Institutionalized again

                This year’s Civil War Institute concluded Tuesday and the best word I can use to describe the annual conference is, “Wow.”

The steeple at the Seminary that was used as a lookout
point by both bsides during the battle of Gettysburg.

          The theme this year was 1862, as this year marks the 150^th anniversary of that year. We spent a great deal of time discussing the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation, from various angles, which generated some thought-provoking questions.

          We did not spend as much time on the military aspects of the war that year as I would have liked, but there were some outstanding presentations on the war’s western theater, the behavior of the US Army toward Confederate non-combatants and Susannah Ural gave a tremendous talk to a breakout session about John Bell Hood’s Texas Brigade. I attended another presentation during a breakout session during which the repeated frontal assaults in Civil War battles was discussed.

The rugged Devil's Den area near Little Round Top.

          I was part of a group that walked the path of the 15^th Alabama as that regiment attacked toward the round tops. Dr. Jennifer Murray, of Auburn University, led the walk. I had walked the areas in other years, but never all at once. The tour gave me a new appreciation of the difficulty the men of the 15^th faced.

The left flank marker for the 123rd
New York Infantry Regiment on
Culp's Hill, In the background is a
flank marker for a Confederate
regiment. The fighting was close
up on Culp's Hill.

          An aside here: The day before I’d explored some areas of Culp’s Hill I hadn’t seen before and another area along Baltimore Street. Somewhere along the line I lost my cell phone. I returned to all those areas after dark once I discovered the loss of the cell phone and again the following morning. Thus, I climbed down and up parts of Culp’s Hill three times within a 10-hour period, then walked a nice distance before ascending Big Round Top.

          It might be a few days before my legs work normally again, but that’s my problem, right?

          A wandering group of teenaged French tourists turned the phone in to the Gettysburg Battlefield Tours, a business full of very nice people on Baltimore Street in Gettysburg, and I eventually regained my phone.

A Confederate flank marker on
Culp's Hill.

          Each year the CWI attracts some of the top researchers and writers in the Civil War field. I don’t want to go through all the names of the 2012 presenters here, but you can look at next year’s schedule on line now at www.gettysburg.edu/cwi/about/.

A memorial to Union General John Reynolds.

I’ve already put in my reservation to attend the 2013 CWI in expectation of another great experience. Like history? You need to be here next June.

          Simply put, this was a great week. I learned a great deal, which is the point of attending the conference to begin with, and I spent a lot of time talking to presenters and fellow attendees during meals and between sessions. I was sad to see it end Tuesday, but I am energized and excited to return to my own research soon.

          A note to future attendees: I budgeted funds for the purchase of new and used books on the topic of the Civil War here. There is always a big bunch of new and used titles on sale at the CWI and I am pleased to say that I blew my budget to smithereens early in the conference. Did the same thing last year and I’ll probably do it again.

          You should smile. Guys like me are good for the nation’s economy.

          The remainder of our stay here will be devoted to my camera and the battlefield. I was the happiest guy out there today.

          Thanks for reading.