Civil War Park Day

Saturday April 7 - two weeks from today -  is the date for this year's Civil War Trust Park Day, a day for volunteers to help local Civil War sites do some spring cleaning. It is a great idea, one I am proud to have helped with at the Ramage Museum in recent years.  I will be there again this year, though the unfortunate thing is that its Park Day work is taking place at the same time as the work by the Cynthiana Battlefields Foundation work in Cynthiana. Unfortunately, I can be at only one place at a time, as I would like to help both sites out, since both mean so much to me.

The Friends of Perryville will be working on that beautiful battlefield the same day and the Cincinnati Civil War Round Table will be helping at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati. All of these are wonderful opportunities for people to help pick up litter, pull weeds, or do other general cleaning and beautification projects at these wonderful sites.

The link in the first line will help you find participating locations close to you and I hope some readers of this will take advantage of this opportunity to help. Find a location near you and ask them how you can help. Many sites rely on volunteers, even ones that are state parks or historic sites, and this type of help and work is very valuable.

Money is not always readily available these days, so for people who cannot make monetary donations, giving time and a little bit of work can be a good way to contribute to a local historic Civil War site. The people at those sites will truly appreciate your assistance and even if the general public does not see you doing the work, the cleanliness and attractiveness of the location will be visible throughout the year. Your work will be noticed and you will have the satisfaction of knowing you contributed to a good, worthy cause.

Dave Mowery on Morgan’s Great Raid

Yesterday, I heard David Mowery talk at an event for the Cynthiana Battlefields Foundation about John Hunt Morgan and his Great Raid  of 1863. It was an enjoyable and informative talk and it made me wonder if I had reviewed his book. I remembered reading it, but not reviewing it.

I searched here and found this blurb in a post that included several such brief reviews of  books I read in 2014. I wish I had done a more thorough review of it, but I do remember it as a good book. It is not terribly long, but I definitely recommend it, especially to people interested in Morgan and his career. 

Morgan's Great Raid: the Remarkable Expedition from Kentucky to Ohio 

Copyright 2013, The History Press

This is not a long look at the details of every confrontation during this 1863 raid, but is a good overview of the entire raid and provides a nice look at how much ground Morgan, his men and his pursuers covered during these weeks. Mowery's writing is easy to follow and I enjoyed how he described the challenges that those in and against the raid faced. 

Dave is also a fine speaker. He is obviously comfortable giving talks and extremely knowledgeable about Morgan and his career. His presentation moves at a good pace and he does a terrific job of answering questions. (Of course, it helps when the crowd is attentive and asks good questions, like at yesterday’s event.) He is friendly and easy to approach, and his obvious enthusiasm for the subject only makes his presentation even better. 

Dave is a member of the Cincinnati Civil War Round Table as well as the Buffington Island Battlefield Preservation Association, and probably other groups as well. He says he has been to over 600 Civil War battle sites, many not on maps.  If you have the chance to see him speak, take advantage of it.