did you see a face or the word "liar"? Look it over again.

Seeing pictures such as this made me think of something that we researchers and writers often go through. Many times, we look at evidence with a pre-conceived conclusion. For instance, if we believe that Jeb Stuart's 8-day ride to the Gettysburg battlefield from Virginia was a blatant derelict of duty and disobedient of Lee's orders to him, then we will classify the primary evidence as indicating that conclusion. If we feel that his ride was all that he could have done under the circumstances, then we will read the primary evidence as indicating that.

I have a friend - quite a Gettysburg afficianado - who often has views quite contrary to the "accepted" notions. Such a view can be quite healthy, however. That attitude can make you look at primary sources with a critical eye, instead of accepting what "most" historians and students think. However, regardless of your opinions, you must be open to what the evidence tells you. Everyone will look at evidence differently. At some point, after weighing everything, we either reach a conclusion or - as is often the case - no conclusion at all. But the sources and facts speak to us as only they can, and it's up to us as students and historians to make the best judgment of the evidence.

Check this one out:

How many horses do you see in this picture? Can you find seven all together? I know - drives you nuts, doesn't it? Click on it and any of the pictures to enlarge them.

My friend with the always-contrary views sometimes seems like the person who typically sees only three or four horses in the picture above, and insists there aren't any more. Or, at least, resists the fact there are more. Sometimes the answer in the evidence isn't so clear. We have to be open to different interpretations. Writing a book in which you tackle controversial subjects is very much like showing a picture like this, and then pointing out where the other horses are. Even then, sometimes folks still can't see them. In the end, though, sometimes you have to let folks figure it out for themselves - and either see the horses, or at least give them enough to look at to form their own conclusions.

The two books that Eric Wittenberg and I did together (the second with Mike Nugent) are very much like these pictures. In Plenty of Blame to Go Around, Eric and I took on the oft-volatile subject of Stuart's ride to Gettysburg. The majority of folks come down on one side or the other of the issue. Either the events of Stuart's ride were justified, or they were not. A minority of folks are in the middle ground, feeling that some things could have been done differently, but that several events occured that were beyond Stuart's control. The fact that we called it "Plenty of Blame" indicates that Eric and I were intent on showing a picture like these to our readers, while giving them all the information they could, and then allow them the opportunity to see what they see.

In our Conclusion to the book, Eric and I did not hesitate to throw blame where we felt it was justified, but also to point out possible exculpatory evidence when justified. We have often said that if we don't change anyone's opinion with the book, that's fine with us. If a reader feels more sure of his/her opinion (regardless of what it is) after reading the book, then that's fine too. And for the reader who did not previously have enough information to have an opinion, we hope we gave him/her enough to think about to feel comfortable in forming one.

What do you see in this one?

Do you see three ships and the rest arches, or all ships?

Like I try to convince my contrary friend, it's important to look everything over and weigh all the evidence. One sentence in an Official Report does not a complete story make. The next sentence may be contradictory to what you believe, but you can't discount it.

In our second book, written with Mike Nugent - One Continuous Fight - we tackled the story of the armies' retreat from Gettysburg. Army of the Potomac commander George Meade is often castigated for his "slow and too cautious" pursuit of Lee's army after the battle. Perhaps the criticism is justified. Perhaps the evidence deserves a closer look. But like the first book, we set out to give the reader all the information possible about what happened over those days from July 4-14, 1863 like never before. Then, in our Conclusion, we set out to cast blame where deserved, and credit as well. It needs to be told, for instance, what Federal cavalry commander Alfred Pleasonton did and did not do during the retreat. And it also needs to be told what Stuart accomplished. In the end, it takes a lot of evidence and facts to form a conclusion - or, in other words, to see the whole picture.

Like this one:

At first glance, did you see a baby in this one? Look at the whole picture at once, and then the elements within it.

The next book that Eric and I are penning together is a narrative of the events following the Gettysburg retreat, from July 15 through August 1. We have been uncovering a veritable mountain on material on the period, to the time that the armies assumed nearly the very same positions that they had at the start of the Gettysburg Campaign. If Meade was reticent to aggressively attack Lee during the retreat, it's quite a different story over the ensuing weeks. We intend to tell that story (which is heretofore a large gap in the scholarship of 1863), give our readers enough to form their own opinion, and help them see the whole picture.

In the end, sometimes it's enough to spin your head, and we realize that. Look at this picture:

Now, like it says, focus on the dot in the center, then slowly move your head back and forth (closer then further away) and see what the outside circles do. Sometimes we look at this picture for what it seems to be, then it changes when our perspective changes. Likewise, evidence seems to tell us one thing, then what we "see" changes with our perspective - looking closely and then stepping back for a bit.

Sorry if I gave you a headache. But sometimes that's the job of researchers and writers. Take two aspirin and read my next book.

Light at the end of the tunnel - for me and football

I've been doing the final edits on the new book I've done with Steve Stanley - The Complete Gettysburg Guide - due out in May. Steve, besides being one of the best in historical cartography, is also about the most talented graphic designer I've ever seen. Steve is laying out the design of the book and we are doing the final tweaks on the placement of certain items. Some time in March, I will post some of the page images here so folks will get a sneak peak at the look of the book.

We also must express appreciation to Rea Andrew Redd, who made a very nice preliminary post about the new book on his blog. We're flattered that from what he has seen, Rea feels that the book will be a must-have resource for something like the Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Exam. We hope so, too! It certainly has a mountain of that obscure "stuff" that any Guide, Ranger, and Gettysburg student likes to know. Thanks Rea, and we hope you enjoy the book once you get it, and that your expectations are realized.

On the lighter side, it was great watching my Steelers (that's "Stillers" for my fellow Western Pennsyltucky comrades) trounce the Chargers today. If they can make it to the Supa Bo... sorry... Super Bowl, wouldn't a face-off against the Iggles... darn... Eagles be fabulous? A Pennsylvania Super Bowl!

Ben looked terrific today. He was definitely on his game.

"America's Civil War" article - March 2009

The March 2009 issue of "America's Civil War" magazine has just appeared on newsstands and should be in subscriber's mailboxes shortly. I and Steve Stanley have an article in this issue, which is adapted from the Gettysburg Rock Carvings chapter of our upcoming book, The Complete Gettysburg Guide (Savas Beatie, May 2009). Nine of the more than two dozen battlefield carvings from the book appear in the magazine, along with full-color maps and photographs by Steve. The article should whet the appetite of anyone looking forward to seeing the book's full tour of rock carvings, and those who wish to seek them out.

In an upcoming issue of the magazine "Hallowed Ground," which is the official publication of the Civil War Preservation Trust, Steve and I will have another article - this one adapted from the chapter on the June 26 skirmish at Marsh Creek west of Gettysburg between Elijah White's Confederate cavalry and the 26th Pennsylvania Emergency Militia as well as the resulting skirmish later that day at Bayly's Hill (the Witmer Farm). I think the article will be in the issue that is released in March.