Gettysburg Heroes with Glenn LaFantasie

Glenn W. La Fantasie addresses the Louisville Civil War Round Table, Sept. 12, 2008

Last evening's opening meeting of the 2008 - 2009 season was a winner, with Glenn LaFantasie's excellent and engaging presentation Gettysburg and Its Many Heroes, focusing on James Longstreet, Frank Haskell, William C. Oates, and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Dr. LaFantasie used the Bruce Catton quote "feeling the echoes" as a recurring theme to emphasize the importance of walking the grounds of Gettysburg in order to appreciate the actions and sacrifices made there. He made his new book Gettysburg Heroes, Perfect Soldiers, Hallowed Ground ( Indiana University Press, 2008) available to LCWRT members at a great price, and graciously autographed copies.

On the preservation front, due to the generosity of our members, the LCWRT was able to raise $115 for the 2008 - 2009 Preservation Grant in our first fundraisng effort of the year.

Bryan Winlsow, President of the LCWRT, announced this year's Fall Field Trip will be Wildcat Mountain , near London. KY on Oct. 26. The field trip guide will be Chris Kolakowski who assured participants they will need their hiking boots and walking shoes.

John Davis, LCWRT Past President & Christopher Kolakowski, Chris Kolakowski, left, executive director of the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association and LCWRT member socialize before dinner.

For more information on the Louisville Civil War Round Table, its membership, meetings and preservation grant, please visit our home page at LCWRT .

The New Season Begins: Gettysburg in September

To kickoff our new season, we welcome Glenn W. LaFantasie to our September 12 meeting. He will present Gettysburg and Its Many Heroes.

The Civil War generation saw its world in ways startlingly different from our own. In his upcoming talk, "Gettysburg Heroes, Glenn W. LaFantasie will focus on the lives and experiences of several key personalities who gained fame during the war and after. The battle of Gettysburg is the thread that ties these Civil War lives together. His presentation will explore the human drama of the war and show how a diverse group of individuals—including James Longstreet, Frank A. Haskell, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, and William C. Oates endured or succumbed to the war and, willingly or unwillingly, influenced its outcome. At the same time, his talk will demonstrate how the war shaped the lives of these individuals, putting them through ordeals they never dreamed they would face or survive. His presentation is based on his most recent book, Gettysburg Heroes: Perfect Soldiers, Hallowed Ground, published by Indiana University Press.

Glenn received his Ph.D. in History from Brown University, and is the Richard Frockt Family Professor of Civil War History and the Director of the Center for the Study of the Civil War in the West at Western Kentucky University. He is the author of Twilight at Little Round Top (Wiley, 2005) and Gettysburg Requiem: The Life and Lost Causes of Confederate Colonel William C. Oates (Oxford University Press, 2006). His most recent book, Gettysburg Heroes: Perfect Soldiers, Hallowed Ground (Indiana University Press, 2008), is a collection of previously published essays on the Civil War’s most famous battle. He has previously taught at the University of Rhode Island, Gettysburg College, and the University of Maine at Farmington. His next book will examine the working partnership between Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant.

You can find Glenn's books on Amazon.com:

Gettysburg Heros: Perfect Soldiers, Hallowed Ground

Gettysburg Requiem: The Life and Lost Causes of Confederate Colonel William C. Oates

Twilight at Little Round Top

Artillery Position at Gettysburg, courtesy LCWRT Member John Davis

Announcing our 2009 LCWRT Field Trip: Chancellorsville April 15-19

We will be going to Virginia April 2009 to study the Campaign and Battle of Chancellorsville! National Park historian Greg Mertz will be our tour guide. The dates for this trip are April 15-19 so mark your calendars now. We will be studying the entire campaign including cavalry raids, Second Fredericksburg, Salem Church, and all related Stonewall Jackson sites.

For more information on the Louisville Civil War Round Table, its membership, meetings and preservation grant, please visit our home page at LCWRT .