With the exception of a speaking engagement at Manassas Museum on the 20th, I have cleared my entire calendar in order to focus on acquiring sources for my upcoming "American Chronicles" book on Confederate encampments in Spotsylvania County. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have identified a variety of potential sources listed in the NPS' Bound Volumes catalog and I will be spending several days up at Chatham copying them for transcription into the book.

Our county and the surrounding area hosted thousands of troops and there appears to be a nice collection of quotable materials from the southern contingency. As this book is to be presented in a chronicles-format (verbatim transcripts with introductory narratives by me), I want to make sure that it is more than just a good read. I have already published three books based on my faith (meant to uplift), two based on neglected topics (meant to educate), and my goal now is to write one that will become a respected research tool for others.

Much like my study on Fredericksburg’s historical churches, this project is of special interest to me as I live in the vicinity of several sites. Three of them are marked by VA roadside markers:

Lee’s Winter Headquarters E-38: During the winter of 1862-1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee maintained his headquarters in a small clearing in the woods in this vicinity. The camp contained only a few tents and nothing but a flag to indicate it was Lee’s headquarters. By mid-February the Army of Northern Virginia showed signs of scurvy and malnutrition, so Lee sent Lt. Gen. James Longstreet and a few other divisions to southeastern Virginia to gather supplies and counter Union forces. Lee remained at the site until late March 1863, when a serious throat infection forced him to take shelter at the nearby Thomas Yerby’s house. [2002]

Longstreet’s Winter Headquarters E-41: Following the Battle of Fredericksburg in Dec. 1862, Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet established his headquarters in a tent near here. His command center was in close proximity to Generals Robert E. Lee and J. E. B. Stuart. Longstreet commanded the Army of Northern Virginia’s First Corps, a force totaling approximately 40,000 men. In Feb. 1863 Longstreet left Fredericksburg with the divisions of Maj. Gens. George E. Pickett and John B. Hood to conduct an independent military operation near Suffolk. He rejoined the Army of Northern Virginia in May following the Battle of Chancellorsville. [2002]

Stuart E-8: At this point J. E. B. Stuart had his headquarters and cavalry camp in December 1862. [1995]

The REAL challenge with this project is to highlight the camp locations which are not well-known. This requires quality research and a willingness to spend the time necessary to uncover the data. As the final product is part of The History Press' "American Chronicles Series," the turnaround on the manuscript will be relatively quick. Therefore my pre-production work must be thorough.  

On a related side-note I was contacted by George Skoch, a renowned map maker, CWPT logo designer, and former co-editor of Blue & Gray Magazine. We discussed the possibility of putting together a couple maps IF the data to create them existed. Of course we won’t be able to determine that until I get into the archives and see what reference is available. I can’t wait to get started.