November Meeting Highlights and Photos

Roberts Hicks presented the post war stories of two of the seven wounded Civil War Veterans based on his new book, Wounded for Life: Seven Union Veterans of the Civil War,

Hicks spoke of the vets and how their injuries defined their lives in the remainder of their existence. One of them was without arms. Yet both married and had children. He spoke of their interaction with the pension board and the sums they received for their new physical challenges.

Hicks is an independent scholar of the history of science and medicine. Formerly, he served as director of the Mütter Museum and Historical Medical Library and William Maul Measey Chair for the History of Medicine at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

Ed Root spoke of the pop-up Civil War museum that is being opened by the Round Table in Bethlehem during the Christmas season. The exhibit will be housed in the former Woolworth Building, located at 555 Main Street in Bethlehem. Thus far, participating organizations include the Bethlehem Area School District, Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites, the CWRT of Eastern Pa., the GAR Museum of Philadelphia, the City of Bethlehem, and the National Museum of Industrial History (located in Bethlehem).

Our thanks to CWRT Jack Stanley, who first suggested a Civil War pop-up museum as a way to increase awareness of, and membership in, our CWRT by leveraging idle space in downtown Bethlehem—an area that is heavily visited each weekend between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
The mini-museum will be open each week, Friday to Sunday, beginning on Friday, November 28 and running through Sunday, December 28. Contact Ed if you are able to staff the exhibit for a few hours any time its open.

As always we had our book raffle for Preservation. Winners are depicted below.

CWRT Featured on History's Headlines WFMZ.com

The Civil War Roundtable of Eastern PA was featured in the recent installment of History’s Headlines on WFMZ.com

Author Frank Whalen, with a life time of experience as a reporter in the Valley , features the Roundtable and its long history in the United States, and in the Lehigh Valley as well.

Using film from the October monthly meeting, as well as interviews with roundtable authors, the article highlights the efforts of those interested in the Civil War to learn the history of the conflict and to continue to educate others.

Read the story on WFMZ.com

November Program Details Announced

Roberts Hicks presents the post war stories of two wounded Civil War Veterans

Many Civil War books discuss the mortality due to bullets and diseases but very few explore the postwar lives of wounded warriors. Based on his new book, Wounded for Life: Seven Union Veterans of the Civil War, Dr. Robert Hicks examines two Union veterans, Thomas Hawkins and Richard Dunphy. Hawkins, an African American sergeant major, was wounded four times at two battles near the James River in Virginia and never recovered. Irish immigrant Dunphy, a sailor aboard USS Hartford, was injured by an exploding shell during the Battle of Mobile Bay and suffered the amputation of both arms. Each awarded the Medal of Honor, both men later worked, married, and had children, yet the war changed their bodies and their relationships with families and communities. Dr. Hicks looks at how they constructed new identities while living with the trauma of the battlefield.

 Robert D. Hicks, PhD is an independent scholar of the history of science and medicine. Formerly, he served as director of the Mütter Museum and Historical Medical Library and William Maul Measey Chair for the History of Medicine at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. He has worked with museum-based education and exhibits for four decades, primarily as a consultant to historic sites and museums. His most recent book, Civil War Medicine: A Surgeon’s Experience, appeared in 2019 by Indiana University Press. This presentation derives from his new book, Wounded for Life: Seven Union Veterans of the Civil War

CWRT of Eastern Pa to Host a Civil War Pop-up Exhibit in Downtown Bethlehem

Exciting news! We can confirm that the Civil War Round Table of Eastern Pa. will host a pop-up (temporary) exhibit in downtown Bethlehem on the weekends that lie between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This possibility was first hinted in last month’s newsletter. Even better news: Temporary use of the space is being donated by the building’s owner, Lou Pektor and Rubel Street II LP by Pektor Holdings I GP DE LLC.

The exhibit will be housed in the former Woolworth Building, located at 555 Main Street in Bethlehem. Thus far, participating organizations include the Bethlehem Area School District, Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites, the CWRT of Eastern Pa., the GAR Museum of Philadelphia, the City of Bethlehem, and the National Museum of Industrial History (located in Bethlehem).

Our thanks to CWRT Jack Stanley, who first suggested a Civil War pop-up museum as a way to increase awareness of, and membership in, our CWRT by leveraging idle space in downtown Bethlehem—an area that is heavily visited each weekend between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
The mini-museum will be open each week, Friday to Sunday, beginning on Friday, November 28 and running through Sunday, December 28. Once visiting hours are finalized, we’ll be back in touch to share this information plus any new wrinkles that might “pop up” between now and then.

President Barry Arnold said, “A pop-up museum is an amazing opportunity to showcase our Roundtable, especially now, when interest in our nation’s history has been piqued by America 250 events happening all around the country.”

Several guest speakers have already agreed to share Civil War and Revolutionary War subjects during museum exhibit hours. Those dates and times (and speaker names/topics) will be shared as soon as the schedule is complete. And we’ll soon also be reaching out to you with a request to volunteer as a greeter/docent and/or to help with setup/teardown of the exhibits.

Donations to cover incidental costs associated with the popup museum exhibit will also be greatly appreciated. You can mail a donation to CWRT of Eastern Pa., Inc., PO Box 333, Allentown, Pa. 18105, OR bring a donation (cash or check) along with you to our November 4, 2025, or December 2, 2025, Round Table meetings. This is our chance to shine!

From the Brigade Commander November 2025

In our October, 2025, newsletter, we teased a potential new project: Setup a temporary (pop-up) museum in downtown Bethlehem to draw attention to our Round Table and, in the process, make our own, unique contribution to America 250 celebrations taking place around the country.

This month, I’m thrilled to report that hard work and determination really can make dreams come true. This, thanks to the efforts of Round Table members, Jack Stanley and Ed Root, and the support from what is now a list of several Bethlehem organi- zations, historical organizations and notable guest speakers.

You can read more about the pop-up museum in the Oct 16th article online in Brigade News or on page 3 on the November Newsletter. In that same newsletter you’ll also find information about the speaker for our November meeting, Civil War book releases scheduled for November, and a biography about his month’s featured Civil War Medal of Honor recipient, James Allen.

Barry

October Meeting and Highlights

Our October Meeting was highlighted with a captivating presentation by Janet Barrett presenting “Comanche and His Captain:  The Warhorse and the Soldier of Fortune”

Set against the Civil War and the fight to secure the western frontier, the story of the soldier of fortune, Captain Myles Keogh, and the tough Mustang, Comanche, was a tale of bravery, partnership, survival, and healing.

     Keogh was one of many Irishmen who were professional soldiers, but who refused to fight under the English flag. He brought his talents to America to fight for the Union in the Civil War, and then with the newly formed U.S. Seventh Cavalry.

Barrett spoke of of the horse, the riders, the a farrier, and Comanche’s evetual place of honor in Kansas to this day.

Before the program, a videographer from WFMZ was present to interview Ed Root and Laura Kleinschmidt; and then record portion of the program for a news segment to be aired at a future date.

We also wished farewell to Neil and Kathy Coddington, as they prepare to move to Lititz.

Finaly below is pictured our monthly Book Raffle winners, with all proceed going to Preservation.

From the Brigade Commander ~ October 2025

Ron Kirkwood, the guest speaker for our September meeting, authored two books, published over a five-year span, that share experiences of those whose lives were impacted by their time at/near the Spangler Farm in Gettysburg—both the soldiers who fought there and the Spangler family, owners of land where fighting took place in 1863. In doing so, Ron has gifted us with “snapshots” that offer a greater and intimate understanding of the fighting at/near the Spangler Farm and its varied outcomes and impacts.

After three years of painstakingly sifting through available online ancestry information, the folks Ron eventually reached out to were recipients of a great gift: Knowledge that one of their ancestors had fought in the Battle of Gettysburg, either on or near to the Spangler Farm property. In doing so, Ron has done more than add to already existing documentation of an important chapter in American history. He has invited more people to join in the important work of keeping alive Civil War history.

Although Ron’s efforts and our Round Table’s stated purposes may be somewhat different, we and he are essentially on the same mission. I can’t think of a better person to have helped us to kick off our Round Table’s Campaign 48.

We’re off to a great start! And I am looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday, October 7th.

Barry

October Program Details Announced

Janet Barrett presents “Comanche and His Captain:  The Warhorse and the Soldier of Fortune”

Set against the Civil War and the fight to secure the western frontier, the story of the soldier of fortune, Captain Myles Keogh, and the tough Mustang, Comanche, is a tale of bravery, partnership, survival, and healing.

               Keogh was one of many Irishmen who were professional soldiers, but who refused to fight under the English flag. He brought his talents to America to fight for the Union in the Civil War, and then with the newly formed U.S. Seventh Cavalry.

Given command of Company I, he took his men across Kansas to Fort Wallace, a hot bed of Indian fighting on the edge of the frontier. Soon, the shrewd choice of Comanche gave him the horse he wanted and an extraordinary partnership that would last for eight years, eventually taking them to the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

               The outcome of that clash was disastrous for the cavalry. But, when rescuers arrived on the battlefield, they found Comanche standing alone among the fallen, wounded and exhausted, but still alive – and whinnying to the men.

               On our country's 100th anniversary, the Little Bighorn debacle sent shock waves across the country. Yet, people were comforted in knowing that the brave Comanche had survived. He became the most famous horse in America, honorary Second Commanding Officer of the Seventh Cavalry. Preserved at the end of his long life, he stands at the University of Kansas, to this day still a bold, resilient symbol of America.


    Janet Barrett remembers her father first telling her about Comanche when she was about eight years old, a simple story then about a horse that survived a battle. When she revisited it as an adult, a few years ago, she found an intriguing, complex story--of a horse and rider whose legacy grew beyond anything that was apparent in their lives. Through her experiences as a horsewoman she found herself particularly fascinated with the connection between Comanche and Keogh, as well as times when the horse was central to life.

            Her other books are On The Fence: A Parent's Handbook of Horseback Riding and They Called Her Reckless--A True Story of War, Love And One Extraordinary Horse. With the success of the latter, about another famous warhorse, Barrett knew it was time to go back to that earlier era and tell the whole story of the tough Mustang that brought fame to himself and his rider, and the U.S. Cavalry. She was raised in New York, graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. in Communications, and now makes her home in Connecticut.