Roundtable members and friends just a reminder that the April meeting was held a week early on April 6th. So there are no activities at La Novana tonight. Our next meeting will be held on May 11th. A big thank you to Gary Dyson for the presentation and to all those who attended in person and on Zoom. Until next month be safe and be kind!
If you are calling in, dial+1-312-626-6799, and then use the Meeting ID and Passcode set forth above.
Time: 7pm
Speaker: Gary L. Dyson
Topic: Confederate Row
Confederate Row tells the stories of the Confederate dead buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick
from 1862-1907. These veterans and conscripts fought at South Mountain, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Cedar Creek, and other nearby battlefields and later died in Frederick from their wounds. Their genealogy, battle history, and extent of their wounds where possible are described. As a sequel, “Beyond the Bowie List” is in the works. This will describe the lives of all the known Confederate dead buried in Maryland that presumably were reinterred at the Washington Confederate from the battlefields of South Mountain, Sharpsburg, the retreat from Gettysburg, and some from Early’s Maryland invasion of 1864 that weren’t buried in Frederick.
Gary L. Dyson is a retired Environmental Specialist from the city of Gaithersburg, MD and a Marine Corps veteran. He is a lifelong history enthusiast and has spent countless hours reading, researching and exploring battlefields – from the French and Indian War to World War II. Gary is the author of TheAmbush of the Isaac P. Smith and A Civil War Correspondent in New Orleans, the Journals and Reports of Albert Gaius Hills of the Boston Journal as well as two Maryland church histories. He has a BS in Natural Resources from Oregon State University. Gary lives in Mount Airy, MD with his wife Emily, and are finally “empty-nesters.”
Our Treasurer’s Report from Pete Zuhars:
Beginning Balance $3100.49
Dues 65.00
Book Raffle 49.00
3,214.49
Speaker’s Fee -75.00
Ending Balance $3,139.49
January was the beginning of our Roundtable’s fiscal year, so please pay your dues ($20 for an individual and $25 for a family). Thank you for all the support you have provided that has allowed the Roundtable to survive through COVID-19 and continue to present topics of interest to our members.
Please see attached hereto Tom Ayres’ report of Chris Burns’ presentation at the March Meeting on The (Almost) Siege of Cincinnati.
If you are calling in, dial+1-312-626-6799, and then use the Meeting ID and Passcode set forth above.
Time: 7pm
Speaker: Gary L. Dyson
Topic: Confederate Row
Confederate Row tells the stories of the Confederate dead buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick
from 1862-1907. These veterans and conscripts fought at South Mountain, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Cedar Creek, and other nearby battlefields and later died in Frederick from their wounds. Their genealogy, battle history, and extent of their wounds where possible are described. As a sequel, “Beyond the Bowie List” is in the works. This will describe the lives of all the known Confederate dead buried in Maryland that presumably were reinterred at the Washington Confederate from the battlefields of South Mountain, Sharpsburg, the retreat from Gettysburg, and some from Early’s Maryland invasion of 1864 that weren’t buried in Frederick.
Gary L. Dyson is a retired Environmental Specialist from the city of Gaithersburg, MD and a Marine Corps veteran. He is a lifelong history enthusiast and has spent countless hours reading, researching and exploring battlefields – from the French and Indian War to World War II. Gary is the author of TheAmbush of the Isaac P. Smith and A Civil War Correspondent in New Orleans, the Journals and Reports of Albert Gaius Hills of the Boston Journal as well as two Maryland church histories. He has a BS in Natural Resources from Oregon State University. Gary lives in Mount Airy, MD with his wife Emily, and are finally “empty-nesters.”
Our Treasurer’s Report from Pete Zuhars:
Beginning Balance $3100.49
Dues 65.00
Book Raffle 49.00
3,214.49
Speaker’s Fee -75.00
Ending Balance $3,139.49
January was the beginning of our Roundtable’s fiscal year, so please pay your dues ($20 for an individual and $25 for a family). Thank you for all the support you have provided that has allowed the Roundtable to survive through COVID-19 and continue to present topics of interest to our members.
Please see attached hereto Tom Ayres’ report of Chris Burns’ presentation at the March Meeting on The (Almost) Siege of Cincinnati.
If you are calling in, dial+1-312-626-6799, and then use the Meeting ID and Passcode set forth above.
Time: 7pm
Speaker: Chris Burns
Topic: The Siege of Cincinnati
In 1862, thousands of Confederates spread north into Kentucky with plans to seat a Confederate government and to attack Cincinnati. The march created the greatest scare in Cincinnati history and lit the spark that united Ohio residents from all walks of life.
Thousands of civilians volunteered from across the state and marched to the hills of Northern Kentucky to build forts and miles of trenches to prepare for the forthcoming attack. This is their story of fear, passion, and exhilaration where everyone had a part to play.
Chris Burns is a Civil War historian and lifelong Ohio resident. He currently speaks on various aspects of Ohio’s involvement in the Civil War, including the Siege of Cincinnati. He was interviewed by WKET TV in Kentucky for a three-part series on Ulysses S Grant that ran in 2019 and has presented to groups throughout the Midwest. Burns is a former adjunct history faculty-member at Northern Kentucky University. His passion is linking the past to the present and bringing history to life.
As I previously informed you, we are going to change our April meeting to Wednesday April 6at 7 pm, but still at La Navona. Our March meeting date of March 9 is unchanged.
Here are four miscellaneous issues:
Member Merle Robinson asked me to provide the group with the following information from the Society for Military History (SMH):
Chair and Commentator: Joseph Fitzharris, Emeritus, St Thomas University Michael Burns, Marine Corps University Press, “The Natural War: Soldiers, Civilians, and Northern Virginia’s Environment in the Second Bull Run Campaign”
Samuel Walgren, Oklahoma State University, “Freedom and Coercion: The African American Military Experience in Arkansas during the Civil War, 1863-1866”
Meg Corner, Ohio University, “Protective Violence: Guerrilla Warfare and Masculinity in the Confederacy”
Michael Thompson, Rogers State University, “Roddey Reconstructed: The Post-war Antics of General Philip D. Roddey in the Gilded Age” one session
The conference is free of charge. Everyone, SMH or not, is invited to participate.
Merle Robinson is going to make an announcement at our March meeting about the hobby game convention “Origins” that is held annually in Columbus. Here is some information about the convention, and an opportunity for our Roundtable in connections with the event:
Background:
1. This year Origins will be LIVE at the Columbus Convention Center from 9-10 June 2022. The event features all kinds of games with a large number of historical games (some on the civil war) and a seminar track called the “War College”. This program track generally draws crowds of at least 20 and up to 40 attendees for every session offered. They run two seminar rooms for all days the convention is open.
In recent years, there have been no contributors that really address civil war topics but there are many folks at the events that are interested in political/military events in the civil war. Expertise is honored in this event but you don’t have to be THE expert; talented amateurs often have an opportunity to present.
In general, all seminars/panels/presentations have to be finalized on the scheduleno later than the end of March.
2. In addition to my involvement with the Civil War Round Table, I am active with an educational non-profit called the National Security Decision-Making Game. That group was founded by two Naval War College staffers that specialized in wargaming. Our group has been active at Origins for over thirty years and contributes major content for the “War College” at Origins. I am also in close contact with their principal organizer for the “War College”.
Potential:
Recognizing that there is interest in civil war content at a Columbus event means this is a venue that can help promote the our Roundtable and potentially gain more (and younger) members. Therefore, it could be beneficial for members to offer seminars/panels on civil war topics.
Origins is held downtown. In general, speakers get a badge (for at least the days they present) to access the convention, the ability to register for events (normally for standard event fees), and access to the vendor area. They do not subsidize downtown parking but there is ample parking within walking distance.
For the war college events we uniformly get intelligent, inquisitive, civil and responsible audiences. Traditionally, most speakers use projection equipment provided by the convention (but are not required to use these).
Concept:
1. This is a real opportunity to advertise the group to the public.
2. We may be able to directly recruit new members in central Ohio.
3. Authors could promote their books (if they have one).
4. Suggest the CWR should provide two panels/presentations at this convention but we can likely get two (one-two hour long) blocks during the convention. If we had more content we might be able to get more slots.
5. In my view, more generic Civil War topics might get the best traction but any likely topics would get some hardcore “war college” attendees.
Options (not mutually exclusive):
Option 1: Anyone can make direct arrangements with War College POC and do their own online submission at https://www.originsgamefair.com/game-master and/or by working with Gordon Bliss the dean of the “War College”.
Option 2: my NSDMG group has a healthy/long established relationship with the convention staff and I am familiar with the process. We provide a significant subset of their schedule for many years. So I will offer to be a “factor” for anyone that wishes to get involved to:
Explain the process in detail
Sponsor all reputable & reliable participants (that should be all of this group)
You can also call in at 1-312-626-6799 and then use the following information to access the meeting:
Meeting ID: 827 8497 4421
Passcode: 033828
Time: 7pm
Speaker: Roundtable President Mr. Jamie Ryan
Topic: The Campaign on Bayou Teche
From our President Mr. Jamie Ryan; My Fellow Roundtable Members: Our next meeting will be Wednesday February 9, 2022 at 7 pm at La Navona, 154 North Hamilton, Gahanna, Ohio. I will be our presenter, and the topic of my presentation will be The Campaign on Bayou Teche, Louisiana, April-May 1863. I was fascinated by the presentation Dr. Donald Frazer gave us in 2020 on the actions in Louisiana and Texas in after the capture of Vicksburg, so I ordered his four books (the “Louisiana Quadrille” as he calls them) and read them. The presentation will be one small part of the overall story of the war in Louisiana. I am no sort of expert on this campaign, but since I doubt many of us have ever heard of the Battle of Irish Bend, the siege of Fort Bisland or the capture of Fort ______ at Butte-le-Rose, I figured that I would forge ahead based on the principle that “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King.”
Treasurer’s Report from Pete Zuhars:
Beginning Balance $2,414.49
January Meeting Book Raffle 28.00
2022 Dues & Donations 265.00
Expenses 0.00
Ending Balance $2,707.49
January was the beginning of our Roundtable’s fiscal year, so please pay your dues ($20 for an individual and $25 for a family). Thank you for all the support you have provided that has allowed the Roundtable to survive through COVID-19 and continue to present topics of interest to our members.
Our January meeting featured our annual debate; please see Tom Ayres’ report attached hereto. I want to send a shout out to Dale Beck and Mike Peters, along with all the members who participated, in making the debate great.
Message #1 is from Heather Miller at the Civil War Institute Heather hmiller@gettysburg.edu :
Dear Friends,
The Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College would like to offer the members of your Civil War Round table or organization a 15% discount to attend the CWI summer conference June 10-15. You can explore further details about our conference on our website, as well as check out our schedule for this year’s event. At CWI, we believe in the mission of CWRTs and we are making this special offer to recognize the efforts of your organization in promoting the study of Civil War History. Please let us know if you intend to make this special offer known to your membership, and feel free to use any language from this email for your newsletter.
The 2022 CWI Conference will feature a wide range of topics, including Civil War battlefield and camp archaeology, the demobilization of Lee’s army, the memorialization of the Gettysburg centennial, U.S. Grant, race, and racial violence during Reconstruction, treasures from the Library of Congress and National Archives, a re-assessment of the 20th Maine and Little Round Top, slavery, war, the transformation of medicine, Francis Barlow’s Civil War, and more. 2022 promises to be a blockbuster year of CWI speakers. We are thrilled to feature lead Civil War scholars, Gary Gallagher, Joan Waugh, Jeffry Wert, Carol Reardon, Carrie Janney, Brooks Simpson, Scott Hartwig, and more within our line-up of over 35 distinguished speakers and tour guides.
In addition to touring the Gettysburg battlefield, participants will have the opportunity to visit a variety of other nearby battlefields and historic sites on tours that will explore 2nd Fredericksburg, South Mountain, North Anna, Spotsylvania, Bristoe Station, the 1864 Maryland Campaign battlefields, and more. Participants who may prefer a shorter, more physically active conference experience can also choose to sign up for our new “active track” package, featuring a combination of Friday and Saturday morning lectures, and a day and a half of walking-intensive tours of the Gettysburg battlefield on Saturday and Sunday with historian Timothy Orr, exploring sharpshooting at Gettysburg.
If you are interested in pursuing this offer, please let me know by May 1, 2022 so that we can include your name in our conference promotional literature. We are also happy to supply any promotional language, fliers or postcards for you to pass out or use to advertise.
We hope to have the opportunity to work with you to help continue the educational missions of both your Round Table and the Civil War Institute. Please let me know as if you have any questions, and we look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
Thank you!
Message #2:
The March issue of “America’s Civil War” magazine (historynet.com) presents “Eyewitness to Carnage”, the vivid first-person account of Ephraim Dawes, 53rd Ohio, of his “first day under fire” at Shiloh, April 1862. An honor to collaborate with ACW on this article. Available at Barnes & Noble newsstand, also possibly Walmart and Books-a-Million.
Best regards,
Steve Magnusen
Vice President, Indianapolis Civil War Round Table
Society for Women and the Civil War Board Member
Historian, Professional Engineer (Retired)
Author: To My Best Girl: The Inspiring Rufus and Mary Gates Dawes Story
Message #3: From member Merle Robinson (particularly appropriate based on last month’s debate topic).
Some myths are uncommonly stubborn things to dislodge,” writes historian Scott Hartwig. Yet the Gettysburg scholar tries his darndest to dislodge the apocryphal story surrounding the infamously fruitless Pickett’s Charge.
Hartwig contends that “J.E.B. Stuart’s primary mission was not to go thundering into the Yankees’ rear” at the same time George Pickett launched an attack from the front, “but to protect the left flank and rear of the army from a possible thrust by Union cavalry.”
Will Hartwig’s latest historical research infuse fresh life into the lore of Gettysburg, or will long standing beliefs endure?
As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Email us at news@historynet.com.
Message #4: Forwarded to me by our esteemed Historian General Mike Peters:
From: “Gilot, Jon-Erik” <gilotj@einetwork.net> Date: January 19, 2022 at 1:19:47 PM EST Subject:Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall Civil War Symposium
I just wanted to forward some information relating to our upcoming Civil War Symposium at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall and the Captain Thomas Espy Post in Carnegie, PA. We have a group of people coming in from Youngstown, and since Columbus is also within easy driving distance I hope you might pass this along to your roundtable.
The symposium, scheduled for Saturday, April 9, will feature five historians from Emerging Civil War, including Kristopher D. White, Chris Mackowski, Paige Gibbons Backus, Dan Welch, and Drew Gruber. Highlighting several key themes of the second year of the Civil War, the symposium will examine how the events of 1862 impacted a soldier’s experience, including the battles that scarred them, the medicine that healed them, and the words that freed them.
Presentations Include:
Drew A. Gruber – “The Civil War on the Virginia Peninsula in 1862”
Dan Welch – “Abraham Lincoln & The Emancipation Proclamation”
Paige Gibbons Backus – “Dr. Jonathan Letterman’s Plan that Changed Military Medicine”
Chris Mackowski – “Simply Murder: The Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia”
Kristopher D. White – “The Battle of Gaines’ Mill, Virginia”
In addition to the speakers, attendees will have the opportunity to tour our national treasure Captain Thomas Espy Post, considered the most intact surviving Grand Army of the Republic Post, as well as the Lincoln Gallery, an impressive display of 100 prints of Abraham Lincoln captured between 1847 – 1865. There will also be an expansive Civil War book sale and raffles throughout the day.
Seating is limited to 75 attendees and we have only a limited number of tickets remaining at the regular price of $60.00, which includes the five lectures and a boxed lunch. Tickets may be purchased at Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall Civil War Symposium
Best Regards,
Jon-Erik Gilot, MLIS Espy Post Curator Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall 300 Beechwood Avenue Carnegie, PA 15106
Central Ohio Civil War Roundtable 