Addressing Gettysburg Podcast: History Doesn't Have To Be Boring

 Monetizing an independent podcast is a challenging feat. Sadly, thousands fail every year, even as thousands of new independent podcasts try to tempt our ears.

The Addressing Gettysburg podcast may be one of the most inventive and active "indies" in monetizing their show.

The podcast has advertising sponsors related to the Gettysburg battlefield, the show offers out of car tours, there is a thriving merchandise store, and the show now even offers its own brand of coffee called "Little Ground Top," which listeners will recognize as a pun. Most important, the show has a thriving Patreon community with premium content designed for those donors.

Creator/ host Matthew Callery has produced over 500 episodes since 2019. The mantra of the Addressing Gettysburg podcast is that “history doesn’t have to be boring.” 

Matt Callery explains: "That is our mantra. Our goal is to bring the historic reality of the Battle of Gettysburg and the experiences of the soldiers and civilians to the masses in a comprehensive, immersive and entertaining way. We think this is the most compelling and important chapter of American history, and we want to show you why."

Growing up in New Jersey, Matt Callery's fascination with history began at a very young age. Family trips to historic sites often included Civil War locations, with Gettysburg being a favorite. Over the years, Matt developed considerable skills in video and audio production.


A fan of Howard Stern, Matt’s early efforts were to create material for his own podcast centered on pop culture topics. Having visited Gettysburg in his childhood, he later moved there, and went to work leading battlefield bicycle tours. Sometime later, he returned to New Jersey, but it didn’t take long for him to feel something drawing him back to Pennsylvania. So, he came back to make Gettysburg his home. A lifelong friend and fellow “history nerd” encouraged Matt to combine his love of history with his talents in studio production to create a podcast about Gettysburg. And so in 2019, with raw enthusiasm, a knack for making interesting conversation, and a makeshift studio, Matt launched the Addressing Gettysburg podcast. He’ll be the first to tell you that it has been a team effort and that he’s grateful for the support of many wonderful people along the way.

Callery explains his vision for the podcast. "We believe that a community of like-minded Gettysburg enthusiasts is a fertile environment for people to learn about the Battle of Gettysburg. Podcast-listening is just one step in that process. During the tourist season, we host free walking tours of the battlefield as part of our Get Out of the Car initiative. There is so much to see within the boundaries of Gettysburg National Military Park, and staying in your car the whole time is only slightly more effective than watching TV. We aim to create memories for our followers by showing them hidden gems on the battlefield."

“Our goal is to bring the harsh reality of the Battle of Gettysburg and the experiences of the soldiers and civilians to the masses in a comprehensive, immersive and entertaining way,” Matt Callery says.

The voices of the podcast are veteran podcaster Matt Callery, and
Bethany Yingling for AG Today. They, in turn, are joined by a panoply of other compelling voices, such as historians, National Park Service rangers, Licensed Battlefield Guides, artists, local businesses, and fellow history podcasters.

The podcast cleverly offers different types of episodes that provide variety to the listening experience. For example, “narrative episodes” are large-scale productions designed to bring the story of the Gettysburg Campaign to listeners in an engaging and dramatic way. The show has also produced over 100 Ask A Gettysburg Guide episodes. The show has produced bonus episodes on Valley Forge, the U.S. - Dakota War of 1862, and special anniversary shows in July.

The podcast also offers Patreon Previews with microhistories and interviews with authors like Dr. Peter S. Carmichael and Cory M. Pfarr, GNMP rangers, LBGs, public historians, hosts of other history podcasts and just about anyone who can speak on a subject related to Gettysburg.

 The “Ask a Gettysburg Guide” episodes leverage the resources of the Licensed Battlefield Guide force. Here, listeners can ask question of the expert guides, with their compelling answers making a fascinating podcast episode.


In Episode 21 about Little Round Top, for example, Licensed Gettysburg Guide Jim Pangburn recreated the struggle to control Little Round Top in a compelling narrative. The podcast continues to underscore the importance of the Battle of Gettysburg in U.S. history. The battle was the turning point of the Civil War because Robert E. Lee's plan to invade the North and force an immediate end to the war failed.

The colossal three-day clash across hills and fields in rural Pennsylvania in early July 1863 was major news at the time based on the number of dispatches telegraphed to so many newspapers. In those fateful three days, a total of 170,000 Confederate and Union soldiers came together around a town that normally held 2,400 residents. The total of Union troops was about 95,000, the Confederates about 75,000. The total casualties for the three days of fighting would be approximately 25,000 for the Union and 28,000 for the Confederates.

Over time, the battle has seemed to increase in importance, as historians realized that a confederate victory there could have spelled the demise of the United States.

One of my favorite recent episodes in February was about flags with Deb Novotny, where we learned how important flags were to the armies and regiments who battled during the war. Novotny explains how courageous the men were who carried the flag into battle because they were prime targets for the enemy. Then, she describes
stories that involved the 26th North Carolina's boy-colonel Henry K. Burgwyn, and the 16th Maine tearing their flag to shreds in order to save it from capture.

Here’s what makes Addressing Gettysburg such a compelling podcast. If you’re a history buff, you’ll love the deep dive into American history. If you’re a Civil War enthusiast, you’ll love the focus on Gettysburg as the pivotal battle of the war. If you’re a military history fan, you’ll nerd out on the detailed descriptions of how the battle unfolded and the military strategies of each side.

Given all the social unrest today about persistent patterns of racial injustice, it seems easy to dismiss this podcast as a “Civil War” podcast, but it’s more than that. Gettysburg was THE battle where the fate of this nation truly hung in the balance.

The Addressing Gettysburg podcast gives listeners a front-row seat to the battle, the town where the battle raged for three days, the armies and soldiers, the sense of history endemic to the battle and the larger socioeconomic and political forces at play in mid-1863.

You can listen here.