Guide to Georgia Civil War sites now available

By Kenneth H. Thomas Jr.

For the AJC

The Georgia Civil War Commission recently produced its long-awaited revised edition of "Crossroads of Conflict, A Guide to Civil War Sites in Georgia."

The work was written by historians Barry L. Brown and Gordon R. "Rich" Elwell, employees of the commission, and published by the University of Georgia Press.

Brown and Elwell take readers on a tour of Georgia's 350 Civil War sites, and for each place the book gives a brief description of what took place there and how to get there, plus many full-color illustrations. The sites are arranged geographically within the nine tourism divisions of the state, with new, easy-to-read maps for each area.

The authors have included as many sites as they could, and for their criteria, you should read the preface. There is a foreword by Vince Dooley, an appendix of global positioning system coordinates for the sites in alphabetical order, a chronology of the Civil War in Georgia, a bibliography, and a full-name index.

The soft-cover work, in 8 ½-by-11 format, is a beautiful book and comes ahead of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War next spring.

The book will no doubt be a treasured possession for those who like to visit historic sites and potentially a boon to Georgia tourism.

The book was published in association with the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Georgia Humanities Council. It is available for $22.95 at area bookstores or from the University of Georgia Press at www.ugapress.org.

Brown and Elwell will speak about the book and have a book signing at the Atlanta History Center on Nov. 6. Check www.atlantahistorycenter.org for details.

The Civil War Commission can be reached at www.georgiacivilwar.org.

New England and Pennsylvania research

The New England Historic Genealogical Society has announced the new home of its award-winning website, www.AmericanAncestors.org. The site helps provide access to the growing collection of the group, the oldest genealogical society in the U.S.

Anyone with New England roots ought to be a member of the society, which offers access to so many research sources.

You can track Pennsylvania ancestors through their land tracts at the website www.ancestortracks.com.

While the site has some counties already online, others will be added. It also offers county atlases and CDs in its "Early Landowners of Pennsylvania" series.

‘Ancestorville'

Many readers using Facebook have begun using the "Ancestorville" portion of the site, which includes forums, photos and other items shared by members and offers "random acts of kindness," that is helping each other out with research. One person called it "addictive."

Once you sign up for free to have a Facebook account, search for "Ancestorville." The URL would be www.facebook.com/ancestorville. This is just one more way you can put his genealogy needs out to the world in hopes of finding a lost link or help someone else find one.