Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Update of Vickers Research

Things are moving along but not as well as I would like.  I have been pouring through the records from the National Archives and can now paint of when/where picture of his Civil War experiences.  I am still waiting for the VA pension records to arrive; they sure are SLOW!

I am drawing a blank trying to locate any personal records/letters of his having received no response from anyone associated with any Vickers gemological groups.

Two very positive notes:  Clyde Tinklepaugh PMC '71 has agreed to help me by combing the records in Wilmington and Camden.  Clyde is very active in organizing and categorizing PMC artifacts for the PMC Museum and is on the Museum Committee as well.

I addition I will be working with Janet Burkitt a freelance writer, editor, and historical researcher who has access to the NARA archives at College Park, MD.  That is where the State Department records from the period reside.

That is about it for now.

Keep History Alive!
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Monday, April 19, 2010

Another Photo Contest

For my (HIST101 D014 Win 10) students---5 points added to your final grade!  Be the first to identify this fascinating photo.  Post the correct location here and how you figured it out. Sorry Dain, you got last week's you are not eligible for this one. Enjoy!  PLEASE no help from the Peanut Gallery here but you can take a guess on my FB page.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Okay, Here we go, This week's Photo Contest!

For my (HIST101 D014 Win 10) students---5 points added to your final grade!  Be the first to identify the photo.  Post the correct location here and how you figured it out. I'll post another one next week.  Enjoy!  PLEASE no help from the Peanut Gallery here but you can take a guess on my FB page.

If you win this week you are ineligible next week.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

It's OUT!!!


I am pleased to announce that Deeds Publishing has just released my new book: Broomsticks to battlefields. To paraphrase Al Nofi:


Bill Speer has done something interesting. He has used Robinett’s life to throw some light upon several aspects of the American experience and society in the mid-nineteenth century that have not yet been fully explored.
Unlike many who returned to civilian life after the war, Robinett pursued a career in the Regular Army. That career, however, was marred by increasingly erratic behavior that ended in his suicide just three years after the war - the result of complex psychological problems that are carefully discussed in the book. From Broomsticks to Battlefields gives us a little more insight into the extent to which the horrors of war affect the personality and reminds us that historians and psychologists have barely begun to study the question of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury among Civil War veterans.


If you are interested in purchasing a copy you can go to the Deeds website:  http://www.deedspublishing.com/  and place your order.  I am very interested in hearing what you have to say about this piece.



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Almost Here!

This is Mark Babcock, editor of Broomsticks to Battlefields: After the Battle.