Welcome to the esteem Fellow Bohemians Page

Many fine women and gentlemen of our small guild of artists and reporters throughout the US.A to form the reactivated infamous Bohemian Brigade.

Michael Farnsley of Tampa, Fl a civilian reenactor portrays Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly Newspaper(Eastern Theater)
Holby George, Harper's Weekly(Western Theater). Also Charter Member of reenactivated Bohemian Brigade. Charter Member
Torin Finney of Orange County, California, a civilian reenactor portrays - Civil War alter ego, Mr. J.A. Davis of Harper's Weekly.
Also Charter Member of reenactivated Bohemian Brigade. Charter Member
David Foote of Murfreesboro Tn who portrays Junius Henri Browne - an reporter for the New York Tribune . Also Charter Member of reenactivated Bohemian Brigade.
Charter Member
Steve Diatz - of Alexandria, Va who portrays a reporter- W.S. Halliday of the New York Herald. Charter Member
Kevin Storms of Pine Bush, NY who portrays Special Artist for Harper's Weekly.
Clay Farnsley who portrays Special Artist William Waud for Frank Leslie's Illustrated News. Resides in Philadelphia, Pa.
Jim Hoffmann is from Versailles, Kentucky and currently works with the state of
Kentucky in Frankfort as a graphic artist for the Office of Creative
Services. He graduated from Western Kentucky University with BFA degree in
Commercial Art in 1983.

" I have always had an interest in history, particularly the American Civil
War and local subjects of historic interest. I prefer to work with colored
pencils, pastels, charcoal, and acrylic paint.” Jim enjoys creating
illustrations of people, places and events related to Kentucky during the
19th and 20th century. He’s been illustrating civil war subjects (mostly
western theater) for about 19 years.
In the past 6 years I have been reenacting as a member of the Bohemian
Brigade. I chose to reenact as Theodore Russell Davis, a “special artist”
correspondent working for Harper’s Weekly newspaper during the war. As a
special artist traveling with the eastern and western armies, Davis was said
to have seen more of the war than anybody else.
“I enjoy sketching to capture live action at reenactments and events, which
is always challenging. When I am on the field at an event, I am seeing many
of the sights that were common 150 years ago. I try to sketch with as much
accuracy and detail as possible to provide a window through which the viewer
can witness these moments from the past. The resulting sketch or
illustration is no different than those recorded 150 years ago. It's been
said, "a picture is worth a thousand words." I hope my artwork can convey a
small hint of that sentiment.” View Jim's work on his website:
Jill Forbath of Orange County, California aka Clarence J. Lipsey of the New York Times
History of Clarence J. Lipsey
Robert A. Mosher of Arlington, Virginia portrays Army Correspondent Charles Carleton, representing the Boston Journal, basing his impression upon Charles Carleton Coffin.
Correspondent Charles Carleton Coffin of the Boston Journal
Abigail Elizabeth Reynolds, of Mannington WV, portrays a reporter for the New York World. Her personage is based on the life and tales of Jane Cunningham Croly who was a reporter for the New York World and eventually became an editor with the paper.

Women established their value in many roles initially ascribed to men during the War between the States. As more and more men were called to duty, leaving the home front, women naturally accepted the responsibilities to care for the community and to provide for all functions that required tending.

Ms. Reynolds holds a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Counseling. She enjoys the study and portrayal of the American Civil War and the role of women during this period of our nation’s history.

Ms. Reynolds is available to share her experiences and knowledge of American History during the Civil War through living history presentations, lectures and workshops. She may be contacted at:

1020 East Main Street
Mannington WV, 26582
Phone: 561-324-4835
Carol Crawford Rowe, of Mannington WV, portrays Antoinette Brown -Blackwell, the first woman ordained as a minister in the
US. She was ordained in 1853.

Women established their value in many roles initially ascribed to men during the War between the States. As more and more men were called to duty, leaving the home front, women naturally accepted the responsibilities to care for the community and to provide for all functions that required tending.

Ms. Rowe holds a Master of Divinity and is a Registered Nurse. She enjoys the study and portrayal of the American Civil War and the role of women during this period of our nation’s history.

Ms. Rowe is available to share her experiences and knowledge of American History during the Civil War through living history presentations, lectures and workshops. She may be contacted at:

1020 East Main Street
Mannington WV, 26582
Phone: 561-324-4835

Randy Larimer portrays a artist, he resides in Cisne, IL. See Randy's Civil War art online:

http://rlcivilwarart.com/

Peter Sacks of Orange County, California
portrays Mr. Randall Peterson, Special Correspondent
for Harper's Weekly in the Western Theatre of Operations.
Jim 'Jack Doran' Godburn, Jim lives with his wife Elaine in Farmville, VA.  After 8 years doing Living History for the National Park Service and many more giving school presentations, participating in the occasional reenactment and encampment, Jim traded his rifle and backpack for a reporters pen and sketchpad.  Jim portrays a fictional reporter, Jack Doran, a special correspondent and sketch artist for any newspaper that will hire him.
Joe Bonee of CA, portraying
Confederate correspondent John Curtis Rea of the Savannah Daily Dispatch. Below photo is John Curtis Rea front left.
Savannah Daily Dispatch
Morgan E. Patrick of Washington Township, New Jersey, portraying Harper's Weekly reporter and other impressions. Morgan is a professional historian with a BA and MA in History. He also has written a Master's Thesis on The New Jersey Homefront during the Civil War. Morgan has worked for both Fraunces Tavern Museum in New York City and as a Historical Site Survey Assistant for the County Government of Bergen County, New Jersey. He also has been active as a Revolutionary War Reenactor (portraying a artilleryman) and in the International Charles Dickens Fellowship.

Tom Gentry of Columbia Ky portraying a Correspondent for several newspapers. Thomas poem to the Bohemians.

"To the sounds of the guns I ride,to report those that tell no lies.To see the truth and speak for those who have died.For they tell no lies..." Daily Dispatch

Jim Bowen is from Lawrenceburg, KY. I am married (Erin) and have two Sons (Elijah and Charlie). I am a former Social Studies teacher. I have a B.A in History and teaching certificate from Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, KY and a Master of Arts in Secondary Education from Georgetown College.

I left the profession on the advice of my doctor after I had a heart attack in 2008. I am looking to reinvent not only my personal life but, also my reenacting life. I have been a reenactor for 20 years. I was mainly a Confederate Infantryman. I was with the 4th Kentucky (CS) from 1989-2002, The Adair Guard (2002-03) and ran with the 1st Tennessee on and off (never a full member) from 2003-2008. From 2008 to present,I have been looking to build a civilian reenacting persona of a fictitious Southern journalist/correspondent from a small local paper called the Lexington Observer and Reporter.

My 1st person impression mirrors the real life bio fairly closely. After all, my English professors told me, if you are going to write fiction, write what you know.

Professor James K. Bowen was born May 17, 1824 in Lexington, Fayette Co. Kentucky. After matriculation from Columbia Normal School in Columbia,Kentucky in 1841 and from Georgetown College, in Georgetown, Kentucky in 1845, He decided to see as much of the country as possible. He enlisted in the Kentucky Militia, specifically, the Salt River Tigers (Co. C, 2nd Kentucky Infantry) to fight in the war with Mexico. He was wounded in the battle of Buena Vista. Being disabled from any further service due to a shrapnel wounds to the chest that were so near the heart that the surgeons could not safely remove them.He returned home to his beloved Kentucky.

After the war with Mexico and  subsequent recovery, The young Professor took his degrees and became a teacher. To be precise, teaching history and applied rhetoric at several institutions  and as a private tutor in Central and Northern Kentucky.

In July of 1855, the Professor married Miss Erin Amanda Murphy, the daughter of an prosperous Irish merchant in Lexington. To this union were born Elijah in 1858 and Charles in 1860.

As the war clouds loomed, Professor Bowen sought a change in vocation. Due to the coming war, most young men of school age would be itching to see the elephant.The young ladies of the area, that were of school age would be needed at home to take care of family.  This time, his professional ambitions would be directed as a Journalist in Lexington.

Presently, Professor Bowen is a Correspondent  for the Lexington Observer and Reporter. Although, Kentucky has officially adopted a policy of neutrality in 1860-61. He is not unsympathetic to the Southern cause. Like many, in Lexington, he believes that Kentucky has many unbreakable ties to the South and promotes these values thru his columns many times to the pleasure of his editor, Mr. D.C. Wickliffe and Gov. Magoffin and the detriment of the Lincoln administration.
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Joe Smotherman of College Grove, TN portrays newspaper correspondent with the Cincinnati Commercial Daily. been in the hobby since 1976 participating as an infantrymen of both sides all that time. Only recently have I begun branching out into civilian roles, this being the second role I have adopted, the first being that of postal clerk for Westville, Ga.

Cullen Smith of Barbourville, Ky portrays a Reporter from Ky papers, hes new at the impression and wants to extend his writing skills. Cullen is also a member of the South Union Guard. More to come later.

L.K. VanLeer of California portrays "C.W. Smith" corresponds for the southern newspaper "The Charleston Mercury".

John Rapp of Cornelius, NC portrays Alfred Waud of Harper's Weekly Newspaer. Hes featured presenter 2 times at the prestigious "Sacred Trust" lecture series sponsored by the Friends of Gettysburg ( now Gettysburg Foundation) " & the Anniv. of the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg, NPS. I spent about 10 + years researching Civil War art at the Library of Congress focusing on A R Waud. It is a real thrill to hold his original sketches in your hand knowing that this piece of paper was drawn at Pickett's charge, the Crater, etc. For all the other artists who want to do research, the LoC is very user friendly. Credentials are easy to obtain and researchers have access to all 1500 original works of A R & William Waud, some Edwin Forbes & a few others.In the past few years as most of you probably know, many of the art has been digitized & available on line.
I've done living history/ reenactments in PA., MD, VA and NC for the last 15 + years including Gettysburg and Petersburg - Anniv. of the Battle of the Crater and spoken for history groups, SUVCW, etc.. I'm a second career teacher - 8th grade American History for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Becky "B.J." Schaefer of Ottawa, IL a Elementary Art Teacher portrays special artist with the Chicago Daily Trubune, goes by the pen name of Evan Victor Noel.

Brian Wolle, since the early 1990s, portrays a New York Tribune reporter, also free-lancing to other, smaller papers. Living in the Westminster, Md. area.

In April 2010 I began portraying newspaper editor and special war correspondent,
Murat Halstead, of the Cincinnati Commercial. Halstead was a member of the infamous
Bohemian Brigade. This is the name that they gave themselves---half in jest---these
reporters and artists, these self proclaimed foreigners who left the taverns of the city for
the battlefields of the south to report on the war for the folks back home. I chose Halstead
for my personae not only because he was editor-in-chief of a principal Cincinnati
newspaper during the American Civil War, but also because Halstead refused to remain
behind the editor’s desk, often taking to the field himself.
Halstead was born in Paddy’s Run, Butler County, Ohio on September 2, 1829. A
graduate of Farmer’s College in 1851, two years later Halstead landed a job as a reporter
for the Cincinnati Commercial. He was the only Republican present at the hanging of
John Brown. Reporting as a witness to the abolitionist’s execution on the gallows,
Halstead wrote, “…as Brown dropped, he turned sharply round and faced North…”
Virginia didn’t take kindly to comments such as these, and there were threats made on the
young reporter’s life. Halstead scooped the other papers that next year by single-handedly
covering the presidential election of 1860 for the Commercial, attending six of the seven
conventions.
As the editor of a major newspaper during the civil war, no one would have
blamed Halstead if he’d chosen to remain in Cincinnati in relative safety and sent others
into harms way for the all important “scoop,” but he didn’t. Traveling to Washington
D.C. on numerous occasions as a sense of adventure permeated his spirit; Halstead would

take to the raw fields of battle, personally covering news worthy events as they happened.
As for me, my love of history has been with me as long as I can remember. I
became an American Civil War enthusiast at the age of five when my grandmother
opened the wardrobe in her bedroom and showed me my great, great grandfather’s civil
war coat. My ancestor, William Henry Smock, served in Company I, 26th Indiana
Volunteer Infantry. He received a debilitating wound at the Battle of Prairie Grove,
Arkansas on January 7, 1862 and received a medical discharge. Still, had I been alive at
the time of the civil war I am convinced that I would have been a war correspondent and
this is why I joined the Bohemian Brigade.
Having graduated from the Faith Bible Instituted in Corpus Christi, Texas in
1986, I found that I had a talent for the written word and decided that I wanted to become
a novelist. My interested in the American Civil War compelled me to embark upon the
book series, A Dark and Bloody Ground, in early 2004, and the first installment, A Dark
and Bloody Ground: Sowing the Wind was released in September, 2009. The book series
is a special, fictional adaptation of the Kentucky Campaign (October 4-9, 1862) and
culminates with the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky. The second installment, A Dark and
Bloody ground: Reaping the Whirlwind is due to be released the first quarter of 2011. For
more information visit www.adarkandbloodyground.com.

Rich Schimenti of Kenosha, Wi, portrays Junius Henri Browne.
We are a mainstream group and I enjoy that because my 12 yr old daughter is my constant companion at our camp.
I live in Kenosha Wisconsin and the city is just about to open a 17 million dollar Civil War museum.. this museum is dedicated primarily to the Iron Brigade.

Rich has uncanny resemblance of Browne see Bohmeian Brigade page.

Thomas M. Federico is a marketing and promotions lawyer from Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to a civilian and military physician impression, Thomas portrays Peter Wellington Alexander, the Southern correspondent who wrote primarily for the Savannah Republican. Thomas and P.W.A., which was how Peter Alexander signed his dispatches, have many things in common - beards, law degrees, ties to Georgia, a prediliction for using three initials, admiration for the average Southern soldier and a love of words.

Here is the link to P.W.A. photo/dispatches: http://www.aug.edu/~lngdvt/pwa%20main.html

Kevin O’Malley is with the I’m currently still active (along with my son) in our confederate unit here on Long Island, NY, but wish to portray a civil war sketch artist at some large (& hot) events next season. I have much leaning ahead of me and apretiate any help from your and the other bohemians in this. I saw on the site that many of the events were located in Tenn and Ohio area. Are there any events attended by the bohemians in the north east states?Again, thanks the the warm invitation and I hope to get a chance to do more work with my sketch work and send you a more developed bio of my impression as well sometime soon.
I look forward to meeting with you and other fellow reenactors of the pen or pencil someday.

Doug Thorndale(Table Guy) of Lexington Ky on left, whos portrays a spy, aka Johnathon Surratt Jr.

Todd Campbell of Suffolk Virginia portrays Special Correspondent T. Scott Campbell for The Philadelphia Bulletin. The Bulletin was a pillar of journalism in the City of Brotherly Love from its founding in 1847 until its demise in 1982. As a former resident of the area Mr. Campbell was drawn to the vital role Philadelphia played during the Civil War.

After obtaining a BA in History from Monmouth College in West Long Branch New Jersey he spent thirty four years as an electronics technician both military and civilian working for the United States Navy. He retired from Federal service in 2006.

A Civil War reenactor for the past eighteen years Mr. Campbell started out as a member of the National Henry Rifle Company. He later joined a Federal Artillery unit and served as the Commander of Battery M, Second United States Artillery from 1999 until 2010. After growing extremely tired of the “Guns and Ammo“ aspect of Civil War reenacting in 2011 he decided to put down the sword and pick up the pen.