CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- If you're a West Virginia teacher trying to enhance classroom presentations dealing with the Civil War for American history or West Virginia history classes, Dr. Mark Snell has a CD for you.

Snell, director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War at Shepherd University, recently completed a 10-year labor of love titled "Mountaineers of the Blue and Gray: The Civil War and West Virginia." Copies of the disc are being sent free to social studies coordinators in all 55 county school systems for use by eighth- and ninth-grade teachers in their American history and West Virginia history classes.

"We probably could have released it sooner, but part of the problem was me - I just kept thinking of things to add," said Snell, who was in Charleston earlier this week to meet with legislators about planning for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. "But there comes a point when you just have to say 'that's it,' and go with what you have."

It's hard to imagine what more Snell and crew of Shepherd students and part-time staffers at the George Tyler Moore Center could have included. "Mountaineers of the Blue and Gray" is a vastly detailed, yet easy to use disc that tells thousands of stories about West Virginia and its people in the Civil War.

 In addition to an overview of the Civil War and a section on the creation of West Virginia as a product of the war, the disc includes histories of each Union and Confederate regiment formed primarily of West Virginians. "Mountaineers of the Blue and Gray" also taps into George Tyler Moore Center's database of service records for soldiers in virtually all West Virginia units, providing individual information on enlistment and discharge dates, battles fought, wounds received, promotions earned and the like. Graphic presentations for each unit show the age distribution, home counties and occupations of its members.

By clicking on a map of West Virginia, disc users can learn about battles fought in a designated area, while a battlefield map of the United States allows users to quickly learn which West Virginia units fought at places like Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Shiloh and Antietam.

There are sections for lesser-known West Virginia Civil War combatants, including those who served in "colored" infantry units for the Union Army, and the 133 West Virginians who served in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

A section also lists, with accompanying photos and biographies, the 34 West Virginians who were Civil War Medal of Honor recipients.

Definitions for words and terms with meanings that may not be immediately known to the eighth and ninth grade students taking West Virginia and U.S. history classes are available by pointing and clicking.

In addition to words, the disc is packed with thousands of historic photos and hours of video presentations from such battle sites as Gettysburg, Antietam and Shepherdstown. An abundance of music is also included, from a sampling of oft-used bugle calls to martial music and camp songs and popular civilian music of the early 1860s.

"We produced this CD totally in-house by taking advantage of everyone we knew and by raising money from grants, tours and seminars, with help from the Lottery," said Snell. "It's not perfect, and there are still times when I wish I could get more information into it. But if you want to learn what West Virginians did in the Civil War and its aftermath, this will teach it to you."

Snell, a retired Army officer and former West Point history professor before joining the Shepherd faculty 15 years ago, will soon leave for England to begin teaching a semester at Sandhurst, the Royal Military Academy, through an exchange program.

Copies of "Mountaineers of the Blue and Gray: The Civil War and West Virginia" are available at the Shepherd University Bookstore (876-5219 or www.shepherdbook.com) for $34.95 plus shipping.

Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelham...@wvgazette.com or 348-5169.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- If you're a West Virginia teacher trying to enhance classroom presentations dealing with the Civil War for American history or West Virginia history classes, Dr. Mark Snell has a CD for you.

Snell, director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War at Shepherd University, recently completed a 10-year labor of love titled "Mountaineers of the Blue and Gray: The Civil War and West Virginia." Copies of the disc are being sent free to social studies coordinators in all 55 county school systems for use by eighth- and ninth-grade teachers in their American history and West Virginia history classes.

"We probably could have released it sooner, but part of the problem was me - I just kept thinking of things to add," said Snell, who was in Charleston earlier this week to meet with legislators about planning for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. "But there comes a point when you just have to say 'that's it,' and go with what you have."

It's hard to imagine what more Snell and crew of Shepherd students and part-time staffers at the George Tyler Moore Center could have included. "Mountaineers of the Blue and Gray" is a vastly detailed, yet easy to use disc that tells thousands of stories about West Virginia and its people in the Civil War.

 In addition to an overview of the Civil War and a section on the creation of West Virginia as a product of the war, the disc includes histories of each Union and Confederate regiment formed primarily of West Virginians. "Mountaineers of the Blue and Gray" also taps into George Tyler Moore Center's database of service records for soldiers in virtually all West Virginia units, providing individual information on enlistment and discharge dates, battles fought, wounds received, promotions earned and the like. Graphic presentations for each unit show the age distribution, home counties and occupations of its members.

By clicking on a map of West Virginia, disc users can learn about battles fought in a designated area, while a battlefield map of the United States allows users to quickly learn which West Virginia units fought at places like Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Shiloh and Antietam.

There are sections for lesser-known West Virginia Civil War combatants, including those who served in "colored" infantry units for the Union Army, and the 133 West Virginians who served in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

A section also lists, with accompanying photos and biographies, the 34 West Virginians who were Civil War Medal of Honor recipients.

Definitions for words and terms with meanings that may not be immediately known to the eighth and ninth grade students taking West Virginia and U.S. history classes are available by pointing and clicking.

In addition to words, the disc is packed with thousands of historic photos and hours of video presentations from such battle sites as Gettysburg, Antietam and Shepherdstown. An abundance of music is also included, from a sampling of oft-used bugle calls to martial music and camp songs and popular civilian music of the early 1860s.

"We produced this CD totally in-house by taking advantage of everyone we knew and by raising money from grants, tours and seminars, with help from the Lottery," said Snell. "It's not perfect, and there are still times when I wish I could get more information into it. But if you want to learn what West Virginians did in the Civil War and its aftermath, this will teach it to you."

Snell, a retired Army officer and former West Point history professor before joining the Shepherd faculty 15 years ago, will soon leave for England to begin teaching a semester at Sandhurst, the Royal Military Academy, through an exchange program.

Copies of "Mountaineers of the Blue and Gray: The Civil War and West Virginia" are available at the Shepherd University Bookstore (876-5219 or www.shepherdbook.com) for $34.95 plus shipping.

Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelham...@wvgazette.com or 348-5169.