Dunkelman, Mark H. 1947–

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Dunkelman, Mark H. 1947–

PERSONAL:

Born October 29, 1947.

ADDRESSES:

E-mail— NYVI154th@aol.com.

CAREER:

Writer, historian, artist, musician.

WRITINGS:

The Hardtack Regiment: An Illustrated History of the 154th Regiment, New York State Infantry Volunteers, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press (Rutherford, NJ), 1981.

Colonel Lewis D. Warner, an Appreciation: Written for the Observance of Col. L.D. Warner Day and the 5th Annual Reunion of Descendants of the 154th New York Volunteers, July 7, 1990, Portville, New York, Portville Historical and Preservation Society (Portville, NY), 1990.

Camp James M. Brown: Jamestown's Civil War Rendezvous, Fenton Historical Society (Jamestown, NY), 1996.

Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier: The Life, Death, and Celebrity of Amos Humiston, Praeger (Westport, CT), 1999.

Brothers One and All: Esprit De Corps in a Civil War Regiment, Louisiana State University Press (Baton Rouge, LA), 2004.

War's Relentless Hand: Twelve Tales of Civil War Soldiers, Louisiana State University Press (Baton Rouge, LA), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Civil War historian Mark H. Dunkelman has focused on the activities of one regiment during that tumultuous conflict, and has spun numerous titles from the historical trappings he has unearthed in letters, diaries, and official records from the time. Dunkelman was spurred on in his interest in the 154th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment by the fact that he had a great-grandfather, John Langhans, who served with it and because he grew up in the area from which the regiment was recruited. As Dunkelman noted on the Web site Hardtack Regiment: "I soon discovered that the 154th's legacy was neglected—a situation I determined to change. During decades of research I have contacted more than 1,000 descendants of members of the regiment, who have graciously allowed me access to more than 1,600 wartime letters, a score of diaries and accounts, 200 portraits, and other material." From these, Dunkelman has crafted a number of books, including The Hardtack Regiment: An Illustrated History of the 154th Regiment, New York State Infantry Volunteers; Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier: The Life, Death, and Celebrity of Amos Humiston; Brothers One and All: Esprit De Corps in a Civil War Regiment; and War's Relentless Hand: Twelve Tales of Civil War Soldiers, among others.

In Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier, Dunkelman chronicles the life and death of Amos Humiston, who started out as a harness maker, then moved to whaling, and ultimately found a sort of fame at the Battle of Gettysburg where he was found dead, holding a picture of his children in his hands. Part of the story also involves a Dr. John Francis Bourns, who, treating wounded soldiers at Gettysburg, helped to stir the public imagination by creating a press campaign dealing with the image, and also helped to make himself a wealthy man in the process. For Ellen Beezy, writing in the CivilWarStudies.org, "This book tells an interesting and little-known story."

In Brothers One and All, Dunkelman examines the importance of regimental pride and loyalty, making, as Randall C. Jimerson noted in the Journal of Southern History, "a strong case for the significance of regimental allegiance in maintaining soldiers' willingness to fight and sacrifice for the Union." Jimerson further found the book to be "a compelling account of esprit de corps in a single regiment," as well as a book that "offers a welcome perspective on the reasons that soldiers fought and died during the Civil War." Higher praise came from Historian contributor James I. Robertson, Jr., who termed the book "a path-breaking work as well as a good read."

With his 2006 title,War's Relentless Hand, Dunkelman uses his primary sources to detail the careers of a dozen members of the 154th Regiment, from a journalist whose dispatches covered the fronts of the war until he was killed at Gettysburg, to a private whose own son fought alongside him. Booklist contributor Frieda Murray concluded of this work, "Dunkelman's excellent storytelling and characterizations make this, his fourth book about the 154th, attractive to military buffs and general readers alike."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 15, 2006, Frieda Murray, review of War's Relentless Hand: Twelve Tales of Civil War Soldiers, p. 19.

Choice, October, 1999, R.A. Fischer, review of Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier: The Life, Death, and Celebrity of Amos Humiston, p. 390; May, 2005, S.E. Woodworth, review of Brothers One and All: Esprit De Corps in a Civil War Regiment, p. 1654.

Civil War Times, August 2007, Eric Ethier, review of War's Relentless Hand, p. 59.

Historian, winter, 2005, James I. Robertson, Jr., review of Brothers One and All.

Journal of American History, December, 2005, Kevin Conley Ruffner, review of Brothers One and All, p. 992.

Journal of Military History, April, 2000, Valerie Hudson, review of Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier, p. 541.

Journal of Southern History, February, 2001, review of Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier, p. 188; August, 2005, Randall C. Jimerson, review of Brothers One and All, p. 711.

Reference & Research Book News, August, 1999, review of Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier, p. 42.