Coldwater, Michign Daily Reporter article on Hiram's Honor

Many of my wife's relatives live in or near Coldwater, Michigan so it was a pleasure to have an article on Hiram's Honor appear in the newspaper there.  Coldwater was an important supplier of Union soldiers for Michigan during the American Civil War and interest in the war runs deep there.  Even though my ancestor was from Ohio, telling his story helps showcase the experiences of all Civil War soldiers, including those from Michigan. Many thanks to the Daily Reporter. To read the article see http://www.thedailyreporter.com/article/20130520/NEWS/130529991.

April 1865 by Jay Winik

Robert E. Lee

U. S. Grant

Abraham Lincoln

As part of my research for the sequel to Hiram's Honor, I read Jay Winicks April 1865. This book focuses on the month, that among other happenings, saw the fall of Richmond, the surrender of Robert E. Lee to U. S. Grant at Appomattox, the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, and the surrender of Joseph Johnson's army to General William Sherman. Since I wanted to get a feel for the deeper and personal meanings of the war at its end, this book proved very helpful. Winik put the war and the people into context using an engaging but factually rich style. The main point was that this conflict, unlike many others, ended without a prolonged and agonizing guerilla war, primarily due to the conciliatory policies of Lincoln, Grant, and Sherman and the insights and courage of Lee and other Confederate generals.  My only disappointment was that the explosion of the Sultana (that happened on April 27, 1865) was not mentioned. Ironically, the tragedy of the Sultana was also given limited coverage to the war weary public at the time as well.
 

Pages Books and Coffee Newton Ks book event

 I am pleased to report that Pages Books and Coffee in Newton, Kansas is now selling Hiram's Honor. On May 2, 2013 at a book event there, I discussed the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, and other topics associated with Hiram's Honor. Many questions dealt with how fragile the United States was as a nation before and after the Civil War and how the wise and gracious actions of Abraham Lincoln, U. S. Grant, and Robert E. Lee saved the Union.

Also, it was pointed out how my ancestor Private Hiram Terman of the 82nd Ohio had a close, personal and inside look at the major events of the Civil War--that he did and I hope that I conveyed this in telling his story.

Kauffman Museum Newton, Kansas now selling Hiram's Honor

I am pleased to announce that the Kauffman Museum in Newton, Kansas now has Hiram's Honor for sale in their gift shop. We went to this fine museum to view the exhibit Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War.  This was timely since I am researching the personality of Abraham Lincoln for a chapter dealing with the Lincoln Funeral Train in my sequel to Hiram's Honor.  It is about the experiences of Hiram and his friends after their release from Andersonville and in the post-Civil War years and is based on Hiram's Civil War pension files.

I Met Abraham Lincoln in Florida

While in Florida I met Abraham Lincoln impersonator Chet Damron.  We talked about Lincoln's personality and the effect he had on soldiers.  My ancestor Private Hiram Terman saw President Lincoln in person on April 9, 1863 at a review of the army near Stafford Virginia just before the battle of Chancellorsville.  Many soldiers expressed how the review and seeing Abe Lincoln gave them new hope and confidence.  I put this in Hiram's Honor.  I felt a little of what my ancestor might have experienced as I talked to "old Abe" in person so to speak. For free chapters to explore in Hiram's Honor, see

http://tinyurl.com/7pg7tfr     Gettysburg

http://tinyurl.com/6n495ql   Andersonville Prison

http://tinyurl.com/6urlc8m   Belle Island Prison

A Feeling for the Old South

A visit to Eden Gardens State Park near Panama City Florida brought feelings of the Old South to me as I walked the plantation-like grounds and took in the columned porches of the large house.  I was in the area for a book event at near Seaside Florida at Sundog Books.

Traveling Back in Time--New Book Review

 

I appreciate a new book review of Hiram's Honor by The Civil War Notebook blog.  It opens with "It is the dream of most genealogists to travel backwards in time and interview their ancestors.  I suspect Civil War reenactors share a like dream of traveling through time to experience the life of a Civil War soldier as it really happened.  In his novel, “Hiram’s Honor,” Dr. Terman, a retired zoology professor, relives the horrors of the Civil War through the eyes of his great uncle, Hiram Terman, a private in Company F of the 82nd Ohio Infantry."The complete review can be seen at http://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2013/01/review-hirams-honor.html.