Coming Sept. 10, 2016: Our First Speaker of the 2016 - 2017 Season:

Greg Biggs will present:

 The Question Was One of Supplies: The Logistics for William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign

        

Greg Biggs has been a student of military history for 50 years. His interests cover the ancient Greeks through modern military events with concentrations on the Revolutionary War, the wars of Frederick the Great, the Napoleonic era, the Civil War and World War 2. His primary focus on Civil War history is the war in the Western Theater. He has lectured all over the country to history, civic and Civil War groups since 1990 and began leading Civil War tours in 1993. Greg has had articles published in Blue & Gray Magazine, North-South Trader, the Civil War Trust's "Hallowed Ground," the Battle of Franklin Trust's "Battlefield Dispatch," Civil War Regiments journal and Citizen's Companion and several other publications.  A Nationally known historian on Civil War flags, Greg has consulted for numerous museums, auctions house and private concerns. He has also contributed to books on Georgia's Civil War flags as well as those of Tennessee. Greg is a member of the Company of Military Historians and is president of the Clarksville, TN Civil War Roundtable, one of five he has founded or co-founded. He also programs the Nashville and Bowling Green CWRTs.

The Question Was One of Supplies: Logistics for Wm. T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign

 No army in history moved without a secure line of supplies especially if it moved into enemy territory. If an army got cut off from its supplies then calamity usually followed often ending in defeat and/or destruction. When William T. Sherman set his sights on Atlanta he prepared for the supplying of his army in a manner that surpassed every other Civil War general. Rebuilding railroads and confiscating locomotives and rail cars to haul supplies, Sherman set a daily goal for shipments to his forward base in Chattanooga. Ruthless in making sure that only supplies got on the cars, Sherman also had to worry about protecting the line of rails that ran back to Louisville, Kentucky from Confederate raiders. Building on a system begun by William S. Rosecrans, Sherman's engineers built forts and blockhouses and prepared pre-fabricated trestles for replacing those brought down by Confederate raiders. While his preparations were masterful and thorough, they were not without some flaws. This program will examine the nuts and bolts of these logistics and cover the errors that were also made. In the end, his supply line performed as expected and Atlanta was captured. This set the stage for two more campaigns that Sherman would undertake before the war ended in April 1865 as well as logistics for more modern wars.

For more information about us, please visit our website: Louisville Civil War Round Table 

American Civil War Monuments:

Bar Harbor, Maine

"In Memory of Eden’s Sons

Who Were Defenders of the Union 1861-1865"

Erected A. D. 1897

Dedicated November 4, 1897

Source of Funding:  $4,500 from Town of Bar Harbor, $500 from public subscription  

Photo courtesy of LCWRT Member Holly Jenkins-Evans

First in a Series: 
American Civil War Monuments 
Ellsworth, Maine

"In Honor of the Men of Ellsworth
Who Served and to the Memory of those who fell on land and sea
In the War for the Union
Their Grateful Townsmen Have Raised This Memorial 1861" 
Dedicated July 4, 1887
Made of Blue Hill granite 
Source of Funding: $3,000: Citizens of Ellsworth

Kentucky in the Civil War: 150 Books for the 150th Anniversary

LCWRT Publishes Kentucky in the Civil War: 150 for the 150th 

We are proud to announce a new publication from the Louisville Civil War Round Table: An up to date
bibliography of the 150 best books on Kentucky’s participation in the Civil War. “Kentucky in the Civil War:
150 for the 150th” is the product of over a year’s research and work by several members of a specially
formed committee dedicated to producing this book. Each listing is annotated for a better understanding of
content. The book covers several categories of subject matter and also contains a list of reference material,
bibliographies and fiction.

We hope this will be a valuable guide for anyone interested in Civil War Kentucky and that every member will purchase a copy for themselves or as a gift, as this is an important fundraiser for your Round Table. We also recommend telling your friends.
 
The book is a limited edition soft cover of 48 pages and retails for $12.50 plus $2.50 shipping. (LCWRT can purchase the book for $7.50 plus $2.50 shipping).
Anyone having suggestions for additions to  the list please email full bibliographic information to : musicalnorvelle@bellsouth.net.
 
For information or to order copies please call Norvelle Wathen at 502-339-9000.

LCWRT to open 2012-13 Meeting Season

The first speaker of the 21012 - 13 year  will be outgoing LCWRT President Chris Kolakowski. He will be speaking on  “The Fall of 1862: The Union in Crisis”.  Chris is the The last 4 months of 1862 (August-December) proved to be one of the great turning points in United States history. During this period the Confederacy mounted major offensives East and West, and the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation forever changed the Civil War's objectives. Winter campaigns in December produced nearly uniform Federal reverses, prompting President Lincoln to state "if there is hell, I am in it." Hindsight has diminished appreciation for the low ebb of Union fortunes in December 1862, especially with the failures outside Vicksburg and Fredericksburg. In the wake of several electoral reverses for Lincoln that fall and with emancipation set for January 1, 1863, serious political fissures had opened in the North. What turned this situation around was the victory at Stones River over the year's turn. The talk will examine this period and the various events that influenced the outcome of this first great test of Union resolve.

Christopher L. Kolakowski was born and raised in Fredericksburg, Va. He received his BA in History and Mass Communications from Emory & Henry College, and his MA in Public History from the State University of New York at Albany. Chris has spent his career interpreting and preserving American military history with the National Park Service, New York State government, the Rensselaer County (NY) Historical Society, the Civil War Trust, and the Army Reserve. From 2005-2008 Chris was Executive Director of the Perryville Enhancement Project; during his tenure he added 152 acres of critical battlefield land and increased Perryville's national profile. He has written and spoken on the Civil War, American Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, and both World Wars. In 2009 the History Press published his first book, "The Civil War at Perryville: Battling For the Bluegrass", and, in 2011, its sequel "The Stones River and Tullahoma Campaigns: This Army Does Not Retreat." Kolakowski currently serves as Director of the General George Patton Museum in Fort Knox, Ky. In 2012 the U.S. Army will publish his volume on the 1862 Virginia Campaigns as part of its sesquicentennial series on the Civil War.  Chris has been a member of our Round Table for a number of years and has served as tour guide, Board of Directors member, and President.  

Bits and Pieces

The LCWRT just returned from the Spring Field Trip, this year to Shiloh National Battlefield Park, and in an apropos moment, The Civil War Trust is focusing on land preservation there in this 150th anniversary year of the battle. For more on ongoing land preservation and a chance to donate : Civil War Trust 

And for new fun at the CWT: Battle of Shiloh Animated Map 

There was a great feature on Parks Day Volunteers at Fort Duffield in West Point,Ky in the Louisville Courier Journal on April 13, 21012 with loads of photos here.

For more on the history of Fort Duffield , this is a good website: Hardin County History

LCWRT Announces 2011 - 2012 Preservation Grant Recipient

The Louisville Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2011 - 2012 LCWRT Preservation Grant will be the Battle of Richmond Association. BORA will use the grant to purchase interpretive signage for the Churchill's Draw area in the Madison County Battlefield Park. This is where undetected units of Texas dismounted cavalry, Arkansas infantry and Arkansas artillery under the command of CSA Brig. Gen Thomas J. Churchill  emerged on the right flank of Union Brig.Gen. Mahlon D. Manson's divisions and ended the first phase of the Battle of Richmond at Mount Zion Church on Aug. 30, 1862.  Dr. Paul Rominger will be attending the May Meeting to receive the grant.

 Brig. Gen Thomas J. Churchill, CSA ( 1824 - 1905)

Click on the link for more on The Battle of Richmond, KY and BORA
Click here for more on Thomas J. Churchill