CWRT-DC's PREVIOUS MEETING:

EUGENE D. SCHMIEL

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

at Ft. McNair Officers' Club, Washington, DC 

(see directions here) or (download them in pdf here)

6 pm: Social Hour (cash bar)
7 pm: Dinner ($36 for dinner and lecture)
8 pm: Lecture ($5 for lecture only)

Reservations required by 5:00 pm, Thursday, June 9th: Email (preferred) to treasurer@cwrtdc.org <mailto:treasurer@cwrtdc.org> or call (202) 306-4988.


TOPIC: 

"CITIZEN-GENERAL JACOB DOLSON COX"

About the Topic:
Our topic for this month's meeting will spotlight Jacob Dolson Cox of Ohio. Cox rose from humble beginnings to become an abolitionist, a polarizing political figure, a major general for the Union Army, an educator, and an author historian. As a young man, he worked as an apprentice in a legal firm and as a bookkeeper in a brokerage firm. Cox moved to Ohio and enrolled at Oberlin College. He graduated in 1851, studied law while he served as a school superintendent, and was admitted to the bar in 1853.  An abolitionist sympathizer and a supporter of the antislavery Whigs and Free Soil Party, Cox was elected to the Ohio State Senate in 1858. Although a rising political star, Cox entered the Union Army as a brigadier general of the Ohio Volunteers in April 1861.


Cox served under General George McClellan in western Virginia, helping to secure the region for the Union. Reassigned to Washington DC to protect the capital, Cox’s division was sent from there to join the Army of Virginia for the Maryland Campaign of 1862 where they were instrumental in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. Cox then returned to western Virginia and routed remaining rebels in the area. The year 1863 proved a relatively quiet one for Cox, as he was assigned to command the District of Ohio and then the District of Michigan. 1864 found him back in the thick of things, commanding a division under William T. Sherman in the Atlanta Campaign.  When Confederate General John Bell Hood withdrew from Atlanta and moved into Tennessee, Cox was part of General George Thomas’ pursuit. Cox’s men engaged the Confederates at Spring Hill and were at the center of the most violent fighting at Franklin. His success led to Cox’s appointment to major general in December 1864 and he ended his Civil War service by helping to secure the port of Wilmington NC for the Union.

After the war, Cox was elected governor of Ohio in 1865. As his reelection approached, his views on black suffrage angered his formerly loyal constituents and he lost the election. Cox believed, from personal observations during the war, that blacks and whites could not live together as equals. Despite the loss, he would go on to serve as Secretary of the Interior in 1869, under Ulysses S. Grant. The two did not agree on policy, and this disagreement as well as the corruption Cox believed was inherent in the political system led him to resign in the fall of 1870. Not yet finished with politics, however, Cox ran for and was elected to Congress in 1875. His political career finally ended when he declined to seek reelection in 1878. 

Cox’s next vocation was in academia, and he served as Dean of the Cincinnati Law School, President of the University of Cincinnati, and finally as a trustee of Oberlin College. After he retired in 1897, Cox became a prolific writer, discussing all manner of military topics related to the Civil War. His writings remain a valuable resource for serious Civil War scholars to this day. 

About Our Speaker: 

Eugene D. ("Gene") Schmiel, although retired from full-time service as a Foreign Service Officer, continues to work part-time the US Department of State. Schmiel has served overseas in Sweden, South Africa, Djibouti, Kenya, and Iceland.  He was also appointed Charge’ d’Affaires at three embassies and Consul General in Mombasa, Kenya. Prior to joining the State Department, Schmiel was an Assistant Professor of History at St. Francis University in Pennsylvania. 

Schmiel earned his Ph.D. from Ohio State University. While there, he met his wife, Bonnie Kathryn, with whom he collaborated in 1998 to author a book about their life in the Foreign Service entitled, “Welcome Home: Who are You? Tales of a Foreign Service Family.” Schmiel's latest book, "Citizen-General: Jacob Dolson Cox and the Civil War Era," was published in 2014 by Ohio University Press.  It is the first biography of this highly respected Union general whose accomplishments in the war belie the myth of the incompetent "political general." Schmiel resides with his family in Gainesville, Virginia.

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For information about the Round Table and to apply for membership, see the Tab above marked "About Us/ Membership Information" or click HERE 

CWRT-DC's PREVIOUS MEETING:

LAWRENCE M. DENTON

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

at Ft. McNair Officers' Club, Washington, DC 

(see directions here) or (download them in pdf here)

6 pm: Social Hour (cash bar)
7 pm: Dinner ($36 for dinner and lecture)
8 pm: Lecture ($5 for lecture only)

Reservations required by 5:00 pm, Thursday, May 5th: Email (preferred) to treasurer@cwrtdc.org <mailto:treasurer@cwrtdc.org> or call (202) 306-4988. For more information about making reservations, visit our Meetup Page by clicking HERE.

TOPIC: 

UNIONISTS IN VIRGINIA

About the Topic:
Whether the Civil War was preventable is a debate that began shortly after Appomattox and continues today. But even earlier, in 1861, a group of Union-loyal Virginians—led by George Summers, John Brown Baldwin, John Janney and Jubal Early—felt war was avoidable. In the statewide election for delegates to the Secession Convention that same spring, the Unionists defeated the Southern Rights Democrats with a huge majority of the votes across the state. These heroic men unsuccessfully negotiated with Secretary of State William Henry Seward to prevent the national tragedy that would ensue.

Author and historian Lawrence M. Denton traces this remarkable story of Virginians working against all odds in a failed attempt to save a nation from war.  He will: (1) describe as a backdrop the period before and after election of Abraham Lincoln as Deep South moves toward secession; (2) discuss how President James Buchanan and President-elect Lincoln prepared approached their political duties (including explaining how Lincoln was inexperienced at a national political level, knew few key players and lacked information from Washington); (3) introduce William Henry Seward with an emphasis on his influence and power in Washington and his connections to national leadership; (4) explain Seward’s plan to divide the South by offering a compromise to upper South Unionists; and (5) speculate on possible outcomes if Seward had been elected President.

(Reprinted/edited from Amazon.com and https://www.amaritime.org/component/rseventspro/event/22-lecture-by-larry-denton)

About Our Speaker: 

Lawrence M. Denton is a direct descendant of many Maryland families who have been in this country before the American Revolutionary War, including the Denton/Lusby families with sons who fought in the Army of Northern Virginia and in the 7th Maryland Infantry present at Appomattox. 

Mr. Denton, a graduate of Towson High School and Western Maryland College, received a Masters degree with honors from Johns Hopkins University, where his career would lead him to serve as a Dean of Admission at the school and oversee an effort to establish merit scholarships. In 1978, Mr. Denton accepted a Presidential appointment to serve as special assistant to the Associate Administrator of NOAA, where he helped collocate NOAA facilities on university campuses. He has also served as a senior consultant to major firms involved in environmental science and, from 1993-2004, represented the Weather Channel and was instrumental in the production of "Forecast Earth."

Mr. Denton is an authority on the secession crisis and the author of A Southern Star for Maryland: Maryland, published in 1995, and the Secession Crisis and William Henry Seward and the Secession Crisis: The Effort to Prevent Civil War, published in 2009.

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For information about the Round Table and to apply for membership, see the Tab above marked "About Us/ Membership Information" or click HERE 

CWRT-DC's PREVIOUS MEETING:

TOM HUNTINGTON

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

at Ft. McNair Officers' Club, Washington, DC 

(see directions here) or (download them in pdf here)

6 pm: Social Hour (cash bar)
7 pm: Dinner ($36 for dinner and lecture)
8 pm: Lecture ($5 for lecture only)

Reservations required by 5:00 pm, Thursday, April 7th:  Email (preferred) to susankclaffey@cwrtdc.org or call (202) 306-4988.  For more information about making reservations, visit our Meetup Page by clicking HERE.

TOPIC: 

GEORGE GORDON MEADE

About the Topic: (Reprinted from Amazon.com)

While researching Searching for George Gordon Meade: The Forgotten Victor of Gettysburg, author Tom Huntington visited a severed leg, a buried arm, and a horse's head. He also hiked across Civil War battlefields, recited the names of fallen soldiers at a candlelit ceremony at Gettysburg, and drank a champagne toast in a Philadelphia cemetery on New Year's Eve. It was all part of his quest to learn more about the man who commanded the victorious Union army at the Civil War's Battle of Gettysburg, yet has been unfairly overlooked by history in the years since.

Although in command of the Army of the Potomac for a mere three days before the battle, Major General George Gordon Meade managed to defeat Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia during three days of vicious fighting. The cantankerous general remained in command of the army for the rest of the war even as he watched his reputation decline. "I suppose after awhile it will be discovered I was not at Gettysburg at all," he griped in a letter to his wife.

Searching for George Gordon Meade is not your typical Civil War biography. While Huntington does tell the story of Meade's life, he also provides first-person accounts of his visits to the battlefields where Meade fought and museums that cover the Civil War. He includes his conversations with experts, enthusiasts, curators, park rangers and even a Meade impersonator to get their insights. The result is a compelling mash-up of history, biography, travel and journalism that touches both past and present.

A historian's investigation of the life and times of Gen. George Gordon Meade to discover why the hero of Gettysburg has failed to achieve the status accorded to other generals of the conflict

Covers Meade's career from his part in the Mexican-American War through his participation in the great Civil War engagements, including Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, and Appomattox.

Available for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg

Explores Meade's legacy today at reenactments, battlefields, museums, and institutions that preserve history

About Our Speaker: 

As the editor of the late, lamented Historic Traveler magazine, Tom Huntington developed a love for writing that merged stories from the past with journeys of discovery in the present. That was an approach he took with his first two books, Ben Franklin’s Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Civil War Trails. His next book, Searching for George Gordon Meade: The Forgotten Victor of Gettysburg (Stackpole Books, February 2013), will continue that tradition as Mr. Huntington visits battlefields and museums and talks with historians, curators, park rangers and Civil War enthusiasts as he examines the life and reputation of the general who won the pivotal battle of the war.

Mr. Huntington’s many magazine articles have appeared in American Heritage, Smithsonian, Air & Space, British Heritage, America in WWII, Civil War Times, America’s Civil War, Invention & Technology and many other publications. He lives in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania with his wife, Beth Ann, and his children, Katie and Sam.

You can contact him at thuntington@stackpolebooks.com.

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For information about the Round Table and to apply for membership, see the Tab above marked "About Us/ Membership Information" or click HERE 

CWRT-DC's Previous Meeting:

DAVID G. MOORE

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

at Ft. McNair Officers' Club, Washington, DC 

(see directions here) or (download them in pdf here)

6 pm: Social Hour (cash bar)
7 pm: Dinner ($36 for dinner and lecture)
8 pm: Lecture ($5 for lecture only)

Reservations required: Email (preferred) to susankclaffey@cwrtdc.org

 or call (202) 306-4988 by 5:00 pm, Thursday, March 3rd. Or make reservations through our Meetup Page by clicking HERE.

TOPIC: 

GENERAL WILLIAM S. ROSECRANS AND THE UNION VICTORY

About the Topic:

This meeting we will take a look at the Civil War career of Union General William Starke Rosecrans, also known as "Old Rosy." We will examine his military successes and their contribution to Union victory in the Civil War.

Rosecrans, a product of West Point, won the first major campaign of the war in the 1861 West Virginia campaign. He then went on to victories in northeastern Mississippi in 1862 at Luka and Corinth that enabled U.S. Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign. As commander of the Army of the Cumberland, Rosecrans opposed CSA General Braxton Bragg in Tennessee at Stones River and in the Tullahoma Campaign. Rosecrans succeeded in driving the Confederates out of middle Tennessee and the city of Chattanooga, a key transportation hub.

These victories set up the battle of Chickamauga. Rosecrans lost that battle to Bragg, though he managed to retreat and retain possession of Chattanooga for the Union. The Confederates occupied the high ground around Chattanooga and Rosecrans' troops found themselves besieged and starving until rescued by Grant. Grant relieved Rosecrans and he was reassigned to command the Department of Missouri. Rosecrans defended Missouri from Confederate invasion in 1864 (Price’s Raid) and ended his Civil War military service there. Old Rosy was highly regarded by his men both during and after the war.

Our speaker will examine why Rosecrans was removed from command four times despite his military successes and delve into the important role politics played in the Civil War. Mr. Moore’s portrait also reveals Rosecrans as a man who promoted many advances in medical care, transportation and cartography; a man interested in engineering as well as theology.

About Our Speaker: 

David Moore has been a history guide on the east coast for over 35 years, specializing in the mid-Atlantic area. He calls Washington DC home. Moore’s interest in General Rosecrans came about quite unexpectedly when he stumbled upon Mrs. Rosecrans' grave while searching for the grave of Mary Surratt in Washington's Mt. Olive cemetery. That chance encounter led Mr. Moore to wonder where General Rosecrans is buried. He discovered that Rosecrans was buried in Arlington and learned, or so he thought, from a guidebook about Arlington Cemetery that Lincoln offered Rosecrans the vice presidency in 1864. Mr. Moore later learned that the story was not true, but his interest in Rosecrans was already piqued and the rest, as they say, is history.

Mr. Moore spent more than 20 years researching General Rosecrans' military career. He turned his research into his book, William S. Rosecrans and the Union Victory, published in March 2014. His book is part of the collection of over 100 libraries in the United States, Canada and several countries overseas.  In the acknowledgements to his book, Mr. Moore credits the accessibility policy (and the support from a dedicated library staff) at the great network of libraries, public and private, throughout the United States for helping his book become a reality.  He also explains how his interest was not so much to describe how the particular battles were fought but their important consequences, which are largely unknown to the American people.  
 

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For information about the Round Table and to apply for membership, see the Tab above marked "About Us/ Membership Information" or click HERE 

CWRT-DC's Previous Meeting:

MICHAEL A. ROSS

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

at Ft. McNair Officers' Club, Washington, DC (see map here) 

6 pm: Social Hour (cash bar)
7 pm: Dinner ($36 for dinner and lecture)
8 pm: Lecture ($5 for lecture only)

Reservations required: Email (preferred) to susankclaffey@cwrtdc.org

 or call (202) 306-4988 by 5:00 pm, Thursday, February 4th. Or make reservations through our Meetup Page by clicking HERE.

TOPIC: 

The Reconstruction
& American Memory

About The Topic: 

It is often said that the South “lost the war, but won the peace.”  One way it did so was by winning the fight over how Reconstruction Era was remembered. In books, poems, songs, and films like Birth of a Nation and Gone With the Wind, the white South convinced many Americans that Reconstruction (the post-war effort by the federal government to bring a new social, political, and economic order to the states of the old Confederacy) was a “tragic era” when “carpetbaggers,” “scalawags,” and “ignorant” former slaves corruptly used power for personal gain.  How and when did the South’s version of events become the defining one? When and why did this change? And why does the contested memory of Reconstruction still haunt America today? 

In his talk, Michael Ross will answer these questions and discuss how the nation’s historical memory of Reconstruction has shaped our understanding of the meaning of the Civil War itself.

About the Speaker: 

Michael Ross is a specialist in American Constitutional History, U.S. Nineteenth Century History, and the Civil War and Reconstruction Eras. He is currently a Professor of History at the University of Maryland at College Park where he specializes in the Civil War Era and U.S. Legal History. 

He is the author of two prize-winning books: Justice of Shattered Dreams: Samuel Freeman Miller and Supreme Court during the Civil War Era (LSU Press 2003) and The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case: Race, Law, and Justice in the Reconstruction Era (Oxford University Press, Fall 2014).  His first book is a biography of one of the most important justices on the post-bellum Supreme Court. It won the George Tyler Moore Civil War Center's Seaborg Award for Civil War Non-Fiction and the Association of American Jesuit College and Universities Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award. 

His second book is the story of a sensational 1870 trial that riveted the South during one of the most pivotal moments in the history of U.S. race relations. It received favorable reviews in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other periodicals, was a selection of the History Book Club, and won the 2014 Kemper Williams Prize and the 2014 New Orleans Public Library Foundation Choice Award for Non-Fiction. 

Professor Ross has also written numerous articles in academic journals, four of which have won “best article” prizes, including the Southern Historical Association's Fletcher M. Green and Charles Ramsdell Award. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Supreme Court History and has served as historical advisor to the United States Mint.  Professor Ross has twice delivered Silverman lectures at the United States Supreme Court.

Before joining the Maryland faculty, Professor Ross taught at Loyola University in New Orleans for ten years. He holds a law degree from Duke University and earned a Ph.D. in History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

For more information about Professor Ross, visit http://history.umd.edu/users/maross  


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Rebecca Koenig

The Round Table is pleased to announce a new feature to its monthly meetings: a short opening presentation about new research in the field of Civil War history. 

This month, the Round Table will be welcoming and introducing Rebecca Koenig, a reporter for The Chronicle of Philanthropy, a national daily news outlet that covers the nonprofit sector.  Ms. Koenig studied English and early American history at the College of William & Mary, where she received the Lord Botetourt Medal, awarded to the senior most distinguished in scholarship.  

Ms. Koenig will speak about her paper based on research conducted in the summer of 2011 using a William & Mary academic grant.  An excerpt of her paper, "Interpreting Race, Slavery, and Servanthood At Urban Antebellum House Museums," was published in the James Blair Historical Review (2, no. 2011 (2011), 69-89).

Additional information about Ms. Koenig is available at http://rebeccalkoenig.com/ 

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For information about the Round Table and to apply for membership, see the Tab above marked "About Us/ Membership Information" or click HERE