Traces of the Bloody Struggle: The Civil War at Stevenson Ridge

from Chris

In my capacity as the historian-in-residence at Stevenson Ridge, one of my projects this summer has been to compile some information about the property’s role during the Civil War. Many of our guests are interested in the Civil War, and they stay here because we’re smack-dab in the middle of central Virginia’s Civil War landscape, right on the Spotsylvania battlefield. The array of earthworks and fortifications on the property are amazing. One NPS historian called them the best-preserved …

SR’s Historian Gets Special Award

We were delightfully surprised here at Stevenson Ridge today by some unexpected news for our historian-in-residence, Chris Mackowski.

The Army Historical Foundation (AHF) announced its Distinguished Writing Awards for the year and, as part of the honors, recognized Chris and his writing partner, Kristopher D. White, with a special award.

“In addition to announcing the Distinguished Writing Awards,” the AHF’s press release said, “the Army Historical Foundation also recognized editors Chris Mackowski and Kristopher White and publisher Savas Beatie, LLC, …

Chris Publishes New Book, “Seizing Destiny”

Congratulations to our historian-in-residence, Chris Mackowski, whose latest book project is now available. Seizing Destiny: The Army of the Potomac’s “Valley Forge” and the Civil War Winter that Saved the Union was a collaborative writing project with Stafford County historian Al Conner, Jr.

Seizing Destiny looks at the grim winter of 1862-63 that the Union army spent in Stafford County—and the remarkable transformation it underwent, from the brink of collapse to a fighting force finally able to achieve victory.

“Al …

Chris’s Latest Book: The Battle of the Wilderness

Historian-in-Residence Chris Mackowski has a new book coming out this spring that touches on one of the area’s most notorious battles. Hell Itself: The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5-7, 1864, covers the opening engagement of what became the 1864 Overland Campaign. (The battle of Spotsylvania Court House, where Stevenson Ridge is located, followed on May 8-21, 1864.)

Chris has written books about Spotsylvania, as well as the next phase of the campaign, at the North Anna River, and …

In Honor of Washington’s Birthday

Our historian-in-residence, Chris Mackowski, has a new book coming out in a few weeks: Seizing Destiny: The Army of the Potomac’s “Valley Forge” and the Civil War Winter that Saved the Union. Chris co-authored the book with Stafford County historian Al Conner, Jr.

To commemorate George Washington’s birthday, an excerpt of the book is available at Emerging Civil War that talks about this day back in 1863. Both armies saw George Washington as the father of their respective countries–U.S.A. and …

Stevenson Ridge on C-SPAN

For those who’ve been following C-SPAN’s coverage of the Second Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge, the latest two installments are up:

Phill Greenwalt talked about the formation of the Lost Cause interpretation of the war.

Emmanuel Dabney discussed the mixed legacy of the Freedmen’s Bureau.

Previous installments from last August’s events are also available:

Chris Kolakowski discussed the fall of Richmond and the surrender at Appomattox—and the ongoing legacy of both.

Keynote speaker Dana Shoaf …

Catering to President Grant’s Last Days

Thomas Cable, Grant’s caterer

from Chris

My latest book, Grant’s Last Battle, focuses on the last few months of Ulysses S. Grant’s life. As he was dying of throat cancer, he was also writing like mad, trying to finish his memoirs before his (literal) deadline.

As I was doing some follow-up research last week, an item caught my eye because of a connection to our kitchen. After all, one of our busiest functions at Stevenson Ridge is Chef Brad’s …

Stevenson Ridge on C-SPAN

from Jenny

In case you missed this year’s Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge, you can catch up on some of the speakers courtesy of C-SPAN. The public-access cable network taped many of the programs and has been airing them during its Saturday evening Civil War time slot.

Stevenson Ridge’s own historian-in-residence, Chris Mackowski, served as the emcee. He appears in each segment to offer introductions of the speakers.

So far, C-SPAN has aired three programs.

Keynote speaker Dana …

Register now for the Third Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium

from Chris

It seems like we just wrapped up our successful Second Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge—but already we’re gearing up for next year. Registration is now open (already!) for our Third Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge.

The Symposium will run Aug. 5-7, 2016. The theme this year is “Great Attacks of the Civil War.” Keynote speaker will be Jim Ogden, chief historian for Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. Our line-up also includes …

Symposium Success

from Chris

We’re still catching our breath from our Second Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge. Attendees came from as far away as Illinois and Indiana, New York and New Jersey, and South Carolina (and ECW’s Meg Thompson came from California!), spending the weekend discussing the legacies of the Civil War. We posted a recap, as well as a bunch of pictures, at Emerging Civil War.

C-SPAN taped several of the sessions. Once those segments begin to …