Month: December 2012

January 8, 2013

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce its next meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at the College of Southern Maryland (LaPlata campus) at 7:00pm in the Business & Industry Building, Room 113.

Guest Speaker:  Dr. Thomas Jarvis

A new year brings a new format for the first meeting of the Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table in 2013, as Dr. Thomas Jarvis will speak on the causes of the Civil War.  Historians still debate this issue, with strong feelings regarding what on the surface may appear to be a simple question.  Great events in history, such as the outbreak of a war,  may seem to have been caused by a single event, but there are usually a complex series of issues, events and causes which lead to the actual outbreak of hostilities.  The attack on Fort Sumter started the bloodiest war in U. S history, but there a great number of issues between the North and South that had festered over the years, which finally came to a head and triggered warfare.  Dr. Jarvis will discuss various historical interpretations regarding the outbreak of the Civil War, review issues that caused sectional tensions and categorize general causes of the war. Those attending  the meeting will have the opportunity question Dr. Jarvis and bring forth their own interpretation of the causes of the Civil War.  (Kindly and gently, of course 🙂 ).

Dr. Thomas Jarvis has taught history as a Professorial Instructor at American University in Washington, D.C. and as a member of the adjunct faculty at the College of Southern Maryland.  While at CSM, Dr. Jarvis developed and taught two specialty courses; “The History of American Warfare” and “The U.S. and Twentieth Century World Affairs.”  He has a B.A. in history from Stony Brook University, NY, a master’s degree from the School of International Service, American University and a Ph.D in U.S. History from American University.  Dr. Jarvis served three years in the Unites States Army, where he worked in the intelligence field with the Army Security Agency and retired from the Central Intelligence Agency as a Senior Executive.

 

Mosby’s Rangers will be the topic of this month’s Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table program.  Commanded by Colonel John Singleton Mosby, the 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry was one fo the most famous units of the Civil War.  The unit was formed on June 10, 1863, at Rector’s Cross Roads, Virginia and became noted for its lighting strikes on Union targets and its ability to consistently elude pursuit.  It played a large role in disrupting Federal communications and supply lines.  The troopers melted into the civilian population until called to arms for a mission.  Speed, surprise and shock were the secrets of the success of Mosby’s command, allowing them to successfully strike much larger bodies of enemy troops.  Capturing a Union general was perhaps its most celebrated feat.

The speaker for December will be Eric Buckland, author of several books on Mosby’s command.  His talk is entitled, “A Few Mosby Men.”  After graduating from the University of Kansas, Mr. Buckland entered the U.S. Army, serving with distinction for twenty two years in the Special Forces and several airborne divisions.  He was deployed in Panama, Honduras and El Salvador.  He retired from the military in 1999 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Mr. Buckland’s interest in Mosby’s Rangers began as a young boy and increased with his military service. He is especially interested in the individual stories of Mosby’s men.  You can learn more at Mr. Buckland’s website, http://www.mosbymen.com/

Our program is scheduled for Tuesday, December 11, 2012 in BI 113 (Business and Industry Building) at 7:00 p.m. All are welcome to attend, but membership in the Round Table is encouraged.