Michael Shaffer Book Signing
Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center
Friday, September 27, 2019, 9:00 AM
Come out to the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center for a book signing event with Michael Shaffer.
“A Civil War historian author newspaper columnist instructor and battlefield guide Shaffer remains a member of the Society of Civil War Historians Historians of the Civil War Western Theater Georgia Association of Historians and Georgia Writers Association. He serves as president of the Friends of Camp McDonald and on the board of the Cobb County Civil War Round Table. Shaffer holds BA and MA degrees with honors in Military History – Civil War Studies. He frequently lectures to various groups and currently teaches Civil War courses at Kennesaw State University's College of Continuing and Professional Education and at Emory University.”
He will be signing copies of his book In Memory of Self and Comrades: Thomas Wallace Colley's Recollections of Civil War Service in the 1st Virginia Cavalry.
“Thomas W. Colley served in one of the most active and famous units in the Civil War the 1st Virginia Cavalry which fought in battles in the Eastern Theater from First Manassas/Bull Run to the defense of Petersburg. Colley was born November 11 1837 outside Abingdon Virginia and grew up knowing the daily demands of life on a farm. In May 1861 along with the other members of the Washington Mounted Rifles he left his home in Washington County and reported to camp in Richmond. During the war Colley received wounds on three different occasions: first at Waterloo Bridge in 1862 again at Kelly’s Ford in 1863 and finally at Haw’s Shop in 1864. The engagement at Haw’s Shop resulted in the amputation of his left foot thereby ending his wartime service.
The first modern scholarly edition of Colley’s writings In Memory of Self and Comrades dramatizes Colley’s fate as a wounded soldier mustered out before the war’s conclusion. Colley’s postwar reflections on the war reveal his struggle to earn a living and maintain his integrity while remaining somewhat unreconciled to his condition. He found much of his solace through writing and sought to advance his education after the war. As one of an estimated 20000 soldiers who underwent amputation during the Civil War his memoirs reveal the challenges of living with what many might recognize today as post-traumatic stress disorder. Annotations from editor Michael K. Shaffer provide further context to Colley’s colorful and insightful writings on both his own condition and the condition of other veterans also dealing with amputations.”
1195 Baltimore Pike Gettysburg PA 17325
717-334-2288
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All dates and times are subject to change without notice. Check directly with the host
source: DG