Scott brothers' "Gettysburg" on History channel, May 30

Yep, there's been a good deal of banter about the premier of a 2-hour docudrama called "Gettysburg," produced by Ridley and Tony Scott, on History channel this Memorial Day, May 30. Known for their well-deserved successes on the big screen, the Scotts appear to have brought their talents and skills to bear on the July 1863 battle to kick off History's commitment to programming for the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.

Lots of talk about the production indeed. I, like many, are eagerly anticipating the show. For one, it's good to see History actually get back to programming about... uh... history. History other than Ancient Aliens that is. I'm aware that shows like Swamp People and Ice Road Truckers have been immensely popular, but don't such programs belong on a separate channel? For the past several years I have been but one of a legion of voices, seemingly crying from the proverbial desert, that History get back to what it always did best - present programs about events that actually took place beyond five minutes ago.

For another, having "big" names such as the Scotts producing such a show seems to guarantee that it will have high production qualities. Such qualities are already evident in the two (that I am aware of thus far) trailer teasers that have been released on the internet and the channel itself. You can see lots of CGI, lots of artillery going off in the soldiers' faces, and captivating camera work. The budget for this production had to be considerable.

There is a lot of other talk about the show going around, however. The trailers have been quickly scrutinized for the accuracy of the uniform, equipment and scenery portrayals - in such productions dealing with anything about the Civil War, it's inevitable that amateur and professional historians will look closely to see if any egregious historical inaccuracies are evident.
And boy, there are actually quite a few seen in just the couple minutes' worth of the trailers.

In the trailer that can be seen on History's page here, a number of historical whoopsies show up. In the first few seconds, the Union soldier seen marching in column, then getting hit with a blast of artillery, is carrying his musket at shoulder-arms - but with the hammer at full cock. Not good. Dangerous and not regulation by any means.

A moment after that scene, a Union soldier is prominently featured wearing what appears to be a Hardee-style hat. On the front of his hat is pinned a brass insignia. Is it the familiar bugle? Nope. Perhaps the "US" insignia? Wrong again. Maybe his unit designation? Nuh-uh. On the hat can be seen the crossed rifles insignia. Not bad, if you ignore the well-known fact that the Army didn't begin using that particular insignia until 1875, ten full years after the end of the Civil War. During the Civil War, such an insignia hadn't even been imagined yet.

Another scene that just about everyone has been mentioning is the scene in which a Confederate soldier is seen climbing over a post-and-rail fence (perhaps the Emmitsburg Road fence during Pickett's Charge?) carrying the iconic Rebel battle flag. It's flapping in the humid breeze in all of its rectangular-shaped glory. So what's wrong with that, you say. Nothing, except for the fact that just about everyone who is well-versed in Gettysburg fact knows that the rectangular version of the flag was not carried or used by the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg. The square version, yes ("the" battle flag). The rectangular version is the Second Confederate Navy Jack.

In a different, first trailer released by History, Union soldiers are seen jumping over what appears to be a poured concrete wall. What, at the historical battle, such a wall is intended to portray I haven't a clue. Hardee-style hats can also been seen with the incorrect side pinned-up.

These obvious inaccuracies can be seen in just the couple minutes of trailers, leading one to wonder what will be noted during the two hours of the full showing. Granted, folks with little or only a casual interest/knowledge of the Civil War or Gettysburg in particular will never notice such boo-boos. But for those who have noticed them, and roundly criticized them, the inaccuracies are leading to a couple questions: first, what (if any) historical consultants have been used for the production; and second, were actual reenactors used for the show?

The production is advertised as being made "in cooperation" with "several prominent Gettysburg historians." Their names, however, don't seem to be listed anywhere, and my search for them has turned up nothing. We may not know who these "historians" are until the credits roll at the end of the show. To be fair to whomever they may be, it could be that such historians were not consulted in the scenes that show the listed historical inaccuracies. Any historian of the period would assumedly have picked them out and corrected them pretty quickly.

The question about actual reenactors perhaps gets more the heart of the controversy. Say what you will about them (I am a reenactor in addition to an author/historian), nearly any Confederate reenactor who has been in the "hobby" for any decent length of time would know that the rectangular, Navy Jack battle flag would never be carried during any depiction involving Gettysburg. And any Union reenactor worth his salt (salt pork?) would know in a millisecond that the crossed-rifles insignia is incorrect for the period. You only see such insignia on those Chinese-made crappy children's kepis that are sold in stores geared for tourists (the ones beside the plastic rifles with rubber bayonets). And even the least experienced reenactor knows better than to march in column, at shoulder arms, with his musket on full cock.

That is why everyone is assuming that very few or no actual reenactors were used during the filming. It is being assumed, because of what is seen in these trailers, that volunteers or actors with no reenacting experienced were dressed up in uniforms and given their respective roles.

Because of the high and impressive production values that a team like the Scotts obviously bring to the show, one hopes that the accuracy will also be high. Over the past few years, we buffs, historians, and afficianados have had to suffer through some really lousy Gettysburg and Civil War productions. One that quickly comes to mind is the Military Channel's absolute dog of a show Gettysburg: The Battle That Changed America. This hour-long, painfully and horribly inaccurate drivel pops up every now and again, forcing folks who know anything about Gettysburg to resist the temptation to draw a nice warm bath and open up their veins. During just the first couple minutes of this festering pile of ridiculousness, the battle of Gettysburg supposedly opened when a small Confederate unit, minding their own business as they walked along a road near the town, were ambushed and fired upon by Federal infantry. And the Confederate infantry that opened the battle is purported to be that of Richard Ewell's Corps. It actually gets worse after that. The principal historical consultant on the show was reportedly Tom Carhart, which actually explains a great deal. Carhart knows so little about the facts of Gettysburg, I'm not sure that he even knows in which state it took place. His fictional fantasy about Gettysburg Lost Triumph - Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg and Why It Failed tries to be a non-fiction work but does not rise to the challenge. Where there are no supporting facts, Carhart simply fabricates them, and apparently he did the same for the Military Channel show. I've always felt that if the CIA wanted to interrogate me, they needn't resort to waterboarding; just the mere threat of making me watch that show again would crack me like a songbird.

Back to History's Gettysburg. I join those who say that regardless of the obvious inaccuracies seen in the trailers, with the expectation of many more to be seen, if the high production values and captivating presentation brings many to want to study the battle, the war and the period, then it will have value. When inaccuracies are shown and become engrained in the audience's perceptions, however, it sets back the clock of teaching true history a couple decades or more. I don't think those silly crossed-rifles insignias will start showing up at reenactments, and soldiers won't begin thinking it's proper to march in formation at full-cock, but when these issues come up they will provide teaching moments. Sure, visitors to Little Round Top still ask rangers and Guides why Buster Kilrain's name isn't on the 20th Maine's monument, but in the grand scheme of things little harm is done by relatively minor historical boo-boos and dramatic license. If we can bring more folks to want to learn history - especially our children - then we work to explain the errors and move on to what's important. History. Real history.

I applaud the History channel for bringing this production to what promises to be a wide audience. Yes, I may be wincing every few minutes at something I see, and even watching with one eye closed at times, but unless we can ever actually take our cameras back in a time machine to 150 years ago, it'll never be perfect. Based on what we've seen lately, maybe for now it's just enough to hope that what we start seeing is better than what we've been getting.

Oh, did I address the modern rock music that accompanies the trailers? Let's leave that subject for my post-show review...


UPDATE: As seen in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly, above is a screen shot of a soldier from the show. Note the Hardee hat with the wrong side pinned up. And the crossed rifles insignia on the front of it. Oy.

"To Appomattox" mini-series

By now, probably many of you have heard of the Civil War mini-series that's in the works, titled "To Appomattox" (click the title for the project's official website). Written by Michael Frost Beckner (pictured below, well-known for his work in TV and film such as the CSI TV series and the Sniper and Spygame films), the 8-part series follows certain main characters throughout the war and after. Characters include Grant, Sherman, Lee and Longstreet.

I have been very honored the past couple weeks to be assisting Michael as the Historical Advisor, working on historical details and interpretations in the script. Several other authors and historians have been assisting with the project since Michael conceived it nine years ago. As I read through the scripts of each episode, I can tell that Michael has done his homework. In fact, he just called me this afternoon and we spoke for nearly an hour - Michael is a life-long history/Civil War buff and it's obvious that he's very excited to see this project nearing fruition. I can tell that he knows these characters extremely well. I can envision their portrayals on the screen, and I believe Michael is spot-on with their characterizations and personalities. There are no caricatures here. All of the portrayals are very fair and believable, historically accurate and plausible, and historians will be very pleased.

Casting thus far is very exciting. You'll see on the project website that a lot of well-known actors and actresses are on board, such as William Petersen, Michael C. Hall, Paul Giamatti, Will Patton, Bill Paxton, Laura Bell Bundy - and talks are proceeding with other famous actors that will be revealed once they sign their deals. The band Rascal Flatts (one of my and my wife's favorites!) is doing the musical score, and each of them also has a role in the series.

This is the first year of the war's sesquicentennial, of course, and projects about the war and the period are more popular than ever. Besides the number of TV shows showing lately on channels such as History and HBO, movies like the recent "Conspirator" are opening to large audiences. More are coming, too. And I think "To Appomattox" will be extremely popular and critically acclaimed, because Michael is doing it right - he is staying true and faithful to the historical figures, while the dramatic atmosphere is very touching, moving, powerful, and plausible.

Michael is still in negotiations for a network (many are assuming HBO but that's not a given). Several networks are currently very interested in the project.

I'm extremely honored to be assisting Michael with the script and historical details, and I look forward to being involved as the project develops along with other historians. This is truly one to look forward to.

UPDATE: A page of the historical consultants has gone up on the website - see it HERE.

WPRR Radio Interview April 19

This coming Tuesday, April 19 at 10:35 am I have a radio interview on WPRR's show "Tuesdays with Tormala." I'm grateful to my publicist at Savas Beatie, Sarah Keeney, for setting up the interview. Click the link below to listen live, and you can also listen to it anytime once it's in the station's archives:

Tuesdays with Tormala

I'm looking forward to the interview - Rick Tormala is an impressive guy with quite a political track record. We will be discussing general Civil War Topics such as events leading to the war, causes of the war, and why the Union won.

UPDATE: The link to listen to the April 19 show is now on the site, and my interview begins about 32 minutes into the show (you can skip ahead to it if you wish).

The New Gettysburg Campaign Handbook is at the printer

Yesterday, our publisher Savas Beatie LLC sent the new book by myself and Steve Stanley to the printer. Titled The New Gettysburg Campaign Handbook, it is the newest in the "Handbook" series by Savas Beatie. Steve completely designed the book - it's entirely in full color and features more than a dozen of his beautiful battle maps, and modern and historic photographs of the entire Gettysburg Campaign. The centerpiece of the book is a photographic study of the campaign from the Battle of Brandy Station (June 9, 1863) through the escape of Lee's army across the Potomac (July 14, 1863). We have also compiled the most complete and accurate Gettysburg Order of Battle to be found anywhere - which we hope will be a useful resource for everyone. In addition, there is a section of campaign trivia, quotes, personalities, Medal of Honor awardees, and a discussion of the major controversies and myths of the battle. And there's much more including a suggested reading list by category, and recommended websites.

All of the page backgrounds of the book are actual paper images taken from Jedediah Hotchkiss' map book - which makes for a stunning look! We hope that this handbook will appeal to readers and students of all ages and knowledge levels - folks new to the battle and campaign will receive a great introduction to it herein, and there's lots of information for even the most diehard Gettysburg scholar.

The book should be available by late May. We'll soon have a website available to purchase a personally inscribed and signed copy, and the book should also be on Amazon within a couple weeks or so.

"Plenty of Blame To Go Around" in paperback June 2011

Eric Wittenberg and I were just informed by our publisher, Savas Beatie LLC, that our first book together Plenty of Blame To Go Around: Jeb Stuart's Controversial Ride to Gettysburg will be out in paperback this coming June. This book appeared in 2006, and is a comprehensive narrative of Confederate cavalry commander Jeb Stuart's ride to Pennsylvania with three of his brigades. We begin just after the battle of Brandy Station, detail the orders and planning that went into the ride, and then narrate the ensuing eight days of the cavalry's exploits from Virginia through Maryland and then to Gettysburg. Stuart got into several scraps along the way, including the capture of the Federal supply train at Rockville, a nasty skirmish at Westminster, an all-day brawl at Hanover, and then Wade Hampton's fight against Judson Kilpatrick at Hunterstown on July 2.

We're very excited to see this volume come to paperback, just as our second book One Continuous Fight (about the retreat from Gettysburg and the companion volume) did about a month ago. Paperback volumes reach a wider audience, and it also gives us the opportunity to make a couple minor tweaks to the original issue. We found a couple interesting tidbits recently that add to the interpretation of the fight at Westminster, for instance, and we're able now to work in a few sentences of the additional information.

If you've been waiting for this book to come out in softcover, this summer will be your chance to pick it up.

Very nice honor - and two new books!

Steve Stanley and I were very humbled recently when we were informed that our The Complete Gettysburg Guide was placed on the Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guides' list of "Recommended Reading" for the Guide exam last year. We're very honored that a prestigious group such as the Guides feel that our book provides helpful information to candidates.

Right now, Steve and I are hard at work on our next two books for Savas Beatie (hence the paucity of blog posts the past few weeks). Both of the books should be out in May. The first is The New Gettysburg Campaign Handbook, which is in the series of handbooks that Savas Beatie has been producing. Ted Savas and J. David Dameron produced a volume on the Revolutionary War, and Mark Hughes wrote the volume that covers the Civil War. Our volume features lots of campaign statistics, biographies, interesting facts, a discussion of controversies, and the most accurate and updated comprehensive Order of Battle for Gettysburg. The books features maps and design by Steve - each page and each map is in full color! For the background of each page, in fact, Steve has used a page from one of Jedediah Hotchkiss' map pages. The look is simply stunning. Each page is heavy, glossy stock.

The second book, which we're writing concurrently, is an expansion of those Orders of Battle - hopefully a resource that everyone will find useful - Orders for nearly every conflict of the entire campaign! Tentatively titled The Complete Gettysburg Campaign Orders of Battle and Numbers and Losses, it lists Orders for every single conflict during the campaign, and includes all strength and casualty figures for each. Each Order is introduced with a narrative that explains the conflict, and places it in context with the rest of the campaign. Again, Steve is doing the complete design of the book for Savas Beatie. Every single page is in full color on heavy, glossy paper that will last a lifetime.

Much more on these new books to come. Please stay tuned!

Compounding a fraud

By now, many or most of my readers, I'm sure, have read of the scandal surrounding Lincoln historian Thomas P. Lowry. There are several online articles detailing how Lowry admitted, earlier this month, to falsifying a date on an Abraham Lincoln soldier pardon in the National Archives from 1864 to 1865. Lowry was able to claim, therefore, that the pardon "dated" the day of his assassination was likely one of the president's last official acts. The "find" garnered recognition for Lowry, elevating his status, and was hailed by the National Archives as an important Lincoln find. Rather than further detailing the sordid affair, you can read about the subsequent revelations here:

Saratosa Herald Tribune
Washington Examiner

A Google search of Lowry's name is starting to show several hundred newspaper articles that have picked up the story.

The National Archives has also released a video detailing the crime, which can be viewed here:

National Archives Video

Lowry, according to the articles, is now compounding his crime by blaming others. Even though Archives officials have a hand-written, signed confession to the deed by Lowry, he is claiming that he only wrote and signed it so that the investigators would "leave him alone" and that an Archives staffer likely changed the date. The statue of limitations on the crime (seemingly done in 1998) has run out, so besides the fact that Lowry's claims seem on the surface to be an obvious bald-face lie, it needs to be explained how Lowry could claim that he was "coerced" into signing the confession. So he's blaming Archive investigators, Archive staff, and even to a certain degree his own wife Beverly, who he claims originally found the pardon.

In his confession, the Archives state, Lowry snuck a quill-style pen into the reading room one day in 1998, took out the pardon, and after somehow slightly erasing Lincoln's own hand-written date of 1864 and changed the 4 to a 5. Lowry further states that he changed the date to that of Lincoln's assassination so that he would be recognized and lauded for finding what would seem to be an unusually historically significant document. Lowry based much of his resulting book, "Don't Shoot That Boy," on the document. As a result, he was able to secure publishing contracts for futher books, get numerous speaking engagements, and even a History Channel show based on the book in which he was the main talking head.

As my friend Eric Wittenberg states, it is hoped that Lowry's actions for his 15 minutes of fame have turned out to be worth it. Eric and many other fellow bloggers have picked up and commented on this tragic story. In addition, Facebook and chat boards are burning as the story circulates.

I spoke with Eric and other fellow historians and authors on the phone yesterday and last night, and the common thread in our conversations was how horrified we were by Lowry's actions and subsequent denials, but also by how out of character it is for the vast majority of historians. I have been fortunate to handle historic documents in my research - never a Lincoln-signed document however - and I have always been in awe of them. When I've been able to hold a document written/signed by Civil War icons such as Lee, Grant, Chamberlain, etc. and the hundreds of letters and diaries by the grunt soldier, it never fails that the hair goes up on the back of my neck. Lowry's crime has left a stain on the historical community and on all of us, because his utter lack of respect for the historical record is simply unfathomable.

Besides the respect that is owed by anyone who handles such documents of historic significance, we as historians/authors owe it to our readers, and the historic record itself, a high standard that can never be compromised or taken for granted. All of us historians and authors are sickened by this event, perhaps even moreso than in the cases were people have stolen items from the Archives or have been found guilty of plagiarism. All are reprehensible, but Lowry's actions are the worst of the worst. And all in the name of recognition and the building of a false career.

Rather than keep up his ploy of deny and divert, we can only hope that Lowry comes to his senses and reclaims a sliver of his dignity by admitting to his deed. He can't be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations - his prosecution has come from the historical community - but most folks are willing to give a measure of forgiveness to those who repent. Lowry has shown that such forgiveness has no importance to him, as little importance as he showed to the Lincoln pardon by altering it.

Lowry has spent his 15 minutes. And he's spent any amount of respect and forgiveness by blaming everyone but himself. Lincoln is recorded as having said, "History is only history if it is the truth."

Perhaps in his studies Lowry has seen that statement, and perhaps one day he will actually take it to heart.

We never stop learning...

There is no doubt that we never stop learning - the more we look, study, listen, scrutinize and question, the more that is revealed to us.

All those old pictures taken during the Civil War - ones we've looked at a million times - seem like old hat to many of us. But today, GettysburgDaily.com has published a photo study of a Gardner photo at Gettysburg that has perhaps revealed more about the battlefield than we've seen in quite some time. Check it out here.

It might be high time we take all this digital technology we have and really start looking at all those old photos. I think the learning has only just begun. Again.

Merry Christmas to all!

From my family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas! It's been quite busy the last few weeks (hence the paucity of posts) - I have four (four?!) books coming out next year, and the first manuscript is due January 15. I've been working hard on that one, then it's on to the next. Fortunately, I'm able to get a lot of writing done over the winter months, but I know it's important to take time off from everything over the holidays to spend quality time with family and friends.

My wish for you is that you and your family have a safe and joyous holiday season. Tomorrow, Christmas Day, it'll be fun watching my young nephew open gifts and enjoy the day. As I get older, I feel Christmas in the eyes of the young, and I remember what it was like for me.

May you also have a safe New Year, and are able to enjoy history in many forms - visiting historic spots, reading, etc. I'll be doing my best to contribute some worthy pieces to scholarship, and learning from as many folks as I can. Be safe and enjoy!

Looking for the perfect Christmas gift?

Okay, we all know the December drill - long lines at the box stores, folks scrambling to find last-minute presents... it can be maddening. To make your Christmas purchasing perhaps a little easier, we have a special offer for you. If anyone on your "list" is a Gettysburg/Civil war buff, how about considering a copy of The Complete Gettysburg Guide for them if they don't already have it? From now until midnight on December 17, the FIRST FIVE orders for the book on our website [click here] will receive a FREE copy of the accompanying battlefield Audio Tour! That's a $19.95 value, absolutely free.

Only the first five orders are eligible, so please hurry. I will post here when the first five orders have been received (and also on the book's Facebook page). All orders are shipped out the same day they are received. Please also let us know how you would like the book to be inscribed - they are signed by both Steve Stanley and me.

Thanks for considering the book for your holiday purchasing!