Civil War author to sign copies of his first book

October 08, 2007

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Shepherd University's George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War will sponsor a book signing on Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Civil War Center on German Street.

Dennis W. Brandt, author of "From Home Guards to Heroes: The 87th Pennsylvania and its Civil War Community" will be on hand to answer questions and autograph copies of his book.

Light refreshments will be served.

Brandt is a former student in Mark A. Snell's Civil War research course and has attended several of the Center's Civil War seminars. "From Home Guards to Heroes," his first work, details a Civil War regiment in unprecedented human detail. Snell, director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War and author of the book's foreword, says of Brandt's work, "Here is a regimental history that will set the standard for others to follow."

Brandt used a different approach to his regimental history by minimizing the usual blow-by-blow strategic and tactical accounts, and emphasizing the social structure of the regiment and the communities from which the soldiers came. Based on years of research into primary resources, "From Home Guards to Heroes" puts humanity center stage and offers a unique view of a community at war and an intimate portrait of the men who chose to fight for the Union.

The August 2007, Civil War News called "From Home Guards to Heroes" unique because "it focuses on the individual personalities who, after all, gave that regiment its character. An intimate portrayal which can be enjoyed by general reader and Civil War buff alike."

The Virginia Quarterly Review said, "Brandt's book is an ambitious work that is refreshing for its use of the regiment as a means of social inquiry." American's Civil War, May 2007, chose to excerpt a chapter of "From Home Guards to Heroes" that presents a case history of an officer entangled in the military justice system.

For more information, call 304-876-5429.

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