Sentinels of Stone Overview

The Sentinels of Stone project grew from a lifelong interest Tim Isbell had in the Civil War and his profession as a photojournalist. After a 1995 visit to Gettysburg, Isbell’s wife, Judy, encouraged him to write and photograph a book about Gettysburg and Vicksburg.

A decade of work produced a book which became the two books Gettysburg: Sentinels of Stone and Vicksburg: Sentinels of Stone. These books were released in the summer of 2006 which proved rewarding for Isbell. “We finished the final edit of both the Gettysburg and Vicksburg books after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Mississippi Gulf Coast where we live. I documented Katrina’s destruction during the day and continued working on my books at night,” Isbell said. “The books became my escape from all the death and destruction along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.”

The summer of 2006 saw book signings for Isbell in Diamondhead, Gulfport, Biloxi and Ocean Springs, Miss., all towns along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. “It was gratifying to have book signings on the Coast since many of the bookstores had been destroyed by Katrina.” A portion of the proceeds from two Ocean Springs signings were donated to help rebuild and restore Beauvoir, the final home of Jefferson Davis. This historic structure is located in Biloxi, Miss., and was severely damaged by the storm.

The Sentinel book signing tour brought Isbell to Natchez, Jackson, Hattiesburg and Vicksburg, Miss., as well as, Charlottesville, Va., Camp Hill, Pa., and Gettysburg, Pa. “During my ten years of working on the Sentinels books, I would always tell myself that one day I would be signing books at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. It was a thrill to see this dream come true.” While at Gettysburg, Isbell signed books at the Farnsworth House, Rupp House, National Park bookstore and American Civil War Museum.

The Sentinels books also provided Isbell with lasting memories at the various book signings. Isbell met and presented signed copies of his books to Jeff Shaara and was honored to have Scott Hartwig and Terrence Winchel provide a brief review of his books. During the past year, signed copies have been given to Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott, University of Southern Mississippi President Shelby Thames, Doobie Brother musician and friend Patrick Simmons and President George W. Bush.

Given the success of the first Sentinels books, Isbell immediately began work on more. He completed a Shiloh and Corinth: Sentinels of Stone book which is due for release by the University Press of Mississippi in November 2007.

Isbell should be finished writing a Gettysburg: Sentinels of Stone Vol. II., by May 2007 and will send that manuscript to publishers. He plans to begin work on a Chickamauga and Chattanooga: Sentinels of Stone during the summer of 2007 with hopes of completing that project in 2008.

In the midst of working on his Sentinels project, Isbell is also working on a book that focuses on the little known Civil War sites in his native state of Mississippi. Principle photography and research has begun for this project. The tentative title for this book is Off the Beaten Path: Mississippi’s Civil War Sites. The book will include stories and photos about Forks in the Road at Natchez, a monument to a slave in Canton, Fort Massachusetts at Gulfport as well as many other locations.

Isbell hopes to give the Sentinels treatment to the Civil War locations of Antietam & Harper’s Ferry, Fredericksburg & Chancellorsville, Lee’s Retreat to Appomattox and more volumes on Vicksburg and Gettysburg.

Timothy T. Isbell is a former Knight Foundation and National Endowment of the Arts award recipient for his photographic study of the Vietnamese people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He is a photojournalist at The Sun Herald newspaper in Biloxi and a former photojournalist-in-residence at The University of Southern Mississippi. News coverage by Tim and his fellow journalists at The Sun Herald during and after Hurricane Katrina earned the newspaper a 2006 Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for Public Service.

For more information about the books or the author, contact Steve Yates, Marketing Director, University Press of Mississippi by e-mail at syates@ihl.state.ms.us or by phone at (601) 432-6205.

This site is still under construction. All images are the copyrighted property of Tim Isbell. All rights reserved.