Friday, October 21, 2011

September 2011 Meeting


Thomas Flagel was our guest speaker for the September meeting. Author and professor, Mr. Flagel teaches American History at Columbia State Community College in Tennessee. He holds degrees from Loras College (B.A. History), Kansas State University (M.A. European History), Creighton University (M.A. International Relations), and has studied at the University of Virginia. Originally from Iowa, he has also lived in Austria and the Czech Republic. Among his ancestors are several Civil War veterans. He has authored the following books: The History Buff’s Guide to the Civil War, The History Buff’s Guide to Gettysburg. The History Buff’s Guide to the Presidents, and The History Buff’s Guide to World War II. His program was “With the Desperation of Demons: How the Press Reported the Battle of Franklin.”

Through their research historians have given us a detailed account of how the Battle of Franklin claimed 10,000 casualities in less than five hours. For the people that lived during that time their main source of news about this and other battles was the newspapers. During the Civil War there were approximately 2,500 newspapers with 800 in the South. Reporters faced a difficult job since many generals did not want them following the troops. Gen. Sherman stated he would rather have spies in camp than have reporters. The Southern presses suffered a great disadvantage as Union troops advanced and destroyed printing facilities, telegraphs, and railroads. These losses could not easily be replaced. Northern cities could get the news from the front very quickly compared to the South. For example, Chicago would get the news about the Battle of Franklin the next day from the New York Times, while the Jacksonville Republican, only 100 miles from Franklin, would take two weeks to reach print. Newspaper reports often contained several inaccuracies. Confederate Gen. Hiram B. Granbury had his named spelled several ways. A General Williams was reported killed in action and he did not exist. In the South it was wrongly believed that Gen. Hood had won and recaptured Nashville. Newspaper reporters were eyewitnesses to one of the most memorable conflicts in history. They left a record that was brilliant, but at other times marred by shoddy journalism. They were however the American public’s primary source of information. (by Larry Morris)

August 2011 Meeting


Our program was presented by Stan Schmitt from Evansville. Stan is an avid researcher of Evansville history. He has spent nearly 30 years reading historic Evansville newspapers and is spearheading the local Civil War research effort of the Vanderburgh County Historical Society. His local research has focused on the Wabash and Erie Canal, transportation, coal mining, the Civil War and other military history. An independent title researcher, Stan received a history degree from Indiana University. He serves on the Board of the Vanderburgh County Historical Society; the History Committee of the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage; and the Critical Review Team of the Feel the History project. He is a past board member of the Canal Society of Indiana and served as editor of the Society’s newsletter. Stan's program was "Evansville in the Civil War". On the eve of the Civil War Evansville and Madison were two of the larger towns in Southern Indiana. Although far from the battlefields Evansville became part of the Federal war effort. Evansville was a Federal Port of Trade and site of a Marine Hospital. A Gunboat Flotilla was cruising the Ohio River. Confederate raiders in Kentucky and Southern Indiana brought the war closer to home. The 11th Indiana, Lew Wallace’s Zouave regiment, were sent to Evansville from Indianapolis. Evansville also had many Home Guard units and Federal camps. As the war came to an end many of the Federal operations closed down and the buildings and assets were quickly liquidated. Today you can see some evidence of the Civil War era. Oak Hill Cemetery has a cannon in the section where some Union and Confederate soldiers are buried. One of the few buidings left from that period is the old Farmer’s Daughter on the walkway. It was the Washington House Hotel. (by Larry Morris)

July 2011 Meeting


Our program which was our annual dinner program, was presented by Robert E. L. Krick. Bobby Krick is an historian on the staff at Richmond National Battlefield Park. In the 1980's he worked at Custer Battlefield (now Little Bighorn Battlefield) in Montana, and at Manassas National Battlefield. His latest book is Staff Officers in Gray. (UNC Press, 2003). HIa program was "Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Staff'. The components of a good general would consist of the following attributes: 1) Supervise subordinates 2) Be an organizer 3) Work with local government 4) Be good on he battlefield. Basically the generals would have a general staff and a personal staff. The general staff consisted of positions like quartermaster, engineers, etc. The personal staff would work directly with the general, but if something happened to the general they might be gone from that position. Lee’s working staff consisted of about six people by 1862. Lee did not adjust his staff to meet the need of commanding a larger army (Army of N. Virginia). By March 1863 President Davis and others realized the Confederacy needed a corp of officers to teach and lead others to follow orders, but this would take to long to implement. (by Larry Morris)

June 2011 Meeting


Our June program was presented by Joe Reinhart. Joe is a native of Louisville, a graduate of Bellarmine College and holds a master’s degree from Indiana University. Joe has been actively researching and writing about the Civil War for 18 years. He is author of A History of the 6th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry U.S.: The Boys who Feared No Noise. He is also the translator and editor of three books of translated and edited letters written by German Americans fighting in the Civil War. His program was "Brig. Gen. August Willich’s Gallant Dutchmen: The 32nd Indiana Volunteers". August Willich (Nov.19, 1810–Jan. 22, 1878) was born in Braunsberg, Province of East Prussia. He was a military officer in the Prussian Army and a leading early proponent of Communism in Germany. He eventually immigrated to the United States and became a general in the Union Army. Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton commissioned Willich as Colonel of the 32nd Indiana, also called the First German (an all German regiment). This regiment was organized in Indianapolis in August 1861. Many German Americans served so they could prove they were loyal Americans and it also gave them a chance to improve their lot in life. Being an all German regiment, many of them could not speak English, so the German language was used in their training, commands and record keeping. German food and beer rations was also part of their routine. (by Larry Morris)

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SEPTEMBER MEETING:

Thomas Flagel was our guest speaker for the September meeting. Author and professor, Mr. Flagel teaches American History at Columbia State Community College in Tennessee. He holds degrees from Loras College (B.A. History), Kansas State University (M.A. European History), Creighton University (M.A. International Relations), and has studied at the University of Virginia. Originally from Iowa, he has also lived in Austria and the Czech Republic. Among his ancestors are several Civil War veterans. He has authored the following books: The History Buff’s Guide to the Civil War, The History Buff’s Guide to Gettysburg. The History Buff’s Guide to the Presidents, and The History Buff’s Guide to World War II.


PROGRAM: “With the Desperation of Demons: How the Press Reported the Battle of Franklin.” Through their research historians have given us a detailed account of how the Battle of Franklin claimed 10,000 casualities in less than five hours. For the people that lived during that time their main source of news about this and other battles was the newspapers.


During the Civil War there were approximately 2,500 newspapers with 800 in the South. Reporters faced a difficult job since many generals did not want them following the troops. Gen. Sherman stated he would rather have spies in camp than have reporters. The Southern presses suffered a great disadvantage as Union troops advanced and destroyed printing facilities, telegraphs, and railroads. These losses could not easily be replaced. Northern cities could get the news from the front very quickly compared to the South. For example, Chicago would get the news about the Battle of Franklin the next day from the New York Times, while the Jacksonville Republican, only 100 miles from Franklin, would take two weeks to reach print. Newspaper reports often contained several inaccuracies. Confederate Gen. Hiram B. Granbury had his named spelled several ways. A General Williams was reported killed in action and he did not exist. In the South it was wrongly believed that Gen. Hood had won and recaptured Nashville. Newspaper reporters were eyewitnesses to one of the most memorable conflicts in history. They left a record that was brilliant, but at other times marred by shoddy journalism. They were however the American public’s primary source of information.

(LM)


BOOK RAFFLE WINNERS:

Our winners for the September book raffle were: Steve Kweskin, Jerry Dill, and Dennis Hutchinson. Remember, if you have any books you would like to donate for the raffle, please bring them to the next meeting. (LM)


THE REST OF THE STORY: More “Digging” the Civil War

Georgia Southern University students have completed their second summer of the archaeological dig at Camp Lawton, the Confederate run prisoner of war camp located just north of Millen, Georgia. Project director Dr. Sue Moore called the amount and variety of artifacts found this summer as “stunning”. New artifacts include a soldier’s ring with the 3rd Corps insignia, a grocery token from Michigan, suspender buckles and a pocket knife. Foreign coins have been found which indicates that they may have belonged to Union soldiers that joined the army as soon as they arrived in the U.S. This camp was constructed in 1864 and housed more than 10,000 Union prisoners for six weeks before evacuation caused by Sherman’s approach on his “March to the Sea”. (BE)


Source: news.georgiasouthern.edu/campusnews.php

http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/08/2011/camp-lawton-a-lost- civil-war-prison-comes-to-life


CIVIL WAR QUOTE:

"In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free. Honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last, best hope of earth."

President Abraham Lincoln, message to Congress, 1862 (LM)


NOTE: You might have noticed some initials at the ends of sections of the newsletter such as BE or LM. They stand for your newsletter editors Bill Emmick and Larry Morris. They let you know who contributed to the article in case you have some further questions.


OCTOBER PROGRAM —

The Red Bank Reunion Band will present an all new program for 2012.To commemorate the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, they have researched and rehearsed a program using the songs and stories of the Hope Indiana Coronet Band. (LM)


SESQUICENTENNIAL — 1861-2011: 150 YEARS AGO:

Oct. 4, 1861 — The USS South Carolina captured 4,000 to 5,000 stands of arms when the Confederate schooners Ezlida and Joseph H. Toone were taken near South Pass of the Mississippi River, south of New Orleans.

Oct. 7, 1861 — General John C. Fremont sets out to attack General Sterling Price in Missouri.

Oct. 10, 1861 — President Jefferson Davis recomends the use of blacks as laborers for the Confederate army.

Oct. 14, 1861 — President Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus. Oct. 16, 1861 — Union forces take back Lexington, Missouri

Oct. 21, 1861 — Col. Edward Baker, U.S. Senator from Oregon and a personal friend of Lincoln’s, is killed at Ball’s Bluff on the Potomac.

Oct. 24, 1861 — In western Virginia, the people vote to form a new state. (BE)/(LM)


FUTURE PROGRAMS:

October 20, 2011 – Red Bank Reunion Band

November 17, 2011 – Terry Hughes "The War Comes to Fredricktown"

December 15, 2011 – Trivia Contest


FORAGER’S LIST:

October 20, 2011 — Band

November 17, 2011 — Ron and Patsy Sproatt

December 15, 2011 — Phil Hare


MEMBERSHIP:

The Southern Indiana Civil War Roundtable is open to membership to anyone interested in learning more about the U.S. Civil War. Meetings are held monthly on the third Thursday of each month at the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library in downtown Evansville, Indiana at 7:00 p.m. Dues are $15.00 per family for a year and are due in January of each year. If you still owe dues for this year, be sure to see Ron Sproatt at our next meeting. Members are always encouraged to share information they have about any civil war topic by passing it along to the newsletter editors.


SICWRT officers are: Chairman – Alan Elsner; Treasurer – Ron Sproatt; Program Committee – Tom Murray and Larry Harms; Newsletter Editors – Bill Emmick and Larry Morris; Book Raffle Chairman – Larry Morris