October 2025 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

October 14 , 2025

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at 7:00pm at The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker:  Rick Barram

We invite you to join us this evening, as Rick Barram introduces us to Arthur McKinstry, a soldier in the Excelsior Brigade and “informal” war correspondent for his hometown newspaper.

Serving as an informal “war correspondent” for his uncles’ Fredonia Censor newspaper back home, Arthur McKinstry’s extraordinary and articulate letters offer an intimate and immediate picture of the common soldier’s everyday trials, tribulations, and minor victories while at the seat of war. “I have endeavored all along to make the Censor the military gazette of the county and I believe that I am succeeding,” penned Arthur.

Writing for Home will look at how citizens back in Chautauqua County received news of the war through McKinstry’s eyes; eyes keenly focused on the more than 500 men serving with the 72nd New York Infantry, part of the Excelsior Brigade.

 Writing for Home will focus on the adventures of McKinstry and his Chautauqua County mates, set against the backdrop of their time occupying Lower Maryland, the U.S. Navy’s ongoing fight with Confederate artillery batteries along the Potomac’s Virginia shore and the often-incompetent command of General Daniel Sickles.

With the Union’s defeat at Bull Run, the regiment is hastily transferred to the defenses surrounding Washington D.C. As the threat to the capital abates, they relocate to what Arthur describes as the ‘doubtful part of Maryland’ along its Potomac shore. Here, in Charles County, M.D., the regiments of the Excelsior Brigade are charged with throttling secessionist trouble-makers while monitoring Virginia rebels across the river. Eventually, Arthur and the brigade are transported to Virginia’s Peninsula where the men of the regiment meet their baptism of fire at the battle of Williamsburg.

Letters to his mother reveal Arthur’s more personal thoughts and frustrations. Having grown up on a farm in western New York, Arthur is surprised and shocked at the harsh, rough-hewn conditions of life in Lower Maryland and the cruel reality of slavery’s human toll; a far cry from the idyllic scenes depicted in popular magazines and journals of the day.

Arthur’s journalist’s eye for detail and poet’s heart for drama combine to paint a rare portrait of the hardships, frustrations and joys, which formed brotherly bonds among volunteers who dutifully soldier on to restore a nation. This collection of more than 85 letters written over the course of a year also offers new insights into regimental organization, training, communications with home, and the often-overlooked attempt of Confederates artillerymen to blockade Washington D.C.’s critical Potomac River supply route.

Excerpts from Arthur’s letters:

  • It rained nearly all day, and the mud was ankle deep all the way. We passed through the village of Piscataway, and I must say that I never saw its equal in any of the Northern States. Its appearance would indicate that it was built some time during the Revolution. The roofs of the houses are covered with moss, and the whole village presents a decayed appearance. Two thirds of the houses, a Northern farmer would not allow to disgrace his farm.
  • …the Southern planter with his smiling family of domestics around him, over whom he exercises so mild and benevolent a sway, and who would go through fire and water for their beloved master– this picture, so charming in the perspective, upon nearer approach, fades away into a dirty-looking farmer, in a coarse suit of clothes of antediluvian cut, and a ragged parcel of chattels, who look eagerly to us for one ray of hope for their delivery from their present thralldom.

 Ira Lewis, our ambulance driver said: “I am ready, to die for my country, but I don’t want to die here, for I don’t believe that any one buried in such a miserable soil as this would ever come up, not even at the call of the last trump.”

  • Every time that an oyster boat passes, it is made a target for the rebel batteries, but as they do not hit them, it affords great amusement to the crews, who dance, yell and gesticulate in contempt of the gunners. Our guns sometimes reply, and beyond doubt with effect.

 Since I wrote you last we have done another tour of picket duty and labored for a day in the trenches… We lay concealed in a deep ravine during the day and read whatever we could scrap together of books and papers, or ventured a quiet rubber at whist, while the rebel shells were crashing through the timber in our immediate vicinity. At night we were sent out in companies for the pickets to rally upon in case the enemy should press them hard. Company was posted upon a hill which was completely swept by the enemy’s guns and as they held the position without flinching until morning it is very remarkable that none were injured.

Rick Barram is an educator, lecturer, author with 30 years teaching experience in social science, specializing in United States, World and Military History.

Having purchased his first book on the Civil War while on a family vacation at age 11, his interest in history only grew from there. After being introduced to the hobby of Civil War reenacting 30 years ago, Rick took that interest to write two books on the subject, The 72nd New York Infantry in the Civil War and Dear Uncles: The Civil War Letters of Arthur McKinstry, a Soldier in the Excelsior Brigade. He has also written several magazine articles appearing in America’s Civil War, Civil War Times, Naval History and Guns of the Old West. He is also the editor of his reenacting club’s bimonthly newsletter.

Over the years Rick has given lectures on the subject of Civil War, not only around his home town of Red Bluff, California, but to audiences at the New York State Military Museum, Chautauqua County Historical Society, and the Delaware County Historical Association.

While not writing or pursuing his reenacting, Rick enjoys the retired life at home with his wife Rebecca and their two cats, Harley and Nimbus.

As usual, attendance is free, but membership is encouraged. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org.

September 2025 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

September 9 , 2025

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, September 9, 2025 at 7:00pm at The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker:  Donna Peterson

We are very pleased and fortunate to be kicking off our 14th year tonight.  We welcome Donna Peterson, who will regale us with some “Snippets of Lincoln

Think you know everything there is to know about Abraham Lincoln?  Donna Peterson just might surprise you tonight, as she presents her interesting collection of stories about her favorite president.

Culled from a collection of books and other sources, Ms. Peterson will share with us some of the little known facts and stories, such as President Theodore Roosevelt had Lincoln’s hair with him when he was sworn into office during his 2nd inauguration in 1905, Teddy wore a ring containing strands of Lincoln’s hair which a Doctor had cut from his head on the night of his assassination.  We all know that Teddy witnessed Lincoln’s Funeral procession as it passed by in NYC.  This is just a small sample of what is in store for us this evening.

Donna Peterson is a self described “Army Brat”, born at West Point and lived around the world with my military family. When her Dad retired at Ft. Meade we stayed in Maryland where I married and had my children.

Always wanting to volunteer she found the Dr. Samuel Mudd Museum in Waldorf where she stayed for 25 wonderful years.  Donna has always loved history and this is where she found her niche. While there Ms. Peterson  developed my array of historical presentations  (among them, Women of the Civil War, and Women of the Wild West) and perform them in costume at various venues. She has spoken in Gettysburg, PA area many times.

As always, attendance is free, but membership is encouraged. Membership fees allow us to continue to seek out and invite the fine speakers we are fortunate to have every year. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org.

 

2025-26 Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table Speaker Schedule

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce its 2025-26 speaker schedule! All meetings will be held at the Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 North Crain Highway, Newburg, MD. Start time is 7:00pm.

September 9, 2025:  Donna Peterson – Snippets of Lincoln

October 14, 2025:  Rick Barram – The Civil War Letters of Arthur McKinstry

November 11, 2025:  Bert Stevenson – 90 Day Wonders

December 9, 2025:  Tom Belote – Attempts at Eliminating Slavery

January 13, 2026:  Ben Sunderland – Civil War Travelogue

February 10, 2026:  Joe DiNatale – Incidents & Experiences of Samuel Whitebread, USA

March 10, 2026:  Garth Bowling – Shadows of War:  Civil War comes to Charles County, MD

April 13, 2026:  Sarah Kay Bierle – John Pelham:  Glorious Courage

May 11, 2026:  Bob Crickenburger – Point Lookout and the 2nd Wave of Prisons

We look forward to welcoming all of these fine people to speak to us and to welcoming all of you to hear their presentations. Detailed descriptions about each speaker and their topics to be posted in the coming months. Attendance is free to all, but membership is encouraged For more information about the Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table or to learn how to join, please reach out at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org!

 

May 2025 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

May 13 , 2025

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at 7:00pm at The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker:  Lisa Samia

Year 13 closes out tonight with a visit from our good friend, Lisa Samia.  Tonight, Lisa will discuss “John Wilkes Booth and his Sister Asia Booth Clarke:  A Special Relationship”

This presentation will explore the special relationship between John Wilkes Booth and his sister Asia Booth Clarke.  They had similar personalities.  They shared a romantic, restless nature as well as a stubborn unrelenting side.  John would follow the family vocation and become an accomplished actor.  Asia would go on to author three books and become a wife and mother. The second book was specific to her brother John called John Wilkes Booth, A Sister’s Memoir by his sister Asia Booth Clarke.  It was written in 1874 but not published until 1938 and at the time of publication was renamed The Unlocked Book. In this book, Asia shares her emotional reminiscences of her brother John while the two grew up together on the Booth family farm in Bel Air, MD from 1852-56. They remained close even after they left the farm, as their lives moved into early adulthood.

Although historians have been generally satisfied with her truthfulness it is important to remember that these writings are from her memory and recollections.

Lisa G. Samia is an Award-Wining Poet and Author who loves American Civil War History.  Her latest accomplishments are being selected as the National Parks Arts Foundation’s Artist in Residence for Gettysburg National Battlefield Park 2020 and National  Parks Service’s Artist in Residence for Manassas Battlefield Park 2021. both for her Civil War Poetry.  Her works include “The Nameless and the Faceless of the Civil War“, a collection of 28 poems and 28 essays on the historical representations of Civil War events through the rhyme and narrative of poetry  It was released in April 2018, and endorsed by Eric Swanson, the New York Times best-selling co-author of “The Joy of Living“.  “The Nameless and the Faceless Women of the Civil War“, a collection of 28 poems and 28 essays was released in April 2021, also endorsed by Eric Swnson.  Also, “The Man with the Ice Blue Eyes“,  a romantic Poetry Collection of love and heartache debuted number one on Amazon.com for Women’s Poetry, July 2016.  Included in the collection are two award wining poems from the Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association.

Ms. Samia is also and avid author and speaker on John Wilkes Booth and his sister Asia Booth Clarke.  She has appeared multiple times on the Civil War Round Table Congress (via Zoom) to a sold-out audience.  Her recent discovery of a set of archived letters written by Asia Booth Clarke while residing in Europe provide a deeper reveal of Asia Booth Clarke.

Lisa has devoted three years traveling, researching and writing the fictional novel series based on John Wilkes Booth, “My Name is John Singer” and “My Name is Mrs. John Singer“.  She frequently lectures at literary ad historical venues, notably The Edgar Allen Poe House and Museum, the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House and Museum, the Civil War I, American nterpretive Center Blenheim, The Civil War Round Table Congress, multiple Barnes & Noble locations, and a virtual presentation with the American Civil War Museum.

You can follow Lisa on her various social platforms; Instagram: @authorlisasamia or Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorlisasamia.

As usual, attendance is free, but membership is encouraged. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org.

April 2025 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

April 8 , 2025

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 7:00pm at The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker:  Sarah Kay Bierle

 

As we prepare for our field trip to the New Market Battlefield, tonight we will be prepped for the trip by Sarah Kay Bierle, who will discuss the New Market Campaign.

The New Market Campaign

How did the armies get to New Market for the battle on May 15, 1864?

What were the objectives of the campaign?

How did the campaign and battle fit into the overall strategic plans for the war in Virginia?

This presentation delves deeper in the New Market Campaign and reexamines its challenges and outcomes beyond the famous battle.

 

Sarah Kay Bierle graduated from Thomas Edison State University with a BA in History, works in the Education Department at American Battlefield Trust, and occasionally writes for Emerging Civil War. She has spent years exploring ways to share quality historical research in ways that will inform and inspire modern audiences, including school presentations, writing, and speaking engagements. Sarah has published three historical fiction books and her first nonfiction book, Call Out The Cadets: The Battle of New Market, is part of the Emerging Civil War Series. She currently has a book under contract with the University of Tennessee Press and a forthcoming biography about Confederate artillerist John Pelham with Savas Beatie

Come on out an get a great preview of the sights and stories we will see and learn about on our trip from Sarah.  Attendance is free as always, but membership is recommended. Please contact us at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org or at 443-975-9142 for more details.

 

March 2025 Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table Meeting

March 2025 Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table Meeting

March 11, 2025

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at 7:00pm at The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker:  Dr. Bradley Gottfried

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table will present a unique program that visualizes the Battle of Antietam by closely examining the panoramic Antietam paintings of Capt. James Hope.

Hope was a landscape painter who helped organize and then command a company in the 2nd Vermont Infantry. The regiment was positioned on the Antietam battlefield in a reserve role. Although Capt. Hope saw action on many battlefields, Antietam haunted him. After a trip to the battlefield to attend a reunion in the 1880’s, Hope returned to his studio and created five panoramic paintings of the battle.

Bradley and Linda Gottfried have studied these paintings and created a book of them. In this presentation, they will review the action at Antietam using Hope’s paintings. Their approach of zooming in on each painting shows unique aspects of the battle.

As usual, attendance is free, but membership is encouraged. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org.

MEETING CANCELLED

Due to the impending inclement weather in the forecast, tomorrow night’s  (February 11, 2025) Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table Meeting is being cancelled. 

We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to re-scheduling Steve Cowie in the future.  More details on that to be announced.  In the meantime, Stay safe!

February 2025 Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table Meeting

February 11 2025

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at 7:00pm at The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker:  Steve Cowie

A New Year kicks off with a look at the biggest Civil War engagement in our state and the impact this battle had on the people and surroundings nearby.  Tonight Steve Cowie presents When Hell Came to Sharpsburg: The Battle of Antietam and Its Impact on the Civilians Who Called It Home.

The Battle of Antietam, fought in and around Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest day in American history. Despite the large number of books and articles on the subject, the horrendous effect that the battle had on area civilians is rarely discussed. When Hell Came to Sharpsburg by Steven Cowie rectifies this oversight.

By the time the battle ended, more than 23,000 men had been killed, wounded, or captured in just a dozen hours of combat—a grim statistic that tells only part of the story. The epicenter of that deadly day was the small community of Sharpsburg. Families lived, worked, and worshipped there. It was their home. And the horrific fighting and its aftermath turned their lives upside down.

When Hell Came to Sharpsburg investigates how the battle and its armies wreaked emotional, physical, and financial havoc on the people of Sharpsburg. For proper context, the author explores the savage struggle and its gory aftermath and explains how soldiers stripped the community of resources and spread diseases. Cowie meticulously follows fortunes of individual families—ordinary folk thrust into harrowing circumstances—and their struggle to recover from their unexpected and often devastating losses.

Steven Cowie earned a degree from California State University, Long Beach. As part of the Los Angeles film industry, he penned spec screenplays and sold his award-winning short film to the Sundance Channel. A lifelong student of the Civil War, Cowie dedicated fifteen years to exclusively researching the Battle of Antietam. When Hell Came to Sharpsburg is his first book.

As always, attendance is free, but membership is encouraged. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org

 

January 2025 Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table Meeting

January 14, 2025

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 7:00pm at The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker:  Bob Crickenberger

 

It is a pleasure to welcome back another of our frequent contributors to the Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table, Mr. Bob Crickenberger, s tonight he presents,  “Saint or Sinner.”  Major General William Hoffman – Commissary General of Prisoners.

 

On October 1861, Colonel William Hoffman had been promoted to the newly resuscitated post of Commissary General of Prisoners by the Secretary of War. Ironically, he was placed there, despite his protest, while he was awaiting his own exchange. Hoffman, while in command of the federal garrison in San Antonio, Texas, was made a prisoner of war after his commanding officer, Brigadier General David E. Twiggs, surrendered Union forces on February 18, 1861 to the fledgling Confederate government. Hoffman was eventually released in a prisoner exchange on August 27, 1862, nearly a year after he received his new assignment.

Hoffman had shaped his early life assuming that he would serve his country, following in his father’s footsteps. Colonel Hoffman became a career United States Army officer, attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and having served in a string of army posts, just as his father had. Another of Hoffman’s brothers would attend the military academy as well as four of his sisters would marry academy graduates. Hoffman would prove to be an unwavering career soldier and a dedicated family man, following the example set by his father.

Hoffman’s personality reflected his military upbringing, discipline, and his family principles. He was frugal and a stickler for rules and regulations, earning him the sobriquet of “Old Huffy” for his steadfast belief that regulations were meant to govern and not be ignored. These attributes would influence his decisions in the unwavering administration of his duties as Commissary General of Prisoners.

Hoffman conducted the affairs of his department to the best of his ability while being hampered by politics, a lack of guidelines provided to him, and would not have the benefit of any precedent before him in the operation of his office. In the post-war years, he would be accused of being borderline Draconian at times, a title he did not deserve. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Retired as a Production Coordinator for the Prince George’s County Department of Printing, Bob has taken an active role in the preservation of our Southern Maryland Civil War history. A volunteer at Point Lookout State Park since 1978, Bob is also the founder and chairman of The Friends of Point Lookout, which has been in existence since 1985. As well as being a member of the Round table, Bob is also a member of the Sons of Union Veterans Sgt. James Harris Camp #38.

Please come out and join us as we learn about a little known, yet important officer in the administration of the war machine.  Attendance is free, but membership is recommended. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org or at 443-975-9142. We look forward to seeing you!

December 2024 Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table Meeting

December 10, 2024

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, December 10, 2024 at 7:00pm at The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker:  Eddie Roberts

 

 

We are pleased to welcome Eddie Roberts back to the Round Table for another entertaining presentation.  Those who remember his October 2022 program, Footsteps, will enjoy tonight’s lecture, “They Were Unwilling Participants”.

Mr. Roberts will tell us the story of the challenges faced by the North and the South at the outset of the war and the hardships encounters by those on the home front.  Joining Mr. Roberts will be Ms. Donna Peterson, who will share with us the stories of women and their contributions during the war.

Attendance is free, but membership is encouraged. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org