From The Lowcountry — January 2021

By Peggy & Jack Melton · Originally published January 2021 · p. 7

As the publishers and owners of Civil War News, we would like to thank everyone for your contributions to the polybag issue upgrade. We are overwhelmed by the generosity of our readers. We appreciate every one of you, and words cannot express our gratitude. We know that this year has undoubtedly been a challenge for all, in one way or another. We have certainly seen and heard things that we never thought we would experience in our lifetime. Although we are not out of the water yet, we want to pause and take a minute to reflect on the positives as the year comes to an end. We are so very fortunate to have such outstanding contributors who provide us with such high-quality material to publish each month. They are all experts in their fields, and we are proud to have them on our team. We are incredibly indebted to our Editor, Larry Babits. He is an extremely knowledgeable historian, not to mention a very dear friend. We don’t know where we would be without him. As you know, we decided to temporarily remove the Calendar of Events section due to the cancellation of so many events under the shelter in place orders placed due to the Coronavirus that has swept not only our nation but the entire world. We are hopeful that we will see an end to Covid 19 before long. As that happens, we foresee people once again beginning to gather for reenactments, historical anniversaries, guided tours, etc. While some 2021 events remain canceled or postponed, some will go on as planned. Beginning with the February issue, we will commence with the Calendar of Events section. 2021 will ring in with the Low Country Civil War Show on Jan. 2-3; the Chickamauga (Dalton) show will see January out on the weekend of Jan. 30-31. The Battle of Aiken reenactment will be held on Feb. 19-21. The Baltimore Antiques Arms show is going on as planned on Mar. 20-21. The Ohio Civil War Show will resume on May 1-2, and the Chattanooga Civil War Show will return July 24-25. The Capitol of the Confederacy Richmond Civil War Show will be held Nov. 1314, and the Middle Tennessee Civil War Show in Franklin, Tenn. is back on for the weekend of Dec. 4-5. If you are aware of any upcoming events, please bring them to our attention so we can publish them for all to see. We are looking forward to getting back on the road, attending shows, and covering reenactments. We have missed seeing so many of our Civil War friends and colleagues. We love it when our subscribers and Facebook followers stop by our table to visit and tell us stories of their ancestors who fought in the war or about their own battlefield travels and experiences. We will still be social distancing, and unfortunately, for the time being, the hugs and handshakes will be a thing of the past. Goodbye, 2020. You have proven to us that we are more resilient than ever, but you sure were one heck of a ride!