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| The Upper Bridge over Antietam Creek |
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| The Upper Bridge, one of my favorite Antietam stops. |
Monday, July 31, 2023
'Hidden' gem: Antietam's seldom-visited Upper Bridge
Friday, July 28, 2023
Meet the man who created boots cover for 'Road Trip'
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| Jeff Griffith and the author |
I met John online years ago via his historical Facebook posts and blog. Because I’m a huge history buff and creative director of Hallowed Ground magazine for the American Battlefield Trust, I was constantly reading his posts and discovering historic sites I knew little about. I became a John Banks groupie.
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| E-mail me at jbankstx@comcast.net for details on how to purchase an autographed copy of my book. |
I’m very collaborative. I like to know everything I can about the authors and their vision of the book as well as their concept for the book cover. I’m not asking those things to perfectly execute their idea, but to know in advance their expectations.
I also only design for authors whose work I appreciate and respect. Nothing good will come out of a design if I hate their writing or photography or topic overall.
Analysis of the topic category and genre is key. What do other books look like? What fonts are they using? What's expected and not expected? I’m a typography freak. So I try really hard to use fonts that aren’t on every book cover in that genre.
But if I really work with the author or photographer or illustrator, the design will be a success for all involved. It becomes a melding of the minds, not a conflict of ideas.
I'm also going to present cover/book designs that aren't predictable. Sure, it's easy to show an author exactly what they’ve asked for, but how interesting is that?
In this situation, John thought he knew what he wanted on the cover. I showed him a fancy version of that. Then I showed him the boots concept. He asked for tweaks on the cover he envisioned. So I made those changes and then showed him the boots again. After several back-and-forths and numerous phone conversations, texts and emails, we — along with publisher Kevin Drake of Gettysburg Publishing — decided that the boots cover was a great direction for the book.
I'm an advertising and marketing guy. I've spent several decades in the advertising and publishing world. So when I design, I think about the messaging and how it will be promoted. To me, a book cover should look amazing as a poster. It should have a look and feel that translates throughout the entire book itself and have design elements that can be used in all the promotion. Hence there are mud splatters throughout this book.
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| Cover concepts shared with readers of my Facebook page in January 2023. |
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
In the footsteps of her ancestor in the 40-Acre Cornfield
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| Laurie Buckler Mack in the 40-Acre Cornfield with an image of her ancestor, an officer in the 16th Connecticut. The monument to the regiment appears in the background. |
“After college, I followed The Grateful Dead around for a year," she said, "but I hope my mother doesn’t find out,” she said. We hit it off right then and there.
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| Mack holds an image of her great great great grandfather, William Horton, who was mortally wounded in the 40-Acre Cornfield at Antietam. |
Mack recently answered these questions about her ancestor and Antietam.
What was it like to walk in the 40-Acre Cornfield for the first time?
Surreal. I was trying to find the monument for the 16th Connecticut, and in the usual fashion, I went the long way around. My father always told me the members of the 16th were not soldiers. They were bankers and factory workers and men with jobs and probably not in good physical shape. It is quite hilly and it was blazing hot the day I went. I couldn't imagine how uncomfortable it was for a bunch of Yankees carrying their heavy packs and wearing their heavy uniforms in the Maryland heat and humidity.
I also felt a profound sense of sadness that so many men died so far away from their homes and families in Connecticut. There were a couple of scientists doing some research at the monarch waystation below the 16th Connecticut monument and that really gave me a sense of joy and peace. I have been back to the 40-Acre Cornfield several times since and I still feel the same sense of sadness for all the men who perished on Sept. 17, 1862.
If you could ask William Horton one question, what would it be?
Why did you re-enlist and continue fighting? He had already done a stint with the 11th Connecticut and had resigned, as I am sure many soldiers did. Was it because he was being accused of cowardice or did he feel a deeper sense of duty? His ancestors had all fought in wars, including the Revolutionary War, and his father, Simeon Horton, had fought in the War of 1812. William had a job in a mill, so I don't think it was a financial motivation. I would like to think life would have been much better for his wife Laura and children Estella, Hattie and James had he lived.
How would you like your ancestor to be remembered?
As a father and family man as well as a brave man who gave his life for a cause he believed in. So many lives were lost during the American Civil War and so many fathers, sons, husbands and brothers never returned home to their families. Many families never found out what happened to their loved one. It amazes me that we have a written account of William's death, burial at Antietam, return home and sermon from his well-attended funeral in Stafford Springs, Conn. I am so grateful for the authors who have written about the 16th Connecticut and brought the soldiers to life.
Email me at jbankstx@comcast.net for details about how to get an autographed copy of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime.
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| The 16th Connecticut monument in the 40-Acre Cornfield. |
Monday, July 17, 2023
Tales from the road: Adventures in Old Johnsonville with Mrs. B
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| A rare selfie with Mrs. B at a Civil War site. |
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| Nathan Bedford Forrest |
Bring your imagination to Old Johnsonville: When the Tennessee Valley Authority dammed the Tennessee River in the 1940s, creating vast Kentucky Lake, the place disappeared for good.
While Mrs. B sat in the air-conditioned comfort of our car, I explored the grounds, inspected replica soldier quarters, read every historical marker in sight, wondered what the two dudes by the lake were catching and tried to envision where “The Wizard” placed his guns. (Now under water, I’m told.)
Energized, I somehow coaxed Mrs. B from the car for a selfie by a cannon. We were about the only people in the park on this steamy day, so naturally both of us had dark thoughts. (We watch too many episodes of Dateline.)
A stop at the Upper Redoubt, a fort constructed after the battle by the 12th and 13th U.S. Colored Troops, served as the pièce de résistance of my self-guided tour.
“You’re going to go up there?” Mrs. B said somewhat incredulously while staring at a steep hillside.
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| Just say no to relic hunting here. |
As excited as a puppy with a chew toy, I walked the grounds of the fort.
“I’m not going there,” Mrs. B said later. “Could be bugs and poison ivy.”
Whatever.
The stay at Johnsonville State Historic Park culminated with a brief visit with a friendly docent at the visitors’ center. After I told him about Mrs. B relaxing in the air-conditioned comfort of our car a mere 15 yards away, he suggested she come inside and watch the Johnsonville movie. I didn’t think that was a good idea.
My stay ended there following a discussion about Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Let’s keep history alive.
- For many more stories like this, consider purchasing my recently released book, A Civil War Road Trip Of Lifetime. Email me at jbankstx@comcast.net for details about how to get an autographed copy.
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| Above and below: Impressive earthworks at the Upper Redoubt. |
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Monday, July 10, 2023
About my book, 'Power Trips' and 'witness tree' hunks
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| Enjoying a scotch on Dirk Warner's farm — the heart of the Cumberland Church (Va.) battlefield. |
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| Email me for details about an autographed copy. |
Firstly, History With Waffles, thanks for doing this. I enjoy your work keeping history alive.
For about $2.50 apiece, he purchased thousands of tiny lead-pewter soldiers, hand-painting them in blue and gray "day and night" with the aid of friends. He built a miniature Burnside Bridge, the iconic battlefield landmark, as well houses and churches for the village of Sharpsburg and barns for the well-known farms outside town. He created terrain to mirror the rolling hills of the real battlefield. He even added painted pools of red blood by dead and wounded soldiers. Sonny invested about $50K into the project.
Now about my book, well, I had the idea in the deep recesses of my brain for years. I hit the road frequently for what I call my "Civil War Power Trips." I'd throw bags of red licorice, bottled iced tea, and sandwiches into the car and just go — Virginia, Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, you name it. Mrs. B — Carol Banks, my lovely and humorous wife — encouraged me to hit the road often. (Should that make me worry?) I also have a knack for tacking on Civil War stops to family vacations.
On almost every trip, I'd meet these delightful characters who were eager to share their stories. I enjoy schmoozing with people about the Civil War. Once you show you are knowledgeable about the topic, people tend to open up and spill stories.
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| Lester "Sonny" Mason, the "poor man who lives like a king." |
One of those delightful characters was the impish Lester “Sonny” Mason, a late-70ish man who told me: “I'm one of kind. When they made me, they throws away the mold." A sign on his nondescript building along State Rt. 65 in Sharpsburg, Md., read: “The Battle of Antietam in Miniature.” I’ve visited Antietam scores of times but had never stopped at the place. Well, I finally did. Sonny, a hoot, lives there. He told me how he created his battlefield diorama in the basement.
What passion.
For years, I’ve written a column called “Rambling” for Civil War Times magazine. Plus, I post frequently to my Civil War Facebook page and Civil War blog. I greatly admired Tony Horwitz, who wrote the epic Confederates In The Attic. What a fabulous storyteller. And such a funny guy. I still mourn his passing in 2019.So, the book seemed like a natural extension of all I had done.
How did you get to where you are today and how has history, specifically the Civil War, been a part of your life’s journey?
Long, long ago, I majored in journalism at West Virginia University and minored in history, beer and fun. My first newspaper gig was at the Martinsburg (W.Va.) Evening Journal, a short drive to the Antietam battlefield. I got to know Paul Culler, who had farmed for decades the Miller Cornfield —epicenter of the battle. Of course, it’s part of the national military park today. The stories Paul told – oh my, he hooked me.
From Martinsburg, my professional career took me to the Baltimore News American, Dallas Morning News, ESPN and elsewhere. But I always had Civil War on the brain.
In our garage, hunks of battlefield “witness tree” wood rest next to the car only because Mrs. B won’t let me display them in our house. In my mind, family birthdays and my own wedding anniversary get equal play with battle anniversaries. Mrs. B’s birthday is Oct. 19—the day of the Battle of Cedar Creek.
I’m weird.
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| The 40-Acre Cornfield at Antietam. |
If you could stand on a field in a moment in time during the Civil War and observe that moment in real life, when and where would you be? Why?
40-Acre Cornfield at Antietam on the afternoon of Sept. 17, 1862, as A.P. Hill’s veterans slammed into the 16th Connecticut – a rookie regiment in its first battle of the war. They didn’t know much about military maneuvers or anything else about fighting. In the cornfield, a desperate 16th Connecticut officer shouted to his colonel: “Tell us what you want us to do, and we’ll try to obey you!” Dozens of them fell in that hilly cornfield that afternoon.
When we lived in Connecticut, I got to know them. I visited their markers in cemeteries throughout the state. Some of the graves of those who fell in battle are empty. Who knows where they are buried? They’re my guys. What a tragic story.
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| Attorney Jerry Potter, one of the country's foremost experts on the Sultana tragedy. |
During your journeys you traveled many miles to many different locations. What stood out to you the most about the people you met along the way?
For the people who are really into the Civil War, it’s their single-minded focus. Most have what I call the "1,000-yard Civil War stare." These folks are just so homed in on the Civil War that it’s, well, endearing almost. They can rattle off facts and figures from the Official Records like some do baseball stats.
Some are so joyful to find a like-minded person that they really open up to you. In my book, I write about Jerry Potter, who knows more about the Sultana disaster than almost anyone. After my two-day visit with him, we hugged in a hotel parking lot in Marion, Ark. I got a kick out of that.
If you weren’t a writer what would your profession be?
Well, I have mostly been an editor during my journalism career. I didn’t find my voice as a writer until the past five or six years. If I weren’t a journalist, I’d like to be a train-riding hobo — just traveling about the country, meeting people, telling their stories, throwing down craft beers in dive bars and eating where the locals eat. I think it could be great fun, but I'd have to run it past Mrs. B first, though.
Finally, for the generations that read this book in the future, what do you hope they take away from this?
History is not boring. It’s not just a set of facts and dates. And it’s OK to laugh about history, too. I try to find humor in it -- when appropriate, of course.
Authoring this book was my passion. Find yours. If you’re passionate about jumping out of an airplane, do it.
But use a parachute.
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