One of the “benefits” of the awful pandemic is that I have had much more free time to think and write about the Civil War. From the cancellation of almost all of my scheduled talks to Civil War groups this year to my furlough from the job, there was a great deal of time to fill.
The result was an idea I had when I was creating my book,”Civil War Trailblazers and Troublemakers.” That book highlighted 50 Civil War personalities, from Lincoln to Clara Barton, but obviously left out a few hundred more influential personages. So I decided to utilize my free time to write more books on this theme, a series entitled, “Civil War Personalities, 50 At a Time.” So far I have completed four, and one more, tentatively titled, “Civil War Unsung Heroes,” is on the way.
The books are short, incisive summaries of the careers of 50 people, including their pictures, a relevant image (maps of battles, etc.), and books for further reading. As such they serve as introductions to not only these people, but the Civil War era itself.
All of the books are available at
Here are the cover pages. Enjoy!
GENE SCHMIEL, CIVIL WAR HISTORIAN, AUTHOR, AND LECTURER 