Thanks, South Suburban Civil War Round Table!

Thanks, South Suburban Civil War Round Table, for helping overcome a technical problem in my first Zoom presentation on the night of Thursday, February 25, 2021. The presentation was on some of the distinguished writers of the 12th Virginia Infantry, the Petersburg Regiment. Covered were nine of the soldiers whose writings contributed to The Petersburg Regiment in the Civil War: A History of the 12th Virginia Infantry from John Brown's Hanging to Appomattox, 1859-1865 (Savas Beatie, 2019), winner of the 2019 Army Historical Foundation's Distinguished Writing Award for Unit History. (The sketch below is from War Talks of Confederate Veterans (1892), compiled and edited by George S. Bernard of the 12th Virginia, and depicts him (wounded) and Lieutenant Joseph Richard Manson of the 12th (waving Bernard's handkerchief) surrendering at Crampton's Gap, Maryland, on September 14, 1862. Bernard and Manson, who both survived the war, were among the Petersburg Regiment's distinguished writers covered in my presentation. Bernard had a sequel ready for publication in 1896 but it disappeared, showed up at a flea market in 2004, was purchased for $50 and sold to the Museum of Western Virginia History for $15,000 and published as Civil War Talks: Further Reminiscences of George S. Bernard & His Fellow Veterans in 2012.)

Kankakee Valley Civil War Round Table, March 3, 2021, 6 p.m., Bradley (Illinois) Public Library

On Wednesday, March 3, 2021, at 6 p.m., I'll be talking in person to the Kankakee Valley Civil War Round Table in the Bradley Public Library in Bradley, Illinois.  The subject will be my most recent book, The Petersburg Regiment in the Civil War:  A History of the 12th Virginia Infantry from John Brown's Hanging to Appomattox, 1859-1865 (SavasBeatie, 2019), which won the 2019 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Unit History.

The talk will focus on the Petersburg Regiment's distinguished writers--its soldiers.  The book draws on the writings of more than 30 of the soldiers.  My presentation cannot cover them all within the allotted time.  Therefore I will focus on the most prolific or vivid.  By company, they are (italics designate soldiers who joined the regiment more than once, and bold designates members of the color guard):

Cameron, William Evelyn: enl. 6/4/61 Petersburg pvt. Co. A, b. 1842, r. Missouri; elected 2 lt. Co. D 6/14/61; not reelected 5/1/62.                                                                                                                     Com. lst. lt. 5/18/62, appointed regimental adjutant; WIA 8/30/62 severe; capt. 11/2/63; Appomattox.

Capt. William Evelyn Cameron

Courtesy of Virginia Historical Society

Bird, Henry Van Leuvenigh: enl. 4/19/61 Petersburg pvt. Co. C; b. 1843, store clerk, r. Petersburg, clerk; WIA 7/1/62; POW 10/27/64.  Nicknamed “Birdie.”'

Pvt. Henry Van Leuvenigh "Birdie" Bird

Courtesy of Virginia Historical Society

Bernard, George Smith: enl. 4/19/61 Petersburg pvt. Co. E, b. 1837 Culpeper Cty., r. Petersburg, lawyer; med. dis. 10/30 61.                                                                                                                      Enl. 2/22/62 Hicksford sgt. 2nd Co. I; WIA & POW 9/14/62 right leg severe; trans. Co. E, voluntarily reduced to pvt.; WIA 2/6/65; furloughed 3/20/65.

3rd Sgt. George S. Bernard, wounded, beside 1st Lt. Joseph Richard Manson (holding flag) at Crampton's Gap, September 14, 1862

From Bernard, ed., War Talks of Confederate Veterans

Todd, Westwood A.: enl. 9/13/61 Norfolk pvt. Co. A, b. 1831, lawyer, r. Norfolk; trans. Co. E 4/2/62; WIA 8/30/62 hand; became brigade assistant ordnance officer, then ordnance officer; POW 4/6/65.

Map by Hampton Newsome

Whitehorne, James Edward: enl. 6/6/61 Hicksford cpl. Co. F, b. 1840, r. Greensville Cty.; 1 sgt. 8/20/61; WIA 7/2/63 shell, both legs; WIA 7/30/64 leg, slightly; Appomattox.

1st Sgt. James Edward "Eddie" Whitehorne

Courtesy of Fletcher L. Elmore, Louisville, Kentucky

Phillips, James Eldred: enl. 4/19/61 Richmond pvt. Co. G, master tinner, r. Richmond; cpl. 9/1/61; sgt. 5/1/62; POW 9/14/62; 2 lt. 3/9/63; 1 lt. 11/20/63; Appomattox.

1st Lt. James Eldred Phillips

Courtesy of Virginia Historical Society

Whitlock, Philip: enl. 4/19/61 Richmond pvt. Co. G, b. 1836 Poland, clerk, r. Richmond; detailed 9/23/62 Quartermaster Dept.

Pvt. Philip Whitlock (in kepi upper right) opposite John Wilkes Booth (in kepi upper left) at John Brown's hanging

Sale, John Francis: enl. 5/17/61 Norfolk pvt. Co. H, b. 1842, contractor, r. Norfolk; cpl. 5/1/62; sgt. 6/1/62; WIA 7/1/62; 1 sgt. 12/1/62; 2 lt. 11/22/64; MWIA 2/6/65, deceased 2/12/65.

Map by Hampton Newsome

Manson, Joseph Richard: enl. 2/22/62 Hicksford 1 lt. 2nd Co. I, b. 1831 Brunswick Cty., planter, commission merchant, r. Brunswick Cty., married; POW 9/14/62; capt. 7/64; Appomattox.

1st Lt. Joseph Richard Manson late in the war

Courtesy of Richard Cheatham, Richmond, Virginia