Dan Showalter: California's Arch Rebel: September 2020

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 When I had finished my research -- which included the discovery of several previously unpublished items as well as obtaining the only known photograph from a Showalter descendent -- I had so much material that Susan exclaimed, "You've got a whole exhibit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!

Friday, September 25, 2020

And Yet Another!

Just received word of yet another review of "An Arch Rebel," this one on a website entitled "StrategyPage." It appears to be a slightly modified version of the review published in the NYMAS Review last noted on this site--but still a very good one, and many thanks to whoever this contributor may be!

The StrategyPage review can be viewed on their website here.

It's quite gratifying to see that our work is still being read, considered and reviewed in so many places.

Monday, September 21, 2020

Still an Occasional Review!

Our publisher, McFarland, is kind enough to send on copies of reviews of "'An Arch Rebel Like Myself': Dan Showalter and the Civil War in California and Texas" as they occasionally come in -- and those that come up are still good ones. The latest received is from the New York Military Affairs Symposium, from their Spring 2020 Review. The page is reproduced below for any who might care to read. Many thanks again to those who have taken their time to write reviews for such diverse organizations!