Welcome back friends. I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I just returned from a family trip up to Pittsburgh where we spent several days celebrating Christmas with relatives on both sides of our family. Most importantly, I got to spend a week with my eldest son who has been away at college since August. I also managed to find time to visit my favorite used bookstore where I picked up some second-hand titles to expand the Revolutionary War-side of my library. This included “General George Washington” by Edward G. Lengel (which I am beginning to read on the train tomorrow) and “The Battle for New York” by Barnet Schecter.

An unexpected New Year’s blessing came in the form of an invitation to perform the wedding ceremony for my wife’s cousin and her fiancée. I am an ordained (non-denominational) minister (completely separate from my own Presbyterian affiliation) and I cannot think of a bigger honor to be asked. I am humbled and excited as this June I will be speaking at a banquet on Jackson’s 1862 Valley Campaign in Lexington and then the following weekend, performing a wedding ceremony at the Mountaineer in West Virginia. I have been asked to do a lot of great things, but this is by far the greatest.