The author and historian Shelby Foote died Monday night at the age of 88.  Foote was a major "Southern" writer along the lines of William Faulkner with novels such as Follow Me Down, Love in a Dry Season, and Jordan County: A Landscape Narrative.  Foote's most notable historical work is The Civil War: A Narrative in three volumes, Fort Sumter to Perryville, Fredricksburg to Meridian, and Red River to Appomatox, written between 1958 and 1974.
If Foote's name never became a household word, his voice became famous for his narration of Ken Burns' acclaimed 1990 PBS documentary "The Civil War."
Born (1916) and raised in Greenville Mississippi, Foote settled in Memphis, Tennessee where he resided until his death.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4721849

I was sad to hear about this. I guess we are the only two here Foote was a gentleman and had the rare
talent to be able to take an objective look at a divisive subject.  Although he had an affinity for Shiloh
was on the cusp of the anniversary of Gettysburg that he died.  We can only hope the historians take
their cues from people like him when dissecting the subjects the tackle.  :\'(