Exploring my obsession

As I enter the sphere of blogging, this being my second attempt (my first still ongoing at Cincinnati.com as I decide where I wish to blog), I do have to wonder where this will go and if anyone will actually care.

Anyway, I don't know if I have any particular reason for having such an intense interest in the Civil War. When I was young, I learned that Abraham Lincoln had been born in Kentucky (as I had) and so I developed an interest in him, which presumably led to my interest in the Civil War.

The entire war fascinates me completely, from the politics in the years leading up to it and then during it, as well as the lives of the soldiers and the hows and whys of the importance of various battles and campaigns. I admit I am not at all an expert on tactics and I cannot automatically name generals and which units they commanded. That area is probably my weak spot in my study and interest of the war. It often confuses me when battle descriptions describe actions at various areas of the battlefields and of various units of different sizes. Trying to keep up with who is who and on which side they are, along with where the action is geographically is something that often confuses me.

Of course, to study a war, knowing such information is important and I think I'm more familiar with it than I used to be, but that is still one area in which I have less interest than in the politics and social history of the war. Knowing the basics of the battle, why it happened and why it mattered interests me more than knowing the tactical details of the fight. I guess everybody has his or her own areas of interest and when I hear people with that type of tactical knowledge, I am impressed, but it's just not my strong suit.

I love reading about the war. Currently I'm reading Why the Civil War Came, a collection of essays edited by Gabor Boritt. It is an interesting read. I will share more thoughts about it when I have finished it.

I have several other books on my shelf in the "to read" stack for the future, many of which look quite fascinating. It's always tough to decide which one to read next.

I also volunteer at the James A. Ramage Civil War Museum in Fort Wright, Kentucky. That has taught me a lot about the War in this area, which was more a case of "almost" than of any major action, and has helped me meet several fascinating people. I have had many enjoyable and informative conversations with fellow volunteers as well as re-enactors I have met as well. Deciding to volunteer there has been a wonderful decision for me and I look forward to continuing there in the future.

I have also started to look for some more websites that I might enjoy. One forum I have found is located at http://civilwartalk.com/forums/ . I have really enjoyed that in the short time I have known of it and another fascinating site is http://civilwarinteractive.com/ . I'll post more as I find them and as I blog more, but both of those are ones I recently discovered and which have impressed me thus far.