New book and exhibit by the Pritzker Military Museum & Library

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Megan Williams, Director of External Affairs
mwilliams@pritzkermilitary.org, 312.374.9333

The original journals of a Civil War veteran, Chicagoland native are the focus of
a new book and exhibit by the Pritzker Military Museum & Library

CHICAGO, June 18, 2015—The Pritzker Military Museum & Library will host a free public reception next Wednesday, June 24, to officially launch its newest original work and to unveil an accompanying exhibit on the life and times of Civil War veteran and Valparaiso, Ind. native Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. on the Museum & Library’s main floor, and will be immediately followed by a formal discussion and recording for television by the book’s editor and others involved in its production, beginning at 6 p.m.

The Museum & Library’s third major publication, Dignity of Duty: The Journals of Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath, 1861-1898 will be released in hardcover and e-book formats and comprises three original documents assembled and edited by Gilbreath’s great-granddaughter, Susan Gilbreath Lane—who discovered the papers in an archive in the late 1970s. The exhibit includes authentic photographs and artifacts from Gilbreath’s scrapbooks, hand-drawn maps commissioned for the book, additional materials on 19th Century America pulled from the PMML’s collection, and a dynamic online gallery and audio experience.

“Major Gilbreath was a mid-ranking field officer and family man who witnessed much of America’s 19th Century history—and he did it with a rifle and pen in hand,” said Museum & Library President & CEO Kenneth Clarke. “Journals like these are very rare.”
Severely wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg during the Civil War—a wound that would haunt him for the rest of his life—Gilbreath not only went on to a successful 37-year military career, but also bore witness to the coming of age of America as we know it. In his later journals, he shares many remarkable experiences, including a hazardous 175-mile journey by stagecoach in the Texas frontier during the Indian Wars; a shipwreck off the Gulf coast; travels in a wagon train pulled by mules with pet names; the second Great Chicago Fire; and the establishment of Fort Custer in the Montana Territory, where his daughter was born in a tent with his cook acting as a midwife.

To provide context for the book and exhibit, Lane will be joined by historian Frederick J. Chiaventone for the 6 p.m. recording of Pritzker Military Presents—one of two long-running series produced by the Museum & library for Chicago public television. Advance registration and a separate ticket are required to attend this program.

To learn more about the incredible life of this 19th Century American soldier, the new book and exhibit by the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, or the June 24 premiere event, visit dignityofduty.org or pritzkermilitary.org.

About the Pritzker Military Museum & Library
The Pritzker Military Museum & Library is open to the public and features an extensive collection of books, artifacts, and rotating exhibits covering many eras and branches of the military. Since opening in 2003, it has become a center where citizens and Citizen Soldiers come together to learn about military history and the role of the Armed Forces in today’s society. The Museum & Library is a non-partisan, non-government information center supported by its members and sponsors.

About Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath
Born in Ohio in 1840, Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath spent his formative years in Valparaiso, Ind., where his parents settled in his youth. Following the death of his father, Gilbreath studied law and worked to support his family until he was called upon in 1861 to assist in the raising of the 20th Indiana Volunteer Regiment. Over the course of a 37-year military career, Gilbreath reached the rank of major twice—once as a volunteer and once with the regular Army—chronicling his experiences while serving in nearly every major battle of the Civil War; on various official assignments throughout the Indian Wars with his wife and children by his side; and finally in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, where he lost his life to an illness in 1898.

Society for Military History Annual Meeting

Originally posted to Civil Warriors.

The program for the 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for Military History, which is being held on 14-16 March 2013, in New Orleans, LA, and sponsored by the Center for the Study of War and Society at The University of Southern Mississippi, with the National World War II Museum and Southeastern Louisiana University, has recently been posted.

Not much this year, unfortunately, to interest the Civil War enthusiast. I saw only one session dedicated to the subject, which is definitely odd considering this is the 150th anniversary of not a few events of note in the military history of the Civil War. No doubt this is in large part due to a program on the 150th at Gettysburg College that is running the same weekend. Still, there will once again be a decent contingent of Civil War historians in attendance, including George Rable, Susannah Ural, and Carol Reardon. As for me, I will be chairing a panel on “Alcohol and Drugs in Three Wars: The Great War, Korea , and Vietnam”.

Further information about the meeting, including the program and logistics, can be found here.

If you are in New Orleans in mid-March, definitely consider attending, as the program looks interesting.

Update on the supposed tampering with Lincoln documents

Thanks to Brett Schulte and the gang at TOCWOC for posting this update. As Civil Warriors first posted and I posted on January 25, Lincoln scholar Thomas Lowry admitted, then later denied, altering the date of a pardon issued by Lincoln. Now, Mr. Lowry is telling his side of the story in greater detail through his own blog, which does raise speculation about how the case was handled by the federal government. Having read the posting, I am willing to consider that Mr. Lowry may have been railroaded until shown otherwise. I will also modify my remarks on the damage being done here, and consider the possibility that someone researching years before Mr. Lowry may have tampered with the document, fooling both Mr. Lowry and the staff of the Archives until technology allowed a very detailed examination of the forensics of that item. I will say that, if innocent, he is vindicated in the media and I will happily post that.

Now, I will take issue with the characterization of the Civil War blogging community. When one blog, written by reputable historians, post a link to media reports dealing with some aspect of the war, or research on the period, others, myself included are going to pick it up and link to the original post. This is because it is a news worthy item and not every blog on the war has the same readership. Further, when the sources reporting include the Associated Press, National Archives, Washington Post and NPR, it is hard not to consider that it is legitimate.

With this new side to the story, I am now on the fence. If Mr. Lowry is proven right, the federal government has a serious problem on its hands. After reading his response, some of his observations are interesting. The criticism of the changing nature of the National Archives is truly worth exploring deeper. I hope that this case will be resolved soon.

Fun last few days

From Wednesday, October 13 to Saturday, October 16, we hosted the Northern Great Plains History Conference in Grand Forks, ND. There were a number of great papers and panels on a wide variety of topics, including the Civil War. Yours truly presented a paper on the social transition in Illinois Civil War camps of instruction, and there were papers on Civil War chaplains as well. I was also able to meet several fine graduate students all doing great things at several far-flung programs from CUNY to TCU, to even New Brunswick. It was a small world as one student, Keith Altavilla, who studies the Civil War at Texas Christian University under Dr. Steven Woodworth (who I would have worked under had I gone there). It was a great amount of fun to host the conference and meet so many great scholars. I look forward to keeping in touch with those who I met.