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Examining Local Connections
 At age 72, I have definitely slowed down physically, but my desire to continue to write books has not waned at all. With 13 in print as of this date, I am near completion of three more novels about the American Civil War era. My next book though will be a children’s book, a project and concept which is new for me. It too will be historical fiction about my great uncle’s nephew who was drummer boy for the 105th Illinois and marched with General Sherman’s army.

The key to a good children’s book is the illustrations. And I found a great illustrator. That book should be out in the Spring of 2018.

On the lighter side I continue to meet amazing people at my events. That is the part that introverted authors miss out on. Authors who do not like to meet and greet their public have no idea how interesting the public is.

An elderly man at a talk I was giving about John Brown asked why I would write a book about such a “scoundrel.” I told him that John Brown was one of the most fascinating characters that I have ever learned about, and is as controversial today as ever. But what I really wanted to ask the man but chickened out was why he sat through an entire hour-long lecture to ask that question!

A man and lady spoke to me at a Civil War reenactment earlier this year in Florida. They had been to an event in 1958 that I too had attended in Galesburg, Illinois. It was the Centennial of the Lincoln Douglas debates and got me hooked on this fascinating time in American history. Carl Sandburg was the keynote speaker of the day.

I always like to have a local connection to my books. My books on John Brown, Catesby books one and two, Harriett Lane, A House Divided Against Itself, and my two Ward Hill Lamon (Lincoln’s bodyguard) books all have local links.

In several instances, that connection came long after I had already gotten well into my writing of a book. That happened just this past week concerning a current project that I have about halfway finished. This book is about one of the most significant characters of the American Civil War – Dennis Hart Mahan. Ever heard of him?

You might not know of Dennis Mahan because he never commanded an army or participated in even one battle. He was an author of numerous technical and engineering books, and a teacher. But he was very influential when it comes to the American Civil War, trust me on this.

Of all the generals in the American Civil War, 445 were from West Point Military Academy. Two hundred ninety-four of those generals fought for the North and 151 fought for the South. In 60 major battles, the armies of both sides were commanded by generals from West Point.

Where does Dennis Mahan fit in? He was a West Point grad himself, graduating first in his Class of 1824. Most of those generals attended over 1,500 hours of engineering classes and a very significant nine-hour class in military tactics, all taught by Dennis Mahan. Several of those who did not attend his classes included those who graduated before Mahan had become an instructor at the New York school. General Robert E. Lee graduated before Mahan took his teaching position but did attend a club offered by Mahan called Napoleon Club where the cadets and Lee, who was the school’s commandant, discussed Napoleon’s famous military tactics.

So, where’s the local connection, you ask? William P. Craighill was born in Charlestown, Virginia (now Charles Town, WV) and lived in Charlestown post-war. He was a West Point graduate (he finished second in his Class of 1853) and a professor of military science at the academy. He was Dennis Mahan’s assistant!

A lady from Westchester, Pennsylvania who had read my James Hanger book (about the first amputee of the American Civil War) gave me the missing local connection to that book long after it was published. She sent me an e-mail saying how much she enjoyed the book. She also informed be that James Hanger was her grandfather (she was in her 90s). She told me her mother lived in Charles Town, and in fact, just four blocks from where I live.

My book called Southern Oasis at Gettysburg, which is about the northernmost Confederate hospital during the war and where they cared for the Confederate wounded from the fighting at Culp’s Hill. The book has many local connections. Some of the characters of the book include Major Henry Kyd Douglas (Shepherdstown), Rev. Abner Hopkins (Martinsburg), Daniel Entler (Shepherdstown), Onesimus Seibert (Martinsburg), Owen Hedges (Hedgesville), William Dixon (Charles Town) and Henry O’Bannon (Charles Town). All marched with the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia and camped on the Daniel Lady farm which is the focal point of the book.

All this proves once again that “It’s a small world after all.”


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