Paul Brueske, a lifelong resident of the Gulf Coast, has been studying the Civil War history of northwest Florida and south Alabama for the past 20 years. He is the president and founder of the Mobile Area Civil War Round Table and the head track and field coach at the University of South Alabama. Brueske is a regular speaker on Gulf Coast-related Civil War topics and a member of the Friends of Historic Blakeley State Park, the Historic Mobile Preservation Society, and Friends of the History Museum of Mobile. He is the author of The Last Siege: The Mobile Campaign, Alabama 1865 (2018).
"""Despite being one of the two major clashes in the substantial combined-forces operations designed to capture the city of Mobile in 1865, the siege of Spanish Fort has long been a footnote in Civil War history because it took place during the last days of the conflict. Yet the fight there was a large affair, significant to regional history, and featured incredible stories of sacrifice and endurance as compelling as those of any well-known battle. Paul Brueske has resurrected the story of Spanish Fort in this engrossing account, giving careful attention to the perspectives of all involved. It is the first comprehensive account of this fight and will surely stand as the definitive one on the subject for years to come.""--Mike Bunn, Director of Historic Blakeley State Park, and author of The Assault on Fort Blakeley ""Digging All Night and Fighting All Day is Paul Brueske's follow-up to The Last Siege: The Mobile Campaign, Alabama 1865. His latest is a comprehensive study of the last major battle of the Civil War, which is often overlooked because of epic events that occurred in other theaters during the same period. Through the extensive use of contemporary sources, good maps, and important images (some never published), Brueske introduces the reader to the campaign's major players and tells the story of the monotony, danger, and significance of the war's last siege.""--Michael Bailey, Senior Historian (Ret.), Fort Morgan State Historic Site and co-author of Fort Morgan ""Digging All Night and Fighting All Day is an exhaustive account of the efforts to eliminate the Confederate fortifications on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay during the final tragic days of the Civil War. It is a comprehensive narrative, enriched by contemporary accounts and reminiscences that chronicle the plodding realities of siege warfare, endured by both defenders and assailants.""--Robert Bradley, Chief Curator, Alabama Department of Archives and History (Ret.)"