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I am interested in learning more about the Berdan’s Sharpshooters. I am aware of the important work they did at Gettysburg but what other battles did they support with success?

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Unfortunately, I don't know much of anything about this subject, though there are a number of books that you can read. Sorry.

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just dropping in to say that the new platform is working well - the move to Substack was a good idea. And thanks for your interesting recent posts.

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Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear that you are enjoying the posts.

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I'm interested in how the technology coming on line influenced that war. Photography. Refrigeration. Rations. Uniforms. Weapons. Tactics. Observation balloons. Medicines. Surgical breakthroughs. What would an old patriot who fought the British in our Revolutionary War have thought about the war he was now reading about in the newspapers of the day? Etcetera.

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I love your final question.

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Thanks. By the way, I write as well. And one of the books I'm most proud of (although it doesn't sell very well) is called, White Seed: The Untold Story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. It's historical fiction, of course. And I think its a damn, good read. I wish you great success with your project.

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George Gordon Meade, how and why he let Lee escape

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I highly recommend Kent Masterson Brown's new book about Meade and Gettysburg. Meade didn't let Lee escape. According to Brown there are a number of factors to consider in piecing together this final stage of the Gettysburg Campaign. Perhaps I can sum it up at some point.

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I would be interested in a discussion of how democratic the central and state governments of the Confederacy were. It would then be interesting to compare theses governments with contemporary US State, US Federal and foreign governments.

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Hi Steve. That's a great idea. Look for it in a future post. Preview: The Confederacy was much more intrusive in the lives of its citizens compared to the United States.

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I just started reading “Ways and Means” by Roger Lowenstein. It lays out the differences in how the Us and Confederacy financed the war, learning along the way. The US response led to an expansion of federal power, with a national income tax, national banks, and paper currency issued by the federal government. I’m only five chapters in but it’s a different take on Civil War history. The US actions are compared to the Confederate actions, which struggled to form a national response given the strong states rights focus of the government.

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Hi Carl. The publisher sent me a copy, but I haven't had a chance to read it. If you find it interesting and want to learn even more, I highly recommend David Thompson's new book, BONDS OF WAR.

https://uncpress.org/book/9781469666617/bonds-of-war/

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