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Tuesday, 22 December 2009
Official website and preview launched

It is with a tremendous sense of pride that I can now present the official movie website of “The Angel of Marye’s Heights” and a 6-minute rough-cut preview. (Due to copyright issues, this sample uses a temporary narration in place of our professional actor’s voiceover.) Stay tuned for upcoming press coverage and find out how you can play a pivotal role in the final production of this film.

UPDATE: Within 12 hours of releasing the website, we have already been contacted by producers at The 700 Club who are interested in discussing a segment on the film. We also have a tentative invitation for a Q&A/screening at a major university in addition to the big premiere opening here in Fredericksburg. This project has certainly been blessed and we are grateful for everyone’s support.


Posted by ny5/pinstripepress at 10:39 PM EST
Updated: Wednesday, 23 December 2009 9:57 PM EST
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Saturday, 19 December 2009
Blizzards and book reviews

Most people in the east will remember today as the “Blizzard of 2009.” The snow is nearing the two feet mark in some places here in central Virginia. As I type this, I am unable to see much of anything out my window and the snow showers continue to fall. Today is also the day that the FLS ran the very first review for my new book on Confederate encampments. As many readers will not make it out to the store in time to get their copy, I took it upon myself to make sure I did. What follows is my adventure and a wonderful critique that I am very humbled by.

 
 
 

FOCUS ON CAMP LIFE
The Civil War in Spotsylvania County: Confederate Campfires at the Crossroads by Michael Aubrecht. Book Review by Erik F. Nelson for The Free Lance-Star Town & County (12/19/09)

One-hundred-thousand soldiers were killed or wounded during the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House. This number  reflects a tragic loss, but the majority of deaths during the Civil War, by a factor of two to one, were not battlefield-related, but the result of disease in camp.

That more soldiers died in camp than in actual fighting or even on campaign, is explained through a variety of contributing conditions. Thousands of farm boys who joined the armies were without immunities to childhood diseases. Other communicable diseases resulted from poor camp sanitation, which had to be learned and enforced. Young men, living outdoors, became weakened by bad food, inadequate shelter, worn-out clothing, and hard duty.

Camp life was a large part of military life and the presence of the two principal eastern armies in and around Fredericksburg from 1862 to 1864 left their mark on the landscape as well as in the written record. The huge Northern army occupied much of Stafford County. Southern units camped in Spotsylvania County, including several places that are now a part of the city of Fredericksburg.

The remnants of camps are still evident in areas of the region that have not yet been fully developed. The best time to see them is in the winter months, when the thick Virginia foliage is down. That time of year, however, also makes it painfully evident how miserable those encampments had to have been.

Michael Aubrecht, a Fredericksburg-area writer and historian, explores this quieter aspect of the Civil War in a new book called "The Civil War in Spotsylvania County: Confederate Campfires at the Crossroads."

There are several classic studies on the experience of soldiering, such as Bell I. Wiley's "The Life of Johnny Reb," but Aubrecht does not try to reprise these types of works. Instead, he focuses on Spotsylvania County and presents various sub-themes, through a wide range of first-person accounts from Confederates who were in this region.

The author includes sections on soldier diet, crime and punishment, disease, the experience of winter quarters and so on. The collection of first-person accounts includes the words of generals, such as commanders like Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, as well as those of private soldiers, who may have been less literate, but were certainly no less descriptive. The format consists of a short introduction for each chapter, followed by a series of primary documents.

The use of primary sources provides a striking immediacy, which in turn, carries potential insight. In the chapter on disease, for instance, a soldier recounts nights in bivouac broken by the persistent coughing and labored breathing of thousands of unhealthy men.

This is not a story of banners and bugles, but rather of the curse of war itself-once described by historian Bruce Catton as "the ugly fever-sickness that came upon young men who ate bad food and went to sleep wet to wake up cold."

Another chapter notes the relative youth of the Confederate army, which certainly applied to the Northern armies as well. We often see Civil War re-enactors with full beards, some of them quite gray. Large armies, however, are usually comprised of very young men, teenagers in fact, who have little facial hair to grow. Aubrecht's volume quietly presents these types of realities, always buttressed by his selection of first-person sources.

One section touches on the presence of African-Americans in the Confederate camps. The author includes material showing them to have served as cooks and body servants, but is cautious about claiming that they also served as soldiers, which has become a somewhat controversial subject.

To his credit, Aubrecht does not shy away from presenting what evidence has been used by others to claim that slaves fought in the Confederate army, but equally to his credit, he does not generate unsubstantiated conclusions.

Other chapters examine the famous religious revivals that swept the Confederate camps, the experience of the families of those who were in the army, and the types of letters that soldiers wrote to wives and sweethearts.

Again, Aubrecht picks up the telling details, such as the scarcity of paper upon which to write a letter home or young men describing women, probably very similar to their own mothers, arriving at Fredericksburg to look for dead loved ones.

The History Press has an attractive presentation, although a mixed reputation for what they bring into print. Happily, this volume by Michael Aubrecht is a worthwhile compilation of first-person accounts that can be enjoyed for their own sake or used as a ready reference for other research.

The Confederate encampments that saw so much of this region's Civil War history wait silently in the woods of Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg for explorers young and old. This book gives them voice.

Erik F. Nelson is a founding member of the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust and senior planner for the city of Fredericksburg.


Posted by ny5/pinstripepress at 3:54 PM EST
Updated: Saturday, 19 December 2009 4:14 PM EST
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Wednesday, 16 December 2009

You’ve seen the trailer, met the cast, and soon you can view a preview of “The Angel of Marye’s Heights.” Stay tuned.

While you are waiting: Here’s a link to my latest interview for Patrick Whalen of Uncommon History. It’s a real privilege and I thank him.


Posted by ny5/pinstripepress at 11:27 AM EST
Updated: Thursday, 17 December 2009 10:18 PM EST
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Tuesday, 15 December 2009
In anticipation of our official preview of The Angel of Marye's Heights, I would like to introduce you to the cast and crew:


MEGAN HICKS
According to her website, “Megan Hicks survived the Baby Boom with her sense of humor intact.” She lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where she writes, tells stories, produces award-winning audios, teaches origami, and makes trash art. Megan is a direct descendant of Scotch-Irish peasants, who tells original & traditional stories, folk & fairy tales (intact & fractured), historical fiction, literary tales, family stories, and ghost stories ranging from pleasantly shivery to truly grisly. Exposed at a tender age to oilfield humor, tv evangelists and fairy tales, she brings this quirky legacy to storytelling audiences of all ages. Visit her website at www.meganhicks.com

JOHN CUMMINGS
An avid historian, John is a native of Northern Virginia with a life long interest in the American Civil War. Since moving to Spotsylvania County in 1999 he has authored numerous articles for local and national publications in addition to his first book. John currently serves as Chairman of the Friends of Fredericksburg Area Battlefields, Director of the Spotsylvania Battlefield Education Association, and was a former Chairman of the Spotsylvania Courthouse Tourism and Special Events Commission. He also served as a historical consultant for the former Federal Hill Foundation.

DON PFANZ
Donald C. Pfanz is a popular staff historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. A native of Gettysburg, Pa., Pfanz graduated from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg in 1980, then joined the National Park Service. He first served at Petersburg National Battlefield and Fort Sumter National Monument before joining the Park Service in central Virginia. Don has written two books to date: Abraham Lincoln at City Point and Richard S. Ewell: A Soldier's Life and has appeared in multiple Civil War documentaries for the History Channel.

RICHARD WARREN II
Young Richard comes from a very talented family of ten. At the tender age of 9, Richard did a home-school project of a living history presentation. Since he had a love of the Civil War, he decided to do a presentation on a lesser known "hero", Sgt. Richard Kirkland “The Angel of Marye’s Heights.” Richard did such a wonderful portrayal, that he caught the eye of Michael Aubrecht, a Virginia historian and author who introduced him to filmmaker Clint Ross. Richard has had numerous opportunities and occasions to re-enact his presentation and has been invited to perform in additional theatrical presentations since.

SEAN ALLEN PRATT
Our (tentative) narrator Sean Allen Pratt's resume in film, television, and theater is extremely impressive and he has played many complex and dynamic characters over the course of his career. His credits include on film: Gods and Generals, Tuck Everlasting, Iron Jawed Angels and Ladder 49; on television roles: The District, Homicide and The Wire; and on stage: Oedipus The King and The Game Of Love And Chance. In addition to his acting, Sean holds seminars and workshops for actors looking to break into the biz. Visit his website at: www.seanprattpresents.com.

CLINT ROSS
Michael C. (Clint) Ross is a Writer, Producer, Director, and Editor. He is a recent MA graduate of Savannah College of Art & Design in Film and Television. He grew up in Athens, GA, and was a carpenter for nearly 10 years before spending time as a Young Adult minister in his hometown. After a personal and life changing conversation with Ken Wales, the Executive Producer of the film Amazing Grace, Clint pursued an education and career in film.

MICHAEL AUBRECHT
Michael has dedicated his studies to the histories of Major League Baseball, the Civil War, and more recently, the Founding Fathers. He has published multiple books, as well as hundreds of essays for Baseball-Almanac, The Free Lance-Star, Mort Kunstler Enterprises, Civil War Historian magazine, and Patriots of the American Revolution. Michael also hosts a popular Internet show titled "The Naked Historian." An experienced tour guide, speaker and radio guest, Michael is vice chairman of the National Civil War Life Foundation and the founder of The Jefferson Project. Visit his website at www.pinstripepress.net.

THE CREW
Left to right: Nazar Loun (1st Assistant Camera), Zach Graber (Director of Photography), Michael Aubrecht (Co-Producer), John Cummings (Uniforms & Equipment Supervisor), Michael C. Ross (Writer, Producer, Director, Editor), Clayton DeWet (Sound Mixer). Not pictured: Darren Dick (Motion Graphics)

 


Posted by ny5/pinstripepress at 10:04 PM EST
Updated: Thursday, 17 December 2009 8:00 AM EST
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Monday, 14 December 2009
Thank you Sir.

Today’s Free Lance-Star has a short article about Peter S. Carmichael, the historian who delivered the keynote remarks on the battle's 147th anniversary. In it, Mr. Carmichael discusses our tendency to romanticize war as opposed to acknowledging the horror that it truly is. He uses Richard Kirkland’s story as a potential detractor from the memory of an engagement that resulted in a slaughter. I could not be more pleased with his comments as Clint Ross and I have gone to great lengths in our upcoming film on Kirkland to portray the misery and suffering that was witnessed by our main character.

According to Carmichael: "Every war, no matter how vicious and brutal the enemy might be, demands our awareness, our knowledge of what our troops are enduring on the front, or we lose our political check on how our nation wages war." He added that so, too, people can lose sight of what the Kirkland monument expresses: "the great universal riddle of being a soldier."  

Ironically, I just saw two newly edited sections of the film this weekend and the expert commentary and dramatic recreations are anything but romantic. Our story’s focus is completely built around the question of why a man would do what Kirkland did and why we remember it so today. Beyond a story of humanitarianism, it is equally presented as a commentary on the brutality of man. Mr. Carmichael’s comments are an indirect validation of our efforts and proves that we are definitely on the right track. We hope to post a preview segment of the film here by the end of the week. Stay tuned.

Posted by ny5/pinstripepress at 8:37 AM EST
Updated: Monday, 14 December 2009 8:55 AM EST
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