When:  February 8

Where: Ohio Health Medical Campus, 300 Polaris Parkway, Westerville Ohio 43081

Time:   7pm

Speaker: Harold George

Topic:   Custer’s Last Stand

When: January 11

Where: Ohio Health Medical Campus, 300 Polaris Parkway, Westerville Ohio 43081

Time: 7pm

Speaker: Annual group discussion night.

Topic:  Compare and Contrast the Civil War’s importance relative to other American wars. We will attempt to rank the importance of all the American wars and determine whether the Civil War was the most important of all the American Wars.

January Newsletter

The Roundtable does not meet in December

Enjoy the holidays and please plan to join us in January

December Newsletter

When:    November 9

Where:  Ohio Health Medical Campus, 300 Polaris Parkway, Westerville Ohio 43081

Time:    7pm

Speaker: Gail Stephens

Topic:    The  Shadow of Shiloh; Major General Lew Wallace in the Civil War

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 In the spring of 1862, Major General Lew Wallace was a Union military hero.  At the age of 35, he was the youngest major general in the Union Army, rising to that rank from colonel in 11 short months.  Devoted to the Union, he was also a romantic about war, pursuing honor, fame and glory in combat.  Then in early April 1862, though only a short distance away, Wallace mysteriously failed to appear on the bloody battlefield of Shiloh with his division until the end of the first day of that battle.  The common perception is that this was a death blow to his career, until Lincoln decided to give him another chance, assigning him to command in Maryland where in the summer of 1864, with his army vastly outnumbered, Wallace fought the battle of Monocacy, “the battle that saved Washington,” restoring his fighting reputation.  The truth, however, is never that simple.  Wallace was a genuine hero, but he made mistakes and he was a scapegoat for the mistakes of others.  The story of Lew Wallace and the Civil War is fascinating and complex, highlighting some important truths about battles fought within the Union Army as well as those with the Confederates.

A guide at Monocacy and author of Shadow of Shiloh: Major General Lew Wallace in the Civil War Gail Stephens has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Politics from George Washington University in Washington D.C., and has done graduate work at Johns Hopkins and Harvard Universities.  She worked for the Department of Defense for 26 years, retiring in 1994 as a member of the Department’s Senior Executive Service.  Upon retirement, she began to study the American Civil War.  She volunteers at Monocacy National Battlefield near Frederick, Maryland, lectures on the Civil War, teaches courses at area colleges and gives battlefield tours.  In 2002, she won the National Park Service’s E.W. Peterkin award for her contributions to public understanding of Civil War history.  Her book about Major General Lew Wallace’s Civil War service, The Shadow of Shiloh; Major General Lew Wallace in the Civil War. was published in October 2010 by the Indiana Historical Society Press.

November Newsletter

When: October 12

Where: Ohio Health Medical Campus, 300 Polaris Parkway, Westerville Ohio 43081

Time: 7pm

Speaker: John Hoptak

Topic: The Battle of South Mountain, September 14th 1862

      The Battle of South Mountain has long remained in the shadows cast by the larger and far bloodier battle fought three days later along the banks of the Antietam Creek in western Maryland. Yet South Mountain was in itself a significant battle, for it was here that Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the North was met and initially repulsed. It was also the first major battle fought north of the Potomac River, and the Union victory there did much to restore confidence in the ranks, which aided them three days later at Antietam. Hoptak, who recently published a history of South Mountain as part of the History Press’ Civil War Sesquicentennial Series, will speak of the importance of the battle of South Mountain by placing it within the larger context of the Maryland Campaign. He will describe the actions at Fox’s, Turner’s, Frostown, and Crampton’s Gap and the reasons why South Mountain was a significant battle.

                               

John David Hoptak is a lifelong student of the American Civil War and currently works as an Interpretative Park Ranger at Antietam National Battlefield. He also teaches courses in American History and Civil War History as an Adjunct Professor at American Military University. Hoptak is the author of several books, including First in Defense of the Union: The Civil War History of the First Defenders (2004), Our Boys Did Nobly: Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Soldiers at the Battles of South Mountain and Antietam (2009), The Battle of South Mountain (2011), and Antietam: September 17, 1862 (2011). Hoptak is active in the preservation and promotion of local history and recently completed a nationwide effort to restore the 48th Pennsylvania Monument at Antietam Battlefield. Hoptak also blogs on the Civil War at www.48thpennsylvania.blogspot.com

October Newsletter

 

Greg Biggs

Forty four members and guests were assembled as Greg examined the five Confederate attempts to capture Nashville. As usual Greg’s vast knowledge of the western theater and his quick wit kept all in attendance amused and  entertained. Thank you Greg for another outstanding evening at the Central Ohio Civil War Roundtable. 

September Newsletter