Left: Bob McHugh CWRT Program Coordinator;
Right: Tom McMillan author of Gettysburg Rebels
Tom McMillan who works in sports but his passion is history spoke about his most recent book is "Gettysburg Rebels: Five Native Sons Who Came Home to Fight as Confederate Soldiers"
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September Book Raffle Winners
Book raffle winners ~ with proceeds - as always - going to battlefield preservation!
With the VERY successful conclusion of the 2018 – 2019 Campaign Season, it has been determined that the following Civil War Battlefields will receive a donation from the Civil War Round Table of Eastern PA in the amount of $5,000.00. There are matching funds with each bequest and are listed below:
$1000.00 for preservation of 42 acres at Stone’s River (TN) – matching funds of $33.94 for a total of $33,940.00
$1000.00 for preservation of 15 acres at Fort Donelson, Chattanooga and Franklin – matching funds of $21.17 for a total of $21,170.00.
$1000.00 for preservation of 185 acres at Wilderness, Cold Harbor and Bentonville – matching funds of $10.43 for a total of $10,430.00
$1000.00 for preservation to the Shenandoah Battlefields Foundation of 35 acres at New Market Battlefield – matching funds of $14.00 for a total of $14,000.00
$500.00 for preservation of 226 acres at Reams Station, Petersburg Breakthrough, Champion Hill and Jackson Battlefields – matching funds of $7.48 for a total of $3,740.00
$500.00 for preservation of 73 acres at Shiloh and South Mountain Battlefields – matching funds of $6.89 for a total of $3,445.00
Once again, we have an excellent array of 8 prizes which will be awarded at our June 2, 2020 meeting. We will follow last year’s format in which the first winner gets to select from all eight items. Each additional winner will then select from the items remaining.
Our Board felt that this was a better method rather than assigning prizes to each drawing.
Historic Preservation of our sites and collections is a significant part of our Mission as an organization. There are no losers when one donates to the cause of Historic Preservation.
Tickets are sold in booklets of ten for $5.00 and are available at every meeting.
Appomattox Surrender Signing Print by Tom Lovell
Robert E Lee pencil sketch by George S. Parrish, Jr - signed & numbered
Union “General Service” Coat Button Display excavated in area of Chancellorsville Battlefield (mounted & donated by Barry Arnold)
The Life of Billy Yank and The Life of Johnny Reb by Bell Irvin Wiley (2 Volume Boxed Set)
Stonewall Jackson, The Legend and the Man & Stonewall Jackson, Seven Days to the Last March by Lenoir Chambers (2 Volume Boxed Set)
The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War (2 Volume Boxed Set)
The Civil War by Shelby Foote (3 Volume Set)
Grand and Lee, The Virginia Campaigns, 1864-1865 by William Frassanito (Signed Copy)
First meeting- September 03, 2019 ~ Campaign 42
Reflecting On Karl Lehr, A Legacy of Honor, Commitment, and Generosity
Karl Lehr was truly a renaissance man. He was a teacher, veteran of World War II, a preservationist and a philanthropist. During his time as a member of our Round Table he served our organization in many capacities. His commitment to historic preservation was accomplished through voice, labor and monetary contributions. Karl led a full life and his passing in 2009 at the age of 93 years generated a final gift that will continue to benefit future generations of our great land. A combination of his bequest to our Round Table and matching grants from leading Civil War preservation organizations brought $463,000 to the cause of historic preservation in 2011. We honor Karl’s memory tonight at our “Karl Lehr Memorial Dinner.”
Our speaker is Tom McMillan who works in sports but his passion is history -- and he always wanted to make a contribution to history. His most recent book is "Gettysburg Rebels: Five Native Sons Who Came Home to Fight as Confederate Soldiers" (June 2017). Three years earlier he completed a more contemporary historical work: "Flight 93: The Story, The Aftermath and The Legacy of American Courage on 9/11." McMillan serves on the Board of Trustees of Pittsburgh's Heinz History; on the board of directors of the Friends of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa.; on the marketing committee at the Gettysburg Foundation, and as a tour guide of the Civil War Room at Carnegie Library in Carnegie, Pa. His day job is Vice President of Communications for the five-time Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. A former newspaper sports writer and talk show host, McMillan has covered the Olympics, the Stanley Cup Finals, the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals, the Final Four, various major bowl games and numerous other major (and minor!) sporting events. He grew up in Bellevue, Pa. near Pittsburgh and earned a degree in journalism and communications from Point Park University in Pittsburgh. He continues to serve his alma mater as co-director of the Pittsburgh Center for Sports Media and Marketing at Point Park. He resides with his family in Kennedy Township, Pa. and is an ardent supporter of Chelsea FC.
About the Speaker’s Topic:
Gettysburg Rebels is the gripping true story of five young men who grew up in Gettysburg, moved south to Virginia in the 1850s, joined the Confederate army - and returned "home" as foreign invaders for the great battle in July 1863. Drawing on rarely-seen documents and family histories, as well as military service records and contemporary accounts, Tom McMillan delves into the backgrounds of Wesley Culp, Henry Wentz and the three Hoffman brothers in a riveting tale of Civil War drama and intrigue
Please note Jim will be bringing his book to the meeting and you can purchase for $20.00.
From the Brigade Commander: Barry Arnold
We ended our 41st campaign with a great performance by Ken Serfass who is a first person reenactor of General Ulysses S. Grant. His talk on the siege of Chattanooga was outstanding with a full layout map of the siege. Any one that skipped that evening missed a fantastic speech.
I am the New Brigade Commander, Barry Arnold. I think everyone knows me. I’ve been attending the CWRT of Eastern PA for a number of years. I look forwarding to talking to you in the upcoming season and would love to see you at the meetings. I look forward to
your feed-back on ways we can better improve the CWRT experience.
We at the Round Table want to thank Ed Root for his leadership and service in these past years. “Thank you so much ED.” I hope I can be a good leader as you have.
I hope everyone is having a great summer. Everyone, please be careful driving while visiting your favorite civil war sites, beach excursions, or wherever your summer fun takes you.
Just a reminder that we begin our meetings on Sept. 3rd, 2019 which marks our 42nd campaign of the roundtable of Eastern Pa. In September, we have Tom McMillian, a historian who will talk on the Gettysburg Rebels. Always interesting to have stories about Gettysburg.
Looking forward to seeing you at our September dinner meeting. For now, stay safe and have a great rest of the summer.
Barry
From the Brigade Commander
Michael Shaffer certainly gave us a wonderful glimpse into the life and times of Confederate cavalryman Thomas Colley. It is amazing that new material still comes to light a century and a half after the Civil War. Beyond the statistics of numbers and logistics the human element remains and is indeed a compelling story. Thanks to people like Michael we continue to learn about the people and the times that tore apart our nation.
Our partnership with the Southern Lehigh Public Library was in the spotlight on April 15 as Alisa Dupuy preformed a first-person presentation as Clara Barton. Over 70 people attended including many of our members. We also donated books which were raffled for the benefit of the library.
As reported at the May meeting our Gettysburg conservation and preservation effort on April 27 was a resounding success. Fifty volunteers consisting of Round Table members with family members and friends as well as Bob McHugh’s students from Saucon Valley High School and scouts from Boy Scout Troop 786 in Whitehall painted fences and rebuilt other fencing on the Slyder Farm. Caitlin Brown, the Park Volunteer Coordinator and Ranger did a marvelous job not only explaining the ebb and flow of the battle over the land, but also the story of struggle for the Slyder family during and after those awful days.
Our 41st year of study and work to preserve America’s historic treasures is drawing to a close. The George Seligman Dinner on June 4th honors the man who led a small group of history students from the wilderness of meeting in a room at the old Allentown Courthouse to the promised land of dinner meetings with wonderful speakers, field trips to places we had only read about and to the necessary and critical work of helping to save for posterity America’s historic lands and collections. No matter if you’ve been with us for days or years, we thank you for sharing in this journey of comradeship and discovery. George’s knowledge, humor and organizational skills put us on the path for our 40 plus years of learning and enjoyment of history and each other’s company. George was a strong personality and could had stayed as Brigade Commander without challenge as long as he wished. He knew, however, that a flow of new leadership was and is in the best interest of our and any organization and encouraged others to step forward and take that responsibility. Our June meeting is also where we install our officers and Board members for the next Campaign. It has been my honor and pleasure to have been Brigade Commander these past three years. I know you will support Barry and his team as well!
Brigade Commander – Barry Arnold
Regimental Commander – Bob McHugh
Company Commander – Claire Kukielka
Paymaster – Jim Duffy
Adjutant – Kay Bagenstose
Directors, term ending June 2021 – Neil Coddington & Kim Jacobs
Directors, continuing, term ending June 2020 – Bill Frankenfield & Frank Whelan
Please join us on June 4th as Kenneth Serfass will attend as General U.S. Grant.
Ed Root sartilly@hotmail.com 610-417-6673
Our work day on April 27th at Gettysburg National Military Park was the subject of a Facebook post by Caitlin Brown of the park staff on Monday April 29th. She gives us a shout out along with the scouts and the students from Saucon Valley High - some one whom were at their prom the night before, but still managed to get up and make it to Gettysburg for the work day.
Thanks to all who helped make the day possible and to Caitlin for here recognition of our annual work day.
Here are two screen shots which captured the post:
Saturday April 27th saw fifty CWRT members, friends and family, along with Boy Scouts and students and teachers from Saucon Valley High School spend the day in Gettysburg National Military Park working at the John Slyder Farm.
This years’ annual work day consisted of painting the LONG fence bordering the driveway and building fencing in the back pasture of the Slyder Farm.
What a fantastic (though windy) day in the park. Following lunch we were treated to a presentation by Volunteer Coordinator Kaitlin Brown concerning the history of the farm, and the events which occurred there during the days of battle in early July 1863.
THANK YOU to all who helped plan the event and work to preserve Gettysburg as a place of history and learning.
[Photos from the day are below]
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The following history of the farm is from “Barns of the Civil War” website (click here for site)
John Slyder moved to Gettysburg in 1838 coming across the Mason-Dixon line from Carroll County, Maryland and worked as a potter. Slyder made a career change and purchased a 75 acre tract of land in 1849 and began building a farm. He built his home, several outbuildings like a blacksmith shop and a carpentry shop along with a double log barn on the property. He dug a well which provided a good source of water and planted a peach and pear orchard which produced exceptional fruit. The property also included a 30 acre timber lot and an 18 acre meadow. Slyder used the blacksmith shop to manufacture tools for other local farms. At the time of the battle John lived on the farm with his wife Catherine and three of his five children, John (age 20), Hannah (17) and Jacob (9). The family was directed to leave on July 2 by Union patrols and the family heeded their warning.
One of the most controversial aspects of the Battle of Gettysburg is how long it took the Confederates to get into position to attack on July 2 and what their actual plan was. It was nearly 4 PM when the last of John Bell Hood’s division got into position. These men were Alabamians under the command of Evander Law. They had began their day near what is today Caledonia State Park and had been marching since around 4 am. It was a hot day with temperatures reaching the upper 80s and high humidity. When they arrived at Gettysburg they immediately began marching to get into position to attack. No rest for the weary and no time to refill empty canteens.
Opposing Hood’s men were the soldiers of the United State Sharpshooters. The unit was the brainchild of Hiram Berdan, a New York inventor and championship marksman and was formed in July 1861. These men were crack shots. In order to qualify for the outfit a recruit had to hit 10 consecutive bulls-eyes from both a standing position at 200 yards and 100 yards offhanded. The men were trained to be used as skirmishers and were given a green uniform rather than the standard blue, an early attempt at camouflage. The were ordered to seek out targets of importance like officers. They were also armed with breech loading rifles to increase their firepower. Originally their use of these much more modern weapons was overruled but Berdan went over the heads of the generals directly to Abraham Lincoln and put on a dazzling display of what these new rifles could do. Lincoln was sold and the sharpshooters got their breech loading rifles. These soldiers may be the first special forces soldiers in American military history.
About 170 sharpshooters from the 2nd US Sharpshooter regiment took position along the Slyder farm lane behind a stone fence. Law’s exhausted and parched soldiers advanced against them, probably ruing not being able to stop and get a drink in the stream. The sharpshooters began taking their toll on the Alabamians but they could not hold long. Law’s 1,500 men eventually got around their flank and the sharpshooters fell back. Some of these Alabamians continued on toward their date with destiny on the slopes of Little Round Top, others headed towards Devil’s Den.
The US Sharpshooters had bought time. It may have only been ten minutes or so but that time allowed other Union soldiers to move into position on Little Round Top and immortality. The sharpshooters lost about 25% of their men to do so but they may have saved the nation. After falling back many of the sharpshooters also helped to defend Little Round Top. The farm also saw an ill-fated cavalry charge on July 3 that was doomed before it began and resulted in the death of Union general Elon Farnsworth.
The farm was used as a field hospital by the Confederates. The home was ransacked and the property was left in shambles with all of the family’s possessions stolen. A damage claim was filed with the government but as was common for many other Gettysburg residents it was never paid. In September of 1863 Slyder, on the verge of bankruptcy, picked up his family and moved to Ohio. The farm was eventually purchased by the National Park Service. Several outbuildings were relocated to the farm in an attempt to make it a working farm again in the 1970s to help educate the public about farming in the Civil War. The project was axed due to budgetary problems in the 1980s though some education groups are brought to the farm to learn about the impact of the war on farmers. The farm was used for filming of the 1993 movie Gettysburg and the home was used for the interior of Robert E. Lee’s headquarters. The farm is accessible by walking on the horse trail, either from West Confederate Avenue or South Confederate
Our CWRT is pleased to once again support this event especially as it educates citizens about the Civil War and benefits historic preservation.
We need volunteers as we will have a table distributing information about our organization.
Slots are 9 to 1 and 1-5 on Saturday and 9-1 on Sunday.
Please see me at the May meeting or email at sartilly@hotmail.com if you can help.
Thank you, Ed Root
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Visit the Military Camps to learn about a soldier’s life and activities in camp.
Visit the Historic Street to learn about other aspects of life during the Civil War.
Visit the Lyceum to learn about Civil War period music and to hear lectures.
Children’s Activities
Infantry firing demonstrations
Saturday evening dance (period clothing not required) and concert followed by night firing
Click here for registration and schedule
Location is the Whitehall Parkway Recreation Area - Google Map Link
From the Brigade Commander - May 2019
Wow, Peter Carmichael certainly gave a lively presentation on the life of the Common Soldier at the April meeting. His thoughtful analysis of the entirety of the Civil War soldier experience was both thought provoking and entertaining. If you unfortunately missed the meeting you missed a great one. We will have a few of his excellent new book “the war for the Common Soldier” available for sale at the May gathering.
Bill Frankenfield was kind enough to donate 4 tickets to the combined museums at the Pry House at Antietam, The National Museum of CW Medicine in Frederick, MD & Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office in Washington, DC. Thanks to all those who participated in the raffle at the April meeting. We’re happy to report that Bill is home from rehab and continuing to recover from his surgery. It was also wonderful to see Jim Duffy again at the meeting and he has now taken back his duties as our Paymaster.
We were very happy to report at the April meeting our donation in the amount of $1000 to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation for their Star Fort initiative at Winchester. Because of a 47 to 1 match our donation is very significant! These folks have done yeoman works in the Valley and all should appreciate and applaud their excellent preservation work. See www.shenandoahatwar.org
Elsewhere on the Preservation front the Central Virginia Battlefield Trust continues to fight for all of us in the Fredericksburg area where it seems strip malls sprout faster than Spring weeds. They have recently saved 73+ acres at Myers Hill, part of the Spotsylvania Battle. See www.cvbt.org Please remember that the cost doesn’t just stop once properties are purchased by these groups. Many times there are maintenance costs as well as costs returning the land to its battlefield appearance such as removing structures erected after the war.
At Gettysburg attempts are still being made to preserve a portion of Camp Letterman where so many suffered after that great battle. Stay tuned for further developments.
We will report at our May meeting about the April 15 Clara Barton program which we cosponsored with the Southern Lehigh Public Library as well as the results of our April 27 Gettysburg Brush cutting venture.
Sadly we received word prior to the April meeting of the passing of long time member Rev. Craig Landis. As Rev Berntsen said during his invocation Craig thoroughly enjoyed being part of our group and his smiling face and gentle manner will be missed. We also were advised that former member Stephen Herczeg also passed away. I’m sure many of you will remember him
We are fast approaching vacation time and many of you will be visiting our Civil War sites. We have a number of battlefield guidebooks and maps that have been donated over time. These items will be available for a donation at the check in table at both our May and June meetings.
Please make sure you stop by the Preservation Table as you enter the meeting room. We have some absolutely marvelous items for our annual June Preservation raffle. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to win one of these great items. See Jim and Kay.
The election for Officer and Directors for the 2019-20 Campaign will be held at the May meeting. The Nomination Report for our next Campaign for Officers and Directors is as follows:
Additional nominations, if acceptable to the nominee, may also be made at that meeting.
Brigade Commander – Open
Regimental Commander – Bob McHugh
Company Commander – Claire Kukielka & Barry Arnold
Paymaster – Jim Duffy
Adjutant – Kay Bagenstose
Directors, term ending June 2021 – Neil Coddington & Kim Jacobs
Directors, continuing, term ending June 2020 – Bill Frankenfield & Frank Whelan
Please join us on May 7th as Michael Shaffer will present In Memory of Self and Comrades.
Ed Root sartilly@hotmail.com 610-417-6673
