Sad News About Future Work Days at Gettysburg NMP

Gettysburg National Military Park Adopt-A-Position Program
Thanks you for your prior years of dedication and service. We sincerely appreciate the work of our park volunteers and the contribution they make to keeping the park beautiful and protecting resources.  Unfortunately, at this time the AAP program as it has been known for the past several years will no longer be available.  The park has evaluated all the park volunteer programs in terms of how we can better manage them, as well as evaluating the work they do to ensure that these programs are focused on our highest priorities and most urgent needs. The result of our evaluations has directed the park to focus more on volunteering opportunities that correspond with national efforts like “Park Day” and “Lands Day”, etc. in lieu of smaller individual efforts focused on specific locations.  The park will keep you updated as to the next volunteer opportunities in the spring.

Editorial Comment from Ed Root of our CWRT:

Sad news. I was told over a year ago that they were headed in this direction. 

I guess a combination of lack of staff to deal with multiple volunteer groups along with bureaucratic governance that undervalues maintenance wrecked a 25+ year program. Big needs might be met but the little things will fall through the cracks. Little things add up unfortunately and the Park will suffer. 

ed

From the Brigade Commander ~ December 2022

The Fall, 2022, issue of Hallowed Ground includes a listing of the members of the Color Bearer Society of the American Battlefield Trust (ABT). Among them (once again): The CWRT of Eastern Pa., Inc. (in the $2,500 - $4,900 category). Calling its Color Bearers “extremely generous,” the ABT thanks these individuals, organizations and families, which represent just three percent of ABT’s total membership, for their “extraordinary commitment to the mission of saving our nation’s most hallowed ground.” Nearly 50 percent of all gifts received by the ABT come from members of the Color Bearer Society.

In the midst of the current turbulence that we are all living through, we can take heart in knowing that Round Table members, past and present, have and are making an important and lasting, positive contribution to America and Americans. Congratulations to us all!

Look inside the December Newsletter for news about future volunteering opportunities at Gettysburg National Military Park, information about our December 6 lecture/speaker and a local Civil War learning opportunity, plus coming releases of Civil War books, including a few written especially for kids, releasing just in time for the soon-to-arrive season of gift giving.

Wishing you and yours all of the hope, joy and wonder that the Season can bring!

BARRY

November Meeting - Summary and Photos

CWRT of Eastern PA met November 1, 2022 at the Delta by Marriott in Fogelsville.

After another good dinner, we began the meeting with the introduction of Rich Jankowski, the President of the “Old Baldy” Civil War Round Table in central NJ. (FYI - Old Baldy was the name of Meade’s horse.) Rich, also the Director of the CWRT Congress, was present to encourage inter roundtable communication and cooperation; and to hear Rich Rosenthal’s presentation.

Rich Rosenthal, President of the North Jersey Civil War Round Table, gave a two part presentation.

Part One centered on General Order #11 of December 17, 1862, issued by General Grant as he tried to enforce the Lincoln administration’s attempt to cut off the Confederacy from all trade with the North. The trade was especially profitable for those dealing in cotton and cotton goods going north.

Since Jews were among the most prominent business people, Grant’s order stated rather harshly, “The Jews, as a class, violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department, and also Department orders, are hereby expelled from the Department.”

The result was almost 1000 jews expelled, many arrested and sent off by train or boat without possessions.

Eventually the order is brought to the attention of Lincoln who tells Halleck to rescind it. Eventually Halleck writes to Grant telling him, the president’s desire. Eventually Grant acts.

Part Two dealt with Judah Benjamin - the so called brains of the confederacy. As Jefferson Davis’s right-hand man, Judah P. Benjamin was the most important Jew of the 19th century – he was also the most widely hated one in the North and portions of the South.

Yet, during his career he was a United States Senator and served the Confederacy as Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State.

He was a proponent of slavery, but eventually proposed arming the slaves and sending them to war to fight for the CSA.

At war’s end, he escaped to Great Britain, where he resumed his law practice.

Rich presented Barry with two new books and a journal.

We thank Rich for his presentation.

We also held our monthly book raffle for preservation. A photo of the winners is below.

History's Headlines: Jonathan Taylor of Bethlehem

Jonathan Taylor of Bethlehem

• WFMZ.com by Frank Whelan (CWRT Board Member)

• To read the complete article CLICK HERE

“It is well that war is terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.” - Confederate commander Robert E. Lee, on seeing federal charges repulsed at the battle of Fredericksburg, Va. December 13, 1862

These oft-quoted words of Lee, usually the only ones selected from him in most books of reference almost brings to life a picture, one of those Don Troiani paintings or prints much admired and collected by Civil War buffs. There Lee sits on Traveler, ramrod straight, half lowered field glass in hand, aides and fellow officers around him. He turns to his trusted aide James Longstreet (later to be defamed by true believers in the Lost Cause after the war by becoming a Republican and supporter of civil rights for Blacks) and utters the quote for which he is most remembered. Was someone taking notes?

Somewhere off of this picture is 20-year-old Jonathan Taylor of Bethlehem and at that moment no one had to tell him how terrible war was. As a Captain of Company C of the 129th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers he found himself in one of the bigger failures of Union military leadership in the Civil War, the battle of Fredericksburg, one that would eventually lead to his wounding and later death. The Civil War monument in Bethlehem’s Rose Garden, recently restored, honors Taylor and his fellow soldiers from the Bethlehem and Northampton County area.

Born in Kidder Township, Carbon County on the 21st of April 1842, Taylor moved with his family to Bethlehem in 1858. At the outbreak of the war in 1861 he was a student at the Weaversville Academy, a private school of 100 students, some of whom boarded at the school and included male and female scholars. The academy favored a classical education, which meant an emphasis on Greek and Latin classics in the original languages. If it was like other schools of this type, it included writings of Homer and Caesar and other tales of soldiers from antiquity. The fact that Taylor attended a private school where his parents had to pay tuition rather than a public school suggests that they were of some means if not exactly wealthy.

Shortly following the bombardment of Fort Sumter the 19-year-old Taylor enlisted in Company A, First Pennsylvania Volunteers. The regiment was mustered in at Harrisburg on April 20th 1861. If he was like many young soldiers at the time Taylor might have assumed that the war would be over before he had a chance to fight. His regiment was at Harpers Ferry on July 21, 1861, when the battle of Bull Run took place. Washington socialites in their carriages with picnic baskets quickly fled following a Union Army battered against Jackson’s “stone wall.” It signaled the war would be a long one.

Taylor’s unit had only been mustered in for three months of service. For some that brief stint with war was…

To read the complete article CLICK HERE

From the Brigade Commander ~ November

It’s time to mark your calendars and plan to join us on Tuesday, November 1st for our next Civil War Round Table dinner, meeting and lecture.

Our November lecturer, Rich Rosenthal, has organized his talk into two sections, each part covering different Civil War era topics unified by a common thread— most of the principals involved were men of the Jewish faith. As always, if you can’t fit the dinner into your schedule, consider joining us later for the lecture.

Inside the November Newsletter, you’ll find a great example of satire—an age-old form of humor that intends to make fun of people or the ills and errors of the time. Round Table member Ed Root recently found a Civil War era gem that’s too good not to share.

Also in that issue, you’ll also read about a man who purportedly served as inspiration for the character of Captain Ahab in Herman Melville’s novel, “Moby Dick.”

In fact, take a look at the second, special print raffle we’ve launched to coincide with our planned January, 2023 lecture.

Hope to see you on the 1st .

BARRY

November Program and Speaker Information

RICH ROSENTHAL – NOVEMBER 1, 2022 SPEAKER; A TWO PART PROGRAM

PART ONE – GENERAL GRANT’S INFAMOUS ORDER #11, THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS

Intending to enforce the Lincoln administration’s blockade against the Confederacy to cut off the Confederacy from all trade with the North, on December 17,1862, General Grant issued General Order #11, which stated: “The Jews, as a class, violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department, and also Department orders, are hereby expelled from the Department.”

PART 2 – JUDAH P. BENJAMIN: THE BRAINS OF THE CONFEDERACY, AND A JEW

As Jefferson Davis’s right-hand man, Judah P. Benjamin was the most important Jew of the 19th century – he was also the most widely hated one in the North and portions of the South. Yet, he was a United States Senator and served the Confederacy as Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State.

BIOGRAPHY

Rich Rosenthal is the President of the North Jersey Civil War Round Table and worked closely with the pre-eminent historian and author, John T. Cunningham, one of the founders of the North Jersey American Revolution Round Table. Rich has presented numerous lectures on a wide variety of historical subjects and is making a return to the Civil War Round Table of Eastern PA. He resides in Parsippany, New Jersey with his wife, Harriet.

October Meeting - Summary and Photos

John Zinn presented “Baseball During the Civil War Era”

John spoke about early Pennsylvania baseball history, with a special focus on the 1866 season, where a Philadelphia team was one of two championship contenders.  Many in the room hope for a repeat this baseball season with the Phillies!

John is a historian with a special interest in the history of baseball. Chairman of the Board of the New Jersey Historical Society, John was the Chair of New Jersey’s Committee on the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, and is the author of five books.

We also held our usual book raffle, which benefits our preservation efforts.

Winners are pictured here.

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Field Trip October 29

Andy Waskie will guide us on our trip to Laurel Hill Cemetery. Laurel Hill Cemetery is the cemetery with many Civil War heroes including Major General George G. Meade. After touring the cemetery from 10:00 - 12:30, we will go to McGillin’s Old Ale Pub for lunch. The restaurant has provided food and drinks for many US soldiers and the infamous, John Wilkes Booth. After our lunch, we will go to the Union League. A private tour will be provided by Andy. We will leave the Union League and return home that same day.

Andy Waskie is a retired History professor at Temple University. He is an author of the book, “Philadelphia and the Civil War: Arsenal of the Union”. He is a 40-year member of the Board of the Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery. He has written a history of Laurel Hill and conducted tours at this cemetery for 40 years. While Andy will not take a payment, he requests a donation to the Laurel Hill Cemetery for $20.00. So the more folks who go, the less the price will be. The price for the Union League will be a donation of $100.00 to the friends of the Union League. Again, the more that go, the lower the price. Naturally, our lunch will be on us and the parking when we are downtown. Andy estimates the buffet to be approximately $16.00. The only add-on is I would like to collect just a little more than the cost of admission in order to treat our guide to lunch.

I will pass around a sign-up sheet tonight and request a $10.00 non-refundable deposit. We will also place the flyer on the website and in the newsletter.  However, you must sign up with me (Claire).  If you have any questions, concerns, please contact me at clkuk@ptd.net

September Meeting and Summary

Tom Fontana provided period music while were were gathering, and again while we worked out some minor technical difficulties in the presentation.

Nancy Hale presented a program about the variety of artillery used during Gettysburg, and where origianl pieces still are displayed on the battlefield.

She also spoke about some of the the artillerists themselves and there service above and beyond the call of duty.

As usual we held our book raffle with proceeds going to preservation. Preservation grants from the past program year were announced.

From the Brigade Commander ~ September 2022

It is my great honor to welcome you to the 45th campaign year of the Civil War Round Table of Eastern Pa., Inc. You need only to read our newsletter to appreciate the magnitude of the contributions that this organization, thanks to people like you, has made to America and Americans.

This month, we take time out to honor the late Karl Lehr. His legacy gift to our Round Table, made more than 10 years ago, placed our Round Table squarely among the organizations and individuals that are leading the fight to preserve the places where crucial chapters of history were written and that serve as the final resting places for countless soldiers.

We’ll be getting off to a strong start with a return visit by Nancy Hale, who will share her research results in the area of the artillerists and artillery used during the Battle of Gettysburg. You’ll find more lecture details in the newsletter. This newsletter also shares news about two upcoming Civil War-related events.

Hope to see you all very soon.

Barry