WHO IS THE BEATIE PART OF SAVAS BEATIE? WE ALL OWE HIM A GIANT THANK YOU.
I get asked this a lot, and every time I speak to a group live or on Zoom. So . . .
Russel H. "Cap" Beatie graduated from Princeton University and Columbia Law School and worked as a trial lawyer in New York City for nearly four decades. Cap's interest in the Civil War first began at a young age when he read Douglas Southall Freeman's "Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command." The Kansas native and former lieutenant in the field artillery and infantry lived in the New York City area most of his life.
Cap was the author of several articles and books, including "Road to Manassas" (Cooper Square, 1961), and three volumes in the The Army of the Potomac series: Volume 1: Birth of Command, September 1860 - September 1861; Volume 2: McClellan Takes Command: September 1861-February 1862 (2004), and Volume 3: McClellan's First Campaign, March - May 1862 (2007). He researched these from primary sources only and believed the early development and operations of the AOP were often grossly wrong in presentation.
WHY CAP MATTERS: I had accepted the first two volumes for publication in 1999, but sold Savas Publishing in 2000/01 and they were published by the acquiring company (Perseus). Cap and I stayed in touch, and in 2003 pitched me to get back into Civil War publishing.
I said no.
He continued pressing me. We had NEVER MET before that--so he flew out to Cali and spent two days pitching me. I could not refuse and rejoined the publishing world on Jan. 1, 2004 with Savas Beatie.
Unfortunately, Cap fell ill and passed away rather quickly in 2013 before finishing his series. The manuscript for his fourth volume, McClellan and the Battle of Fair Oaks/Seven Pines, is under development.
I sure miss his calls, which always began, "Savisky, I was thinking . . ."
PHOTO: At a Civil War event in Colorado, early October 2009: (left to right): Tim Smith, Stephen Recker, Wesley Harris, Theodore P. Savas, Russel "Cap" Beatie, Bradley Gottfried, and Lance Herdegen.