The Blue and Gray Education Society is one of America’s leading Civil War education organizations. Based in Danville, Virginia, the BGES organizes and leads approximately 20 Civil War tours per year to sites both familiar and nearly forgotten. In addition to its ambitious tour program the BGES has engaged in a multi-pronged program to enhance the visitor’s experience at selected battlefields by presenting detailed, quality educational signage. BGES has worked hard to assist other nonprofit preservation groups in funding and achieving their objectives. Members have donated valuable primary documents to public libraries. Some members have produced scholarly papers that document and inform people about heretofore unknown aspects of the war. Staff members analyze new publications to determine which books are the best from a long list of releases. BGES has also consulted with local communities and the National Park Service to complete battlefield preservation plans that are now being implemented.
Fields of Honor is the product of a fruitful collaboration between Ed Bearss, a man we consider to be the nation’s foremost public historian, and the BGES. It is a work that in Bearss’ mind has been nearly 60 years in the making and in the BGEs’ life has been developing over its entire 12 years of existence. The text is the edited product of more than 300 hours of videotaped Bearss BGES battlefield tours transcribed by BGES volunteers into nearly 3,000 pages of narrative text. The total effort makes a substantial contribution to Bearss’ growing archives. A copy of the tapes and text transcriptions will be given to the curators of his archive at Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia.
Ed Bearss asked the BGES to take an active role in this project based upon their long and mutually supportive relationship. Since its inception, the BGES has worked to build an unparalleled video archive of America’s Civil War battlefields. The project now spans 12 years and includes recorded tours of more than 220 battlefields. BGES tours take people to places that are rarely seen and often accessible only by van, boat or foot. Each hour of tape documents their comprehensive commitment to take heritage tourists to each of the nation’s 385 primary Civil War battlefields. Many programs have left the hotel hours before dawn or returned late in the evening—whatever it takes to do it right. For information about BGES tours, please visit our website, listed below.
BGES depends upon the tax deductible support of donor members from the general public and the patronage of the public for these tours. If you would like to be a part of living history the “BGES Way” please consider joining their organization by calling toll free 1-888-741-2437 or visiting their web site at www.blue-and-gray-education.org.
Email blue-grayedsoc@mindspring.com.