From the Brigade Commander ~ June 2024

How can you spot a Civil War buff?

They’re the kinds of folks who are always on the lookout for ways to treat themselves to secondhand lives-and-times experiences that surrounded the war. They’re excited to stomp across wet, grassy fields to follow in the imagined footsteps of soldiers who fought in that place. And while inside a museum, you can almost watch them get goosebumps while viewing an article of clothing or a saber once worn by a favorite officer.

If I’ve just described you, I’m happy to report we’ve got a field trip coming up, on June 8, that is right up your alley. Round Table members AND their guests are welcome. You can read all about it at the right or on pages 4 and 5 of our June newsletter

If you want to make it a weekend, and the sounds and smells of the battle are enough to get you in a Civil-War-frame-of-mind, I invite you to read about an upcoming shooting event, using Civil War reproduction weaponry, on pages 3 and 4 of the June Newsletter.

Check the photo on the right. Notice any goosebumps? June 4 will be the last meeting of Campaign 46. You can read a bit about our speakers and their subject on page 2 of that same June newsletter. More details will follow via email once we receive their final synopsis.

And, in case I forget to say so during the meeting, let me thank everyone now for another successful campaign. And watch for our Summer, 2024, edition of the Civil War Roundtable of Eastern Pa., Inc., which is planned for a mid- July, 2024, release.

BARRY

Jack Stanley's CWRT Display at the May Meeting

Jack Stanley brought some of his Civil War memorabilia to the May CWR meeting for a fantastic display.

Look at the photos to see a reincarnation of an 1863 photograph of noncommissioned officers of Co D 93 New York infantry dinner mess. It included a basic cooking mess exhibit using original tinware and the often used Sibley tripod and stove.

The display also included an original officer’s campaign desk with many officer accoutrements as well as several original uniforms, field gear, and an interesting local item or two.

Pistols and Rfles were also included.

Enjoy these photos.

Alan and Patti Lowcher's CWRT Display in May

At the May meeting, Alan and Patti Lowcher shared some of their Civil War memorabilia including an original rations haversack, as well as women’s mourning jewelry. Enjoy these photos.

Alan also included a fascinating look at Civil War rations, photos below of a presentation he has made about them.

May Meeting Highlights and Photos

WHAT AN INCREDIBLE NIGHT!

• We were treated to fantastic displays by Jack Stanley, and Alan & Patti Locher. (See separate Brigade News posts for details of each display.)

• We listened to Brad Gottfreid speak about the little known Point Lookout prisoner of war camp in Southern Maryland used to house Confederate soldiers. With a capacity of 10,000, the prison held more than 20,000 men at times, with more than 50,000 passing through its gates in the years it was in use.

• We held our monthly book raffle for preservation.

June 8 Field Trip to Monterey Pass Announced

After three days of battle at Gettysburg . . .

. . . both sides had taken substantial losses. Robert E. Lee’s 50,000 remaining troops of the Army of Northern Virginia needed to withdraw from 80,000 remaining Union troops in George Meade’s Army of the Potomac.  Where did they go?  Monterey Pass was the site of a battle that would determine whether Lee would be able to retreat and fight another day. 

On Saturday June 8 join the E Pa CWRT on a field trip to the site of this battle.
DETAILS:
Leave - Delta Hotel at 8:00am sharp
Tour - 10:30 + visit battlefield museum
Lunch at a local restaurant
Approx cost for tour $15-20 each + lunch cost

Battlefield website is https://montereypassbattlefield.org/
Contact Claire if you are interested in attending.

GAR Museum Trip April 27th

On Saturday April 27th, members of the Roundtable took a trip to the new home of the GAR Museum in Philadelphia for a personally guided tour by Walt Lafty. (Museum website - https://garmuslib.org/ )

Claire wrote - “Walt, the tour today was absolutely amazing. When we went to lunch, everyone kept saying how great the tour was. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and learned so much.I hope to see you in the future. Many thanks.”

Kay noted, “Agree.. enjoyed it immensely and the restaurant was very good as well. Good job Claire.”

Ed said “It was a grand tour”

Walt replied, “Thank you all for a very enjoyable day. Your group was one of the best to have visited the GAR Civil War Museum. It was clear to me how knowledgeable and interested your members are on the subject. And it is so nice for me to spend time with people who enjoy Civil War history and who appreciate promoting the legacy of those who served as well as their families.

I want to also thank you all for the generous donation to help support the museum. I passed that on to our treasurer and Board members so you should get a thank you from them soon. You have inspired me to try and make it up to one of your upcoming meetings.

Thanks, Walt Lafty”

A Special Civil War Exhibit on Display at Our May 7 Meeting

In addition to the usual dinner option and lecture, a special exhibit, curated by Round Table members Alan Lowcher and Jack Stanley, will be set up in our meeting room.

In keeping with the dinner theme of our meetings, the items on display will be a brought-to-life reincarnation of an 1863 photograph (right) of noncommissioned officers of Co D 93 New York infantry dinner mess. The exhibit will include a basic cooking mess exhibit using original tinware and the oftenused Sibley tripod and stove.

The display will also include an original officer’s campaign desk with many officer accoutrements as well as several original uniforms, field gear, and an interesting local item or two.

And, of course, no display would be complete without a few regimental instruments to keep the troops marching along.

Consider arriving earlier than usual so you’ll have plenty of time to view the display before the dinner and lecture begins. And since you’ll be there early, why not stay on and join us for dinner?

From the Brigade Commander ~ May 2024

Campaign 46 is drawing to a close. But just as it started off with a bang—the culmination of a triumphant campaign to bring home the officer’s sword of Captain Jonathan Taylor, Campaign 46 is likewise coming to a memorable ending.

At our second-to-last meeting in May, attendees will be treated to a special Civil War display, inside our own meeting room, that will be curated by Round Table members Alan Lowcher and Jack Stanley. To me, the time and effort that something like this is going to take really speaks volumes about the way so many folks feel about the Civil War ... about not wanting to let it go away.

We want it to continue to tug at our imagination. We want to continue to feel it—even though none of us were there to see it. It’s why there is such a thing as the Civil War Round Table of Eastern Pa. You can read more about the special exhibit in Brigade News or on page 3 of our May newsletter.

I hope many of you will be able to arrange (or rearrange) your schedules to join us on May 7 so that you, too, can fire (or refire) your imagination about the extraordinary moment in history that we call the American Civil War.

BARRY

May 7th Program Details Announced

Hell Comes To Southern Maryland; The Point Lookout Civil War Prisoner of War Camp

 Prisoner of war camps sprung up in the North and South in mid-1863 when the cartel governing the paroling and exchanging of prisoners ended. The Point Lookout Civil War prisoner of war camp in Southern Maryland became the largest facility for Confederates in the North. Over 50,000 men spent time in the two pens that totaled 30 acres. In this presentation, Dr. Brad Gottfried will explain how and why the camp was formed, life and death in the camp, and what it was like to be a prisoner of war there.

Brad Gottfried Bio

 Brad Gottfried retired in 2017 after servicing 40 years in higher education. After receiving his Ph.D., Brad taught full-time for eleven years at three colleges and then entered the ranks of the administration, rising to the role of President. He served as President for seventeen years at two colleges, and retired as President of the College of Southern Maryland.  He now devotes his time to writing and giving tours of the Antietam battlefield (he is an Antietam Certified Battlefield Guide) and the town of Gettysburg (he is a Gettysburg Licensed Town Guide).

  Brad has a strong interest in the Civil War, having written nineteen books on the topic.  His best known works are probably his map studies of Civil War campaigns. The list is below. He regularly presents at Civil War Round Tables and Historical Societies.

List of published books:

Race to the Potomac: Lee’s Retreat and Meade’s Pursuit after the Battle of Gettysburg (Emerging Civil War Series)

The Maps of Spotsylvania Through Cold Harbor

The Antietam Paintings of James Hope

Lee Invades the North: A Comparison of the Antietam and Gettysburg Campaigns

The Brigades of Antietam (Editor)

Lincoln Comes to Gettysburg: The Story of the Formation of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery and Lincoln’s Visit

Hell Comes to Southern Maryland: The History of the Point Lookout Prisoner of War Camp

Kearny’s Own: The History of the First New Jersey Brigade

Maps of First Bull Run

Maps of Antietam

Maps of the Fredericksburg

Maps of Gettysburg

Maps of the Cavalry at Gettysburg

Maps of Bristoe Station/Mine Run

Maps of the Wilderness Campaign

Roads to Gettysburg

Stopping Pickett: The History of the Philadelphia Brigade

The Artillery of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg: A Guided Tour

The Brigades of Gettysburg

Books coming out in 2024

The Overland Campaign (Casemate Campaign Series)

The Maps of Second Bull Run

April Meeting Highlights and Photos

The April 2nd CWRT meeting featured an interesting presentation by Leon Reed about the preparation and the responses to the attack on Fort Sumter. Reed noted that with rumblings for months, the attack was not unexpected, and some positions around the nation had been strengthened, while others left undermanned on purpose. He noted that the entire country only had a 16,000 man army prior to the split.

Reed, a former US Senate aide, defense consultant, and US History teacher, lives in Gettysburg and is the author of several books on Gettysburg monuments and two on the secession crisis and transition to Civil war, including the soon to be published, “Fort Sumter’s Long Shadow: Mr. Lincoln Calls for an Army, the Northern States Respond, and the Border States Rethink Their Status”.

Claire updated us on the GAR Museum tour coming up on April 27th - see upcoming. events for info.

We also had our usual book raffle for preservation. Winners pictured below.