Adjutant’s Call January 2026
Circular Memorandum #572, January 2026
“Kentucky in the American Revolution”
Presented by: Kent Masterson Brown
Date: Saturday, January 17 Location: Big Spring Country Club
Cocktails: 6:00 PM Dinner: 7:00 PM Program: 8:00 PM
Meet our Speaker - Kent Masterson Brown
We welcome back Kent Masterson Brown who will deliver the 30th 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.
“Kentucky in the American Revolution”
In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, Kent Masterson Brown will speak to us on Kentucky in the American Revolution. His talk will highlight British efforts to infiltrate and subdue Kentuckian patriots. Kentucky was the Revolutionary War's "Western Front," a crucial but often overlooked theater where American settlers (Kentuckians) defended their frontier settlements like Boonesborough against British-backed Native American allies (Shawnee, etc.) aiming to reclaim land, culminating in key events like the Siege of Boonesborough (1778) and the devastating Battle of Blue Licks (1782) after the main war ended, with George Rogers Clark leading major campaigns to secure the region.
Reservations Are to be Sent to Doug Krawczyk or Made on Our Website
If you do not make a reservation, you may not get fed!
The Round Table must give Big Spring an accurate count of reservations no later than Wednesday before our Friday meeting. Reservations can be made by emailing Doug Krawczyk at rdklou1@gmail.com or by calling Doug Krawczyk at 502-592-6864.
When making a reservation for more than yourself, please list the names of everyone for which you are making a reservation. If you are calling Doug, and get his voicemail, please spell your name so he can properly identify the reservation.
If you wish to join us for just the program, you must still make a reservation so we can assure you have space and a seat. If you are attending just the program, you can call Doug anytime up to 4:00 PM the day of the Meeting.
Reminder for Table Reservations: Tables for parties of eight (8) can be reserved. When making a Table Reservation, please list the names of everyone in your party. That will ensure everyone in your party will be at the same table and enable us to manage our meeting space in a more efficient manner.
Make Your Meeting Reservations Online!
Members of the Round Table now have new options for making dinner reservations, You can go to our new website, www.LouisvilleCWRT.com and make your meeting reservation and make your payment.
Notes from President Julie Bartlett:
65 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!! On January 19, 1961, 70 charter members of the Louisville CWRT met on Gen Robert E. Lee’s 154 birthday to “share the war and its attending good fellowship in our hometown”. Prior to this, Louisville Civil War enthusiasts were traveling to Lexington five times a year to attend Round Table meetings there. The first speaker was Dr. Hambleton Tapp, chairman of the Civil War Commission of Kentucky, and his topic was the Battle of Perryville. We dedicate our January meeting each year to Fred Rankin, who served as the first president of the LCWRT, and his vision to promote the study and understanding of the American Civil War through scholarship, discussion, and fellowship. Through the years the LCWRT has hosted distinguished speakers, organized Battlefield tours, held our annual Bourbon & BBQ fundraiser, and provided a welcoming forum for thoughtful exploration of Civil war history. Thank you, Fred – your quest for lifelong learning remains alive and well. (Excerpts taken from John Davis’ history of the LCWRT).
CELEBRATING ANOTHER ANNIVERSARY Our own, Chris Morris, is marking a remarkable 50-year anniversary with Brown-Forman, the Louisville-based spirits company behind Woodford Reserve, celebrating a half-century of influence on American whiskey craftsmanship since he began in 1976. Over his career, Chris rose to become Master Distiller and later Master Distiller Emeritus at Woodford Reserve, where he developed iconic expressions such as Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, the Master’s Collection, and innovative barrel finishes that helped define the brand’s global reputation for excellence. Along the way, he has been widely recognized within the industry: he was inducted into the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame in 2017, served multiple terms as Chairman of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association Board, authored the Bourbon Flavor Wheel and the Certified Spirits Specialist program, and in 2025 received the prestigious Parker Beam Lifetime Achievement Award for his enduring contribution to bourbon and the broader spirits community. Way to go Chris, we are proud of you. Congratulations 🥃
PINS, PINS, PINS!!! I am pleased to announce the arrival of our NEW LCWRT LAPEL PINS. THEY LOOK GREAT! Celebrate our amazing history and show your LCWRT pride by picking up a pin and joining in the anniversary celebration (donations for the pins will be accepted and used to support our mission to study and preserve CW history). Quantities limited.
BOOK REVIEW TAB: Have you read a good CW related book lately?? Was it so good that you would like to share that reading experience with other round table members?? Well, now you can!! Look for the new tab on our website - you will have access to book reviews and be able to write a review of your own. Send your review to Brianktaylor429@gmail.com.
Bring a friend or two, and let’s enjoy celebrating our 65 anniversary together.
Julie Bartlett
LCWRT President
Harold Holzer is Coming to the Louisville Civil War Round Table!
Mark your calendars for our 600th meeting celebration to be held on May 9, 2026. To help us celebrate this special event, we are very excited to have renowned Abraham Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer come and speak to us. He is one of the country's leading authorities on Abraham Lincoln and the political culture of the Civil War era. A prolific writer and lecturer, and frequent guest on television, Holzer served for six years (2010–2016) as Chairman of The Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation. We are planning several special ways that we will commemorate this special occasion. Stay tuned for details as this will be a meeting you will not want to miss!
Field Trip to the Carolinas: Sherman’s 1865 Campaign: April 22-26, 2026
$200 Non-refundable Deposit is Due
You can pay the $200 non-refundable deposit by mailing your $200 check made out to LCWRT directly to Louisville Civil War Round Table, 9462 Brownsboro Road - #142, Louisville, Ky., 40241. The $200 non-refundable deposit is now due which will guarantee your reservation for the trip. You can also pay the deposit by going to our website, www.louisvillecwrt.com and scrolling down in the Events tab to the Field Trip. We are going to the Carolinas to learn about the Civil War’s last major campaign that took place in March and April of 1865 culminating in the surrender of the Confederacy’s last major army. The campaign pitted William Sherman against Joseph Johnston. Our guide will be Civil War historian and author Wade Sokolosky. Wade was recently named the new Executive Director of the Blue and Gray Educational Society. He is a retired colonel and a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Army. He is a respected historian and the author of four books with more on the way. Wade has been leading battlefield tours for many years and is recognized as an authority on the Civil War battles in the Carolinas. Wade will be coming to the Round Table to speak to us this December. This is a field trip we have never taken and we will see several well preserved battlefields including Averasboro, Monroe’s Crossroads, Wise’s Forks and Bentonville. We will also see the ironclad CSS Neuse and many other historical sites along the way. We will be staying in Smithfield, North Carolina. We will walk this hollowed ground and cover in detail what unfolded. You can sign up now by emailing John Davis at jddavis1122@gmail.com or you can sign up at the meetings.
2025 – 2026 Schedule
Saturday January 17 Kent Masterson Brown “Kentucky in the American Revolution”
Friday February 13 Derrick Lindow “Conquer or Die: Partisan Warfare in 1862 Western Kentucky”
Saturday March 14 Chris Kolakowski “Perspectives on the 1862 Virginia Campaigns”
Saturday April 11 Will Greene “Lost Opportunity: Grant Crosses the James”
Saturday May 9 Harold Holzer “Abraham Lincoln”
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, Frank 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.”
Attest: By Order of:
John Davis Julie Bartlett
Adjutant President