Fun times at the Guyandotte Civil War Days

It was nice to see some of you at the Guyandotte Civil War Days, it was also thrilling to meet people who have read my work and had comments on it. Being a part-time writer, it is nice to get out for a day and focus solely on meeting my readers and talking to them about history. I will be doing another book event later this month in Huntington, WV, please keep an eye out for date and time.

Back to Writing.

Hello all!
Thanks for checking out the blog, I know it has been a few months since I have written, but that is common during basketball season. Being a full time teacher,coach and father of three leaves little time for my creative side, but now that spring is near, it is time for my writing to pick back up again. I thought I would write about a topic that often goes overlooked when people study the American Civil War, winter campaigns. I have just recently finished my latest book about the Bloody Seventh West Virginia Infantry and they fought at one of the most famous winter battle of the war, Fredericksburg. It is that battle that I would like to investigate and discuss today.
19th Century warfare did not lend itself to winter campaigns, it was difficult enough to get thousands of men from point A to B in perfect weather, let alone in the wet winter season. Usually, an Army would enter Winter Quarters around late autumn and would mostly stay in that area until March or April. The most interesting, and ultimately fool-hardy, exception to winter action was the aforementioned Fredericksburg.
After the tactical draw at Antietam, Commander of the Army of the Potomac, George B. McClellan, refused to pursue the beleaguered Army of Northern Virginia. McClellan's refusal to take the fight to the enemy ultimately cost him his command. Lincoln finally fired McClellan for that second, and final time in November. Lincoln pegged General Ambrose B. Burnside as McClellan's replacement. Burnside was under pressure to act and begin a campaign immediately. It didn't matter to Lincoln and other politicians that it was November. Burnside designed an offensive and picked a strategic town on the Rappahannock River, Fredericksburg. Burnside ordered his army to head south towards Falmouth, Virginia, a town adjacent to Fredericksburg.
Burnside's plan called for pontoon bridges to be sent from the War Department, and hopefully, arrive in November, but Head of the War Department, Henry Halleck, drug his feet on Burnside's request. Burnside's Army would wait weeks in Falmouth for the pontoons to arrive, and eventually, the Confederates start amassing an army on the heights above Fredericksburg. Burnside's initial plan was not a bad one, but the failure to beat Lee to the punch and cross before the Rebels could re-enforce killed the plan. Burnside showed a major command flaw, he refused to change his initial plan, even when it became obvious that the attack should not be made.
The Army of the Potomac spent the first week of December on 1862 waiting for the pontoons to be built and trading with the Rebels across the river. Both sides knew that death and suffering was imminent, but they chose to put that aside on an individual level and meet for little swapmeets and other exchanges.
Finally, the Union Army crosses into town and sets about burning major structures throughout the area. All of this angers the Rebels on the heights and draws the ire of Jackson and Lee. When Burnside does order his attack of the Heights, it becomes a wholesale slaughter. Wave after wave of attackers are mutilated by entrenched rebels and, time and again, Burnside refuses to change the course. Burnside continued pushing the fight until, finally, he was convinced to call off the waves of attackers and quit for the night. Laying on that frozen battlefield, men were forced to use corpses of their comrades as protection and warmth from the elements.
Burnside failed miserably, but compounded the failure by forgetting it was winter. He immediately orders a march away from Falmouth, and the roads are so wet and terrible due to the season, that his wagons sink in the mud. It was this "mud march" that would destroy Burnside for good and cost him his command.

Narrative Matters!

Narrative matters

As a nonfiction writer and teacher, I find that the most common mistakes in nonfiction is being bogged down by facts. While facts are the lifeblood of our work, historians and historical writers must remember that the reader does not want a textbook. I am a massive history nerd, but I have absolutely no desire to read dry, tactical based tomes that just list the facts of the event. I write about the Civil War which can bog the writer and the reader down in just strategic or tactical discussions. The key to writing an engaging passage in non-fiction is to bring the event to life for the reader. Tell us about the individuals and what they did on the battlefield, take me to the front. Instead of writing about where an Army was stationed on the battlefield, take us to the eyes of the soldier. Tell me what they would have seen, smelled or heard. History is alive all around us, don’t bog the reader down with just the facts, take them back in time and let them truly see history for what it was.

As a middle school history teacher, I have found through the years that people are not attracted to history classes and history texts. There are many reasons for this, but the most common complaint is the dryness of the information and the way in which it is delivered. Nobody wants to read a textbook, many writers fall into this trap because these writers are in love with the material and they don’t need the added narrative to enjoy the story. Writers must always remember that they are not writing for their own enjoyment, we are writing to give people information from the past and, at least in my opinion, to help people gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the past. I am not perfect, I have caught myself many times writing way too much in a bullet point formation. First this happened, then this…. Things like that. This will very quickly alienate the common reader and make your writing quite bland.

My chosen area of study is the Civil War, which lends itself nicely to narrative because there are so many personal stories to be told. I thought I would include a passage out of my next book about the battle of Antietam.

Example of narrative in non-fiction text

I am currently working on a passage about the battle of Antietam. Instead of just talking about an attack that took place, try to put some narrative and bring color into your writing. Here is an example of historical narrative depicting the attack on the Sunken Road of Antietam.

The afternoon sun was oppressive as it beat down on the soldiers of the Irish Brigade. The Irishmen stood in a woodcut watching the remnants of the II Corps, battered and beaten, retreat back to the safety behind the lines. Just as these men were reaching the woodcut, the gallant Irishman, General Meagher, screamed out to his men, “Forward March!” With that, the Irish Brigade was on the move, ahead was the Sunken Road and their date with immortality.

Copyright Matthew A. Perry

I sincerely hope this blog post sparks the inspiration to write non-fiction in a more flowing and narrative style. Keep writing about what you love and the words will come! 

Historical fiction

Hey guys,
I have begun work on a historical fiction novel about a teenager fighting in the Civil War. One thing I have already discovered is that I will not write this as quickly as my historical books. The reason for that is it is a new genre for me and I have to change the style in which I write. When you write strictly history, you keep to the facts and make it flow as a narrative. In fiction, the sky is the limit so the dialogue and events have to come completely from my imagination, not just sources. I hope to keep people updated on all my work and remember that both of my books are free to all amazon members for a week.

Take care