Video: Women Soldiers at Spanish Fort - Mobile Campaign - 155th Anniversary

Today, March 26th, marks the 155th anniversary of the opening action that would culminate in the Siege of Spanish Fort and Battle of Fort Blakeley.  Also in this initial clash that occurred south of Spanish Fort, the Federals captured a Confederate woman soldier.  She was not the only female fighter involved in the Mobile Campaign.  On the Federal side was Jennie Hodgers, "Pvt. Albert Cashier," of the 95th Illinois Infantry.

In this video, fellow author Paul Brueske and I talk about the Mobile Campaign and these women soldiers.

Read previous blog posts I wrote about this topic [HERE] and [HERE].

Until next formation.....rest.

Finding Frances: My Quest to Discover the True Frances Hook

It's hard to believe my book has been out for a year now.  And as with anyone who completes a major project, I came to realize regrets.  There was even a sense of helplessness.  I can't tell you how many times I and others read over my manuscript....only to miss a typo on the first page of Chapter 1.  We missed it......every....single....time during the editing process.  I thought we had caught everything, but of course when I took that nice, crisp, sweet-smelling brand new book out of the box for the very first time and opened it, there it was.  Indeed, I happened to open right to it, and there was that glaring typo, staring back at me with its mocking grin.  &*#%$#!!!!!

As for regrets, perhaps that is too strong of a word.  It's more like a desire to offer more detail and insight into my research process, whether in the main text itself or in the notes section.  I did indeed cite every account I shared.  They are in parenthetical form because I had to condense down my citations from over 500 to 250 in order to have hyperlinked notes in the ebook format.  But they are all there  And if a reader has a question, the individual can simply follow my sources.  However, upon further reflection, I wish I would have offered a more detailed explanation as to how I arrived at some of my conclusions.  One involved the discovery of Frances Hook's true identity, Elizabeth Quinn.

My Article in Mississippi History Now - With a Lesson Plan for Teachers

I was approached some time ago to submit an article based on my book for the Mississippi History Now website, which is a part of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.  It was incredibly difficult to condense down my entire book to a 1500-word article, but I managed to do so with my hair intact!  It is geared towards students in grades seven through nine and includes a lesson plan teachers can access at the bottom of the article.

Mississippi's Forgotten Soldiers: Women in the Ranks During the Civil War