This evening I took my son to the historic music hall of the Carnegie Library in nearby Carnegie, PA. The occasion was a talk on Lincoln, from his nomination to his election, his journey to Washington and the eventual outbreak of the Rebellion. While it’s a well known story, we were in attendance not for the message, but rather for the messenger. NPS historian emeritus Ed Bearss kept a crowd of about 150, including a normally antsy 10 year old boy, enraptured for about an hour. There’s nothing quite like an Ed Bearss presentation. Afterwards, he was gracious enough to sign my three volume set of The Vicksburg Campaign, while having a nice conversation about mutual friends Teej Smith, Col. Jerry Wulf, and Dr. Charlie Smallwood (if any of you are reading this, Ed says “Hi!”). Here’s a picture of The Great Man inscribing Volume I to me (this was taken with my phone, so excuse the quality):
Harry Smeltzer
Bull Runnings 
I am sitting with Ed in my office in Plano, TX on 2.11.09 at 5pm CST looking this over. Ed is amazed to see this nice report and picture posted so quickly.
PB
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That’s wonderful, Pete! Sorry I wasn’t able to approve your comment and respond earlier. If Mr. Bearss is still with you, please tell him how much my son and I enjoyed his presentation.
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Thanks for giving Ed my regards, Harry. He was in Pinehurst on January 8, his first stop on a four RT tour in three days. His topic for the Rufus Barringer CWRT was the Gettysburg personality everyone loves to hate, Dan Sickles. As always I learned a few things I didn’t know. In this case it was that Sickles arranged to have the fence that once enclosed Lafayette Square where he shot and killed Barton Key, moved to Gettysburg as a permanent reminder that he (Sickles) got away with murder. Ed Bearss is indeed a “national treasure.”
Regards,
Teej
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