You see that is just the problem. As you may know I research the war in Southeast Arkansas. 20 years ago most of that history was just legend or lost to the common knowledge. The two most commonly known events was the Battle of Arkansas Post and the Battle of Pine Bluff. As for the Battle of Arkansas Post every "expert" wrote of the Battle itself as if it happened in a vacuum. That the Fort and the Confederate soldiers there simply jumped up out of the ground.
It wasn't until the discovery of the Hindman telegraphs in the Alexander papers (which were held in a private collection until 1974) that some insight was gained into how Fort Hindman and its garrison came about.
It wasn't until 1988 that anyone knew of the history of Camp White Sulphur Springs and it early role in the reconstitutioning and reorganizing of the Army of the Trans-Mississsippi in Arkansas and Fort Hindman.
It wasn't until 2000 that anyone knew that a Fort Pleasent had ever existed. Or anything about its Garrison and the role it played during the Vicksburg campaign.
It was just LAST year that it was proven that all the experts from Ed Baerss who wrote the firstarticle on the Battle of Pine Bluff in 1964, to James Carter Watts, and in 2010, Mark Christ all repeated the same initial error that Mr. Bearss stated in his original article that the opening and closing actions of the Battle of Pine Bluff happened on a road that DID NOT EXIST until the 1940's simply because it was called the "Princeton Pike" on modern day maps. This discovery has in my mind significately changed the scope of that battlefield itself and the interpretation of the Confederate tactics employed there, as well as the purpose of their attack.
Now far be it from me to say that Ed Bearss, Mark Christ and James Carter Watts are not "experts" in every sence of the word about their research. They have all published written articles about the Battle of Pine Battle and the Glorious Union Victory there. But even experts can be wrong when they don't have all the facts or rely on others who have not done their research. As in the Original case with Mr. Bearss who trusted a local Historian who provided him the wrong information for his 1964 article. In this case one error compounded upon another and then another until we have what we have today, a history that is hard to correct, because the error was created by an "Expert".
To his credit Mr. Mark Christ will be giving a talk or the Battle of Pine Bluff on the 10th of this month and I believe as corrected his 2000 North and South magazine article, which contained the Ed Bearss error.
So how do you become an expert in knowing where to find the answer when the answers are in Unpublished works and papers such as General Maradukes papers (the Confederate Commander at Pine Bluff), which have not all been published, and by the kindness of others (on this board) have shared those papers with me, which enabled me to find the answer to that puzzle?
And then you have the real Great Puzzle. Was the war really fought to free the southern slaves? Or was it something else? Maybe the threat of a "Race War"? Where do you find the "Expert" who can that answer question?
I just returned home from my 2nd visit to Fort Sumter, S.C. As before, on my previous visit two years ago, it was an impressive sight to see and image in my minds eye what a massive three story brick and stone Fort with its guns pointed at Charleston, must have looked like from Battery Park. I have found no expert there who could answer that question to satisfaction. Just people who have differing opinions.