How One Question Led to Five Years of “American Civil War & UK History”
It feels like only yesterday that I first reached out to Emerging Civil War’s Chris Mackowski to ask if he might be interested in talking to me about the battle of Fredericksburg. There’s a long story behind why the American Civil War mattered so much to me, but I’ll spare you the full version here.
I began reenacting the American Civil War in the summer of 2019. Then, of course, at the beginning of 2020, the world came to a sudden standstill due to COVID-19. Like many reenactors, I found myself with time to read, research, and absorb huge amounts of information. The problem was, I had no one to talk to about it. Events weren’t happening, reenactments were cancelled, and the usual conversations around the campfire were gone.
By the end of 2020, my head was full of questions and ideas. One evening, I saw Chris Mackowski on a livestream for the American Battlefield Trust. I fired off several questions in the comments, not expecting much—but Chris took the time to answer them. That’s when I thought, Wouldn’t it be fantastic to invite this guy onto Zoom to talk about Fredericksburg?
I sent him a message, genuinely not expecting a reply. I ended it with something my mum always used to say: “If you don’t ask, you don’t get.”
Chris replied simply: “Your mum was right.”
That Zoom conversation became the very first episode of American Civil War & UK History.
At the time, it wasn’t even meant to be a podcast. The conversation was only intended to be shared with a small group of reenacting friends. But once we’d recorded it, I knew it was too good not to share more widely. And so, on Boxing Day—26 December 2020—the American Civil War & UK History Podcast was born.
Before we started recording I asked Chris if he knew anyone else who might be interested in talking in the future. His response was simple: “I know plenty of people.” At the time, I didn’t fully understand what Emerging Civil War was or what it represented. I soon found out.
What followed were conversations with many Emerging Civil War contributors, including Sarah Kay Bierle, Chris Kolakowski, and many others. Five years on, the platform is still going strong—all thanks to one person who gave me an opportunity I will always be grateful for.
The first-ever episode of American Civil War & UK History: “The Battle of Fredericksburg with Chris Mackowski”
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So Why the American Civil War?
You might be asking yourself: why is someone from Great Britain so interested in the American Civil War?
The answer is simple: Gettysburg, the movie.
Back in 2004, I was gifted VHS copies of Gettysburg. From the moment I watched that film, I was hooked. The American Civil War moved straight to the forefront of my mind—and it’s never really left.
With the fifth anniversary of the platform approaching, it felt only right to reach out to the director of Gettysburg and Gods and Generals, Ron Maxwell. Ron has a strong following and is active on Facebook, so I thought I’d take a chance. To my surprise, getting hold of him wasn’t difficult at all—and even more surprisingly, he said “yes.”I’d previously had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Mallon, who portrayed General Winfield Scott Hancock in both films. Ever since that conversation, I’d quietly thought, Wouldn’t it be incredible to speak to the director?
While I usually aim to keep episodes around the 60-minute mark, this one was different. We spoke for three hours. Honestly, it felt like one. We spent around an hour and a half discussing Gettysburg, and the same again on Gods and Generals. Both episodes are available on YouTube as video interviews and across all major podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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When I look back, I realise I wouldn’t be doing any of this without that first opportunity—without Emerging Civil War, and without Chris Mackowski taking the time to say “yes.” And if I’d never watched Gettysburg, none of this would have happened at all.
That includes my role as Emerging Civil War’s Social Media Manager, which is, without question, one of the biggest and most meaningful honours of the past five years.
All that’s left to say is simple: “Cheers!”
Darren, Happy Christmas & Happy Boxing Day. I enjoy your podcast.
Congratulations, pal, and happy podcast birthday!
Darren it is great that you are such a big part of ECW. Thanks for all you do. We are all grateful for our opportunities to learn from one another. All the best in the New Year.
Darren is an amazing part of the ECW team! He inspires me everyday and believes in what we do.