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Behind the Scenes . . .

So you're wondering about who is behind the scenes of the And Then A.P. Hill Came Up website. Want to connect the virtual world with the physical one. Want to know more about the author. Well, here goes.

The Really Short, Nutshell Bio

My name is Jennifer R. Goellnitz and I am the author, creator, mastermind (ok, I use the term mastermind very loosely) behind the And Then A.P. Hill Came Up website. The quick, nutshell version of my bio is I am an amateur Civil War historian, a really avid runner, and a licensed attorney. And I'm afflicted with Hodgkin's Disease. Oh. And, of course, I am a great champion of a relatively obscure Civil War general named Ambrose Powell Hill. Guess that last part goes without saying.

How about a little more than that?

Well, I guess a good place to start is I am a Cleveland, Ohio native. I am your prototypical midwesterner: somewhat shy and unassuming, but also very friendly and easy going. People who have met me from other parts of the country claim I have a pretty strong midwestern accent, but if you ask me, THEY are the ones with an accent. I love all animals, but have a special soft spot for horses and birds. I also like surfing and baseball. I am an eternal optimist -- I am still holding out hope that the Indians will win a World Series in my lifetime.

[ Ohhh, and no one who knows me calls me Jennifer. Its Jenny -- note that its Jenny with a "y" not an "ie." Us Jennifers are particular about such things for some reason. If you write in to the site, please feel free to address me as Jenny. There's no need to be formal. ]

I don't maintain this website for a living, obviously. When people ask me what I do, I tell them I run. But unfortunately I am not good enough to do that for a living either. Law pays the bills; I am an attorney. I graduated from law school in 2005, passed the bar, thus am licensed to practice law in Ohio. Really. I just LOOK like I am sixteen. *haha* Go ahead and test me. Ask me what res ipsa loquitor means. Or go read my incredibly exciting law review note or my equally interesting 3d year con law paper (it compares the war in Iraq to the Civil War). If you're still awake, let me know and I will see if I can dig up something even more boring.

Since this is a Civil War site, you're probably wondering how I became interested in the Civil War. After all, its not all that common an interest particularly among my age group and gender. In 1994, I saw Turner's movie "Gettysburg" and got hooked. After that, I read everything I could get my hands on about the battle and then the War. My favorite generals became Hancock and Meade on the Union side and Hill and Stuart on the Southern side. I've visited quite a few battlefields, but have a huge list of sites yet to see. Living only 5 hours from Gettysburg, I've visited there a lot and I have a large collection of battlefield photographs in digital form at my website, goellnitz dot org.

[ I should also mention that although And Then A.P. Hill Came Up is my main website, I also have small sites dedicated to Dr. Hunter McGuire, Jackson's Medical Director, and Strong Vincent, the real hero of Little Round Top. I also have a website on the Wheatfield at Gettysburg and one on Ohio regiments there too. ]

As I said, I have always liked Powell. I am not exactly sure why; I think its because of all the Civil War generals, he seemed the most like a modern man, the most human, the most like one of the characters you would find in one of Shakespeare's tragedies playing the flawed but admirable hero. But beyond that, A.P. Hill and I have become somewhat kindred spirits -- though you may be wondering what in the world a 20th-21st century midwestern girl and a courtly Confederate general from a time you shall read of now only in books could possibly have in common. Well, like A.P. Hill, I suffer from a serious illness -- although unlike poor Powell, I did not catch MY initial illness in the red light district. *grin* (I know, I know, poor Powell. Even I am picking on him now.) Seriously, I am a Hodgkin's Disease survivor. I was diagnosed on February 14, 2007 (Civil War buffs will note that was Hancock's 183rd birthday). I've found most people don't know what the heck Hodgkin's Disease is; basically it is a fairly rare (about 7,500 cases a year) form of cancer of the lymphatic system that especially likes to pick on young people. Yes. Lucky me. Interestingly, even though it is pretty rare, Hodgkin's Disease has been known to medical science since before the Civil War. Happily, unlike during that time, it is no longer universally fatal and it has become one of the most curable forms of cancer. In fact it seems more common than it actually is because there are a lot of us survivors running around.

Speaking of running around, I am also a hardcore runner. I was a decent sprinter in high school; I found a love of long distance running in college and law school. I'm not particularly talented or anything; I just love to run,

To fill out the picture, in addition to having a juris doctor degree, I also has a bachelor of arts degree from Baldwin-Wallace College. Because I couldn't decide what to major in, I ended up with two majors (history and philosophy) and two minors (literature and political science). I pretty much spent my college years reading Shakespeare and Nietzsche and all that other "stuff" that modern society seems to sadly think isn't worth the time or effort.

I like hearing what people think about And Then A.P. Hill Came Up, even if juggling Hodgkin's, running, and my job doesn't give me all that much time to write back. You can contact me via email at jgoellnitz {at} gmail {dot} com.

Thank you for visiting And Then A.P. Hill Came Up. I hoped you liked it half as much as I liked building it.