Small but Important Riots – A Book Update

This link will provide an update on my new book, Small but Important Riots, The Cavalry Battles of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville, including a cover shot, publication date, and pricing. Rather than a simple revision of the earlier edition, that is a few scattered updates and refreshed maps, every page of this edition is new,…

Kilpatrick and Custer – The Beginning of a Rivalry

As I worked to finish the final edits for the new edition of Small but Important Riots, I read a book review, in which the reviewer explained how, “A nonfiction author is a massive filtration system. You’re only as good as what you leave out.” A good friend, who had been patiently reading and offering…

A Little More Self-Promotion

As I have not provided an update regarding my book, Small but Important Riots, Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville, in quite a while, I thought I would so today. I signed a contract with Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press in October 2021, and I mailed the completed manuscript to the editor…

Cowardice of Unbridled Ambition? Part 2

Some readers may find the first reported incident of Lt. Col. David Clendenin’s cowardice confusing, because the 8th Illinois, attached to Col. ‘Grimes’ Davis’s brigade, had accompanied Stoneman on his raid. So how had the regiment been in position to fire on Stoneman’s troopers when they returned to Union lines on May 8? Colonel Davis’s…

Cowardice or Unbridled Ambition? Part 1

Turning his 8th Illinois Cavalry into the fields just east of Upperville and north of the Ashby’s Gap Turnpike on June 21, 1863, Lieut. Col. David Clendenin saw enemy supply wagons, artillery, and cavalry moving along Trappe Road, about 1,000 yards to the west. He could not foresee, however, how the next few moments would…

Roses for National Cemeteries

I find my trips to the National Archives, especially when I follow my curiosity, almost always rewarded with something new or unexpected. Such was the case on my last visit to the Archives before the pandemic forced the facility to shut down. Having pulled a box of Quartermaster records regarding an unrelated subject, I found…

Ripped from Today’s Headlines

I offer the following without any intent to enter the present debates or political acrimony connected with the subject. Nor do I offer or solicit any opinions on the question. Rather, the topic of the first order cited below simply piqued my interest – how could it not – and I sought to look a…

A Short Announcement of Self-Promotion

My first book, The Cavalry Battles of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville, has long been out of print, and secondary market prices now put copies beyond the reach of many prospective buyers. Shortly before we moved back to Virginia, I decided to re-write the book, in part to bring the story back at an affordable price.…