Adjutant’s Call - January 2022
Circular Memorandum #532 - January 2022
The 26 the Annual Frank Rankin Lecture “Lee’s Retreat from Gettysburg” Presented by Kent Masterson Brown
Meet Our Speaker – Kent Masterson Brown
We welcome back Kent Masterson Brown who will deliver the 26 th Annual Frank Rankin Lecture. Kent was born in Lexington, Kentucky on February 5, 1949. He is a 1971 graduate – and in 2014 named a distinguished graduate - of Centre College and received his juris doctor degree in 1974 from Washington and Lee University School of Law. Kent has practiced law for forty-four years with offices in Lexington and Washington, DC. Kent has published six books, all on the Civil War, including Cushing of Gettysburg: The Story of a Union Artillery Commander, Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics and the Pennsylvania Campaign, and One of Morgan’s Men: The Memoirs of Lieutenant John M. Porter of the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry; they have been selections of the History Book Club and Military Book Club. All of them have received rave reviews and numerous national awards. His most recent book is about George Gordon Meade and the Gettysburg Campaign, which we will have for sale at the meeting.
Kent has also written, hosted, and produced eight award-winning documentary films for public and cable television, including: Bourbon and Kentucky: A History Distilled, Henry Clay and the Struggle for the Union, Unsung Hero: The Horse in the Civil War, Daniel Boone and the Opening of the American West, and “I Remember The Old Home Very Well:” The Lincolns in Kentucky. All Kent’s films have been widely broadcast throughout the United States, Canada, and overseas. Two of his films, Daniel Boone and The Lincolns in Kentucky, won the regional television ratings when they were premiered on Kentucky Educational Television. All have won Telly Awards; Unsung Hero was nominated for an Emmy Award.
A nationally known speaker and Civil War battlefield guide, Kent was the first chairman of the Gettysburg National Military Park Advisory Commission and the first chairman of the Perryville (Kentucky) Battlefield Commission, a seat he held for eleven years overseeing the expansion of the Perryville Battlefield. He served on the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and is now a member of the Kentucky Film Commission. He has also been a director of the Gettysburg Foundation. Kent is now the President and Content Developer for the Witnessing History Education Foundation, Inc. Kent lives in Lexington with his wife, Genevieve, and their three children, Annie Louise, Philip and Thomas.
“Lee’s Retreat from Gettysburg”
Kent Masterson Brown will tell the story of the Army of Northern Virginia's retreat from Gettysburg in July 1863. He will chronicle the massive effort of General Robert E. Lee and his command as they sought to move people, equipment, and scavenged supplies through hostile territory and plan the army's next moves. Brown reveals that even though the battle of Gettysburg was a defeat for the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee's successful retreat maintained the balance of power in the eastern theater and left his army with enough forage, stores, and fresh meat to ensure its continued existence as an effective force.
Books! Books! Books!
We will have Kent’s latest book, Meade at Gettysburg for sale at the meeting at the special discounted price of $20! These books are hardbacks and sell for $28 on Amazon. Although he took command of the Army of the Potomac only three days before the first shots were fired at Gettysburg, Union general George G. Meade guided his forces to victory in the Civil War's most pivotal battle. Commentators often dismiss Meade when discussing the great leaders of the Civil War. But in this long-anticipated book, Kent Masterson Brown draws on an expansive archive to reappraise Meade's leadership during the Battle of Gettysburg. Using Meade's published and unpublished papers alongside diaries, letters, and memoirs of fellow officers and enlisted men, Brown highlights how Meade's rapid advance of the army to Gettysburg on July 1, his tactical control and coordination of the army in the desperate fighting on July 2, and his determination to hold his positions on July 3 insured victory. Brown argues that supply deficiencies, brought about by the army's unexpected need to advance to Gettysburg, were crippling. In spite of that, Meade pursued Lee's retreating army rapidly, and his decision not to blindly attack Lee's formidable defenses near Williamsport on July 13 was entirely correct in spite of subsequent harsh criticism. Combining compelling narrative with incisive analysis, this finely rendered work of military history deepens our understanding of the Army of the Potomac as well as the machinations of the Gettysburg Campaign, restoring Meade to his rightful place in the Gettysburg narrative.
Frank G. Rankin, Our Founder
The Louisville Civil War Round Table owes its existence and success to one great individual and leader, Frank G. Rankin, the person we honor at each January meeting with the annual Frank Rankin Lecture. All those who knew Frank and worked with him agree that Frank was a great leader and the driving force that inspired others until he passed away on January 20, 1994. He was born on August 13, 1906 in Louisville and grew up hearing firsthand Civil War Veterans tell their stories of the war. He knew Basil Duke and met and shook hands with John Mosby and walked the battlefields of Virginia with Douglas Southall Freeman. He was a collector of Civil War books and memorabilia before it became popular and amassed a rare and voluminous library of books and artifacts. After graduation from duPont Manual Training High School in 1922, He entered the grain business with S. Zorn & Company becoming sales manager in 1938. In 1942, he joined Gold Proof Grain Elevator Co., the second largest grain marketing cooperative in the United States. Here he rose to the position of general manager. In this position he helped supply grain to many of Kentucky’s major distilleries.
Frank was a person who “knew everyone” from famous historians and scholars to governors, politicians, and business leaders of Kentucky whom he would call on to attend and to speak at the Round Table. Frank dedicated a significant part of his life to preserving and promoting Kentucky’s regional heritage. In 1975 Governor Julian Carroll appointed him to the Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board. Later he was chosen to head the Louisville Historic Landmarks and Kentucky Heritage commissions. In 1967, Ranks was chairman of the Governor’s Commission to commemorate Kentucky’s 175th statehood anniversary. In 1958, Frank was elected president of the Kentucky Derby Festival Committee. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Lincoln Memorial University, the Bank of Louisville, and a member of the Harry Kendall Masonic Lodge, It was Frank’s idea to create our Round Table. In the 1950’s Frank and some of his friends were driving to Lexington and attending the Kentucky Civil War Round Table. Inspired by these meetings and the coming of the Civil War Centennial, the group of friends decided to found their own organization and in the words of Frank Rankin, “to share the War and its attending good fellowship on our hometown.” On January 19, 1961, Robert E. Lee’s 154th birthday, about 70 people met at Big Spring Country Club to hear Dr. Hambleton Tapp and the Louisville Civil War Round Table was born.
Frank Rankin is remembered for his ability to lead and inspire others to work and give of themselves to further the mission of the Round Table in providing opportunities for people to learn about the Civil War. Frank Rankin passed away at his home on January 20, 1994 at the age of 87. Fittingly he died on January 20th, between the birthdays of two of his heroes. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Someone once said of Frank that the members of the Round Table “are all under the shadow of Frank Rankin, a man who was not perfect or a saint, but was a man who loved this nation, this Kentucky soil and each of us.”
Mayfield, Kentucky Devasted by Tornado
Mayfield, Kentucky suffered tremendous damage on December 10 when an F4 tornado torn through the center of town. It has special meaning for me for my family is from Mayfield and I have dozens of nephews, nieces, cousins and their families that live there. I spent every summer in Mayfield as I was growing up until I went to college and countless visits since then to visit relatives. I am happy to report that as far as I can ascertain, none of my family have suffered loss of life or property in this terrible event and I am very grateful for this. I include this picture because it shows the damaged Graves County court house that has stood for over a century. In front of the court house you will see a monument dedicated to the men from Graves County that served in the Confederate army among whom were some of my ancestors. I am happy to report that the court will be repaired and restored. – John Davis