Adjutant’s Call - September 2022
Circular Memorandum #538 - September 2022
“The Good the Bad and the (Very) Ugly: An Evaluation of Commanders in the Petersburg Campaign”
We welcome back our friend Will Greene to the September meeting. Will recently completed a 44-year career in public history as a park historian, battlefield preservationist, and museum director. Greene holds degrees in history from Florida State University and Louisiana State University, where he did his graduate work under the legendary T. Harry Williams and earned his Ph.D. He worked for the National Park Service for sixteen years, was the first executive director of the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (now the American Battlefield Trust) and is the founding executive director of Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier. He is the author of six books and more than 20 published articles on Civil War history, Greene's latest publication is A Campaign of Giants: The Petersburg Campaign from the Crossing of the James to the Battle of the Crater. This is the first of a projected three-volume study of the Petersburg Campaign from the University of North Carolina Press. Greene lives in Walden, Tennessee with his wife, Maggie, and his cat, Ozzie Guillen. Will was our guide on the Petersburg field trip we took in 1998, the Shenandoah 1864 field trip we took in 2013 and was our guide on the 2018 field trip of Jackson’s 1862 Shenandoah campaign.
There are several reasons why the Petersburg Campaign is the least understood action in the Virginia theater of the Civil War. It's a highly complex story that has generated relatively little published scholarship over the years. Moreover, much of the important landscape is not preserved and inaccessible to the public, making the campaign difficult to tour. And perhaps another reason is that so many of the commanders at Petersburg are unfamiliar to students of the war. My talk examines the composition and organization of the five armies that contended for Petersburg between June 1864 and April 1865 and introduces the audience to a number of the general officers who commanded elements of those armies. I rely largely on the descriptions and opinions of these men's contemporaries, some of them lavish in their praise and others of them devilishly critical. My talk also evaluates the performance of these men on the fields of battle and their contributions to the outcome of the campaign. Photos of the officers accompany my presentation, presenting images that are either good, bad, or in at least one case, "very ugly.
“BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS!!”
Will Greene will have his new book, A Campaign of Giants: From the Crossing of the James to the Battle of the Crater available at the meeting. The book addresses the opening six weeks of the contest for Petersburg, concluding with a detailed discussion of the Battle of the Crater. Itis the first of three volumes that will cover the entire Petersburg campaign.
A Message From our President, Doug Krawczyk “Civil-War Era Pistols Lee’s Birthday Topic”
“…Jones talked about the pistol at a meeting last night of the St. Matthews Rotary Club. Tonight at 6:30 he will speak to the Louisville Civil War Roundtable at Big Springs Golf Club….” -Excerpted from the Louisville Courier Journal January 19th, 1961
62 years have passed since the formation of The Louisville Civil War Round Table. Remorsefully, all those individuals who came together the cold and snowy evening of January 19th, 1961, have since deceased. Nevertheless, their charted mission to educate alongside with a commitment in a fellowship of a shared interest…The American Civil War...continues to be its steadfast core. Much certainly has happened within our society during these past six decades. In the realm of historical education interpretation; re-interpretation; revisionism; veneration; condemnation; desecration; adoration; understanding; misunderstanding have all occurred in these intervening years. Indeed, a great number of Civil War Round Tables founded and organized over these decades have succumbed to the effects of the recent pandemic; aging membership; current political winds and other various and sundry mitigating factors. Hence, the vexing question, “Will there be another 62 years for the Louisville Civil War Round Table?” Well, nothing is certain; however, as simplistic as it may sound it truly depends on you…our membership and your support. To earn this support The Louisville Civil War Round Table is expressly committed in delivering the highest quality historical education coupled with fostering the finest in fellowship among its membership. Whether its veteran historians as Will Greene and Kent Masterson Brown or younger historians as James Fuller and Chris Mackowski the LCWRT will continue to strive for an outstanding roster of professional and engaging speakers. To further enhance this commitment to excellence in historical educational is the annual spring battlefield fieldtrip led and conducted by professionally recognized guides. Last year was Gettysburg with licensed interpreter and author Jim Hessler. This year will be the Battle of Atlanta with noted author and lecturer Robert Jenkins. Fellowship itself will continue to be where it all began…Big Spring Country Club…with the audience acclaimed, “Fried Chicken and ‘fixins’”. Finally, in the quest of this organization’s future sustainability coupled with its dedication in the attainment of its goals, we ask our members to consider either becoming or continuing as Patron members. Especially during these challenging times, it is up to All of Us together to contribute navigating our organization forward. On a personal note, for the past 62 years and 563 meetings one individual, Lowell Griffin, has been and continues to be a touchstone to the founding members of Louisville Civil War Round Table. As a then young man of 19-years-of age in February 1961 Lowell was queried by our founder, Frank Rankin, if he genuinely wanted to attend the second LCWRT dinner meeting at Big Spring Golf Club. He unhesitatingly replied to Frank Rankin, “I will be there….”
So, today it is my earnest hope… “YOU TOO WILL BE THERE” God Bless…Godspeed… and…to a Great LCWRT Season…. The Louisville Civil War Roundtable Officially Chartered by the State of Kentucky 16 March 1961 R. Douglas Krawczyk
Our Field Trip in 2023, The Atlanta Campaign
We are going to cover the last half of the 1864 Atlanta Campaign in our next field trip. The dates are April 19-23, 2023. Our guide will be Robert Jenkins who has been studying, researching, and giving tours of the Atlanta campaign for several years. Robert will be our speaker in February when he will speak on “The Atlanta Campaign and the Battle of Peach Tree Creek”. We are going to concentrate on the last half of the campaign from Kennesaw and Pickett’s Mill through the battles in Atlanta. The tour will also include New Hope Church, Dallas, Pine Mountain, Gilgal Church, Kolb Farm, Peach Tree Creek, and Ezra Church. We will also visit the Atlanta History Center and view the newly restored Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama. And yes, there is plenty to see on these battlefields. The Atlanta campaign was argurably the most important and decisive event in the Civil War. Filled with high drama, interesting personalities and hard fought battles, its outcome would decide the Presidential election of 1864 and the fate of the Confederacy. Please mark your calendars for April 19-23, 2023 and join us for what will be a great field trip. We will be staying at the Fairfield Inn in Marietta. If you would like to get a head start on reading, there is no better one volume history than Albert Castel’s wonderful, “Decision in the West: the Atlanta Campaign”. For a briefer but no less brillant outline, I recommend Richard McMurry’s “Atlanta Campaign of 1864”.
Summer Quiz 2022
1. Approximately how many men were in the United States Army in 1861?
According to Bud Robertson, there were approximately 17,000.
2. What event caused the U.S. Congress to form the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War?
It was formed on December 9, 1861 following the Union defeat at the October 21, 1861 Battle of Ball’s Bluff.
3. Who was Heros Von Borcke?
He was a former Prussian Dragoon who volunteered his services to the Confederacy in 1862, was given the rank of Captain, and was assigned to serve under JEB Stuart. He rose to the rank of major and became Stuart’s adjutant general.
4. What famous Black leader had two sons enlist in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment?
Frederick Douglass’ son Lewis survived the major battles and rose to the rank of sergeant major. Another son Charles, due to illness, could not deploy with the unit. He later joined the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry and rose to the rank of first sergeant. Both survived the war.
5. Which Confederate general, because of his physical appearance, was sometimes mistaken for General Robert E. Lee?
That was General William Nelson Pendleton, Lee’s Chief of Artillery.
SEPTEMBER 2022 QUIZ
1. What was the name of the church that figured prominently at the Battle of Antietam?
2. What action did both General George G. Meade and General Robert E. Lee do after the Battle of Gettysburg?
3. About how many Union soldiers did General Ulysses S. Grant have under his direct command near Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865?
4. What old friend on the Confederate side did General Grant meet with briefly at the McClean House on April 10, 1865?
5. What two new states entered the Union during the Civil War?