This week, The Wabash Inn Mess meets up with North Carolina-based author Michael Hardy to discuss his latest book release, "Feeding Lee's Army of Northern Virginia", available now from Savas Beatie.

In his book, and touched on briefly in our episode, Michael looks into the political and logistical machine that attempted to sustain the Confederate fighting man. Focused primarily on the Eastern theater, our discussion also extends to logistical issues facing the Armies of Tennessee and the Trans-Mississippi as well.

We hope you enjoy this episode of The Wabash Inn Mess. Don't forget to like, follow, and share our content.

Find Michael Hardy's books at Savas Beatie:

https://www.savasbeatie.com/copy-of-feeding-lee-s-army-of-

northernvirginia/?searchid=0&search_query=michael+hardy

Visit Michael Hardy's website at:

www.michaelchardy.com

Connect with The Wabash Inn Mess at:

wabashinnmess@gmail.com

Find The Mess on the web at:

www.wabashinnmess.com

Visiting American Civil War sites is a large part of life for our listeners, and we are please to be able in this episode to to introduce you to Aaron Sievers, principal representative of Aaron's Civil War Travels based out of New Market, VA.

Aside from his captivating social media content, Aaron offers guide interpretation for nearly all Eastern Theater battlefields as well as professionally developed presentations for organizations and groups. You will hear some of his stories and his opportunities for engagement in this episode.

Thank you for taking time to listen to our podcast, and we hope that you will explore what Aaron Sievers has to offer for your next Civil War-centered trip or meeting by engaging with his social media accounts or his website.

Also, take time to vote on SPOTIFY about our AI generated theme music. Let us know if you want us to KEEP it or CAN it.

Visit Aaron's Civil War Travels online at:

https://sites.google.com/view/aaronscivilwartravels/home

You can message the men of The Mess at:

wabashinnmess@gmail.com

Find The Mess on the web:

www.wabashinnmess.com

Welcome to Season 5 of The Wabash Inn Mess.

Starting off our fifth series of twelve episodes, the men of The Mess welcome back author and historian Scott Mingus to share the story of his biographical sketch of Confederate general William "Extra Billy" Smith and to remember our friend and esteemed author of many fine works on the American Civil War, Eric J. Wittenberg, who passed earlier this summer after a determined battle with cancer.

"Extra Billy" as a man, a general, and a politician would be considered just as scandalous today as he was in the era of the War Between the States. Yet his leadership record on the field of battle is still a matter of interpretation to the rearward observer. Scott's work will help the reader unravel some of the shadows intertwined around this complex character.

We also revisit the most recent JohnnyCon, a popular part of NashCon, that was held at the Sheraton Music City in Nashville, TN in mid-August. JohnnyCon features exclusively the games designed by respected creator John Hill, focusing primarily on his Johnny Reb rule set.

We hope this episode brings you up to date with Scott and his work, and that you will seek out well-researched and meticulously crafted volumes for your Civil War library.

You can pick up most books by Scott Mingus and Eric Wittenberg on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, but we highly recommend buying directly from their publisher when possible at:

www.savasbeatie.com

Contributions in memory of Eric Wittenberg can be made to your favorite Civil War centered institution, or to help with his mountainous medical and final expenses you can contribute at:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-consider-helping-eric-and-susan-wittenberg

Feel free to contact the men of The Mess with suggestions, criticisms, or questions at:

wabashinnmess@gmail.com

And finally, find The Wabash Inn Mess on the web at:

www.wabashinnmess.com

We hope everyone is having a great Summer - enjoying beautiful weather, maybe taking a little time off with family, and possibly even doing a little Civil War study or visiting a Civil War related site!

This special hiatus episode of The Mess focuses on pillar #3 of creating your personal relationship with the War Between The States - gaming. We are joined this week by two additional members of our Hardscrabble Invitational gaming group, Brad Butkovich and Cory Ring to talk about developing your own gaming scenarios. We examine the different types of scenarios available: historical battle, campaign, "what if" (or as we like to say "history plus") and fictional scenarios.

We hope that you will find the conversation interesting and helpful as you develop your gaming habits and invite your friends to gather around the table and enjoy the rule set and time period of your choice.

Find The Wabash Inn Mess on the web at:

www.wabashinnmess.com

Reach out with any comments or gaming-related questions for the men of The Mess at:

wabashinnmess@gmail.com

Andrew Miller from Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument joins the men of The Mess for the season four finale.

Andrew delivers a brilliant narrative of the fall 1861 incursion of Confederate troops under Brigadier General Felix Zollicoffer of Tennessee into the Cumberland River basin of south central Kentucky. Zollicoffer and his men were met by federal forces under the command of General George H. Thomas in what would become known as The Battle of Mill Springs, also known as the Battle of Logan's Crossroads.

We hope you will enjoy this final episode of our fourth season as we close out this series of twelve looking at one of many Southern efforts to capture and utilize the resources and manpower of the neutral Bluegrass State.

Thank you for your time and we hope you enjoy each and every session around the battery wagon with The Wabash Inn Mess!

Find Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument online at:

https://www.nps.gov/misp/index.htm

Visit The Wabash Inn Mess online:

www.wabashinnmess.com

Contact The Mess via email at:

wabashinnmess@gmail.com

The convergence of two smaller-scale Civil War Commemorations the third weekend in May (Sacramento, KY and Resaca, GA) lead the hosts to reminisce on the memories of participating in smaller, local, public events.

"Community events". as they can be called, offer great opportunities for interaction and higher levels in intimacy with the public. The generosity of the hosts can also be a great drawing card for participants and attendees alike. On this episode, the men of The Mess share their stories of days spent under canvas at these and other smaller Civil War re-enactments.

Visit The Wabash Inn Mess on the web:

www.wabashinnmess.com

Message The Mess at:

wabashinnmess@gmail.com

With living history season full on us and many public observances drawing close on the Sumner calendar, we wanted to begin focusing more in-depth on our second pillar of understanding, replicating or "re-enacting".

Many of you will be attending events, both public and living history experience based, and you are either looking to create an impression or fine-tune an existing work in progress. This week we bring in long-time living historian Will Eichler to share some insight into developing the finer points of the kit into both an accurate and serviceable collection of items.

We also discuss important resources available to all of us as students and practitioners of historical interpretation through Civil War Digital Digest and the HistoryFix App. Offering everything from how to's and when to's to documentaries and full length historical films, no period research is complete without using these two well-developed tools. And within this episode, you'll find out how to get a 30% discount (that's nearly half!) on an annual HistoryFix subscription, so listen closely!

We hope you find this episode both enjoyable and informative.

View Civil War Digital Digest content for free on YouTube at:

https://www.youtube.com/c/CivilWarDigitalDigest

Once you have evaluated the content, we at The Wabash Inn Mess strongly encourage you to become a subscriber.

You can sign up for the HistoryFix platform by visiting:

https://www.historyfix.com/

Reach out to the Messmates at:

wabashinnmess@gmail.com

Find The Mess on the web at:

www.wabashinnmess.com

Welcome to the after action episode for the 2025Hardscrabble Invitational. The Johnny Reb III group gathered in White House, TN the last weekend in April and played out multiple scenarios that evoked lots of excitement and emotion among the participants.

Our guest this week is gaming aficionado and long-time play tester Patrick "PJ" O'Neill. We talk to PJ about engaging in close combat with the "enemy" and the characteristics of the charge. It's an opportunity for enjoyment and education this week as we discuss Johnny Reb III on The Mess.

Communicate with the men of The Mess at:

wabashinnmess@gmail.com

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www.wabashinnmess.com