New from Star Route Books, are the histories of North Carolina’s 26th and 61st Infantry Regiments in the Civil War. Through spellbinding narratives and fascinating photography we follow the story of the 26th Regiment and Company A, The Jeff Davis Mountaineers, that consisted almost entirely of men from Ashe County and the 61st, including Company I, The Alleghany Rangers, which was made up of Alleghany County volunteers.
The cover art from the History of the 26th NC Infantry depicting Picketts Charge at Gettysburg from a painting by Edwin Forbes. US Library of Congress.
Originally published in 1901, these eyewitness accounts were compiled by the State of North Carolina and were part of The Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina, in the Great War, 1861-65.
Pontoon Bridge at Deep Bottom Virginia, Photographed by Timothy OSullivan for Gardners Photographic Sketchbook of the Civil War. US Library of Congress.
The 26th was noted for its participation in Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, there losing more men than any other regiment from either side in the entire war. They were part of the Army of Northern Virginia, fighting at Richmond, Petersburg and they were with Robert E. Lee at his eventual surrender at Appomattox.
The 61st fought, primarily, along the coast of North and South Carolina, defending Charleston Harbor, Savannah and Wilmington. They were at Morris Island and just barely missed the attack of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, depicted in the movie Glory. They were led by General Thomas Clingman and were with General Joseph Johnston when he surrendered at Bennett Place in Durham at the war’s end.
General Thomas Clingman, leader of Clingmans Brigade and the 61st NC Infantry. Clingmans Brigade fought at Goldsboro, Battery Wagner, Drewrys Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Globe Tavern, Fort Fisher and Bentonville.
Along with the original text, we have added company rosters, photographs, battle descriptions and period maps obtained from the National Archives, the Library of Congress, Virginia Military Institute and many other resources.
The Regimental History of the 26th North Carolina Infantry won a Willie Parker Peace History Book Award from the North Carolina Society of Historians in 2011.
The cover art from the History of the 61st NC Infantry depicting New Berne, NC in 1864 from a lithograph by Del Comb. US Library of Congress.
Both books are available now, print-on-demand, through The Sparta Store.
Whether you’re marching in Sparta’s annual Christmas Parade or making a special appearance in the Independence Day parade in Independence, VA, you want your banner to be seen. And caring for it properly will allow you to re-use it for a long time.
For a good, visible parade banner, we generally suggest 3 foot x 8 or 10 foot size. (Our banners are made with double grommets every 2 feet, so we sell them in 2-foot increments.) For parades, we’ve had good luck attaching banners to a closet rod or stairway hand-rail. They’re easily available at home improvement stores already sanded.
Get one approximately 4 feet longer than the banner so that the two carriers can walk without kicking it and use zip ties to attach the banner to the pole.
Parade Banner Idea from Imaging Specialists.
For added stability, attach a second rod to the bottom. This one should be cut the length of the banner- again so the carriers don’t kick it. Sometimes, when high winds are in the forecast, we cut curved vents into banners so wind can pass through.
Here are some Banner Care tips:
Secure it
When hanging your banner, secure it well. Otherwise, the wind can catch it and whip the corners. Our banners have grommets every two feet for easy hanging.
Roll it
Loosely roll your vinyl banner with the vinyl facing outward. Don’t fold it or put anything very tight, like a rubber band, around it which could permanently crease or warp it.
Clean it
Do not use solvents to clean your banner. Wipe it down with a damp, soft cloth. If needed, use a mild detergent or soap and water. Wipe clean with soft cloth. Do not use harsh solvents. Make sure your banner is completely dry before storing it.
Store it
Store the banner in a cool, dry place. Don’t store your banner in extremely high temperatures, such as a car trunk, attic or storage building.
Need a new banner? Contact us for pricing. If you have any problems with your banner, or any additional questions concerning care, contact us at info@imagingspecialists.net or 336-372-3002.
Join us Thursday evening, December 8, for our Christmas Bookfest – book signings at The Sparta Store.
Authors Kate Clay Bodeen(NCSH Award Winner Pat Crisp, Like a Moth to the Flame) and Dr. Suzanne Mellow Irwin(The Stratford Oaks Tales), as well as illustrator Zach Hamm(The Stratford Oaks Tales) will be here from 3:00 till 6:00 that afternoon. A representative from High Country Hospice will also have copies of their award-winning cookbook, Meals and Memories, available.
In addition to having your book signed, you’ll have a chance to learn about their upcoming projects.
Also, you’ll be able to check out the latest release from Star Route Books, Regimental History of the 61st NC Infantry. This is the second in our popular history book series and others are planned for release next year.
Our neighboring shops on Main Street will also have extended hours December 8. Be sure to stop by Backwoods Bean, Murphy’s Mercantile, and Studio Redwood that evening and support our local merchants and businesses.
Next Thursday night, November 17th at 6:30, Jeremy Halsey will lead a class at the Alleghany County Public Library. The class will focus on Internet Radio, TV and movies, and how to purchase and download music legally.
There is no charge for the class, but registration is required. To register or for more information, contact the Library at 336-372-5573 or contact Jeremy through his site.
The next night, Friday the 18th, at 7, the Special Christmas Show at the Alleghany Jubilee will be filmed. Admission will be just $5.
Make plans to attend 1 (or both!) of these events!
Imaging Specialists has won a prestigious Garland P. Stout Publishers Award for excellence in the field of publishing from the North Carolina Society of Historians. This is the second Publishing Award for ISI. We received the first one in 2009 for our work in Alleghany County’s Sesquicentennial.
Regimental History of the 26th North Carolina. Cover Painting of Picketts charge by Edwin Forbes at US Library of Congress.
The Society also honored us with a Willie Parker Peace History Book Awardfor the book, Regimental History of the 26th NC Infantry, that we produced this summer, about Ashe County men in the Civil War. We gathered the text, photos, battle maps and battle summaries for the book; laid out and re-set the text; and optimized the photos for the book which is now available on-demand from Star Route Books and in our shop in Sparta.
We were also fortunate to receive a Robert Bruce Cooke Family History Book Award for our own, Family Photos – Eli Hamilton Halsey and Lillian Blanche Smith. This book is a photographic record of our own family, developed with the help of my Dad, Ronald Halsey’s, archive of negatives and our family’s photos. We scanned all images and assembled them into a chronological record of the lives of my Great-Grandparents and their family. The casebound book is printed in color and includes images from old prints, tintypes, 4×5 negatives, 35 mm and digital photography.
It is true that this “labor-of-love” will never have mass-appeal, but it was a real learning experience for us in the field of on-demand, self-publishing and we couldn’t be more proud of the result.
We also share in an award the Society presented to the Alleghany Historical – Genealogical Society. For the third year, AHGS has won a Joe M. McLaurin Newsletter Award, for the quarterly newsletter that we produce. The newsletter regularly includes text and historic photography from the county and this year, we’ve started adding our own photos of the Alleghany Historical Museum’s loans and acquisitions.
We are also pleased to have helped Lorene Sturgill, who received a Robert Bruce Cooke Family History Book Award for Descendants of William Black and Nancy Allison (We helped with photographic scanning, typesetting, page layout, design and production). This 296-page, casebound book containing genealogical records, photographs and stories is arguably our largest book project yet.
Of course, ISI has generated film for thousands of titles over the years, including many family histories and multi-volume sets, but this is the largest in which we’ve handled all aspects of the prepress work from design to production. The book is also available, on-demand from Star Route Books and the Sparta Store.
Congratulations Lorene, Kay, and Thelma for the recognition of your work and thanks for letting us be a part of your projects.
Lastly, we are happy to have played a part in the joint project of the Alleghany Historical – Genealogical Society and the Sparta Revitalization Committee‘s downtown Sparta walking tour, The Story of Sparta.
Window Decals designed and printed by ISI for the Sparta Revitalization Committee
We originally designed the SRC’s logo and were able to incorporate it into the vinyl, window decals for the self-guided tour. We are also pleased to have provided the cover photography for the Hospice’s Meals and Memories cookbook. Both projects won Paul Green Multimedia awards.
