Louisville Civil War Round Table: November 2008

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thunder From a Clear Sky

Thunder From a Clear Sky: Stovepipe Johnson’s Raid on Newburgh, Indiana

Om December 6 the LCWRT will welcome Raymond Mulesky for the very first time. Ray Mulesky was born and raised in the bustling suburbs of Long Island, New York. He graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and took the opportunity to move to the Midwest in the 1980’s. Ray has since immersed himself in the fascinating Civil War history of Indiana and Kentucky.
Ray is a member of the Southwestern Indiana Civil War Round Table and specializes in the roles played by Indiana and Kentucky in the Civil War. He is now known as one of the nation’s experts on the 1862 Confederate Raid on Newburgh, Indiana, and is author of the 2006 release, Thunder from a Clear Sky: Stovepipe Johnson’s Confederate Raid on Newburgh, Indiana.
Ray is also co-author of the just released Kentuckians in Gray: Confederate Generals and Field Officers of the Bluegrass State. He is now working on his third book, tentatively titled, Your Son ‘til Death: The Civil War Letters of a Hoosier Volunteer. Ray lives in Evansville, Indiana, with his wife and son.

Available at amazon.com: Thunder from a Clear Sky

On July 18, 1862, an Indiana town of nearly 1,300 citizens, including almost 100 convalescing Union soldiers, was captured by a bold Confederate icon commanding only twenty-seven Kentucky rebels. The Confederate commander's name was Adam Rankin Johnson and the event was the first Confederate raid north of the Mason-Dixon Line in the American Civil War.
In this story of deception, betrayal, murder, and revenge, Adam Rankin Johnson - Kentucky legend, Texas hero, Confederate raider - conducts a traveling recruiting campaign through the hills of western Kentucky in the summer of 1862. Johnson's crowning effort, his foray onto Northern soil at Newburgh, has the unintended consequence of waking the sleeping giant.

November 2008 Quiz Answers:

1. What full general was disgruntled because he thought his U.S. Army rank should have transferred to the Confederate army, thus making him the senior general instead of the fourth in seniority?

Virginia born Joseph Eggleston Johnston.

2. What civilian was the first female casualty of all-out battle?

Mrs. Judith Henry, hit by a shell on July 21, 1861 at the battle of First Manassas or Bull Run.

3.What state provided the Union army with only about five hundred fighting men, who served in the Second Massachusetts?

California

4. What was the longest uninterrupted campaign of the entire Civil War conflict?

The Petersburg, Virginia, campaign, June 15, 1864 --- April 3, 1865.

5. What was the "white gold" the Confederate leaders hoped to use as a diplomatic bargaining tool with European Governments?

Cotton, but supplies from Egypt, India and Brazil soon replaced that from the Deep South in foreign markets.

December 2008 Quiz:

1. What small girl is generally credited with having persuaded Abraham Lincoln to grow a beard?
2. What Mexican War general and future president made futile objections to his daughter's marriage to Jefferson Davis?

3. After the election of 1864, the membership of what political group jumped by 70 percent?

4. What holder of high office was described by HARPER'S WEEKLY in December 1861 as being honest and shrewd but not a great leader?

5. What West Pointer, 21st of 39 in the class of 1843, was a better than passable artist, specializing in horses?

Monday, November 10, 2008

James I. “Bud” Robertson, Jr.: The Road to War: Reason vs Emotion

The Road to War: Reason vs Emotion
We are happy to have back our longtime friend and life member of our Round Table, James I. ‘Bud’ Robertson, Jr. with us for our on Sunday, Nov. 16. He is without question one of the preeminent Civil War scholars and lecturers of our time. On so many occasions in the past he has edified our group with his lively and humorous talks.

He has written and edited over 20 books and countless articles and reviews. His latest book is a collection of essays co-edited with William C. Davis, Virginia at War, 1863. Among his other books are The Stonewall Brigade, General A. P. Hill, Soldiers Blue and Gray, Civil War Sites in Virginia, and of course his award winning Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend. A list of his accomplishments and awards would fill several newsletters! He appears regularly in Civil War programs on the History Channel and he also served as chief historical consultant for the movie Gods and Generals.

Dr. Robertson is currently Alumni Distinguished Professor in history at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. Since our founding, Bud Robertson has been one of our favorite speakers and has visited us frequently since the early 1960’s. We look forward to hearing Dr. Robertson at what promises to be a very special evening.

2009 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.

Chris Kolakowski, PBPA Director, Resigns

The Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association (PBPA), a non-profit organization charged with preserving and interpreting Kentucky’s largest Civil War battleground, announced October 9th that Chris Kolakowski, its Executive Director, will be stepping down on 22 October. Since Chris has become a member and friend of our Round Table, this is particularly sad news. Chris is leaving the PBPA to become Chief Curator of the National Museum of the U.S. Army Reserve, located at Fort McPherson, Georgia. He will run the museum and assist the Army Reserve Historian with Army historical officers’ training and military staff rides.

Chris Kolakowski became the PBPA’s Executive Director in November 2005. Since that time Perryville has preserved 152 acres of additional battlefield land, hosted the 2006 National Civil War Reenactment, and embarked upon a variety of preservation, restoration, and interpretation projects at Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site and on Merchant’s Row. In 2007 the PBPA won the Sixth Annual Edwin C. Bearss Preservation Award, marking the organization as an elite preservation group in the United States.

"It has been a tremendous three years, and we have accomplished a lot. Perryville is now a nationally recognized historic site, and the PBPA has developed into a national-level preservation organization. Without our key partners on the local, state, and national levels, we would not have been able to accomplish all we have done. The crack PBPA staff has been a real asset, and I cannot say enough about our Board of Directors, and Chairman Don Kelly. There are some truly great people in the community who have been a pleasure to work with, too many to list. I look forward to hearing more successes from Perryville in the future," said Kolakowski.

November 2008 Quiz:

1. What full general was disgruntled because he thought his U.S. Army rank should have transferred to the Confederate army, thus making him the senior general instead of the fourth in seniority?

2. What civilian was the first female casualty of all-out battle?

3. What state provided the Union army with only about five hundred fighting men, who served in the Second Massachusetts?

4. What was the longest uninterrupted campaign of the entire Civil War conflict?

5. What was the "white gold" the Confederate leaders hoped to use as a diplomatic bargaining tool with European Governments?

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Trek to Wildcat Mountain, Part Two

Part Two. After exploring Hoosier Knob, we broke for lunch at the Gazebo. The weather continued to be prefct all day, warming up nicely for the afternoon walk along Infantry Ridge. One of the treats of Wildcat Mountain is that the park area also encompasses portions of the original Wilderness Road, the route through the Apapalachians into Kentucky for Boone, Harrod and so many others who came after. This is a new trail, so new the interpretive signs written by Chris Kolakowski aren't installed yet. Having seen Union infantry trenches (some of the earliest of the Civil War) and signs of Confederate burials on the Hoosier Knob trail, on this portion of the trail we visited artillery placements and 2 Union soldiers gravesites. The soldiers' identites are known today, but were lost at the time and both are now buried in unkwown graves at Crab Orchard. The heights of the Rockcastle Hills were stunning and indicative of the difficult terrain.

Chris did a great job of interpreting not only the troop movements, but also showing us the effect the difficult terrain had on the action, as well as the logistical significance of the location, and the part this small battle played in the larger scheme of the battle for KY.

After a productive afternoon, we adjourned to the gazebo with members of the Camp Wildcat Battelfield Preservation Assoc. for a social hour and the traditional post tour cigar for them that smokes 'em.