GARRISON, Webb B(lack) 1919-2000 (Gary Webster)

PERSONAL: Born July 19, 1919, in Covington, GA; died July 20, 2000; son of Pinkney Jefferson and Lorena (Black) Garrison; married Mary Elizabeth Thomson, 1938; children: Carol Patricia, Webb Black, Jr., William Thomson. Education: Emory University, Ph.B., 1940, B.D., 1949; McKendree College, D.D., 1957.

CAREER: The Methodist Church, South Carolina Conference, Timmonsville, SC, pastor, 1940-49; Emory University School of Theology, Atlanta, GA, assistant dean, 1950-54; Methodist General Board of Education, Nashville, TN, staff member, 1955-57; McKendree College, Lebanon, IL, president, 1957-60; Roberts Park Methodist Church, Indianapolis, IN, pastor, 1960-63; Central Methodist Church, Evansville, IN, pastor, 1963-80; freelance writer, beginning 1980. Lecturer on communication at Methodist pastors' schools in twenty-eight states.

WRITINGS:

The Preacher and His Audience, Revell (New York, NY), 1954.

Why You Say It, Abingdon (Nashville, TN), 1955.

Improve Your Church Bulletins, Revell (New York, NY), 1957.

Sermon Seeds from the Gospel, Revell (New York, NY), 1958.

(Under pseudonym Gary Webster) Codfish, Cats, and Civilization, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1959.

(Under pseudonym Gary Webster) Laughter in the Bible, Bethany (Minneapolis, MN), 1960.

Creative Imagination in Preaching, Abingdon (Nashville, TN), 1960, published as Taking the Drudgery Out of Sermon Preparation, Baker Book (Grand Rapids, MI), 1975.

Women in the Life of Jesus, Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, IN), 1962.

A Guide to Reading the Entire Bible in One Year, Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, IN), 1963, reprinted, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1999.

The Biblical Image of the Family, Tidings (Nashville, TN), 1965.

What's in a Word?, Abingdon (Nashville, TN), 1965.

Ten Paths to Peace and Power, Abingdon (Nashville, TN), 1966.

Strange Bonds between Animals and Men, Ace (New York, NY), 1966.

Giving Wings to a Warm Heart, Methodist Commission on Promotion and Cultivation (Evanston, IL), 1968.

Strange Facts about the Bible, Abingdon (Nashville, TN), 1968, reprinted Testament Books (New York, NY), 2000.

The Ignorance Book, Morrow (New York, NY), 1970.

Disasters That Made History, Abingdon (Nashville, TN), 1973.

Sidelights on the American Revolution, Abingdon (Nashville, TN), 1974.

Devotions for the Middle Years, Upper Room (Nashville, TN), 1974.

(With Halford E. Luccock) Endless Line of Splendor, revised edition, United Methodist Commission on Communications (Evanston, IL), 1975.

Lost Pages from American History, Stackpole (Harrisburg, PA), 1976.

Strange Facts about Death, Abingdon (Nashville, TN), 1978.

Oglethorpe's Folly: The Birth of Georgia, Copple House (Lakemont, GA), 1982.

Behind the Headlines: American History's Schemes, Scandals, and Escapades, Stackpole (Harrisburg, PA), 1983.

A Treasury of Georgia Tales, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1987.

The Legacy of Atlanta: A Short History, Peachtree Publishers (Atlanta, GA), 1987.

A Treasury of Carolina Tales, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1988.

A Treasury of Civil War Tales, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1988.

A Treasury of Florida Tales, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1989.

A Treasury of White House Tales, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1989, updated edition with Beth Wieder, 2002.

A Treasury of Christmas Stories, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1990.

Great Stories of the American Revolution, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1990.

A Treasury of Virginia Tales, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1991.

Civil War Trivia and Fact Book, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1992.

A Treasury of Ohio Tales, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1993.

The Lincoln No One Knows: The Mysterious Man Who Ran the Civil War, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1993.

Civil War Curiosities: Strange Stories, Oddities, Events, and Coincidences, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1994.

More Civil War Curiosities, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1995.

Atlanta and the War, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1995.

White House Ladies: Fascinating Tales and Colorful Curiosities, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1996.

A Treasury of Pennsylvania Tales, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1996.

Unusual Persons of the Civil War, Sergeant Kirland's (Fredericksburg, VA), 1996.

A Treasury of Texas Tales, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1997.

Creative Minds in Desperate Times: The Civil War's Most Sensational Schemes and Plots, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1997.

Southern Tales, Galahad Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Lincoln's Little War, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1997.

Civil War Stories: Strange Tales, Oddities, Events, and Coincidences, Promontory Press (New York, NY), 1997.

A Treasury of Titanic Tales, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1998.

The Amazing Civil War, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1998.

A Treasury of Minnesota Tales, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1998.

Two-Thousand Questions and Answers about the Civil War: Unusual and Unique Facts about the War between the States, Gramercy Books (New York, NY), 1998.

True Tales of the Civil War: A Treasury of Unusual Stories During America's Most Turbulent Era, Gramercy Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Amazing Women of the Civil War, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1999.

Friendly Fire in the Civil War: More Than 100 True Stories of Comrade Killing Comrade, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 1999.

Why You Say It, MJF Books (New York, NY), 1999.

A Treasury of Iowa Tales, Rutledge Hill Press (Nashville, TN), 2000.

The Unknown Civil War: Odd, Peculiar, and Unusual Stories of the War between the States, Cumberland House (Nashville, TN), 2000.

Civil War Hostages: Hostage Taking in the Civil War, White Mane Books (Shippensburg, PA), 2000.

Love, Lust, and Longing in the White House: The Romantic Relationships of America's Presidents, Cumberland House (Nashville, TN), 2000.

True Tales of the Civil War, Gramercy Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Brady's Civil War: A Collection of Memorable War Images Photographed by Mathew Brady and His Assistants, Lyons Press (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Cheryl Garrison) The Encyclopedia of Civil War Usage: An Illustrated Compendium of the Everyday Language of Soldiers and Civilians, Cumberland House (Nashville, TN), 2001.

Mutiny in the Civil War, White Mane Books (Shippensburg, PA), 2001.

445 Fascinating Word Origins, Galahad Books (New York, NY), 2001.

FOR CHILDREN

(Under pseudonym Gary Webster) Wonders of Science, Sheed (London, England), 1956.

(Under pseudonym Gary Webster) Wonders of Man, Sheed (London, England), 1957.

(Under pseudonym Gary Webster) The Man Who Found Out Why: The Story of Gregor Mendel, Hawthorn (New York, NY), 1963.

(Under pseudonym Gary Webster) Journey into Light: The Story of Louis Braille, Hawthorn (New York, NY), 1964.

(Under pseudonym Gary Webster) Wonders of Earth, Sheed (London, England), 1967.

How It Started, Abingdon (Nashville, TN), 1972.

Why Didn't I Think of That?, Prentice-Hall (Old Tappan, NJ), 1977.

OTHER

Author of "Dixie Scrapbook," a weekly feature in Atlanta Journal/Atlanta Constitution, beginning 1981. Contributor to books, including Reaching beyond Your Pulpit, Revell (New York, NY), 1962, and History of American Methodism, Abingdon (Nashville, TN), 1963. Contributor to juvenile anthologies, including Builders for Freedom, Beckley-Cardy (Chicago, IL), 1949; Builders for Progress, Beckley-Cardy (Chicago, IL), 1950; Latin American Leaders, Beckley-Cardy (Chicago, IL), 1951; Leaders of the Frontier, Beckley-Cardy (Chicago, IL), 1952; John Kieran's Treasury of Great Nature Writing, Hanover House (New York, NY), 1957; Illustrated Library of the Natural Sciences, four volumes, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1958; The Bible Story Library, Bobbs-Merrill (New York, NY), 1963; and Audubon Nature Library, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1969. Also contributor to most annual volumes of The Upper Room Companion and Upper Room Disciplines, beginning 1959. Contributor of over 1,200 articles to numerous scientific, religious, and general periodicals, including Christianity Today, Mature Years, Catholic Digest, St. Anthony Messenger, and National Enquirer. Columnist for Indianapolis News, 1960-78, and Evansville Press, 1963-78.

ADAPTATIONS: Wonders of Science has been made into filmstrips and records; Codfish, Cats and Civilization has been made into a talking book for the blind by the Library of Congress.

SIDELIGHTS: Pastor and Civil War buff Webb B. Garrison wrote many books on practicing religion faithfully and even more books on the Civil War. Garrison sorted through approximately six thousand photographs taken by Mathew Brady and his team during the Civil War before selecting three hundred images for Brady's Civil War. The result, according to Harry Frumerman in Library Journal, is a book that will "appeal to Civil War buffs" that includes photos ranging from the dead and dying during battle to official portraits of commanders and political leaders.

"Friendly fire," or the killing of comrade by comrade, occurred approximately once every ten days of the Civil War, according to Garrison's research in Friendly Fire in the Civil War. He found that the confusion due to similarities in uniform and flags created numerous cases of mistaken identity. Friendly Fire in the Civil War covers famous stories of friendly fire, as well as lesser-know stories, but Garrison was not able to "add new information" to the topic, according to Civil War History contributor Michael P. Gray, who added that the book might be better for those with a general interest in the subject rather than academics.

Days before Webb B. Garrison's death in 2000, he and his daughter, Cheryl, completed The Encyclopedia of Civil War Usage. By using personal correspondence, eyewitness accounts, and official government documents and reports, the Garrisons spent thirty years compiling an encyclopedia of slang and standard English that was used by the two armies during the Civil War. A Publishers Weekly reviewer called the book a "delight," especially for those interested in Civil War history and linguistic origins.

Garrison once told CA: "Though writing is hard work, it also has strong recreational aspects. I find great satisfaction in dealing with historical and scientific topics in such fashion that the typical reader's interest is captured and held—while scholarly specialists can find no fault with the research. The Ignorance Book attracted little attention in the original edition, but found a large and faithful audience in Japan."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Civil War History, March, 2000, Michael P. Gray, review of Friendly Fire in the Civil War: More Than 100 True Stories of Comrade Killing Comrade, p.66.

Come-All-Ye, spring, 1992, review of A Treasury of Florida Tales, p. 12; fall, 1996, review of A Treasury of Pennsylvania Tales, p. 3; fall, 1997, review of A Treasury of Tales Ohio Tales, p. 10; fall, 1997, review of A Treasury of Virginia Tales, p. 10.

Library Journal, January 1, 2001, Harry Frumerman, review of Brady's Civil War: A Collection of Memorable War Images Photographed by Mathew Brady and His Assistants, p. 130.

Publishers Weekly, May 14, 2001, "Grim Glory," p. 71.*