This Mighty Scourge

I have been using social networking sites for the past several years.  My primary source for sharing Civil War stories and communicating with people that share similar interests is this blog.  Facebook is my secondary means of communicating with people with an interest in the Civil War.  Yesterday I signed up for a free Twitter account.  As I understand, Twitter is an excellent way of sharing short items of interest with people that want to follow what you are doing.  I plan to use Twitter to share tidbits on my travels to Civil War battlefields, but might also share some personal items.  I invite each of you to follow me on Twitter.  If you do not have an account, it is quick to set up and free.  Here is a link to my Twitter page:

http://twitter.com/MichaelNoirot

From this page you can quickly select to follow me and receive my posts.  Have a great weekend!  Tweet, Tweet!

Happy 2010!  We have much to look forward to in the coming year.  But let us take a quick look at what happened in 2009.  According to Time magazine, the Top 10 ten news stories of 2009 were:

10. The end of Sri Lanka’s Civil War

9. H1N1 – The Swine Flu

8. Mexico’s Bloody Drug War

7. Pakistan: On the Verge of Breakdown

6. The Death of Michael Jackson

5. Massacre at Fort Hood

4. The Divisive Debate Over Healthcare Reform

3. Iran’s Tumultuous Election and Its Aftermath

2. Afghanistan: Can the U.S. Avoid a Quagmire?

1. America’s Economic Crisis

While most news stories, that would make an annual Top 10 list, are going to involve bloodshed, or death, two of last year’s top stories, at Time magazine, did not: “The Divisive Debate Over Healthcare Reform” and “America’s Economic Crisis.”  Obviously these stories will continue to make news headlines over the coming year.

After reading Time Magazine’s Top 10 list of news stories for 2009, I decided to assemble my own list.  The Top 10 most popular articles on This Mighty Scourge for 2009.  While totally unscientific, it certainly points out which articles my readers liked the most.  As I have done in previous lists, I have left out the articles on the Wilderness Wal-Mart, and other “calls to action,” as they always tend to enjoy a huge spike with little follow-up readership after a couple of days.  My top 10 list for 2009 are articles that have enjoyed consistent readership over long periods during the year.  If you haven’t read all of these articles, they are each hyperlinked so you can do so today.

2009 Top 10 List of Articles on This Mighty Scourge

10. Interview with James A. Hessler, author of “Sickles at Gettysburg” (Click HERE to Read)

9. The Battle of the Crater (Click HERE to Read)

8. Interview with Sally Jenkins & John Stauffer co-authors of “The State of Jones.” (Click HERE to Read) This article has been quite controversial and has been picked up by many news outlets due to the ongoing bickering between Stauffer & Jenkins and Vikki Bynum.

7. Gettysburg National Military Park – A Study in Contrasts (Click HERE to Read)

6. Interview with J. David Petruzzi, author of “The Complete Gettysburg Guide” (Click HERE to Read)

5. Antietam – One Bloody Day in September 1862 (Click HERE to Read)

4. Andersonville Prison – A Photo Essay and History (Click HERE to Read)

3. The Fighting 69^th New York Infantry and the Irish Brigade (Click HERE to Read)

2. Interview with Earl J. Hess, author of “In the Trenches at Petersburg” (Click HERE to Read)

1. Interview with Jim Lighthizer, President of the Civil War Preservation Trust (Click HERE to Read)

It should be noted that a few articles had very impressive finishes, reaching the top 10 list over the past couple of weeks.  Obviously articles that were published earlier in the year, had more time to gain readership.  For those of you interested in the articles that round out the top 20, on This Mighty Scourge, continue reading.  It’s interesting to note, that my mid-December article, on the Battle of Fredericksburg, came in at 14.  A very respectable position for only being available for two weeks.

Filling Out the Top 20 at This Mighty Scourge

11. The Battle of Chancellorsville – Joe Hooker’s Legacy (Click HERE to Read)

12. William T. Sherman – US Major General (Click HERE to Read)

13. Second Manassas – Again the Fields Turned Red (Click HERE to Read)

14. Battle of Fredericksburg – Ambrose Burnside’s First Foray (Click HERE to Read)

15. Robert E. Lee, General – CSA (Click HERE to Read)

16. Battle of the Wilderness – Grant Takes it to Lee (Click HERE to Read)

17. Robert E. Lee Surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (Click HERE to Read)

18. Wilson’s Creek – the Civil War Breaks Out in the West (Click HERE to Read)

19. Interview with Scott L. Mingus, Sr. – Author of “Flames Beyond Gettysburg” (Click HERE to Read)

20. Albert Sidney Johnston – CSA General (Click HERE to Read)

Thank you for making 2009 a successful year at This Mighty Scourge!

Mike Noirot

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It is the time of year when I count my blessings and reminisce about all the great things that have happened over the past year.  My blog, This Mighty Scourge, has grown significantly since I published my first article in December 2008.  My monthly readership has grown from 600 in January to averaging between 5000-6000 monthly, over the last quarter.  This could not have been accomplished without your support - for which I am VERY grateful.  Starting in April, I began doing audio interviews with authors, preservationists and even a publisher.  All told, I have fourteen streaming audio interviews on my blog, and one text based interview – not bad for nine months of work!  I also have another eight interviews scheduled over the next several weeks, so I expect this category of my blog to continue to grow. 

Some thoughts for my author friends:

Thank you for being so generous with your time this past year.  Our ”talks” have been very enjoyable for me and have made all the work publishing our audio interviews extremely rewarding.  I truly believe your investment in time, knowledge and treasure has increased your book sales. (I track all sales through Amazon.com, that come from my blog.)  Additionally, I’m sure many of my readers have opted to purchase directly from your publisher, or a local bookseller.  I look forward to having future “talks” with each of you as you publish new books that relate to the Civil War. 

Some thoughts for my publisher partners:

I really appreciate your generosity in supplying me with review copies of your Civil War titles.  Going forward, as I review your books, and interview your authors, I will continue to promote your publishing businesses on my blog.  I look forward to working with each of you in 2010. 

Some thoughts for my friends and readers:

Thank you for making my blog so successful during its first year.  The audio interviews, and book reviews, would not be possible without your loyalty in reading my blog.  I encourage you to contact me if there is something I can do to make my blog more worthy of your time commitment.  I know there are hundreds of other media outlets, and blogs, all vying for a piece of your time – I am humbled that you have made time to read my blog over the past year. 

In closing, I would like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a safe holiday season!  May next year bring you good health, happiness and peace. 

Warmest Regards,  

Michael Noirot
Saint Louis, Missouri
December 24, 2009

I know I have many new readers on This Mighty Scourge -the Civil War blog.  Currently This Mighty Scourge is reaching 5,000–6,000 unique readers per month.  I assume many of you have found out about my blog through Facebook advertising and some may have found out because you are part of my Facebook Group, “American Civil War Battlefields.”  I am sure others have found my blog through search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo.  Regardless of how you have found me – thank you for taking time to read my blog.

I thought it might be helpful, for new and veteran readers alike, to give a listing of my top ten articles for the last three months.  I have left out updates on the Wilderness Wal-Mart as they are news stories and pick up huge amounts of readers.  I have included author interviews, battle narratives, soldier biographies and regimental/brigade histories.  These are articles and essays that I’ve written.  Please take time to read the articles you have not read.  Also, please leave comments about my blog articles.  Make sure to leave these on my blog, so they can be read by all of my readers.  Remember, we love to hear from you.  You will have to register for a free WordPress account to leave comments.  I have included instructions on my blog.

This Mighty Scourge – Top 10 Articles (June-August 2009)

10.  Test Drive: The Complete Gettysburg Guide by J. David Petruzzi

9.   Second Manassas – Again the Fields Turned Red

8.  Wilson’s Creek – the Civil War breaks out in the West

7.  Interview with Scott L. Mingus, Sr. – author of Flames Beyond Gettysburg

6.  The Battle of the Crater

5.  The Fighting 69th New York Infantry Regiment and the Irish Brigade

4.  Interview with James A. Hessler, author of Sickles at Gettysburg

3.  Interview with J. David Petruzzi Author of The Complete Gettysburg Guide

2.  Interview with Earl J. Hess, Author of In The Trenches of Petersburg

And for the most popular article over the past 90 days…..

1.  Interview with Jim Lighthizer, President of the Civil War Preservation Trust