7 Questions With Erwin Wunderlich, Author

 

Wunderlich grew up in 1950s Florida, fascinated by the stories and experiences of his ancestors and their recollections dating back to the time of statehood.  Starting in his teenage years, he began to record some of their memories, names, and dates that might someday be important to others. When it came time to consider prospective colleges, he had the opportunity to visit the Naval Academy and  subsequently earned an appointment there.   After a subsequent time in the submarine service, he and his wife Susan returned to Florida. Through the years, he earned two masters degrees, one in business and the other in engineering, and a doctorate degree in education. He and Susan raised four children, each of which would themselves attend service academies and become military officers. Today, he occupies his time with writing historical fiction, chiefly based in Civil War and Pioneer era Florida, researching, beekeeping, and carving scrimshaw. His next novel is expected to be published in the fall.

1. How and when did you get  hooked on history?

—My father kept shoving his favorite historical fiction novels in front of me when I was a child.  They were good books by Richard Powell, Marjorie Rawlings, Frank Slaughter, and other authors.  I especially enjoyed stories about the struggles of the pioneers.  

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?  

— A big part.  Besides the extensive research for my historical novels, I also do their illustrations and even further I do award-winning historical scrimshaws.  For those who might not be aware, scrimshaw is an old engraving process where I add ink to my scratchings (see photo example of a scrimshaw I did of Chief Osceola on abalone shell).

3. How does history play  a part of your professional life/career? 

—My family has always loved history, whether it be history by finding lost relics on my bee farm, or history driving by roadsigns (such as in Archer, Florida which motivated me to write my DRUMMER novel concerning Richmond’s gold coming to Archer in 1865). I love doing the requisite background historical research for my fiction books, plus writing articles for various historical magazines.

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

—History is the glue behind our human beliefs and heritage.   Local history has unfortunately become shortchanged in our formal education process.  In 1960s Florida, for example, I saw each county controlling its own history curriculum and learning objectives.  Then thanks to the power of funding, with the worry of falling behind other nations, the state took over with its own cram-packed curricula and standards.  And now there is further pressure to have a national curriculum.  

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

—I like pioneer-type history that tries to give the reader an appreciation of the hardships that our trailblazers faced.  These difficulties and challenges seem oft forgotten nowadays, but can be quite inspiring.  It is my own hope that folks will enjoy my own historical works, plus get busy on their own historical efforts such as documenting their own families’ stories, doing drawings, or the like.

6.       Tell us about your first book Salvos on the Backwater and about your latest projects?

—I had joined a Jacksonville writing club, as a lark, that met one night a week after work.  The group required three pages of writing each time, else you would get the boot from the club.   After such weekly critiques, and a year’s worth of pages, I found myself in a good position to come out with my SALVOS book as a historical novel. It would won a number of first-place awards in various contests, to include the Patrick Smith Award which was presented to me at a banquet by Mr. Smith himself.

7.       Florida seldom gets much attention in Civil War History. What exactly was its significance during the war and what are some examples of stories that should be researched and told?

—Florida turned out to be the breadbasket of the Confederacy, supplying the Army of Northern Virginia with cows and other staples.  As to the state’s few soldiers from its small population, Robert E. Lee designed the Florida war strategy to allow Federal coastal raids, then for the militia to respond to such raids with hit-and-run attacks (much like the Seminoles’ hit-and-run war strategy in Florida up to the year 1858).  

Florida had tough (the best) battle-ready soldiers and cavalrymen, both mainstream and militia, and there is much lore concerning their CW exploits.  Floridians were able to defend Tallahassee and make it the only state capital east of the Mississippi River never overrun by the Federals.

Today, btw, reenactors and folks remember Florida’s two major battles annually at her Olustee and Natural Bridge State Parks, come each February and March. I am often invited to attend these festivals with my books.  The Olustee event is quite large, and I would suggest it to new folks that might want to witness living history.

7 Questions With Cody C. Engdahl, Author of Historical Fiction

 

Cody C. Engdahl was born and raised in Detroit but lives in Nashville, Tennessee. He's a practitioner of the "Southern Gentlemanly Arts." In addition to writing a series of historical novels focusing mostly on the Civil War, he is also an amateur fiddler, cook, whiskey connoisseur, and armchair historian.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                           1.   How and when did you get hooked on history?

I’ve been into history for as long as I can remember. I think it must have started when I was a child watching old swashbuckling movies. I remember making swords out of sticks and pretending I was a knight, a Roman legionnaire, or Errol Flynn on a pirate ship. I remember thinking that I had been born too late as I fantasized about the time when men wore swords on their hips and had dashing adventures.

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

It’s the source of all my entertainment and passion. I feel sorry for my girlfriend because I never want to watch anything unless it has swords or possibly spaceships. All the novels I read are historical fiction. I can spend hours online looking at the succession of English kings or reading about some ancient battle for no other reason than satisfying my own fascination.

3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

It’s at the core now of my professional life. I started writing historical novels after I left my career as a TV reporter. Researching, writing, editing, and marketing take up much of my time. I also do as many book talks and signing as I can. I play old-time fiddle, which works nicely with the era in which I write. My banjo player and I play a lot of gigs at historical events and sites, often in period clothing. I typically play my fiddle at Civil War shows as well to attract people to my table. It helps me sell books!

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

History is the story of who we are and how we got here. It’s difficult to solve the problems of today and tomorrow if we don’t understand those two things. You can also see repeating patterns in history and human behavior. The study of history is really the best way of predicting the future.

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

That’s the toughest question yet. I like it all! My writing focuses on the “Long 19th Century,” which is roughly the French Revolution to the onset of World War I. It’s the story of modernity. Most of our worldview is born from this age. It’s a time of great turmoil and transition. It’s both familiar and exotic to us. 

I’m also very much a twelve-year-old boy at heart so I tend to obsess over military, weapons, war, adventure, and honor culture. But that’s just because I’m immature and not for any profound reason.

6. What drew you to writing historical fiction in general and about the Civil War in particular? 

Because I’m a fan. Like many historical novelists, I am a big fan of Bernard Cornwell as well as too many others to name, but I must say it was Arturo Perez-Reverte’s Alatriste series that finally prompted me to write. I felt the American Civil War was the best place to start because I was familiar with it, there's a ton of resources, and a huge built-in audience. I practically live on a battlefield. 

7. Please tell us about Mexico, My Love, your latest novel?

That’s a prequel to my Civil War trilogy that I had planned from the very beginning. You can see me setting it up in Chapter One of my first novel, Rampage on the River: The Battle for Island No. 10. It’s the story of the parents of my main character in the trilogy. It’s about how they meet, fall in love, run away together, and go on a grand adventure that’ll take them through the deserts of Africa, across the pirate-infested seas, and ultimately to the Battle of Mexico City in the Mexican-American War. 

7 Questions with Dave Wilson, Victorian Photography Studio

Dave Wilson is a Wetplate Collodion photographer residing in Geneva NY. A long time student of history, he owns and operates the Victorian Photography Studio in Gettysburg PA, and takes his tintype camera on the road all over the United States. When he’s not on traveling shooting images, he takes care of a small Victorian era farm and drives the Zamboni at the local ice rink. www.victorianphotostudio.com

 1. How and when did you get hooked on history?

 In 1st grade, growing up in Illinois, we took a field trip to the Rock Island Arsenal, which has a confederate cemetery. I had misheard them, thinking they were calling it the "Silver War," but they had a bronze cannon, and my 1st grade brain couldn't rationalize that, so I bought my first civil war book in the gift shop and I was hooked.

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

History is omnipresent in my life. Besides being an amateur historian and full time practitioner of a 19th century trade, my wife is a National Park Service superintendent at  Women's Rights National Park, and we are restoring an 1850's farm

3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

*see above

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

Understanding the lives/feelings/beliefs of people in the past gives us context to the decisions they made, and how those decisions and attitudes have shaped our country and the direction of the world in general

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

the mid 19th century in general. The American Civil War has always been my favorite, but I love just about anything in the Victorian period. I also really like the Napoleonic era, especially seafaring history.

6. What attracted you to Civil War and Victorian era photography?

I had been a reenactor and always loved having images made. When an opportunity came up to learn, I jumped on it and have been working at it ever since.

7. What do you provide for your customers in their experience? Who are your customers?

My customers vary! In the studio, 99% of our clients are tourists who are visiting and want to dress up. When I'm on the road, I shoot mainly people in modern clothes, and my clientele is widely varied. I spend a lot of time shooting at tattoo studios, horse barns, metalsmith shops, and barbershops. Its a lot of fun introducing this era of photography to people who are not familiar with it.

7 Questions with Peach Orchard Publishing Founder Joe Goldsberry

 

Joe Goldsberry founded Peach Orchard Publishing in September of 2021 as purely a passion project. Peach Orchard Publishing is focused on sharing audio versions of historical firsthand and official reports to the public.   In order to do this, he must first publish an annotated version of the public domain works online. He is creating those annotated versions and constantly working on bringing the audio versions to the public.  Peach Orchard Publishing also supports independent authors by giving helping them find a publishing platform in which to share their work. 

​

Peach Orchard Publishing is a 100% veteran-owned small business.  We strive to support the veterans in our community. Joe and his dog and publishing partner, Phinn, live in Frederick, Maryland.   Find more info here https://linktr.ee/peachorchardpublishing .

 

1. How and when did you get hooked on history?

My Mom, on a summer vacation trip when I was 11, drove me from Chicago, Illinois to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  I bought a Union Cap and a toy musket.  I spent those few days keeping the Rebels from the wall at the High-Water Mark.  It just stuck with me.  My first major in college was Journalism.  It didn’t take me long to realize that History was the only possible degree for me.

 

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

After a lot of research, turns out my Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather fought in the American Revolution.   His Great-Grandson was a bushwacker in the 13th Kentucky Cavalry (CSA).  Turns out, I have a bit of rebel in the blood.  On the other side of the family, we sent Illinois boys to fight for the Union at Vicksburg.  So, the two sides may have crossed paths and swords at some point.  My Grandfather fought at the Battle of Coral Sea and earned a Purple Heart.  I was a Naval Officer in Operation Enduring Freedom (and took part in the Jessica Lynch rescue operation).  Still, the Civil War is my passion, my hobby, and studying it keeps me out of traffic. 

 

3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

There was a time where I gave leadership walks of the Gettysburg Battlefield as part of professional development for a Federal Agency.   The pandemic has put that to an end unfortunately.  To fill that gap in my soul, I started Peach Orchard Publishing.  Someday, I hope to retire from my current job.  As part of my third adolescence, I intend to become a Battlefield Guide.  Until then, I’ve got the Peach Orchard.  Currently, I’m creating YouTube content from Tillie Pierce’s “At Gettysburg.”   It chronicles what she saw as a 15-year-old during those horrible three days in July 1863.  

 

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

It’s often said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.  This is true.  As a war veteran myself, I find the story of redemption a better fit.  At one point in time, these battlefields were the single most violent place on earth.  Men spent days with the intent of tearing each other and the earth apart.   Now, the trees have regrown, the monuments stand in silent remembrance.  We walk the trails, heads bowed, voices soft.   There are no screams, there is no bloodshed.  There is a sense of tranquility.  In these once torn, horrific fields lie a lesson in redemption.  Something once terrible is now peaceful.  If the ground can be redeemed, so can we all.

 

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

The American Civil War is my everything history.  I was raised in Springfield, Illinois.  We were all Lincoln all the time.  That period is America’s greatest drama, set to the sound of canons.   

 

6. How did Peach Orchard Publishing come about?

I named the company after the Peach Orchard at Gettysburg, where crazy-pants Dan Sickles moved his entire corps forward, directly into the path of Longstreet’s Confederates.  I started Peach Orchard as a passion project.  It’s not for money, it’s for love.  Sitting at home, the pandemic helped birth the company.

 

7. What are your goals for Peach Orchard Publishing and what’s coming up to look forward to?

I started out wanting to publish eyewitness accounts and an occasional cookbook.   I am also making YouTube videos of the accounts on the grounds with they walked.  More importantly, while researching titles to publish, I came across something very interesting.  There are several internet sites where ghostwriting services were offered. For a small fee, you can pay someone to write a novel, and then publish it under your own name.  I was shocked.  I found that there are many minority women putting their works up for sale and allowing someone else to claim credit for their word.  I wish to give these women an opportunity to publish under their own names, their own works. I want to give these women the platform, voice and recognition they deserve.   

 

7 Questions with the Grand Tactician Team, Creators of The Civil War 1861 - 1865, A Real Time Civil War Strategy Game

 

The Grand Tactician team:

Oliver Keppelmüller (O), a treasury banker from Austria. He created a strategy game called The Seven Years War (1756-1763), alone, from scratch, releasing in late 2015. This game received 2 DLCs during 2016, expanding the battle game-play and adding a Swedish themed campaign of the Pomeranian War.

Ilja Varha  (I), a Finnish Army officer and a military history buff, ran into Oliver’s game while working for a gaming magazine as a freelance writer. Ilja, with a history of modding, wargaming and simulators, both entertainment and military use, got involved in Oliver’s project and designed the Pomeranian War DLC. It was after the release of this DLC that the seed for Grand Tactician was planted.

Peter Lebek (P) a Control Room Operator in the Chemical Industry in Germany, joined the team in 2017 plugging a gaping hole in the team’s line. Now we had a full-time artist to improve the game’s visuals, especially the UI. Peter was previously involved in the Europa Barbarorum II mod for Total War, creating units and coding.

The website http://www.grandtactician.com/thecivilwar/

Launch trailer

 

1.          How and when did you get  hooked on history?

O: Probably it started as I got my first LEGO castle.

I: Very early on, through computer games. I think it started with old WW2 fighter sims and later with strategy games such as Steel Panthers. 

P: I remember reading old books with beautiful paintings of medieval soldiers back in the days. Modelling was also one of my hobbies as a child, creating those old planes and building armies of model soldiers. I think here it started somehow.

2.          What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

O: It was always fascinating for me to imagine how historical people felt in certain situations, eg. when a general realized he had failed, and what he learned from his past.

I: I read a lot, mostly about (military) history, modern studies or historical books by the people who witnessed or experienced it. 

P: It always catches my attention in every media and discussion. I can´t get enough of reading and learning from the past.

3.          How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

O: Not much until now ;-)

I: During high school I was thinking about going to study history in a university. But after I got into military service (which is compulsory in Finland), I decided to pursuit that career. I wrote my master’s thesis on military history. For all military people around the world, traditions are extremely important. Not only to know where you came from, but also to learn from. As a student of art of war, reading about history is very important. It’s a way of learning from other peoples’ experiences. 

P: Well, my plan was to studying history after school and it was actually the only subject I wanted to study. However, in the end, I decided to do something "meaningful" -- and go to work in the industry. History became a hobby. And through history, I started to create artistic content for historical games. The circle is now closed, I guess.

4.          Why is studying/knowing history important?

O: Knowing the past helps to understand the present.

I: People throughout the history have gone through similar situations as we go through today. It’s very important to learn from other peoples’ actions, the cause and effect of things in the past. It provides a compass to navigate the present, so to say.

P: History is repeating itself. And everything we saw in the past, we see again day by day.

5.          What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

O: Guess what: "The American Civil War", this because it was perfectly documented and one of the first conflicts that came to live through photos. Furthermore, strategies and technologies heralded the dawn of a new era in warfare.

I: Currently the time from the 17th century to 19th century. Warfare, social politics and life in general during that time is fascinating to me. 

P: I like every aspect of history and all eras. Not only the militaristic parts. Also socio-political, biographies or the everyday life of simple men 6000 B.C. But if you ask me to name one era, then it’s probably the time after Alexander's death and the Wars of the Diadochi, which was also my first project in art and history gaming. It´s incredibly interesting how different cultures melt together and the almost impossible task of controlling a huge empire without any modern ways of communication. 

6.        How difficult is it to create a game that balances history and playability or enjoyability?

O: Nearly impossible. Balancing between playability and historical accuracy is a thin red line. We tried to stay closer to historical accuracy but needed to rearrange a few topics in order for the game to stay enjoyable.

I: Very difficult. It’s always a trade off one way or another, and a compromise. Also in historical games players can cheat by knowing things they should now, if they try to immerse themselves in the game. For this reason, historical games as an art form are more like historical movies. They are created to entertain, they will cut corners and will provide a point of view maybe, but they never can convey the whole story, let alone truth. 

7.      Tell us about your upcoming release of Grand Tactician: The Civil War ? What sets it apart ?

I: The game is a huge project undertaken by a couple of guys. It’s our vision of a strategy game we wanted to play, but which did not exist before. The game has a campaign layer, where you manage your nation, the north or the south, during the American Civil War. When armies engage, you can fight the battles. It’s different from most other games in that it runs in real time and has realistic game mechanics like order delays. Most strategy games, especially in the grand strategic layer run turn-based. Real time allows more realism in military operations, as everything will have a delay. This means the player will have to plan ahead. 

In the game we also try to tell the story of the war in a bit different way, through period art, photographs and documentary style cutscenes where we use colorized period photos and epic re-enactment footage from LionHeart FilmWorks.

7 Questions with Jonathan R. Allen of LearnCivilWarHistory.com

 

    Jonathan R. Allen is an Ohioan who lives in the Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina where he spends creative time reading, learning, researching, writing, and publishing content about the Civil War. He wants to help people learn Civil War history.

Blog:
www.LearnCivilWarHistory.com

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CivilWarHistory

501 Civil War Quotes and Notes eBook & Paperback:

www.amazon.com/dp/B07C8RC94Q

Email:

LearnCivilWarHistory@gmail.com

    1. How and when did you get  hooked on history?

For me, it began early in life. History is in my roots.

I am an Ohioan who now lives in North Carolina, my family heritage is in Northeast Ohio, the Akron area. My grandfather Carl Cranz was an Ohio State University graduate with a degree in Agriculture. Among other jobs, he worked for many years as a tenant farmer for the Jonathan Hale Farm in Bath, Ohio. Hale was an early settler of the Connecticut Western Reserve, a raw wilderness at the time, in the northeast part of what would become the state of Ohio. Hale settled in the Cuyahoga River Valley in 1810. Over time, Hale built a three-story brick house in the Cuyahoga River Valley and three generations of Hales farmed the land and lived in the brick house. Hale's sprawling farm benefited from its location near the rich flood plain of the Cuyahoga River. The Hale Farm and Village exists today as a historic site run by the Western Reserve Historical Society. It is located in Bath Township and is within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. My grandfather worked for C.O. Hale, a descendant of Jonathan Hale.

As a child I lived near the Hale Farm and Village, a historic property devoted to telling what life was like in the Cuyahoga River Valley in the early years of the Western Reserve and Ohio. My grandfather Cranz was a docent in the big red barn museum of the Hale Farm and Village. The museum displays farm tools of the 19th century. My grandfather knew about all the tools and various farm implements, he was a modern farmer but had used some 19th century tools himself. As his grandson, I had free access to the red barn museum and would listen to my grandfather explain to paying visitors how the farm tools and implements were used. As a young boy, I found it fascinating. The Hale, Hammond, and Cranz families had close ties in the early years of Bath Township. The Ira Cemetery has been called the Cranz-Hale-Hammond Cemetery and it can be found near the Hale Farm and Village. My grandfather Cranz and other forebears are buried there. I guess that early in my life I was sort of growing up in both the 19th and 20th centuries at the same time.

I should mention too, that Native Americans had a strong presence in, and predated the Western Reserve. I have a metal box full of arrowheads that my grandfather Cranz found as he worked the soil. Native American mounds and old camps, and the remains of the Erie Canal, were all part of the Cuyahoga River Valley. As a Boy Scout, I hiked to these sites and sometimes camped nearby them. Nearby Bath is Hudson, Ohio. Hudson was part of the Western Reserve and it was settled by David Hudson, preceding and coinciding with Jonathan Hale's time. Hudson was an abolitionist town, the Underground Railroad ran through it, and John Brown's family moved to Hudson when he was a young man. History was all around me when I was a young boy. It caught my attention then, and continues to now.

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

I think it plays an important role. I like to learn about the history of the Civil War and life in the 19th century. Besides my Hale Farm experiences as a boy, my family also visited Gettysburg, the two seemed to mesh together in my head. Same time period but two very different settings and stories. Bloody war vs. peaceful farming, quite a contrast. I understood the basics of the Battle of Gettysburg, but it was a huge topic for me to absorb as a seven-year-old. I'd caught the Civil War bug. I still have the book my Dad bought for me at the Gettysburg gift shop. Its title is, "GETTYSBURG" by MacKinlay Kantor. HA! That fact ought to date me. My late father, Richard F. Allen, and I toured Civil War battlefields together when I was an adult and we had a ton of fun. He always encouraged me with my Civil War endeavours. I owe him everything.

I blog, Tweet, and self-publish books about the Civil War. As a boy, I recall having a desk in the basement of my home. I had notebooks and pencils and sat and began writing about what I saw and learned at the Hale Farm. I have no idea what I wrote, I was just a kid messing around, but I enjoyed it. We moved and a new life began for me, my writing desk went away. Now, decades later I'm back at a desk with a computer and writing again. I still have notebooks and pencils next to me. What goes around comes around.


3. How does history play  a part of your professional life/career?

In my various jobs and work I'm afraid history played no part in my life. I have a couple of Business degrees from the University of Akron and my career efforts were in business. I was not a teacher, but I've often wished that I had been. Teaching students about the Civil War would have made me happy. I suppose that's what I'm doing now with my Civil War content creation. I'm attempting to help people learn about the Civil War.


4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

I'll go with a common explanation. We need to learn from history, so we don't repeat mistakes and also to repeat the things we did well. I know that's a simple answer, but I think it's true and has value. Beyond that, I think that for me it involves personal satisfaction and enjoyment. Maybe learning about history helps me to subconsciously make decisions in life. Maybe too, that's going a tad too deep.


5.  What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

The Civil War and the 19th century. I want to know enough about those times so I can feel like I lived then. That I knew Jonathan Hale, that I helped to settle an area, that I farmed like my grandfather Cranz did, or that I was on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, taking aim at those men in gray coming toward me (Yup, I'd have been an Ohio Yankee in Mr. Lincoln's Army.). The more you learn the better your imagination will be when you daydream about living in another time. I geek out on that.

(Jonathan R. Allen on left, his father on the right)

6.  How did you come to start the Learn Civil War History site and blog?

I started it all just for fun on a free blogspot account, a long time ago. My whole idea was to share what I learned about the Civil War, I don't claim to be an expert. I was only doing it as a hobby, as an amusement. Then, I was surprised to find that people were visiting my blog and reading my posts. More people were coming to my blog than I ever imagined. I've been a website developer and I became a WordPress developer, so I migrated the blogspot blog over to my own WordPress self-hosted blog. It's name is: LearnCivilWarHistory.com.

Plus, I instinctively knew that blogging and writing about the Civil War was the path to great fame and fortune, that it's where the big bucks are. Uh huh. Cough-cough-cough. It's all a labor of love for me.


7. What can viewers expect to find on your website and what does the future hold for your website?

I am now completing my second self-published book about the Civil War. It has 125 Civil War stories/facts and will be on Amazon ASAP as a Kindle eBook and a paperback. I love the freedom of self-publishing books, blog posts, and Tweets. Each one of those 125 stories/facts in my new book is a topic that I can expand on for a blog post and for many Tweets. This book will give me a head-start on blog posts and Tweets. I will also blog and Tweet about anything about the Civil War that happens to catch my attention and curiosity, that's been my main strategy all along with my Civil War content. I have more self-published books planned. Abolitionist John Brown is probably the subject of my next book, unless I change my mind! I would also like to begin a podcast, but that's on a back-burner for now.

I read-learn-research, then write, and then publish. That's the formula I follow and will continue to do so as long as God wants me to.