November 13, 2012
The November meeting of the Southern MD Civil War Round Table gives members the opportunity to learn of the role of 
Annapolis, MD in the Civil War, as Rebecca Morris, author of the book “A Low, Dirty Place – The Parole Camps of Annapolis, MD 1862-1865“, will be our speaker.
In 1862, Annapolis became the main depot on the East Coast for Union prisoners; released on parole by the Confederacy. These parole camps, as well as the army regiments stationed around the city, changed Annapolis from a sleepy market town to an over crowded city full of thieves, murderers and prostitutes.
Ms. Morris’ book describes those days and those men who came to Annapolis to march off to war, many of who returned, broken in mind and body from the southern prisons, whose last, best hope of freedom was Camp Parole in Annapolis, MD.
Rebecca Morris, a resident of Annapolis, has a life long interest in local history, particularly that of the Civil War era. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Anne Arundel County Historical Society (AACHS) for the past 5 years and is currently the Treasurer of that organization.
In addition to her recent book, she has written a number of articles for “History Notes“, the AACHS quarterly publication and is a member of and contributor to several historical associations, including the Annapolis History Consortium, The Chesapeake Civil War Round Table, the Surratt Society and the Lincoln Forum. Ms. Morris is a frequent speaker at local civic and historical society meetings and is a 1971 graduate of the University of Maryland.
The November meeting will be held Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at 7:00PM in room BI (Business & Industry Building) 113. All are welcome to attend the lecture, but membership is the Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is encouraged. For more information please contact Dr. Brad Gottfried at 3201-934-7625 or at bgottfried@csmd.edu.
of Fitz John Porter.” As in sports, the Civil War had its share of heroes and its shares of men to whom blame for defeat or disaster was attached. A Union defeat at Manassas in the summer of 1862 led to criticism and a court-martial for one of the rising stars of the Army of the Potomac’s high command.
speaker for its inaugural meeting. Mr. Knapp is a retired Army Officer, professional balloon pilot serving on the Balloon Federation of America Board, and Civil War Balloon Corps enthusiast. He has owned and operated the modern “ARMY” Balloon since 1993 and shares oral and living history as Thaddeus S. C Lowe, Chief Aeronaut, of the Army of the Potomac’s Balloon Corps. In 2006 Kevin was the co-pilot for the winning team of the America’s Challenge Gas Balloon Race flying from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Citra, Florida – 1,478 miles in 60 hours and 45 minutes.
Kevin Knapp’s portrayal of Thaddeus Lowe has been featured at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, by the US National Park Service Civil War Defense of Washington, Fort Ward, and Gaines Mill Battlefield, as well as the cities of Fairfax, Falls Church, Gloucester, Manassas, and Yorktown Virginia’s Civil War Sesquicentennial Committees. He was also a contributor to the History Channel’s “Man, Moment, and Machine’s” segment on Civil War Ballooning called “Lincoln’s Flying Spy Machine.”