World premiere of THE ANGEL OF MARYE’S HEIGHTS
A short film of courage and compassion at the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Directed by Clint Ross. Produced by Clint Ross and Michael Aubrecht.

Hosted by the National Civil War Life Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit: www.civilwarlife.org.

Admission, refreshments and exhibits are FREE. Suggested donation of $5.
All monies collected will go towards the film’s anticipated DVD production costs.

Doors open at 6. Film starts at 6:30. No one will be admitted during the 30-minute screening. Program includes remarks from the creators, museum exhibits, preservationist booths, music, slide show, re-enactors and more. For more on the film, visit www.theangelmovie.com.

Also look for updates on additional screenings including a very special showing at Liberty University on September 18 to benefit the Civil War Chaplians Museum.

My latest contribution for Patriots of the American Revolution is running in the current issue. This 6-page feature presents the life and legacy of Mary Ball Washington, and is subtitled The Mother of the Father of Our Country. See a PDF of the article.There is also an interview with me included as a sidebar.

In addition, the July/August issue is packed cover to cover with The Long Shot of 1776 by Hugh T. Harrington, Henry Knox—A Brief Biography by Mark Neaves, Their Finest Performance--The Catawba Indians during the American Revolution by Christopher L. Russell, and A Court Martial at Fort Chambly by Douglas R. Cubbison. Get your copy.

Our program will also feature remarks from the director and producer, intro of present cast and crew, acknowledgements of donors, presentation of cast awards, Q&A. The after-party will include free refreshments, music, and exhibits of local museum foundation and battlefield preservation groups.

This film was sponsored by the National Civil War Life Foundation and has been donated as a permanent exhibit at the Civil War Life Museum. Subsequent screenings tentatively planned for southern VA, GA, SC, and PA.  Proceeds benefit the film's upcoming DVD production and distribution costs.

In anticipation of our test-screening this weekend, there is a very special blog post over at The Angel of Marye’s Heights featuring an interview with our youngest star and his biggest fan. There is also an article running in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette featuring yours-truly. Check back for information on the movie screening in Lexington and premiere in Fredericksburg, as well as our upcoming appearance on national television. I will also post the slides and transcripts from my last Civil War talk on Jackson's 1862 Valley Campaign upon my return.

ADDED 6/19/10:
Report from the road following the test-screening in Lexington:

Despite the obvious Hollywood flair, the history in the film is fairly accurate. Gibson is joined on screen by the late, great Heath Ledger, but the most notable performance comes in that of the villain, Colonel William Tavington, commander of the elite Green Dragoons, as portrayed by the noted British actor Jason Issacs. This guy is pure evil and Issacs is so convincing, you literally hate him by the end of the first scene in which he appears. His character is a sadistic and unrepentant military officer with no conscience or battlefield ethics. In one scene he shoots Benjamin Martin’s young son in cold blood, in another he orders an entire town’s residents to be locked in their own church and burned alive. His line, “The ends justify the means.” It is a memorable performance to say the least.

Sir Joshua Reynolds’ 1782 portrait of General Banastre Tarleton.

What most folks may not know is that Colonel William Tavington was based closely on a very real and equally feared trooper named General Sir Banastre Tarleton.

According to the Wikipedia entry on Tarleton: In a publication “THE GREEN DRAGOON: The Lives of Banastre Tarleton and Mary Robinson” by Robert D. Bass he was given the nickname “Bloody Ban” and The Butcher, which has carried over into popular culture as being his nickname of the day. According to his bio, He was hailed by the Loyalists and British as an outstanding leader of light cavalry, and was praised for his tactical prowess and resolve, even against superior numbers. His green uniform was the standard of the British Legion, a provincial unit organized in New York in 1778. Tarleton was later elected as a Member of Parliament for Liverpool and became a prominent Whig politician. Tarleton’s cavalrymen were frequently called “Tarleton’s Raiders.”

Tarleton’s legacy as a ruthless commander followed his actions at the Battle of Waxhaw. They are still debated today. In May of 1780, Tarleton’s forces consisting of 150 mounted light infantry troops overwhelmed a detachment of 350+ Continental infantryman led by Abraham Buford. It is argued that despite their surrendering, Buford’s men were attacked and cut to pieces by Tarleton’s men. Estimates state that 113 Americans were killed, 150 were severely wounded and 203 were captured and abused. The British referred to this battle as the Battle of Waxhaw Creek, while the Continentals called it “The Waxhaw Massacre.”

In retrospect, some accounts have since then supported the notion that Tarleton’s men attacked on their own accord. An American field surgeon named Robert Brownfield wrote that Col. Buford had indeed raised a white flag of surrender, but that Tarleton’s horse was shortly after struck by a musket ball and fell. This gave the impression that the rebels had shot at Tarleton while asking for mercy. Enraged, the British cavalrymen charged. According to Brownfield, the loyalists attacked, carrying out “indiscriminate carnage never surpassed by the most ruthless atrocities of the most barbarous savages.” In Tarleton’s own account, he stated that his men, thinking him dead, engaged in “a vindictive asperity not easily restrained.”

Our friend Eric Wittenberg has an excellent feature on this affair in the current May/June issue of Patriots of the American Revolution.