US Grant in living history

07/01/2025

July 1, 1863, the start of an important fight in Pennsylvania.
And while that stage was beginning to fill with the actors it would, Grant at Vicksburg would be the true turning point in our civil war.

In our fifth episode we discuss the movement from Grand Gulf along the Jackson Road to Raymond, the fall of the Mississippi capital at Jackson, and the movem...

06/26/2025

Leadership is built on patience, and good judgement, and then the courage to act when action is needed.

Have you ever had a co-worker that gets on your nerves, no matter how hard you try to tolerate them?

June 26, 1863: Day 40 of the Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi. After years of dealing with his "difficult" corps commander Major General John A. McClernand, General Grant had finally had enough.

Grant and McClernand had started the Civil War as peers, and the two had been together since the Battle of Belmont in 1861. But by June 1863, Grant held positional authority over McClernand and had gotten thoroughly sick of McClernand's behavior and bad attitude, which included spreading rumors about Grant's drinking habits, taking credit for Grant's successes, and even going over Grant's head to request a meeting with President Lincoln about getting command of his own army.

Grant, normally a patient man, had had enough. In a letter to Brigadier General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General of the U.S. Army, Grant writes: "A disposition and earnest desire on my part to do the most I could with the means at my command made me tolerate Gen. McClernand long after I thought the good of the service demanded his removal. It was only when almost the entire Army under my command seemed to demand it, that he was relieved. The enclosed letters show the feelings of the Army Corps serving in the field with the 13th Corps. My action in relieving Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand from the command of the 13th Army Corps, and the assignment of Maj. Gen. E.O.C. Ord to that command, I trust will meet the approval of the President."

Read more about Grant and McClernand's contentious relationship in the article "General John A. McClernand: General Grant's Work Nemesis" on our website. Link to article is in the comments below.

06/20/2025

I will begin setup after 3pm and be encamped about 530pm to address any gathering at 7pm and discuss Lee's Surrender in 1865. Depending on how that goes, I may repeat this on Saturday at 8pm, OR I may do an entirely different topic, such as Winning In The West.
Come down to the Rupp House, or the Children's Museum on Baltimore St. to visit.

06/16/2025

Friends came to town this past weekend, so we took a ride out through the battlefield

06/11/2025

Update #1 for the 2025 HB Road Trip.
I have received donations enough to secure the rental vehicle. I had collected some small cash donations at a few talks so far, and some envelopes have arrived by mail. Now to see how that goes to fund the fuel and lodging costs out to Cali and back again.
The trip is a three-day cross country drive in a rental SUV, then 3-4 days in So Cal for the event and any other bookings I can arrange out there for the time I am out on the west coast. Then a three-day return drive home to Gettysburg and picking up the regular schedule of talks, programs and encampments in the east.
Since I started this trip, I have never been forced to pay for it from regular sources, but have enjoyed blessings and support to fund the entire enterprise, vehicle, fuel and lodging in both directions every year since 2017 by donations entirely. A 2025 Jeep Wrangler will be the conveyance this year, a rental of course, but a sturdy locomotive with a 400 mile range per fill up. Gas prices look much better this year, but I still need to get that covered.
Gift Cards, Cash, Check or Venmo are all acceptable forms of support, and contact information is on the upper right corner of the map.

06/09/2025

It's time for the "official" kickoff for my fundraising efforts to support my annual road trip to the Huntington Beach Civil War Days event over Labor Day weekend. I have to start earlier this year, because I don't have any programs this month to pass the hat at because of how the bookings worked out so far this year. I usually wait until later in July, but can't afford to this time around if I want to get it funded.
This year we will not only feature my public discussion sessions, but present both days a reenactment of Lee's Surrender to Grant with a small cast of characters in the principle roles. You will be able to livestream this, from the comfort of wherever you like to watch such things.
The trip is a three-day cross country drive in a rental SUV, then 3-4 days in So Cal for the event and any other bookings I can arrange out there for the time I am out on the west coast. Then a three-day return drive home to Gettysburg and picking up the regular schedule of talks, programs and encampments in the east.
Since I started this trip, I have never been forced to pay for it from regular sources, but have enjoyed blessings and support to fund the entire enterprise, vehicle, fuel and lodging in both directions every year since 2017 by donations entirely. It looks like a 2025 Jeep Wrangler will be the conveyance this year, a rental of course, but a sturdy locomotive.
Gift Cards, Cash, Check or Venmo are all acceptable forms of support, and contact information is on the upper right corner of the map.

05/30/2025

Made it, in spite of the clicking in my rear axle again... Except for that noise and small vibration, Vicky runs like a brand new Cherokee.
My camp is set, and if it rains tonight, I hope it holds up, at least not cracking and breaking.
Now to food.... food trucks all around the court house for the Barbour County Fair here in Philippi too!

02/17/2025

The first major victory of the American Civil War is commemorated today with the capture of Fort Donelson in Tennessee and nearly 30,000 rebel soldiers commanded by Gen Simon Bolivar Buckner protecting the approach to Nashville on the Cumberland River, by the 6 division force commanded by BGen US Grant.
He captures most of the rebel force, offering no terms but an unconditional and immediate surrender, earning him among the newspapermen the nickname "unconditional surrender". I say "most" because two senior generals to Buckner, Tilghman and Pillow, elected to skedaddle, leaving him and their forces to Grant, and cavalry man, Nathan Bedford Forrest broke out of the siege line with his troopers to fight on. Of Gen. Pillow escaping, Grant said his escape would aid our cause far better than his capture. Pillow had been his division commander in Mexico in 1847, and never impressed him as a soldier. The surrender meeting was held in the Dover hotel, about a mile east/ up river from the fort.
Grant's letter to Julia is especially fascinating.

02/08/2025

It was a very good run of this show and amazing attendance.
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