Adjutant’s Call - January 2025
Link to Original PDF of January 2025 Newsletter
Circular Memorandum #562 - January 2025
“Andrew Johnson: From Poverty to the Presidency” Presented by Kent Masterson Brown
We welcome back Kent Masterson Brown who will deliver the 29 h 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.
Andrew Johnson: From Poverty to the Presidency
Like Abraham Lincoln, Johnson was born into poverty. Born in Raleigh North Carolina, Johnson’s father died when he was only three years old. Hired out as an indentured servant to a taylor, Johnson fled his birth State and wound up in Greeneville, Tennessee where he was joined by his family. There he opened his own taylor shop. Entering politics, Johnson was elected an Alderman in the city government and then Mayor of Greeneville. He, subsequently, was elected to Congress, and then, in 1853, he became Governor of Tennessee. Four years later, Johnson was elected to the United States Senate. When the Civil War began in April, 1861. the State of Tennessee, in June of that year, seceded from the Union. Johnson, however, remained in the United States Senate as he objected to secession. During the war, President Lincoln, in 1862, named Johnson Military Governor of Tennessee.
In 1864, the National Union Party nominated the incumbent President Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, and Johnson, a Southern Democrat, as Vice President, to the national ticket. They won the election. For Lincoln, his second term was short-lived. It ended with an assassin's bullet on April 14, 1865. Johnson became President of the United States the next day. During his presidency, Johnson had a bitter relationship with the Radical Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and United States Senate, and in the Lincoln Cabinet, who wanted to send military forces to control and govern the former Confederate States and then try former Confederate officers, soldiers, and government officials for treason. Consequently, he would be the first President of the United States to be impeached by the U.S.House of Representatives, but he would escape being convicted in the United States Senate by one vote. It was Johnson who, as President, in the face of rancor and recrimination from the Radical Republicans, worked overtime to fully restore the former Confederate States to the Union, first, by pardoning all former Confederate officers, soldiers, and government officials, from any allegations of treason and then by assuring each State of its proper status upon reuniting with the Union. Johnson was the one whose policies led to a reconciliation among the States and likely led to the avoidance of another civil war. Johnson returned to Tennessee in 1869 and, in 1875, he was elected to the United States Senate from Tennessee, the only former president to do so. Johnson died of a stroke that year and is buried in Greeneville.
12 Year Old LCWRT Honoree Receives Lincoln Forum Scholarship
Some of you may remember Adriel Vaughan. She was honored at one of our meetings for her work regarding the approval of a Historical Marker for Medal of Honor Recipient Perry Wilkes. Happily, the marker has been approved and is slated for a 2025 installation. The good news does not stop there, however. In November, Ms. Vaughan attended the Lincoln Forum as a recipient of the Frank J. Williams Scholarship, which “recognizes outstanding students who have demonstrated academic and extracurricular excellence as well as an interest in the life and career of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.” Essay applications are accepted from across the country, from which three students are selected. At 12 years old, Adriel is the youngest student to have been awarded the scholarship. Her essay entry, “3,517 Reasons Why I Like Abraham Lincoln”, focused on Lincoln as the President who signed into law the legislation that established the Medal of Honor. While acknowledging his other accomplishments, Ms. Vaughan brought attention on this act and the 3,517 Recipients whose deeds have been properly recognized because of it. The Lincoln Forum takes place annually in Gettysburg, PA. The weekend-long event includes symposia and tours for its attendees, who come from across the country to share their deep interest in the life and times of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War era. Thanks to Otis and Lois Fox for their role in helping Adriel in her endeavors.
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.”
April 23-27,2025, Field Trip to Shiloh Albert Sidney Johnston vs U.S. Grant with Tim Smith
We will be going to Shiloh in southwestern Tennessee April 23-27, 2025 for our yearly field trip. Our guide will be Civil War historian and author Tim Smith. He has written the definitive account of the battle in his award-winning book, Shiloh: Conquer or Perish. Tim was our guide in 2012 and did a fantastic job for us. We could not have a better guide. Tim has served as a park ranger at Shiloh National Military Park for six years and has conducted numerous tours of this battlefield and has been involved in Shiloh’s preservation. The battle of Shiloh occurred on April 6-7, 1862 and the resulting causulties of more than 16,000 shocked the nation. After being surprised by Albert Sidney Johnston’s Confederate army on the morning of April 6, the Federals rallied under Grant’s leadership and were able to force the Confederates to retreat back to Corinth, Mississippi the following day after receiving reinforemcnts during the night. The Shiloh battlefield is one of the best preserved battlefields of the Civil War. We will also be going to Corinth and visiting the Corinth battlefield and visitor’s center. We will be staying in Corinth. We will walk this hollowed ground and cover in detail what happened there. We will begin taking signups in November. If you have any questions, you can email John Davis at johnd.davis@twc.com .
Five Myths of Shiloh
Our guide for Shiloh, Tim Smith, in his book, “The Untold Story of Shiloh” lists what he considers to be the 10 myths of Shiloh. I am sure he will explain all of these in detail on the field trip. Here are five of them:
Myth 1: The Union was totally surprised at Shiloh. This myth originated with a war correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette who reported that Union troops were bayoneted in their tents. He was not actually present at the battle. Union Colonel Everet Peabody went out on patrol early on the morning of April 6 and located the Confederate army and sent work back. The entire Union army was alerted and was ready when the attack came.
Myth 2: Benjamin Prentiss was the hero of Shiloh. Benjamin Prentiss claimed that he was the one who won the battle for the Union. According to Prentiss, it was he who sent out the early morning patrol that discovered the Confederate army and it was he who defended the Sunken Road and Hornet’s Nest. In reality, he opposed sending out the patrol and he was a minor player in the Hornet’s Nest. In reality, Everett Peabody sent our the early morning patrol and W.H.L. Wallace was the man who led the Hornet’s Nest resistance. Both Wallace and Peabody were killed in the battle and could not tell their stories leaving Prentiss to tell his version of the story.
Myth 3: Lew Wallace was lost. Wallace was accused by Grant of disobeying orders and getting lost on April 6. His 7600 man division was stationed at Crump’s Landing six miles from the main army at Pittsburg Landing. He received orders early in the morning to rejoin the main army and then began a difficult march in which he received more orders that resulted in confusion and a countermarch. By the time he arrived at Pittsburg Landing the sun was setting. But Wallace was never lost.
Myth 4: Buell’s arrival saved Grant’s Army from defeat on the first day. Buell claimed that his army’s arrival late in the day saved Grant’s from defeat. He claimed that his lead elements when brought over repulsed the final Confederate assault. The truth was that Grant’s line had already stabilized behind massed artillery and Buell’s troops were not needed. In fact, the Confederates never assaulted Grant’s final line. Grant and Buell continued feuding over this into the 1880’s.
Myth 5: The Navy was not important at Shiloh. The generally accepted view is that the Union navy played a minor role in the campaign and battle of Shiloh. Actually, they played a major role. They transported the army and its supplies to Pittsburg Landing and then the gunboats shelled any Confederates who came near the Landing. But it was the fear of the gunboats that was crucial in keeping the Rebels away from any part of the Union army near the Tennessee river. Thus the chief naval contribution was psychological.
DECEMBER 2024 QUIZ
1. What was Stonewall Jackson’s first wife’s name?
Her name was Eleanor Junkin.
2. When President Lincoln permanently relieved General George McClellan of command, what one word describes his reason?
President Lincoln described him as “slow”.
3. How old was General U.S. Grant when he was appointed general-in-chief of the Union Armies?
That was in 1864 when Grant was 42 years old.
4. Why did the Confederacy not have a Supreme Court?
There wasn’t one because their Congress could not agree on the extent of its authority.
5. What was Union General William T. Sherman’s nickname?
It was “Cump”, short for Tecumseh.
JANUARY 2025 QUIZ
1. Who commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia immediately before General Robert E. Lee was appointed on June 1, 1862?
2. About how long did Generals Grant and Lee meet at the McLean House on April 9, 1865?
3. After Virginia, which Southern state had the most fighting during the Civil War?
4. Which Confederate state had the smallest population?
5. Where did General Ulysses S. Grant first see action during the Civil War?