Phil Gast

Journalist and blogger, former CNN and AJC

snellville, georgia, united states

Publications:

ccivil-war-picket.blogspot.com

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About

Editor, writer, manager and strategist. Embraces all forms of technology to enhance storytelling and provide clear, readable information. * Excels in project management and coaching * Acts with precision under deadline pressure * Leads cross-departmental teams SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS * At CNN: Through breaking news and enterprise stories, contributes to the company's mission of providing insightful coverage, with a focus on the humanity of the story. Adept at collaboration on all levels -- newsgathering, copy editing and writing, ensuring that other teams feel their voice and efforts are heard in digital stories. * Brought about cultural change: Doubled local page views of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Web site by increasing reporting staff’s contribution of breaking news stories. * Customer-focused: Created digital journeys. Using podcasts, blogs and video, carried readers into the new Georgia Aquarium and through hurricane-ravaged New Orleans hospitals. KNOWLEDGE/TECHNOLOGY Slack | Livefyre | CMS | HTML | Photoshop | SEO | Blogger | Facebook | Omniture/SiteCatalyst | StumbleUpon | Twitter Specialties: Breaking news, management, social media, Web content, copy editing, writing, CMS, Web analytics.

Featured Articles

You can't drive to the top of Kennesaw Mountain anymore. But hard campaigners can still walk or bike up, while others can take the shuttle bus every half hour

Restriping and other work was scheduled to begin this week at the park outside Atlanta (NPS photo) I drove Saturday morning across town to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, hoping to drive to the top of the Georgia peak a couple days ahead of t... See more

blogspot.com•Phil Gast•Jan 7, 2026

Old number 9: Vandals and thieves tried to diminish this Civil War cannon. The weathered survivor, displayed for a decade at a Georgia park, will be a star artifact at an upcoming Atlanta History Center exhibit

Key's battery howitzer at Pickett's Mill (Picket photo), number 9 on top of dented muzzle (Georgia State Parks), gun after it was recovered in Spalding County, Ga. in 2010, and artillery Capt. Thomas Key (Wikipedia); click to enlarge images A dinged-up 12... See more

blogspot.com•Phil Gast•Jan 5, 2026

Brother, where art thou? A dogged New Yorker traveled twice to Virginia to retrieve body of sibling killed at the Wilderness. A Fredericksburg park volunteer and a descendant put together the poignant story, which is showcased in an exhibit

2nd Lt. Horace Hill (NY State Military Museum via Wayne Historians Organization), national colors of the 111th New York (NY State Military Museum) and park volunteer Steve Morin In spring 1864, Francis Abner Hill set out to do something thousands of other... See more

blogspot.com•Phil Gast•Jan 1, 2026

2025's Top 12 Picket posts: Relocated Civil War house, Virginia battlefields, wagon wheel remnant, Enfield rifles conservation, bomb squad -- and much more

Burial at Fredericksburg, Medal of Honor train ride, Georgia bomb squad, house on the move Posts about a Georgia Civil War house moved to another county, a belated funeral in Fredericksburg and a train ride with living Medal of Honor recipients were big r... See more

blogspot.com•Phil Gast•Dec 30, 2025

Where sabers crossed and 'Stonewall' Jackson roamed: A burgeoning Virginia state park prepares to eventually manage Brandy Station, other Culpeper battlefields

Cunningham Farm wall remnants at Brandy Station (Chuck Laudner/American Battlefield Trust) The growing staff at Virginia’s Culpeper Battlefields State Park is learning more about the power and potential of Civil War properties it will manage once they are... See more

blogspot.com•Phil Gast•Dec 25, 2025

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Phil Gast

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Featured Articles

You can't drive to the top of Kennesaw Mountain anymore. But hard campaigners can still walk or bike up, while others can take the shuttle bus every half hour

Old number 9: Vandals and thieves tried to diminish this Civil War cannon. The weathered survivor, displayed for a decade at a Georgia park, will be a star artifact at an upcoming Atlanta History Center exhibit

Brother, where art thou? A dogged New Yorker traveled twice to Virginia to retrieve body of sibling killed at the Wilderness. A Fredericksburg park volunteer and a descendant put together the poignant story, which is showcased in an exhibit

2025's Top 12 Picket posts: Relocated Civil War house, Virginia battlefields, wagon wheel remnant, Enfield rifles conservation, bomb squad -- and much more

Where sabers crossed and 'Stonewall' Jackson roamed: A burgeoning Virginia state park prepares to eventually manage Brandy Station, other Culpeper battlefields

Is this you?

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Featured Articles

You can't drive to the top of Kennesaw Mountain anymore. But hard campaigners can still walk or bike up, while others can take the shuttle bus every half hour

Old number 9: Vandals and thieves tried to diminish this Civil War cannon. The weathered survivor, displayed for a decade at a Georgia park, will be a star artifact at an upcoming Atlanta History Center exhibit

Brother, where art thou? A dogged New Yorker traveled twice to Virginia to retrieve body of sibling killed at the Wilderness. A Fredericksburg park volunteer and a descendant put together the poignant story, which is showcased in an exhibit

2025's Top 12 Picket posts: Relocated Civil War house, Virginia battlefields, wagon wheel remnant, Enfield rifles conservation, bomb squad -- and much more

Where sabers crossed and 'Stonewall' Jackson roamed: A burgeoning Virginia state park prepares to eventually manage Brandy Station, other Culpeper battlefields

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