Adjutant’s Call - Summer 2023
Link to Original PDF of Summer 2023 Newsletter
Circular Memorandum #547 -Summer 2023
Our 63rd Year is Almost Here!!!
Greetings! As we toil through the hot and humid days of July and August, we can look forward to another exciting year with the Louisville Civil War Round Table that is fast approaching! We have a lot to look forward to in the coming year. Once again, we have a great lineup of outstanding speakers that includes some of the very best Civil War historians in the country. We have a great Bourbon & BBQ scheduled for October 15 that promises to be our best ever! Great food, fellowship and some Old Forrester bourbons for the tastings and you will help raise funds for our Round Table. We also can look forward to a field trip to tour the battlefields of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania with renown Civil War historian Gordon Rhea. Also, our treasurer and webmaster are working on putting in place the ability to make your reservations and payments online for all events. This will include the capability to pay with your credit card at the meetings.
The Round Table Board of Directors met on July 22 at the lovely home of Doug Butler and Jamie Jarboe. The main focus of this meeting was to address our finances and to take action to ensure that we can continue to be one of the best round tables in the county. I do not need to remind you that inflation has hit all of us very hard in the last few years and the Round Table is no exception. In light of this, the Board has decided we must raise membership fees. We have not increased these fees in over 20 years but facing increasing costs for everything we do; the Board feels that we must take this step now. Our Patron members are the main reason we can continue to operate, and our thanks are due to all of them for being willing to give above the basic membership fee because they appreciate what we are doing and want us to continue being one of the best Round Tables in the country. If you are not a Patron, please consider becoming one. We had 76 Patron memberships last year and it would be great if we could push that number to 100!
These are Your Board of Directors for the coming year: President, Julie Bartlett, President-elect, John Davis, Treasurer, Patrick Wilbourn, Secretary, Doug Butler, Webmaster, Brian Taylor, Art Boerner, Doug Krawczyk, Bryan Winslow, Terry Pyles, Paul Fridell, Harriette Weatherbee, Lowell Griffin, and Chris Morris.
We continue to live in a world that is changing at an ever-increasing rate. The Russian Ukrainian war drags on, and we only need to watch the news to know that our nation continues to be torn apart by divisive rhetoric and more violence. As you know, there are those who wish to revise and even rewrite our history with such ridiculous things as Project 1619 and the tearing down of historical monuments. Given this there is an increasing need to know and understand our Nation’s great history. I can assure you that incoming President, Julie Barlett and your Board of Directors are committed to bring you the very best in speakers and events and serving you is their chief concern.
With all the events that have taken place in the last few years, it is more important than ever that those of us who value our history must continue to do so. As stated in our by-laws, “The purpose of the Louisville Civil War Round Table, Inc. is to study all aspects of the American Civil War and to promote the interchange of knowledge about it.” By studying, reading, and learning from great historians and speakers about this crucial time in our history, we ensure that the sacrifices of those “who gave the last full measure” should not be forgotten or devalued and their memory forgotten. That is why I hope you will renew your membership and stay the course with us. Please consider becoming a Patron member as that will help us to continue to bring you great speakers!
April 17-21,2024, Field Trip to the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Battle of Giants: Lee vs Grant with Gordon Rhea
We are going to Virginia to cover the beginning of the Overland Campaign, the battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. The dates are April 17-21, 2024. Our guide will be renowed Civil War historian and author Gordon Rhea. He has written seven award-winning books about the American Civil War, including The Battle of the Wilderness, The Battles at Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, To the North Anna River, Cold Harbor, On To Petersburg, Carrying the Flag, and In the Footsteps of Grant and Lee. He has conducted numerous tours of these battlefields and has been involved in their preservation. These two battles which occurred over May 5 – May 12, 1864 marked the beginning of the titantic confrontation of the war’s two greatest generals, Robert E. Lee and U.S. Grant and would to a large extent determine the outcome of the Civil War. When the Army of the Potomic numbering some 120,000 men crossed the Rapidan River on May 4 and entered the tangled undergrowth of the Wilderness, Robert E. Lee responded by having his 55,000 Army of Northern Virginia break camp and march directly towards Grant’s army. What followed was some of the war’s most savage and dramatic fighting resulting in enormous casualties on each side. We will walk this hollowed ground and cover in detail what unfolded. You can sign up now by emailing John Davis at johnd.davis@twc.com or you can sign up at the meetings beginning in September.
Betty Jane Gorin-Smith Awarded Life Membership at May Meeting
Betty Jane Gorin-Smith, a longtime member of our Round Table was presented with our highest honor, the Life Membership Award at our May meeting for her outstanding contributions as a preservationist and author. As a historical preservationist, she worked to establish the Heartland Civil War Trails project and she has been the primary leader of the preservation effort at the Battle of Tebbs Bend in Taylor and Adair counties. Without her tireless efforts, this battlefield would never have been saved. She is the author of the Green River Bridge Battlefield Driving Tour, and is best known for her book Morgan Is Coming!: Confederate Raiders in the Heartland of Kentucky, a 452-page study of Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's raids in 1863. The book contains a detailed account of the July 1863 battle at Tebb’s Bend in which a small contingent of Union troops defeated and forced John Hunt Morgan to alter his plans. Many of Morgan’s best men and officers were lost in this battle. In 2004, then U.S. Representative Ron Lewis honored Gorin-Smith on the House floor and proclaimed her the "historian laureate" for the Kentucky Heartland. A native of Campbellsville, Kentucky, Betty Jane has spent her life dedicated to teaching and preserving the history of Taylor and Adair counties. We have been privileged to have her as a member of our Round Table.
MAY 2023 QUIZ
1. In which state experienced the largest number of Civil War engagements?
That would be Virginia.
2. How were Union Corps numbered?
They were numbered consecutively in Roman numerals.
3. How long was the typical bayonet?
It was typically 18 inches long.
4. What was the average marching speed?
The marching speed averaged two and a half miles per hour.
5. What was the original name of West Virginia after seceding from Virginia?
It was originally called Kanawha.
SUMMER 2023 QUIZ
1. Who was the last Confederate general to die during the Civil War?
2. What Confederate commerce raider (ship) was still attacking U.S. whaling ships during the summer of 1865?
3. Although U. S. Grant died in 1885 and R. E. Lee died in 1870, they were the same age when they died. How old were they?
4. How many stars were on United States flags in April, 1865?
5. What famous World War II general’s father served with the 24th Wisconsin Division in the Civil War?