Social studies teacher pens Gettysburg magazine article

When Rossford High School social studies teacher Mike Rinehart was a child, his mother found a children’s book on Gettysburg at a garage sale.

A few years later, the family took a trip to the historic Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania and his passion for the subject never lessened.

Instead of taking a few months off this summer, he finished a five-year project–a 22-page research article that was published in the Gettysburg Magazine.

“The Forgotten Assault at Gettysburg: Richard Anderson’s Division on July 2” focuses on a Gettysburg battle that few know much about, but he believes that doesn’t make it any less impactful.

“The Civil War, what we know about it, a lot of it comes from who picked up the pen after the war was over. Those people tend to have the most say,” Mr. Rinehart explained.

“This attack tends to not have much literature about it because men on both sides didn’t write a lot. Maybe a letter here or short diary. Other places at Gettysburg have a lot more writing by participants after battle.”

Mr. Rinehart, who has taught at RHS for 14 years, sites 68 different references in the article to ensure accuracy.

At the end of the piece, an author’s footnote explains that he dedicated his work to his father Ralph Rinehart, who served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War–and took his son on several trips to Gettysburg.

“He was a U.S. Army infantryman. He was an individual who practiced in the search and destroy missions,” Mr. Rinehart explained.

“He saw things that many of us thankfully never see; experienced things, thankfully, we don’t experience–and these guys did too. I felt that dedicating the article to him was a great gesture.”

Mr. Rinehart noted that visiting Gettysburg makes the history and articles come to life.

He has long studied and continued to take deep interest in the Civil War battle. Now he can’t believe his name is among famous historians who have written about it.

“The fact that I’m in this [publication] is a real honor,” he said. “If you’re going to get yourself out there in the published world of Gettysburg–which is a world in itself with the large volume of materials available–one of the first real steps is to get published here. To have my name with historians in the field of the Battle of Gettysburg who are renowned is quite a humbling experience.”

A second article about the 27th Connecticut Infantry Regiment by Mr. Rinehart will be published in the magazine’s next issue in January.

Mr. Rinehart also has accepted a three-year term to sit on the historical magazine’s editorial board.