John Banks

Feb 20, 2024 | historynet.com | Austin Stahl |John Banks

On a cloudless, deep-blue sky afternoon, I drive 45 miles south of Nashville to Columbia for a visit with one of my favorite people, Campbell Ridley. He’s an 80-year-old semi-retired farmer, U.S. Army veteran, rock & roll devotee, and storyteller with a wit and sense of humor as sharp as the tip of a new bayonet. “How are you feeling?” I ask my friend minutes after arriving at his farm office.

Dec 12, 2023 | share.transistor.fm | Tom McMillan |John Banks

In Episode 4 of "The Antietam and Beyond" podcast, former relic hunter Richard Clem — “The Babe Ruth Of Storytellers” —  and avid relic hunter John Davidson discuss the hobby with co-hosts Tom McMillan and John Banks. Clem, 83, who hung up his metal detector several years ago, recalls the day he "eyeballed" bullets behind the Dunker Church on the Antietam battlefield — it was private property then — and talks about his unearthing of four Civil War soldier ID discs and much more.

Nov 30, 2023 | historynet.com | Austin Stahl |John Banks

Perhaps no place is better to begin an adventure in the footsteps of Samuel “Champ” Ferguson—the most notorious of Confederate guerrilla leaders—than a small brewery near Sparta, Tenn., roughly 100 miles east of Nashville.

Nov 29, 2023 | share.transistor.fm | Tom McMillan |John Banks

In Episode 3 of "The Antietam and Beyond Podcast," historian and author Alex Rossino joins co-hosts Tom McMillan and John Banks for an in-depth discussion of Special Order 191, the (in)famous and controversial "Lost Order."  U.S. Army soldiers discovered the orders  — issued by Army of Northern Virginia commander Robert E. Lee on Sept.

Nov 8, 2023 | share.transistor.fm | Tom McMillan |John Banks

In the debut episode of "The Antietam and Beyond Podcast," co-hosts and western Pennsylvanians Tom McMillan and John Banks talk about why the battle and the battlefield keep them enthralled. You'll also learn about the soldier who carved his name into the windowsill of the Dunker Church and hear about a wandering Saint Bernard in the 40-Acre Cornfield that spooked one of the co-hosts.