Posts Tagged ‘Peter Culos’

I am not a “wargamer,” so the Historicon event on 8-11 July, 2010, at King of Prussia, PA, was totally new to me, and I had no idea what to expect. I was surprised, pleased, amazed, and pretty much blown away. Apparently there are three of these wargaming events each year on the east coast: One I’m not quite sure about I believe called “Cold Wars” in the April timeframe, Historicon in July, and an event called Fall-In, October 29-31, 2010. The major focus of these events is on wargaming various military battles in history on large tables.

The dedicated participants use small figures of various sizes to depict companies of troops, regimental units, or even armies – depending on the battle. Very detailed and elaborate sets are constructed on which to fight – from Medieval castles, to Viking raids on villages, to desert warfare, and, yes, even the skies over Britain for the battle thereof – using model aircraft, flying and fighting at different altitudes no less. This is an over simplification, but combat movements, engagements, confrontations, and the like, are decided by a roll of the dice. These folks really take their work seriously, and one movement or confrontation might take an hour or more to accomplish while they move the various pieces measured distances around the table.

Wargaming Hall

Historicon this year was located at the Valley Forge Convention Center, and it needed the space. They filled two major hotels, and rooms were scarce throughout the entire area. There were three primary features to the event. The foremost was the wargaming activities not only in a huge room full of tables, but in smaller rooms, passageways, and even various hotel rooms. The second feature was an enormous vendor area, sectioned off, which included sellers of everything one might need to wargame from miniature soldiers, to tanks, to planes, to set construction materials, to military history books, and on and on. To my delight, this area hosted such fine historical military artists as Keith Rocco, and Peter Culos, as well as sculptors like Terry Jones. The third activity at Historicon was the “War College.” This was an on-going series of talks by military historians throughout each day of the event and into the evenings.

Notice the detail in this Viking ship

Actor and military consultant for the film and TV industry, Captain Dale Dye, USMC (Ret), was Guest of Honor speaker. The quest speakers included such notables as Rene´Chartrand, former Chief Curator, Parks Canada; Colonel David Glantz, renowned expert on combat studies; and Angus Konstam, former Senior Curator of Weapons, Royal Armouries, London. There were numerous other speakers – including your humble servant. I was asked to give a presentation on the Battle of Balaklava in the Crimean War. When I did so, I discovered, again to my delight, that the folks who enjoy wargaming are not only gaming enthusiasts, but extremely precise and accomplished historians in their particular historical period of interest. My audience asked some excellent questions, and their interest was intense.

All in all, Historicon was a first-rate experience, and I look forward to attending next year. The theme for next year is the American Civil War, and I have been asked to give possibly two talks. One on the impact of the Crimean War on the American Civil War, and the other on Lincoln’s personal security, comparing it to personal security provided modern leaders.

I should also mention that I’ll be busy at the wargaming event in October (Fall-In at Lancaster, PA). The theme there this year is the US Marine Corps, celebrating its 235th Birthday. The US Marine Corps Historical Company will be setting up a massive display to illustrate the theme with uniforms, equipment and weaponry from the Revolutionary Marines to the Marines fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq today. In addition, GySgt Tom Williams, Director, USMCHC, and I will present talks on the Marines at Harpers Ferry and the Marines at First Bull Run.

The Theme for this year's Historicon was 17th Century Warfare

Battle of Isandlwana - January 1879

Keith Rocco - Historical Artist and good friend.

I can’t speak for others who write historical fiction, but I have developed a philosophy in plot and characters.  I personally do not want to distort history, even in a novel.  As a historian, I believe that to be a disservice to history and to the reader.

Flying under the radar means to me that you try diligently not to change any major part of history by remaining below the flow of recorded events and characters.  This is especially difficult when some of your characters are real historical figures, and you are giving them life and dialogue.  It is, however, possible if you remain steadfast to that historic flow.

I try to create a group of fictional characters who carry the story as heros, villlians, or participants in the action, then I weave them in with real people of the time.  The story takes place at a level beneath the actual historical line, the radar if you will.  Ian Carlyle, for instance, isn’t a general or a major politician.  He’s a company commander or staff officer (First book in Ian Carlyle Series, Follow Me to Glory), a British observer on McClellan’s staff, or a military liaison officer at the British legation (Second book in the series, The Gettysburg Conspiracy)  - all minor positions in the big historical picture.

Latest Release by Will Hutchison

The Gettysburg Conspiracy is a perfect example of my point.  It is a story about a fictitious assassination attempt on Abraham Lincoln.  We know there were such threats and attempts.  The story is thus plausible.  We know he had terrible security in Washington and when he traveled.  We know he went to Gettysburg for the address.  We know his bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon, was concerned for his safety in Gettysburg.  Thus, the story is even more plausible.

Could it have happened?  We know it fails, but how does it fail?  How does the hero foil the plot?  Who are the bad guys?  What will happen to them?

Someone much better at this than me once said something like -”fiction is drama, and drama is conflict.”  Even if you know the end, you can create drama within the tale.  After all, in most crime dramas, the bad guy inevitably gets caught.  We all know that.  The questions are who is he, how does he get caught, who catches him, and am I, the reader, invested in the characters – both good guys and bad guys.  In historical fiction you can add more questions:  Is the story historically believable?  Could it have happened?  Is the background and setting authentic and plausible?  Is the dialogue real for the historic period?

Some time as Lincoln rode back to DC from Gettysburg by train, Ward Hill Lamon might have quietly whispered to him, “Say, Abe, there was an attempt to assassinate you back there in Gettysburg.  Not to worry, we took care of it.”  Lincoln might nod his head and resume looking out the train window as it rolled east toward Washington.  Thus, below the radar of history … a minor footnote at best, yet a good story when you’re hip deep in the middle of it.

Map of Site of Gettysburg Address as drawn by the conspirators - Map by Curt Musselman

Ian Carlyle, surrounded by scenes from The Gettysburg Conspiracy - Sketch by Peter Culos

A youthful Ian Carlyle in the Crimea

Deciding on a fictional hero for an entire series is a daunting task, not to be pursued lightly. The character will last for years and through many adventures. He will grow older as the series progresses. I had certain aspects of my protagonist in mind from the beginning. For instance, I am a Scot. My father, a character in his own right, was born there. He was raised in the north, and considered himself a highlander, although actually born south of Glasgow in Kilmarnoch. He emigrated to Canada, then to the US. He had a thick brogue. In fact, I had a strange quasi-Scottish accent until I was about ten, when it began to fade away. I wanted my hero to have my roots, and, like my father, be a bit of a rogue and a maverick.

I chose the name Carlyle, because it was a sept of the Clan Bruce of Scottish nobility. The first name, Ian, just seemed to fit. His home was originally Dunmore Hall, until I found through research and friends in Scotland that there was a thriving Dunmore Hall, family, and estate, and they well might take offense to being fictionalized. Thus I made up the name Dunkairn, as Ian’s home. A ‘cairn’ is a mound of stones with crevices. These cairns are all over the highlands. It came to mind from a wonderful cairn terrier I had once owned. Like all such creatures, he was raised to hunt – to drive critters from among these cairns so his master could make the kill. I changed the ‘c’ to a ‘k’ on purely a whim.

I’d had my fill of reading about enlisted men who, against all odds, rose from the ranks in the 19th century British army to become officers of the Queen. The overwhelming majority of the British officer corps did not fit this mold. They came into the army as officers, and, in most cases, had to be able to afford the considerable purchase price and maintenance costs of their commissions. Each promotion was purchased, and the higher, the more expensive.

I made Ian the second son of the Earl of Dunkairn, just to complicate his life even more. As the second son he would not inherit the title, and, in that Victorian period, his options were limited. It would have been appropriate for him to go into the army.

There are many British regiments I am fond of, particularly Scottish regiments. At the top of that list, however, is the Scots Guards, or as they were titled in mid-19th century, the Scots Fusilier Guards. As part of the Guards Brigade, the Household Guard of the Royal family, they were, and remain, the elite of British military. I also wanted him to join a regiment his father, the Earl, might have been in during the Napoleonic Wars, many years before. The Guards are replete with officers who are also titled nobility. One might easily run into a Lieutenant ‘His Lordship’ so and so, or Captain ‘Sir’ so and so. What better regiment for my hero to join than the Scots Fusilier Guards?

To develop Ian’s military background, I spent countless hours at the Scots Guards Archives at Wellington Barracks, London, and, of course, at the Buckingham Arms, across Petty France Street from the rear gate – one of my favorite pubs. With the expert help of Kevin Gorman, Archivist, Scots Guards, who has since become the son I never had, I was able to pin down two of the Scots Fusilier Guards officers who served on George B. McClellan’s staff, Army of the Potomac, in the American Civil War – Captain and Lieutenant Colonel (dual rank system in G uards only)Edward Neville and Captain and Lieutenant Colonel Charles Henry Fletcher. I combined their service records and backgrounds to come up with the fictional Captain Ian Carlyle.

The end result was the character study described in Follow Me to Glory:

“Then, of course, there was Captain Ian David Carlyle, himself. Ian was of medium height, his ramrod posture making him look much taller. He had a delicate face, like his mother’s, with the straight nose, high cheekbones and strong chin of his deep highland roots. Having been brought up largely in London, he had only a trace of Scottish accent, unless he chose to charm or mock someone. At those times his brogue became as thick as he wished, a useful skill that he had learned to impose as one might turn a fine horse, with a flick of the wrist.

Ian had thick sandy-brown hair, which appeared red in bright sunlight, and clear blue eyes that, when focused, could quite literally melt the hardest heart. These same eyes could also turn to iron straight away, and cut through the resolve of most opponents in an instant, another useful skill.

Ian carried himself with the decisive and confident demeanour of a military officer. He wore this bearing like a badge of honour. This, like so many aspects of Ian’s character, was his father’s and Angus’ influence. [Angus is his mentor, a crusty old highlander.]

Ian was, after all, second son of the Earl of Dunkairn. He was here in the Crimea at the end of a long personal struggle, and wanted this war badly, to pursue his own dreams of glory.”

Period Photography by Roger Fenton, and sketches by Peter Culos

Ian Carlyle in American Civil War - 6 years after Crimea

Scots Fusilier Guards officer in Crimea - Used as model for Ian's early sketch

Group of British observers on McClellan's staff in American Civil War

Edward Neville (left), Unidentified officer (middle), Charles Fletcher (right)