DNR's retired State Park Historian, Ross M. Kimmel, co-authors I Am Busy Drawing Pictures: The Civil War Art and Letters of Private John Jacob Omenhausser, CSA

A new book of drawings and letters by a former Baltimore resident who joined the Confederate Army and was imprisoned at Point Lookout prisoner-of-war camp in St. Mary’s County, MD, has been released by the Friends of the Maryland State Archives. I Am Busy Drawing Pictures: The Civil War Art and Letters of Private John Jacob Omenhausser, CSA, by Ross M. Kimmel and Michael P. Musick, provides a rare glimpse into the everyday life of a Civil War soldier, especially while imprisoned at Point Lookout. Among the artist’s more poignant renderings are many depicting the strained and sometimes violent relations between the prisoners and the African American Union troops sent to guard them.

I Am Busy Drawing Pictures: The Civil War Art and Letters of Private John Jacob Omenhausser is available for $45 plus $3 handling and shipping from the Maryland State Archives through the website: msa.maryland.gov/msa/homepage/html/bookstore.html or send a check for $45 per copy, plus $3 to: Maryland State Archives, 350 Rowe Boulevard, Annapolis MD 21401. Read more...

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