To celebrate Thanksgiving, we asked some of the folks here at Stevenson Ridge about the things they’re thankful for this year:
Chef Anthony is thankful for Frank, our jack-of-all-trades who, among his other odd jobs, helps out in the kitchen as a dishwasher.
Bettina, one of our event coordinators, is thankful for all the opportunities she has to express her creative side here at Stevenson Ridge. “It’s wonderful not to be stuck in front of the computer all day,” …
The full line-up of speakers has been announced for the Fifth Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge, which will be held Aug. 3-5, 2018.
The theme this year is “Turning Points of the Civil War,” which ties into an upcoming book Emerging Civil War is publishing with Southern Illinois University Press as part of their “Engaging the Civil War” Series.
The keynote speaker this year will be Scott Hartwig, former supervisory historian from Gettysburg National Battlefield. Scott, …
from Chris
Last week, we had a little “old New England” come to Stevenson Ridge: a busload of alumni from Yale University. The Yale alumni group was following the Overland Campaign with historian Brian Matthew Jordan (a Yale alum himself). Brian was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history in 2016 for his excellent book Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War.
Brian also works with me as co-editor of Emerging Civil War’s forthcoming book series with …
Details are shaping up for the Fourth Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge, which will be held August 4-6. Our theme this year is “Great Defenses of the Civil War,” and for the first time ever, we’ll be holding the entire event in the Lodge (because we’ve outgrown the Riddick House). Tickets are only $125 and include a whole slew of things, including this amazing line-up of Emerging Civil War speakers: …
The May 1 battlefield at Chancellorsville
from Chris
The beginning of May always means the start of battlefield season in Spotsylvania County. The anniversaries of the battles of Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania all took place in early May (in 1863 and 1864, respectively). The Civil War first came to Stevenson Ridge on May 9, 1864, and stayed for two weeks. During that time, three-quarters of the Union army moved across the property.
Ironically, the work I’ve been doing these …
from Chris
My travels recently took me to Charleston, South Carolina, where I had the chance to slip in some Civil War research while also trying to squeeze in some R&R (which, for me, can be the same thing!).
While there, I was able to test out a new initiative we’re working on for Emerging Civil War: “On Location” videos. These short videos offer a quick look around at various Civil War-related spots. While in Charleston, I hit up the …
from Chris
For students of the battle of Spotsylvania Court House, one of the most famous stories is that of a Union officer named Emory Upton. On May 10, 1864, Upton devised a plan to attack the Confederate line along the western face of the Mule Shoe Salient. The attack involved brand new tactics, but it also looked like a long shot. Superiors told Upton he’d be promoted to brigadier general if he came back successful; if he wasn’t successful, …
Traces of the Bloody Struggle: The Civil War at Stevenson Ridge, Spotsylvania Court House by Chris Mackowski is now available digitally through Amazon.com, courtesy of Savas Beatie, LLC.
The book recounts the action on the eastern front during the May 1864 battle. (Click here for more about the book.)
Hard copies of the book are available only through Stevenson Ridge: $10 plus shipping. For ordering info, contact info@stevensonridge.com.…
The next installment from the Third Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge airs this weekend on C-SPAN 3.
The Battle of the Wilderness and Longstreet’s Counterattack, presented by Kris White, will air Saturday night at 6:00 p.m., Eastern.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?413642-2/battle-wilderness-longstreets-counterattack
Also, the “Great Attacks” panel will re-airs Sunday at 1:25 p.m. Eastern, and then Monday morning at 5:55 a.m., Eastern.…
We received a note this week from a guest who came to Stevenson Ridge earlier this summer to explore the area’s Civil War history. We ended up as the first person to purchase a copy of our new book, Traces of the Bloody Struggle: The Civil War at Stevenson Ridge, Spotsylvania Court House by our historian-in-residence, Chris Mackowski. We pass along the note with the guest’s permission:
I received my copy of Traces of the Bloody Struggle and read it …