Dear friends and supporters of Savas Beatie,

It is with tremendous sadness that I share with you that my publishing partner and good friend Russel H. "Cap" Beatie passed away recently. Cap didn't want a long eulogy or extravagant send-off. That was not his way. So these few words will have to do.

Most of you know Cap (a Princeton grad and Veteran of the U.S. Army) through his magnificent multi-volume Army of the Potomac endeavor, a research and writing tour de force that will forever remain unfinished. (His fourth installment manuscript, which picks up where volume three left off and travels through the fighting at Seven Pines, is available; we are working with it to determine how or whether we can publish it for you.)

Cap was both an outstanding attorney and a true historian. The man lived and breathed our past. I know he was most happy not arguing in court but rooting in an archive somewhere to help write history "from the bottom up," as he used to tell me. "I am going to let the sources take me where the sources take me, Savisky." That was his nickname for me; he had nicknames for everyone. "To hell with all these biased opinions today masquerading as history. What did the men who were there living it think about it all?" Cap never quite made it to his Sir Charles Oman moment, but his inability to pass that unique finish line was not for lack of effort.

I owe Cap so much I can never repay. It was his call one afternoon in 2003 that pulled me back into the world of independent publishing. I had accepted his first two volumes of the AOP series for publication with Savas Publishing Company back in 2000, and we remained in touch when that company was sold to another east coast house. "Saviksy, you need to get back into Civil War publishing! Let's talk about that," he barked through the phone. And so we did. He would not take no for an answer. And I had yet to meet him in person. He visited me in California, and you know the result.

He was proud to have our names on the spines and title pages of books of what we both believed offered lasting value. "Are we making a difference?" he used to ask me during our twice-weekly calls. When I assured him we were, he would invariably add, "I know we are. What we are doing is important. Maintain your post!" I learned to love his gruff, blunt exterior. It rubbed some people wrong, but I learned soon enough that beneath that New Yorker's crust was a kind and generous heart. He did not suffer fools gladly, but then neither do I. Maybe that is why we got along so well.

Included below is a photo of Cap in Scotland during a hunting trip. He loved it there and tried mightily to get me to go with him. I regret that I did not. 

Cap is survived by his wife Julie and two children, Ben and Amy.

Rest assured, old friend, I am still at my post, and a proud "SB" is still embossed on the spines for eternity.

Your old buddy,

Savisky

Cap Beatie Hunting in Scotland