Emotional Gettysburg published by Regent Press

Book creates "a new vision" of Gettysburg through Karl J. Kuerner's paintings and Bruce E. Mowday's essays

January 13th, 2020

January 13, 2020

            Emotional Gettysburg, a unique look at the historic town of Gettysburg, has just been released by Regent Press of Berkeley, CA.

“This book is all about emotions,” said renowned artist Karl J. Kuerner. “The strong feelings emanating from the hallowed ground of Gettysburg is the foundation of this book. Few places exist in the world emit the sensitive energy that is found at Gettysburg.”

The book combines today’s rich landscapes with the Pennsylvania town’s Civil War history.

One reader wrote, “I just read Emotional Gettysburg cover to cover. There are thousands of books about Gettysburg, some are all text, some have photos. Photos rarely capture emotion. Karl’s paintings bring emotion and detail so much that I could feel the moment, smell the air and hear the sounds. Congratulations on creating a truly new vision of Gettysburg.”

Kuerner created 20 original paintings of Gettysburg combining today’s peaceful existence with the history of the pivotal battle of the American Civil War. Kuerner, who lives in Chadds Ford, PA, is the only artist to be personally tutored by the two members of the famous Wyeth family of artists, Andrew and Carolyn Wyeth, the children of world class artist and book illustrator N. C. Wyeth.

Kuerner enlisted award-winning reporter and author Bruce E. Mowday to write essays combining the history of the battle that preserved the United States with the painter’s impressions of Gettysburg today and in 1863. Mowday, a Chester County author living in Norwalk, CT,  has authored more than 20 books, including three other books on the Civil War and two centered on Gettysburg, Pickett’s Charge: The Untold Story and J. Howard Wert’s Gettysburg.

Another reader wrote, “Thoroughly appreciating Emotional Gettysburg. It places you there with sadness over so many hopeful, dedicated, young lives snuffed out in a moment, forever gone, with the whisper of a bullet.”

The book is available to be purchased on the internet and through Regent Press at regentpress@mindspring.com. The cost of the book is $34.99. To purchase signed, first-edition copies of Emotional Gettysburg, contact Mowday at mowday@mowday.com.

“There are tens of thousands of soldiers. … Tens of thousands of stories. Each story has a life of its own,” Kuerner said. “Oh, so many stories will never be told. They are lost along with those who sacrificed their lives at Gettysburg. The residents of the small Pennsylvania town also made sacrifices and had their own stories to tell. Some are recorded and some are not. What took place in Gettysburg, documented or not, forever will have a profound meaning for Americans, a soul and a spirit.

“For me, the spirit is of art. That spirit has spurred me to create a series of paintings that is peaceful and tranquil despite the death and destruction that took place here. Also, there are tears for those who sacrificed so much.”

“These paintings of this ‘Hallowed Ground’ are only be a grain of sand in an ocean of inspiration, Kuerner said. “The subjects are in peace and are presented as such. Yes, the subject of this series is historical, but I hope the viewer will look at these paintings with a fresh eye and observe what they might normally just pass by without a second glance. I hope the fellows who fought here years ago, if they could reappear here today, would view these paintings and see the peace of an artist’s eye. For all of Gettysburg is a plethora of inspiration and we have our country to thank for that.”