Welcome!

In late 2010, having volunteered to assist Drum Barracks Civil War Museum in Wilmington, California, with research in pro-secession activity in California, director Susan Ogle handed me a list of names, places and events for possible investigation. One of those names was that of Dan Showalter, a California politician turned Confederate cavalry officer of whom I'd never heard.

Becoming fascinated just after reading the barest outline of Showalter's life, the next year found me hunting down everything I could find about this largely forgotten character. When I had finished my research -- which included the discovery of several previously unpublished items as well as obtaining the only known photograph from a Showalter descendent -- I had so much material that Susan exclaimed, "You've got a whole exhibit right here!"

And with her guidance, on November 5, 2011, co-curated by myself and Susan Ogle, my "Dan Showalter: California's Arch Rebel" exhibit went on display at the Drum.

Now being slated for removal in August 2012 in that ongoing round of ever-successive new exhibits that mark good museums, I've started this website as a place where, over time, I can memorialize and expand upon all the material accumulated on this remarkable Californian.

Hope you'll return often as this website expands and enjoy!

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Nice mention from review site

We have a nice mention today on the Civil War Books and Authors blog. This is a blog that serves as a review journal for book relating to the Civil War. Will keep an eye out for the actual review once its posted.

You can see the blog at https://cwba.blogspot.com/

Monday, July 23, 2018

"An Arch Rebel Like Myself" is now in print!

Wow, nearly three months ahead of the prospective release date!

Yes, we received notice from McFarland & Company today that "An Arch Rebel Like Myself": Dan Showalter and the Civil War in California and Texas is "just published" and authors' copies (the ones we get) are on their way. Sure enough, if you check McFarland's catalog page online (which you can do HERE), you'll see that it is indeed listed as being "in stock." Our page on Amazon (which can be seen HERE) shows that it is "Temporarily out of stock" (as copies are shipped), a publication date of July 19, 2018 -- and at least for the moment a discounted price. Preordered copies should be coming soon to those of you who may have made such orders (and thank you!).   

This release date was a really welcome surprise as we expected a Fall release date. We undoubtedly owe this to the truly exceptional review we received from Dr. Jerry D. Thompson, the dean of historians of the Civil War in the American Southwest, to all those who did make preorders, to McFarland's tremendous encouragement and assistance in this process, and in the bit of extra sweat we put in in making sure proofreading corrections and a thorough indexing, as well as any requested information along the way, got to them as expeditiously as we could.

All in all, it came to 246 pages, including extensive end notes, bibliography and index, 18 images, three maps and two charts.

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Update on publication process

Things are proceeding really well with publication of "An Arch Rebel Like Myself": Dan Showalter and the Civil War in California and Texas

Gene and I have finished going over the publisher's proofs and sent our recommendations for changes/corrections, and have completely indexed the book for McFarland. These are the final steps before it is sent out for printing. At last notice, we have around 100 preorders (thank you, whoever you may be), which we are told is a high number of preorders. From indications we've received, we anticipate the book will be to the printer by August 1.

So all in all, it looks like we are well on schedule for the book's release date sometime early this Fall. With the index completed, it looks like the book will be right about 250 pages or so. It will also contain 18 images, three maps and two charts.

If you haven't checked it out, be sure to take a look at the book's page on our publisher's website: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/an-arch-rebel-like-myself/, or on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Arch-Rebel-Like-Myself-California/dp/1476674612/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532052920&sr=8-1&keywords=arch+rebel+like+myself.