Call to arms November 2014 Volume VI, Issue 3

Transcription

1 Call to arms November 2014 Volume VI, Issue 3 The Newsletter of the Brunswick Civil War Round Table The President s Corner at last month s meeting I indicated that we were making some changes to how and when we announce certain activities that impact our Round Table directly or those that are occurring in our area that may be of interest to you. I no longer will make any announcements once the meeting starts other than the 50/50 winner and asking Max to introduce the speaker. We encourage you to view our pre-meeting power point slides and our very informative newsletter to get updated on all important announcements. We also have decided to hold our speakers' formal question and answer period to approximately 5 minutes. If some of you still have questions you are welcome to come forward and talk to our speaker after we adjourn. We have decided do this in the interest of time. We have noticed a growing number of you leaving immediately after our speaker has completed his/her talk but before any questions have been answered. This can become very disruptive to your fellow members and visitors. We believe the changes I have indicated will get you out a little earlier and still allow you to enjoy the speaker's talk without the disruption. The Directors and I have heard from several of you who liked these changes and think it is more respectful of our speakers who, in many cases, have come great distances to speak to us. I encourage all of you to always feel comfortable sharing your ideas and comments with either the directors or myself. That is the only way for us to continually improve our Round Table. In the last several months our Round Table has received several substantial donations. I thought you would be interested hearing about them: Over the summer a member of our Round Table donated a complete set of 40 Civil War etchings, by Edwin Forbes. We currently have them with an auction house in Gettysburg who will include them in one of his upcoming auctions. Friends of Tom O Donnell and Norm Praet and members of the Round Table donated over $2000 in memory of these two important cornerstones of our Round Table. About a month ago a husband and wife who are Round Table members donated an original, authenticated 1864 Re publican Presidential ballot. This is the Continued next page Wally Rueckel Inside this Issue President s Message Next Program Co-Editors Charen Fink Jim McKee Elections 2 Last Meeting Synopsis 4 Ladies Dept 5 Ladies Forum Ballot 7 NC CW History Center BCWRT Finance Membership Notice Membership/ Renewal Form 150 Years Ago

2 NOVEMBER 2014 President s Address PAGE 2 President s Address cont. electoral ballot that we are currently raffling off and the winner will be drawn after our November program. You need not be present to win. Two weeks ago a husband and wife, who are members, offered to donate a lot in River Run Plantation. We are in the process of finalizing the transfer of this gift. We have had numerous members donate Civil War books and magazines that we are selling at our Sutlers Table. It is the intention of your directors to use the proceeds from these donations to further our program, as set in our by-laws, of promoting Civil War history by: a) continuing to bring in high quality speakers and b) to make selective contributions to preserve Civil War sites and artifacts. We should be honored that so many are giving us the resources to educate so many and preserve so much from an important part of our history. The amount of these donations may even allow us to bring in a speaker that we may not have been able to afford previously. As an aside, our membership continues to grow. It is now up to 764. Our October speaker was Ed Bonekemper who spoke about the on the job growth of two Westerners, Grant and Lincoln, who learned how to work together to win the war. He also introduced a couple of controversial theories about whether General Lee s actions may have contributed to the outcome. You will want to read Dan s synopsis of the talk elsewhere in this newsletter. Upcoming Annual Elections Annual election of officers will be announced at the December meeting: president, 2 vice presidents, secretary and treasurer or, if anyone is interested in becoming a director. The director will be voted on by the newly elected officers in January. Let Wally at: wrueckel@questor.com or Rob Clarke at: rmclarke46@gmail.com know by November 15 of your intentions since we need to let the membership know of candidates by before the December meeting. Charen Fink and Musette Steck held our 4 th Women only Civil War Forum on October 13 with approximately 100 in attendance. Once again they did a great job with continued requests for further Forums. See the write-up elsewhere in this newsletter. The last couple of months we have had an average of 300 people attending. We are approaching the Ed Bearss meeting in January when he have historically averaged approx. 350 attendees. That meeting is always held at a location other than Trinity because of our seating and audio/visual requirements. We have been researching the best location for our January meeting and will let you know our plans after Thanksgiving. Speaking of December, we hold our annual elections for our Officers: President, 2 Vice Presidents, Treasurer and Secretary. If anyone is interested in running for these elected offices or for Director, who will be appointed by the elected officers, please let Rob Clarke rmclarke46@gmail.com, Peter Desrochers desrochers.peter@gmail.com, or myself wrueckel@questor.com know of your interest and which position. Look forward to seeing you at our November 4 meeting and don t forget to vote, both for our local candidates and if you choose, the candidates for the 1864 election. Maffitt Program Robert Maffitt, BCWRT member, Vice President (US) of the 290 Foundation (BVI) Inc. and Liaison to the BCWRT, recently presented a lecture to the Southport Maritime Museum Leadership Class at the Museum. The class also consisted of members from New Bern, NC. He spoke on the survey of the Cape Fear River which was done by his greatgreat grandfather, John Newland Maffitt in the 1850s. The 290 Foundation relates the history of the American Naval Civil War history here in the U.S. and United Kingdom.

3 NOVEMBER 2014 Next Speaker PAGE 3 David Gerleman to speak on Lincoln and the Election of 1864 perhaps no presidential election in U.S. history ever had more at stake than the one which took place in November, The direction of the country and whether it would remain one nation or two seemed to hang in the balance, a fate to be decided by war- weary voters. This will be the topic to be discussed at the Tuesday, November 4 th meeting of the Brunswick Civil War Round Table. The guest speaker will be Dr. David J. Gerleman, adjunct professor of history at George Mason University where he teaches courses on American history, the Civil War and Reconstruction, and Abraham Lincoln. The title of his presentation is, Worth More Than A Battle Won: The Election of He will discuss the personalities, problems, and shifting political currents leading up to the election of 1864, and how the campaign October 11, 2014 docents at the historic Latimer House in Wilmington conducted tours on Victorian Mourning Customs. Presenters were dressed in period mourning attire and each room contained items related to funerary customs. There was a room for jewelry, an undertaker, clothing, decorations, food, and even a ghost story or two. Participating BCWRT members included Linda Lashley and Connie Hendrix, Latimer House docents; Dan & Charen Fink. ultimately shaped the final outcome of the Civil War. Dr. Gerleman has his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where he studied under renowned historian John Y. Simon. He joined the Papers of Abraham Lincoln Project in 2007 and currently helps direct an intensive search of the National Archives for all Lincolnrelated documents. The project has undertaken the daunting mission to uncover and digitally publish all the documents written by or sent to the sixteenth president, a task that has never been attempted before. The planned Lincoln Papers on-line database will provide future generations with a vast digital repository of the letters of thousands of Americans who wrote to him, and permit a more richly nuanced study of the Civil War, 19 th century America, and Abraham Lincoln. In the mourning picture to the right: from left to right: John Snipes, Jr., Connie Hendrix, Dan Fink, Charen Fink and Arwyn Smith.

4 NOVEMBER 2014 Speaker Synopsis By Dan Fink PAGE 4 The Lincoln-Grant Relationship Wins the War by Dan Fink that is the headline from a selfprofessed Argumentative Historian. Edward H. Bonekemper III is a carpetbag of both thoughtful and provocative information on this headline subject. HE USES ABSOLUTELY NO NOTES AND IS TOTALLY UNFLAP- PABLE. These highly-regarded national giants are two Westerners from beyond the Appalachians who will be remembered as two of our greatest national treasures. Ed calls Grant unequivocally the greatest General of the war. Unconditional surrender Grant (Ya had to be there to hear the history of that statement) and Log Splitter Lincoln are both men of the river. They know that he who controls the rivers will control the South. We are cautioned that the myth of a Southern lost cause is wrong. Ed, as well as Lincoln and Grant are keenly aware of that Warhorse, Robert E. Lee. Ed tells us that each man must be compared and contrasted to the other. Ya might want to lean heavily toward Lincoln, the senior partner, but the whole is far superior to the parts. Neither are lone rangers. Lincoln, the political genius and Grant, the military craftsman are identical pockets on one coat made to fit all. It is called the USA and depends totally on the Union forever. Lincoln and the North are burdened with WINNING the war but Lee and the South need only to fight to a draw. Lee is outmanned 4-1 and out industrialized quite pitifully. The South protects and defends their home and homeland with a fierce devotion to cause. They felt this sense of place in their very fiber and fought without quarter. Elihu Washburne packages Grant as the solution to Lincoln s bad relationship with Generals Scott, McClellan and Halleck. Lincoln inhales the package and turns it into a unique relationship. This civilian controlled and militarily guided blend has become our model for all ensuing wars. Ed says he did not even need to become a Yale Law School Graduate to see how well this Commander-in-Chief and General-in-Chief working relationship would bring success and closure to a broken and bleeding nation in just over one year. Grant/Lincoln are winners. The South reluctantly pledges loyalty to this Union but Vicksburg doesn t celebrate the fourth of July until Bud Robertson to Speak in December Our December speaker will be James Robertson. His topic is the same as the title of his book, "The Untold Civil War: Exploring the Human Side of War". Robertson is the founding executive director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies research and education center. He was the Chief Historical Consultant in the 2003 Warner Brothers film Gods and Generals, is also a former member of the Board of Trustees at the Museum of the Confederacy. He has authored and edited 18 books.

5 NOVEMBER 2014 Ladies Department By Charen Fink PAGE 5 Wedding Gifts Tradionally practical household items or romantic items for the bride s trousseau were given. Trous seau is a French word meaning little bundle. It refers to the clothes and linens collected by the bride. After the Wedding After the wedding the best man would often steal the bride, leaving the groom to find her. Events could turn bawdy. After marriage, a woman s life would consist of kinder, kleider, kirche, and kuche children, clothes, church, and cooking. Bride s Garter Tradition of wearing a garter dates back several hundred years. It was made of silk and may be trimmed with lace. Many brides chose blue to fit in with the old wed ding rhyme: something old, something new, some thing borrowed, something blue. The Saber Arch Only the bride and groom pass under this arch with tips nearly touching and blades facing up and away from the couple. As they approach, the last two sabers are lowered momentarily before being released, the saber bearer closest to the couple (left) gives the bride a gentle swat on her backside with his saber announcing Welcome to the Army! Festivities General George Pickett and Sally Corbell were married on in Petersburg, VA. The bells of St. Paul s had been silent during the war until this day and were referred to as, the Pickett bells. The wedding feast consisted of a gun salute, chiming bells and bugles sounding as they embarked on a train to Richmond. In that city, Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Lee brought war time fruitcake concluding with dancing. The Honeymoon Honeymoons originated in the early 19 th century Great Britain. It started with the upper class couples sometimes accompanied by friends and family to visit relatives unable to attend the wedding. Nearby cities and spas were popular destinations for country folk. Others headed for New York or Niagara Falls. Traveling Clothes Dresses were brown or black but don t wear some thing conspicuously new out of respect to the sensi tivity of her husband, who may not want people to know he was just married. Bridesmaids helped the bride into her traveling dress and each one was given a flower from her bouquet. As they drove off (in a carriage) party-goers threw satin slippers and rice. If a slipper landed in a carriage it was good luck, if the left slipper, all the better. The best man made all the traveling arrangements and was sworn to secrecy. It was bad luck to ask where they were going. Advice of the Time Only submission could make marriage work. A Charleston newspaper advised when a woman marries she should give up her heart, feelings, finances, and opinions to her husband.

6 NOVEMBER 2014 Ladies Forum PAGE 6 Fourth Annual Ladies Civil War Forum sette Steck and Charen Fink sitting in rocking chairs, representing women from the North and South, reading excerpts of letters written to and from the homefront. The final letter written by Sullivan Ballou to his wife Sarah was read by Charen to the background music, Ashokan Farewell. Mr. Ballou was killed at the first battle of Bull Run but his wife did not receive this letter until long after his death. Other ladies on the committee were Betsy Kumnick, Pat Praet, Barbara Kanto, and Betsy Hamer. The evening concluded with the awarding of numerous door prizes. Forums are usually held every six months. It was another successful evening when ninetyseven ladies met for the 4th Ladies' only Civil War Forum Monday night at Trinity United Methodist Church in Southport, NC. These are sponsored by the Brunswick Civil War Roundtable. Dr. Chris Fonvielle, history professor at UNCW, enlightened the audience with his presentation of "Sex in the Civil War" replete with power point graphics. The audience was spellbound while Dr. Fonvielle described reasons why women were forced into becoming "public women", the wartime conditions, venereal diseases and the army's attempt to cure these diseases. At the intermission a resplendant display of refreshments were served which included period fruit cakes made by Connie Hendrix, Pat Steele, Carolyn Hubbard, Betty Ericson and Mary Ellen Berry. The second half of the program featured Mu-

7 NOVEMBER 2014 Civil War Friends Groups PAGE Presidential Ballot to be Raffled Rich and Kathy Vollenweider, BCWRT members, have donated an original November 1864 Abraham Lincoln-Andrew Johnson presidential ballot with cancellation. It comes with a certificate of authenticity. Rich and Kathy are enthusiastic about this being a good way to raise money for our Round Table which continues to bring in first class speakers. This coincides with the 150th anniversary of the election. Raffle tickets are on sale before and after the November meeting at the Sutler's table where the ballot and certificate will be on display. They are $2 each or 3 for $5. Tickets can also be purchased from Mike Powell at or mpowell6@ec.rr.com and also Wally Rueckel at or wrueckel@questor.com The drawing will take place after Nov. program. You need not be present to win. NCCWHC Members Visit Gettysburg The weekend of September 25-28, twenty-four Directors and Advisors of the North Carolina Civil War History Center (NCCWHC) from across the state met in Gettysburg, PA to tour the battlefield and visit the history center and museum. Advisors from Wilmington are James Leutze, Ph.D., Chancellor Emeritus of UNCW and Chris Fonvielle, Ph.D. history professor at UNCW (was not in attendance). Advisors from Southport consisted of Wally Rueckel, president of BCWRT, whose focus has been the growth of the largest Civil War Round Table in the country; Musette Steck, president of Southport Historical Society with a concentration on African- Americans; and Charen Fink, a director of the BCWRT and organizer of the Ladies' Forum, with a focus on women, and the homefront. Criteria for this position was based on the size of our Round Table, the strong following among women, and our Round Table's creative ideas attracting interest in the Civil War.

8 NOVEMBER 2014 BCWRT News PAGE 8 BCWRT Financial Standing: Summer 2014 The Brunswick Civil War Roundtable has enjoyed incredible growth since its beginning in May, That month, 85 people attended our first meeting featuring Jack Travis' talk on "The Guns of Gettysburg" while 66 people became members that month. In the four years and 40 meetings hence, meeting attendance has grown an average of 18 people per month, with approximately 300 people attending recently. When Ed Bearss has been the speaker - in January attendance has averaged over 300 people. In that same time period the number of members has grown to 723 people - making us the largest CWRT in the country. All this growth has enabled us to accomplish many things using the membership dues and other revenue sources we have. The majority of the funds have been used for honorariums and travel costs for the outstanding list of speakers we have been able to attract. Additionally, since December 2010, we have donated a total of $14,000 to the following organizations: Ft Anderson Ft Fisher Ft Holmes/Old Baldy Association Ft Caswell Bentonville Battlefield Association Trinity United Methodist Church Kennesaw, Georgia Civil War Center Richmond Battlefield Association Pamplin Civil War Park and Museum Lenoir City Tourism Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, and CSS Neuse Museum Lastly, the Board has intentionally been fiscally conservative in order to maintain reserves for the growing costs of attracting nationally-recognized authors/speakers and to cover the possible expense of having to use other - more expensive, venues for our monthly meetings. As a result, as of August 2014, BCWRT has a cash reserve of $11,000, with commitments for next year's speakers of $7,500. Going forward, the Board continues to consider other worthy Civil War related candidates for donations while continually evaluating our cash reserve needs. The Roundtable is led by a dedicated group of directors and advisors, plus approximately 100 other volunteers, none of whom receives any compensation. The Board trusts we are fulfilling the membership's goals for the organization in this regard and welcome suggestions from the membership for appropriate uses of our reserve funds in the future. IMPORTANT NOTICE TO THE MEMBERSHIP The Brunswick Civil War Round Table has a Board of nine members, including five officers, plus several advisors and committee chairs. The membership should be made aware of certain recent policies. 1. Basic membership fees for individuals and couples are $ Students will be welcomed free of charge. 3. A $5.00 admission fee will be charged all guests. 4. Occasionally it may be necessary to charge guests a higher fee when there is an especially renown speaker or when travel arrangements become more expensive. The RT has the following stated objectives: 1. To promote knowledge and understanding of the complex Civil War Era through programs, travel, and the Newsletter. 2. To support the development and preservation of Civil War sites. Pursued in various ways, some obvious and some less so, as to the monthly cost of speakers, venues, programs, and publicity. With this in mind, we propose to establish two categories of elective, tax-free giving which would secure our finances in light of unknown future changes. The proposed categories reflect our purposes. One category will be for programs and the other for Historic Site preservation. The membership may be assured that due diligence is given to all RT finances and other affairs.

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11 NOVEMBER 2014 Membership Information PAGE 7 BRUNSWICK CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE Membership Application and Renewal The Brunswick Civil War Round Table usually meets on the first Tuesday of each month, except during July and August. Most meetings will be held in the Southport area. Specific locations will be announced in advance, either at meetings, in the newsletter, via , or on our web site. (brunswickcivilwarroundtable.com) Annual dues are $25.00 for individuals and couples, students are free of charge. Nonmembers pay $5.00 per visit, which can be applied to membership. Please make checks payable to: B. C. W. R. T. Payments for renewal memberships should be made on the anniversary of your initial membership. Forms and checks for membership or renewal can be given to those at the registration desk, at the meetings, or send to: BCWRT, P. O. Box 10161, Southport, NC NAME(S): ADDRESS: CITY/STATE/ZIP: PHONE: CELL: If you would like to make a donation to help BCWRT in its historical preservation work or to assure that we continue to get the best speakers possible please complete boxes below. Speakers and programs: Amount $ Battlefield preservation: Amount $ Recognition may be acknowledged in our communications should you wish. 150 YEARS AG O November 1864 Nov. 7 Gen. John Bell Hood makes plans to attack Tennessee and Kentucky before moving to Virginia to rescue Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. Nov. 8 Abraham Lincoln reelected President of the United States. Nov the movement may be said to have begun. Sherman begins the March to the Sea. Nov. 12 Last message from Sherman received until Dec. 13. Nov. 13 Confederate campaign in Shenandoah Valley ends when Gen. Jubal Early s men rejoin the ANV. Nov. 14 Lincoln accepts the resignation of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan. Nov. 16 Sherman has progressed 100 miles through Georgia. Nov. 19 CSS Chickamauga runs into Wilmington ending her successful cruise. Nov. 19 Hood begins the reconquest of Tennessee. Nov. 20 Hood s Army of Tennessee crosses the Tennessee River. Nov. 25 Confederate agents start fires in 10 NYC hotels and Barnum s Museum. All are quickly extinguished. Nov. 27- Gen. Benjamin Butler s HQ ship Greyhound explodes in the James River. Sabotage is suspected. Nov. 30- Battle of Franklin.

12 NOVEMBER 2014 PAGE Call To Arms 12 THE NEXT MEETING IS Tuesday, November 4, 2014 The Brunswick Civil War Round Table meets on the first Tuesday of each month, except July and August. Unless otherwise noted, meetings will be held at: Trinity United Methodist Church 209 E. Nash St. Southport, NC Registration is open at 6:30 pm and the program starts at 7:00pm. Co-Founded by Tom O Donnell and Wally Rueckel 2014 BCWRT Officers, Directors and Advisors Wally Rueckel: President & Director Rob Clarke: Vice President & Director Marv Hamer: Vice President & Director Tom Kehoe: Treasurer & Director Peter Desrochers: Secretary & Director Jack Carpenter: Director Charen Fink: Director Chuck Roedema: Director Mike Powell: Advisor Max Williams: Advisor Chris Fonvielle: Advisor Jim McKee: Advisor Connie Hendrix: Advisor Roy Pender: Advisor Check Us Out on the Web The Brunswick Civil War Round Table's website is now up and running. The BCWRT website can be found under brunswickcivilwarroundtable.com or brunswickcivilwarroundtable.org. All of the information on the website is available to everyone, no user name or password is required. Be sure to check out the list of presenters already lined up for our 2013/2014 year. There is also information on current Round Table sponsored trips and write -ups on trips already taken. Also check out the Links page for other organizations involved in the Civil War. The website is updated frequently so please keep checking in on us.