Countdown: 1 year
Today is July 1, 2012. One year from today will mark the 150th anniversary of the beginning of The Battle of Gettysburg. What very few people know, though, is that July 1, 2013 will also mark the 100th anniversary of what was known as The Great Reunion, when more than 50,000 aging Civil War veterans from both the Union and Confederate sides converged on Gettysburg for a four-day commemoration on the 50th anniversary of that epic battle.
My new novel - GETTYSBURG, 1913: A NOVEL OF THE GREAT REUNION - is being published in 3 parts, officially beginning today (though it went live on amazon yesterday) and leading up to the anniversary one year from today. Part I, approximately 125 print pages, covers the months leading up to the opening of the event and introduces the cast of characters. Part II will be published during the upcoming holiday season, and then Part III will be published on July 1, 2013. And, at that time, the complete novel will also be published in paperback.
I've been researching this novel for a long time and am struck by not only what a magnificent event the commemoration was, but also how an event such as this one could have faded from our national consciousness to the point where most people today have no idea it occurred. Hopefully this new novel will bring this solemn, splendid event to live along with the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg itself.Gettysburg, 1913: A Novel of the Great Reunion, Part I
My new novel - GETTYSBURG, 1913: A NOVEL OF THE GREAT REUNION - is being published in 3 parts, officially beginning today (though it went live on amazon yesterday) and leading up to the anniversary one year from today. Part I, approximately 125 print pages, covers the months leading up to the opening of the event and introduces the cast of characters. Part II will be published during the upcoming holiday season, and then Part III will be published on July 1, 2013. And, at that time, the complete novel will also be published in paperback.
I've been researching this novel for a long time and am struck by not only what a magnificent event the commemoration was, but also how an event such as this one could have faded from our national consciousness to the point where most people today have no idea it occurred. Hopefully this new novel will bring this solemn, splendid event to live along with the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg itself.Gettysburg, 1913: A Novel of the Great Reunion, Part I
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Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime
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Jul 01, 2012 08:38AM
Thank you for bringing this information to the reading public! I, a History major long ago and still an aficionado of history, did not know about the Centennial Reunion-must definitely buy your book!
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Thanks Mallory. I actually found out about The Great Reunion by accident, I guess you could say. Ten years ago I was working in Harrisburg, PA and one afternoon went to the National Civil War Museum there. (Didn't know that existed either). One of the rooms was devoted to the 1913 and 1938 reunions, and I found the pictures and film fascinating. I've been researching the whole Great Reunion for a long while and timed the publication as I noted in the blog post.Lots of interesting sidebars - for example, one of the articles from July 1, 1913 in the Pittsburgh Press specifically mentions a young Army lieutenant named George Patton who led a march "with pealing bugles" through town to the encampment on June 30th. I had to use that in the novel!
Anyway happy reading and thanks for commenting. Alan
You're very welcome; I picked up Part I earlier and plan to read it soon-review, of course, will follow! Gettysburg is such an incredibly moving event-I have to confess I cried throughout the movie-it seemed so-I don't know, fatalistic, perhaps-as if the entire situation was doomed before it started. The same is true of The Wilderness, which is perhaps even more horrible, if that is possible...
Agree about the emotions associated with the movie Gettysburg. With regards to the movie, Joshua Chamberlain was still alive at the time of the Great Reunion (he passed away the following year) and had actually been at Gettysburg about a month and a half before the Reunion as Maine's representative to the overall governing body. However, by the time the actual reunion came around his health was too poor for him to attend. However, he still makes an appearance in Part II of the novel.
