We assemble at Jackson’s gun line
Some interesting stuff going on over on John Cummings’s blog, Spotsylvania Civil War. John takes a look at the current placement of the guns representing Jackson’s artillery “line” on Henry Hill, and how they match up to some historical documents. Check it out here.
We had a modest (15 people) turnout for our tour on June 9, but the small crowd allowed for a lot of back and forth with our guide John Cummings. John managed to convincingly upset a few apple carts full of interpretations of the locations of period photos on the battlefield. All in all, it was a good day.
One of the highlights of the day was a demonstration of the wet plate photography process by Robert Szabo, at the Stuart-Mosby Historical Society in Centreville. First he painstakingly demonstrated the whole process, out of his mobile darkroom right there in the parking lot:
Robert Szabo and his mobile darkroom
Then he set up the camera for a shot of the group:
Next, he posed the group near this reproduction winter quarters hut:
After the exposure (one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand), the magic happened:
The final product – click on the image twice and you get a super huge version:
Here’s a recommended reading list for the tour. Books and some blog posts. Download whatever you think you need. If you download to a mobile device (phone, tablet), I recommend you download to the device itself, as cell reception is spotty out on the field.
Stay tuned for more news on handouts prior to our deployment.
Books:
Posts
Here’s an update on where we stand with our second Bull Runnings tour, on Saturday, April 7. I’ve created this Facebook Event Page where you can register to attend and get more frequent updates. I realize some of you don’t “do The Facebook,” so you can let me know here or via email if you’re coming. Remember the tour is rain or shine, so dress appropriately, and if you’re a photo geek by all means bring your camera and take your own “now” images to pair with the “thens.” Below is the initial announcement on the event page, and an itinerary. Remember – car pooling is a must.
Tour the battlefield of First Bull Run and Centreville, VA using period photographs. Visit the sites of the photos and learn the stories behind them and their subjects from experts John Cummings and Dennis Hogge. This is a free event.
Our itinerary for the tour, from guest guide John Cummings [my comments in brackets]:
We’ll start the day (9:00 AM) in front of the Visitor’s Center, where we will begin by examining some problematic interpretations of photo locations on Henry Hill. While there, we will discuss other images taken during the first century after the battle, and the history of the park. Later we will proceed to the Sudley Church area and visit the exact location of some Union burial sites. We will proceed to a surprise Second Manassas feature [I know some of you have been yakking at me to cover the second, less important little skirmish outside Manassas, so here’s your bone!], and then to the Stone House, and Stone Bridge before breaking for lunch. After lunch we will meet with Dennis Hogge for an exploration of Centreville and the numerous photographs that document its Confederate occupation.
[During the tour, I’ll have various letters and memoirs ready that feature the sites we’ll be visiting. I’m checking with the Bull Run Winery to see if they can handle our group perhaps stopping there after the conclusion of the tour – let me know if that would be of interest to you.]
No, not one of mine. Blogger John Cummings (Spotsylvania Civil War Blog) hopes to have a new book on the Manassas battlefields published in time for the 150th anniversary of First Bull Run, and he talks about it here. Check it out.
Harry Smeltzer
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