Olde South Timeline Ball: Today we are sitting down with J. Mark Powell, author of the book Witness To War: The Story of the Civil War Told by Those Who Lived It. Mark is donating a signed copy of the book to the Olde South Timeline Ball Silent Auction. Included with the book is a gift certificate for a one-hour phone conversation with Mark to pick his brains about anything related to the book.
Tell us about yourself, Mark!
J. Mark Powell: I’m a dyed-in-the-wool lifelong history lover with a passion for sharing forgotten and overlooked stories from our shared past.
OSTB: Where are you from?JMP: I was born in St. Joseph, MO, and raised in Joplin, MO. College and work brought me to Oklahoma, Kansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. over the years. I currently live in Lexington County, S.C.
OSTB: What do you do for a living?
JMP: I have several jobs at present. I write the nationally syndicated weekly Holy Cow! history newspaper column, and am the content manager for InsideSources.com, among other things. My career was spent in journalism and public communications. I worked in news at local TV and radio stations and was a senior news writer and news editor at CNN for 17 years. Additionally, I was a press secretary on Capitol Hill and in state government.
OSBT: Pretty cool! What got you interested in history? What eras do you especially enjoy studying?
JMP: I had the immensely good fortune of being raised by parents who appreciated and enjoyed history. So I became hooked on it while still in the cradle. While I truly enjoy all aspects and eras of history, the War Between the States is my life’s passion. I fell in love with it at age nine and the love affair is still going strong more than 55 years later.
OSTB: Tell us about your book!
JMP: Witness to War: The Story of the Civil War Told by Those Who Lived It (Stackpole Books 2026) is exactly what the title says. From Lincoln’s 1860 election through the summer of 1865, when soldiers returned home, the account is told through excerpts from more than 500 previously unpublished letters written by people who were there. No famous names are used. I wanted to resurrect the voices of the everyday people who lived through it. As we say, “432 witnesses … one amazing story.” Northern and Southern, battlefront and the home front, men, women, a few children, two slaves, and a Native American…each of these perspectives all recount in real-time one of the most pivotal moments in American history as it is unfolding.
In addition to accounts of all major military engagements, Witness to War also includes glimpses of things such as a massive regimental snowball fight, a botched double execution, an enslaved man requesting his emancipation papers, a soldier’s wife begging her husband to desert and come home, and even a remarkable description by a young officer of the very battle he was killed in as the battle was actually happening!
OSTB: What inspired you to write this book? Was it a lot of fun to do?
JMP: Actually, I didn’t write it; 432 Americans who came before us did. I merely curated their words, assembled them, and added brief contextual setup to introduce each passage. Being a lifelong Civil War nut, I had dreamed of writing this type of book since boyhood. And yes, I had a blast writing it. This project was doubly fun because all the original letters used in the book are from my private collection, which I’ve had the pleasure of assembling over the course of thirty years.
OSTB: What sets your book apart from other books about this time period?
JMP: Traditional history books tell you what happened during the war. Witness to War tells you how it felt to live through it as it was happening. These accounts aren’t memoirs or recollections written later; each word was penned in real time, giving it a you-are-there feeling you don’t find elsewhere. Additionally, the book is written so that both casual readers and serious students of the Civil War can equally enjoy it.
OSTB: Where do people learn more about you and order a copy of the book if they aren’t able to bid on the signed book and interview combo at the auction?
JMP: A warehouse’s worth of info about the book and me is available at www.JMarkPowell.com. There are also links to order the book at that site.
OSTB: Thanks a lot for sitting down with us today, Mark! Any final thoughts to offer?
JMP! If you read Witness to War, you’ll never look at the Civil War the same way ever again. I promise!
Your Ball Ticket Includes:
* A sumptuous formal supper and homemade dessert
* The acclaimed Timeless Dance dance directors
* Our wonderful live band, The Blue Ridge Rounders
* A free dance practice at the hotel
* Free formal photography by our Olde South Ball Photography Studio
* And some fun shopping at our Olde South Bazaar and Silent Auction!
We look forward to seeing all of you there!
Sincerely,
The Sheens
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