ECW Welcomes Jon Tracey
Emerging Civil War welcomes its newest member!
Jon Tracey is a public historian focused on soldier experience, medical care, and veteran life in the Civil War era. He holds a BA in History from Gettysburg College with minors in Public History and Civil War Era Studies and is currently pursuing an MA from West Virginia University in Public History with a Certificate in Cultural Resource Management. He has also worked several seasons with the National Park Service at four sites, including three summers at Gettysburg National Military Park. Most of his recent research focuses on either the complex topic of historical memory of the Civil War or Camp Letterman General Hospital, the largest hospital in the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Publications:
- “Benjamin Watkins Leigh, Johnson’s Division,” “James Bedell, 7th Michigan Cavalry,” and “Hannibal Howell, 76th New York,” Killed at Gettysburg, http://killedatgettysburg.org/.
- “The Utility of the Wounded: Circular No. 2, Camp Letterman, and Acceptance of Medical Dissection,” Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era Volume 9 (2019).
- “Book Notes: James Hessler and Britt Isenberg, Gettysburg’s Peach Orchard,” in Gettysburg Magazine 63, July 2020.
In addition to his blog posts since becoming a member, be sure to check out his earlier guest posts!
- Layers of History at Oak Ridge
- The Civilian Conservation Corps at Droop Mountain
- Perceptions of Emancipation in Gettysburg, Parts One, Two, and Three
- John Rankin, Bravery, and Gettysburg
- German Prisoners of War in Gettysburg
- A Collector’s Conundrum: James Young of the 6th New Jersey Infantry
Welome, Jon. Have you done a post on the current status of the effort to preserve the land where Camp Letterman was located. If you have, and I missed, my apologies. In any event, welcome to this group. I regularly enjoy what I learn.
Rosemary,
Good question! The issue with that is that the land ownership is very complicated, and according to a recent change on https://www.landmarkcr.com/properties/?propertyId=1115-York-Rd-Gettysburg-Sale, now under contract. It is difficult to track changing development plans.
In addition to that, GBPA is heading up the preservation effort and has been unclear on updates… and also hasn’t responded to any of my emails over the last few months. If things become more clear or concrete, I agree a post on the updated status would be useful.
Thanks for the comment.
Huzzah! Welcome! 🙂
Thanks Sheritta!
Looks like a good addition to the team. Welcome aboard.
Thanks! I look forward to contributing more.
The article about German POWs at Gettysburg was first-rate!
I appreciate that! It was certainly a unique layer of history on the battlefield.
I’m just a commenter, but Welcome! The more historians the merrier.
Welcome–Remember Ellsworth!
Hello Jon! My husband and I are from Rensselaer County in upstate New York, so we take for granted that we can see some of the wonderful spots up here that are Civil War related. You MUST go to see Grant’s Cottage, it explains much about the man and the last years of his life. We heard Chris Mackowski speak there the day we last went and then signed up for Emerging Civil War. John Brown’s farm is also located along up that way in the Adirondacks. Also, if you are interested, some of the plates for the Monitor were produced at the Burden Iron Works, here in Troy, N.Y. Horseshoes for the Union Army were also produced at that same works and we just happen to live on Burden Lake! We believe we have one of them. A lot of forgotten Civil War- related history up here in our neck of the woods!
Best wishes as you start out with the Emerging Civil War.
Judy and Steve Scarlata
Thanks for the kind words! I look forward to travelling there someday (hopefully soon).