I confess to still feeling a bit of a thrill when I find what I believe to be an unpublished Custer document. Such was the case earlier this year when I found a December 1863 letter from Custer to Alfred Pleasonton’s Chief of Staff, Col. C. Ross Smith. Pleasonton had apparently ordered Custer to send…

I met Steve Dacus in November 2020, when he invited me out to Casper, Wyoming.  He and his family, along with his parents, own property on a mountain overlooking Casper, and I will admit to being instantly jealous. The views are stunning. Steve is a man of amazing energy, who not only runs his own…

Some of you certainly know, and hopefully many of you know or know of Licensed Gettysburg Battlefield Guide, Jim Hessler. A guide for about 20 years, Jim is the author or co-author of several award-winning books related to the Battle of Gettysburg. He also maintains the engagement schedule of a celebrity, speaking, guiding tours –…

I am happy to recommend to readers of this website, Dan Murphy’s new cavalry study, Horse Soldiers at Gettysburg, The Cavalryman’s View of the Civil War’s Pivotal Campaign. I met Dan about five years ago, when he had just begun work on his new project. Over the intervening years we have toured and discussed the…

Several years ago, while examining pension files for Small but Important Riots, I looked at the pension request submitted by Terrick Compton, of Hillsboro, Indiana, in 1886. In a cover letter, Mr. Compton explained, “I am the claimant…as father of William Compton… I have labored long and furnished…all the evidence possible to substantiate my claims.…

I shy away from doing book reviews here and I am not going to offer anything in-depth now. Rather, I offer notice of the recent release of a very worthwhile Gettysburg title. The book has become a Gettysburg Classic. Indeed, Savas Beatie released this new edition for that very reason. Jim McLean is a good…

I will be speaking on Sunday, June 18 at 2 p.m., at Buchanan Hall in Upperville, Virginia. My presentation is part of a weekend of events marking the 160th anniversary of the cavalry battles at Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville. Saturday’s events include an all-day tour of the battlefields, led by Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Historian…

I have spoken of Col. Benjamin ‘Grimes’ Davis several times in the past, including here and here. A Southerner, born in Alabama and raised in Mississippi, Benjamin Franklin Davis had been graduated from West Point in 1854 and received a commission in the 1st United States Dragoons. With the outbreak of the Civil War in…

Part 2 Last month I posted a slightly expanded version of the final appendix that did not appear in Small but Important Riots. This month I look specifically at the Alfred Duffié question. I ended last month’s post, having briefly examined Alfred Pleasonton’s June 11 reorganization of his corps and the mistaken notion that he…

Today I offer the last of the several appendices that did not appear in Small but Important Riots. I have decided to expand the narrative, which covers several related themes, into a two-part story. Here, in Part 1, I address Alfred Pleasonton’s oft-cited June 23 letter to Congressman John Farnsworth. In Part 2, I will…