Lynn Kristianson

I learned today that Lynn Kristianson passed away earlier this week.  For years, she was my go-to person for research at the Arlington Public Library. Over the course of several projects, she fielded my never-ending requests for books and articles, going out of her way to track down the most obscure materials and always taking time to ask about my progress.  In addition to her work at the library, Lynn developed perennial gardens at multiple sites in Arlington and was an avid cyclist.  My thoughts go out to her family. I will miss her.
     

Visit to Fort Fisher

Last weekend we headed down to Kure Beach, N.C. for an anniversary celebration with some dear friends.  As part of the weekend's activities, I was asked to provide a short presentation on the grounds of Fort Fisher.  I talked about the Civil War in eastern North Carolina and Union efforts to capture Fort Fisher near the war's end.  We had a lively discussion in front of the Fort under beautiful skies. It was a great opportunity to talk a little about my current research interests (N.C. in 1864). It was also a nice excuse to reread my copy of Chris Fonvielle's excellent study, The Wilmington Campaign: Last Rays of Departing Hope.

Talk at Blenheim Center, March 21

Blenheim Center, Fairfax, Va.

On Saturday, March 21, I'll be giving a talk about the Petersburg Campaign at the Blenheim Civil War Interpretative Center in Fairfax, Va. Here are the details:

March 21, 2015, 2 p.m.

"The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, October 1864"

Hampton Newsome will describe the October 1864 battles between Grant and Lee in Virginia.  He will examine the Confederate attacks along the Darbytown Road on October 7 outside Richmond, one of Lee’s last offensive operations of the war.  The talk will also cover Grant’s major offensive on October 27 to seize the South Side Railroad, the last open rail line into the Confederate stronghold at Petersburg. Mr. Newsome is the author of Richmond Must Fall: The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, October 1864 and an editor of Civil War Talks: Further Reminiscences of George S. Bernard and His Fellow Veterans. 

Odds and Ends

From Clark, Histories of Several Regiments and Battalions . . .

I plan to slow down my (already slow) blogging over the next few months to devote a little more time to research and writing.  I'm currently in the early stages of a project involving the Confederate operations in 1864 to recapture key positions in eastern North Carolina.

For now, here are a two posts I've been meaning to put up recently:

 

Tour of Grant's Sixth Offensive at Pamplin Park:   

On Friday, October 17, I had the great fortune to conduct a tour with Will Greene down at Pamplin Historical Park as part of the 18th Annual Symposium there.  We covered Grant's Sixth Offensive at Petersburg, the main subject of my book Richmond Must Fall. Will Greene possesses a vast knowledge of the Petersburg Campaign and it was a great to see him in action on the tour. We enjoyed the rare opportunity to visit some of the key sites involving the operations on October 27, 1864 and were able to share the day with a bus full of friendly, highly knowledgeable, and engaged companions.     


Journal of Southern History:  Review of Richmond Must Fall 

The August issue of The Journal of Southern History has a nice review of Richmond Must Fall  by Robert R. Mackey author of The UnCivil War: Irregular Warfare in the Upper South, 1861-1865 (OU Press, 2004).  This review, published in one of the most highly-regarded journals in the field, was great to see.  Here are a few excerpts.

"Newsome's clear prose and organization, which make a fairly complex series of battles into a logical, effective, and highly readable tome, are the highlight of the work. . . . Overall, Newsome has added to the growing body of knowledge of the Civil War by covering in detail this important but often forgotten campaign in the fall of 1864. The author's extensive use of source materials is impressive and should be a model for other scholars in the field, and his adroit use of first-person accounts is excellent." - Robert R. Mackey, The Journal of Southern History

Puget Sound Civil War Roundtable

I had a great time talking to the Puget Sound Civil War Roundtable last week.  Seattle is one of my favorite places, so when they contacted me about speaking, I jumped at the chance. My presentation covered the Petersburg Campaign with a focus on the battles in October 1864.  The meeting was welcoming, informal, and, well, fun.  The Q&A session demonstrated the depth of knowledge in the room.   

Pat Brady, the program coordinator, kindly took me to lunch before the meeting.  Among other things, we discussed his ongoing Cold Harbor campaign book project.  From the sound of it, this should be a substantial, thorough work, backed by years of dogged research and thoughtful reflection.  During our chat, we touched on Grant's expectations for the May 1864 campaign, Lee's offensive-defensive approach, Meade's strained relationship with Grant, and the challenges of writing a battle study.  It was a great time and a great trip.