Was there a particular book related to the Civil War that first grabbed your attention and led you to a lifelong interest in this history? What Civil War book or books stand out in your memory and why? Are you reading something right now that you have found riveting and would recommend?
The members informally discussed books that have impacted us as avid Civil War enthusiasts.
Dave Trout and Rich Jankowski
72nd P.V. Monument at gettysburg
David Trout presented an extensive and detailed program on the court case of the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment on its placement of its monument at the wall (“Angle”) at Gettysburg during Pickett’s Charge. Using the transcripts of the case, Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association v. Seventy-second Pennsylvania Regiment, which was published in 1889 in a very limited form. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard the case and decided that he 72nd monument should be placed where it is now. The presentation was done in a very unique form with lots of visuals and a unique voice narration done by computer. A lot of research was done by David to present all the pros and cons of the actual position of the 72nd during the battle. There was also lots of testimony by actual participants that made for a better understanding of the fight at the wall. A great History Lesson.
Member Joe Wilson has written an article for the Philadelphia Inquirer: Remember the POWs
The 28th Pennsylvania Historical Association and the 28th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Company C of Philadelphia are presenting a Civil War Living History Weekend on October 11 and 12, 2014. See the attached flyer for details.
Despite the Union victory in the Battle of Gettysburg, the Civil War dragged on for nearly two more years. This series of lectures will focus on what came after Gettysburg, how the war-weary nation perceived the meaning of that battle, and the means by which President Lincoln sought to bring an end to the War.
An informative presentation by Matthew Borowick, Executive Director of the Civil War Library & Research Center in Woodbridge, NJ, and columnist for Civil War News. It is customarily believed that wars are won and lost by the actions of generals and armies. However, those armies cannot fight unless they are properly trained, equipped and fed, and that takes the effective and efficient management of resources. How the North and the South managed their resources provides a fascinating look into why one side succeeded—and the other side failed.
Presenting is Joseph F. Wilson, a member of the General Meade Society, the Civil War Trust, and the Old Baldy CWRT. Come hear the tragic story of Andersonville Prison, where more than 45,000 Union soldiers were confined between February 1864 and April 1865. In those fourteen months 13,000 soldiers perished from disease, starvation and exposure. Joe’s Great-Great-Grandfather, Corporal George Garman, 36th Pa. Volunteers, survived the horrors of Andersonville.
A very interesting take by Dr. Gregory J. W. Urwin, Temple University Professor of History, and President of the Society for Military History, as to how Americans have come to perceive war and victory. Mistakenly, we understand human conflict simply as a succession of clashes with victory gained by the side that wins the most or biggest ones. This lecture compares Gettysburg with other truly decisive Union victories, and considers our distorted view of what the Civil War was really like—then, and still today.
Jay Jorgenson, author, history professor, attorney and municipal court judge, takes us from the two major victories in the summer of 1863—Gettysburg in the east and Vicksburg in the west—into the pivotal year of 1864. Despite these key victories, President Lincoln found it increasingly difficult to bring the war to a successful conclusion, and brought Ulysses S. Grant east to take command of all Union forces. Grant implemented a plan to keep intense pressure on all of the Confederate armies in the South, with the clear intention of guiding the Union war effort to a successful outcome.
Steven J. Wright has served as a Park Ranger at Gettysburg, Curator for the Civil War Library & Museum of Philadelphia, and as Special Collections Librarian for the Free Library of Philadelphia. The question that is often asked is why the battle of Gettysburg has received—and continues to receive—the attention it does? Steve offers that it may be largely due to the role that John Bachelder played in the preservation of the battlefield and ultimately the impact that he had on how the battlefield looks today. Much of the way we have come to see the battlefield, and the way that we still study and even talk about the battle, was influenced by Bachelder, as it was he who coined the phrase “copse of trees”, and created the popular term “High Watermark of the Confederacy”. The fields we walk today, the troop movements we study, and the monuments placed upon those hallowed grounds, are not by mere happenstance, but rather a carefully and precisely conceived plan to tell the story of this grandest of struggles to future generations.
You are invited to attend a luncheon to recognize and honor Michael Cavanaugh (Round Table Founder, Civil War Scholar, Book Exchange Founder for Civil War News).
January 17, 2015, 11:30–3:30
Adelphia Restaurant
1750 Clements Bridge Road
Deptford, NJ 08096
There will be a raffle and a presentation by Dr. Randall Miller, Saint Joseph University Professor:
“Armed for Freedom: Black Soldiers and Emancipation”
More information and registration form: Luncheon January 2015, Raffle January 2015
An article about the luncheon is available here: Cavanaugh Luncheon Article
Memorial Day, Flag Day, the Fourth of July—This is the season when we Americans fly our flag with special pride and honor those who have served our country is so many ways, from the Founding Fathers to the soldiers of the Civil War, from courageous citizens to our troops today in Iraq and other troubled areas.
In the spirit of this season when we celebrate the Red, White, and Blue, Old Baldy program coordinator Kerry Bryan offered a reprise of her PowerPoint program, “A Salute to Old Glory: The Story of the American Flag,” which some round table members may have seen in 2012 when she presented it at the Union League. The 2014 program included some updates.
David Martin
The New Jersey Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee will sponsor a lecture by historian Dr. David Martin at 7:30 p.m., June 18, in the Civic Hall auditorium, Connector Building, at Camden Community College.
Historians have argued for years about when the Civil war reached its turning point. Many say that it was July 1863, when the North won the critical battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Some argue that it was early 1862 (when the South lost its major cities of Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans), while others offer fall 1862 (when Southern invasions were turned back at Antietam and Perryville). One noted historian even argues that every campaign and battle was a turning point.
Dr. David Martin sees 1864 as the turning point of the Civil War because of two critical points: the military tide of the war finally shifted fully in the North’s favor, and President Lincoln succeeded in his reelection bid. Dr. Martin will discuss why he believes 1864 was the real turning point of the war, based on analysis of military, political, economic and geographic considerations. Continue reading