January 2017 Southern MD Civil War Round Table

January 10, 2017

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at 7:00pm at the College of Southern Maryland’s Center for Business and Industry, Chaney Enterprises Conference Center, Room BI-113, at 8730 Mitchell Road in La Plata, MD.

Guest Speaker:  William Connery

Join William C. Connery as he recounts the notable events and battles that occurred in Northern Virginia in 1861 after the firing on Fort Sumter. In the mid-nineteenth century, Alexandria was a port across from the Nation’s Capital; Arlington was an 1100 acre estate managed by U.S. Colonel and Mrs. Robert E. Lee; Fairfax, Prince William and Loudoun Counties consisted of rolling farmland and tiny villages. This peaceful region was thrown into chaos as South Carolina seceded from the Union in Dec. 1860 and other slave states followed until Virginia finally joined the Confederacy in April and May 1861. The ‘invasion’ of Northern Virginia on May 24, 1861, created a no-man’s land between Yankee and Rebel armies, especially in the area south of Alexandria. Some citizens joined Confederate forces, while others stayed to face uncertainty. This book offers new insights into this most important time in American history.

William S. Connery grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, considered ‘neutral territory’ in the Civil War. As a young boy, his family visited the battlefields of Gettysburg, Antietam, and other local historical sites. He has a degree in history from the University of Maryland. Since 1989, Mr. Connery has lived in Fairfax County. He contributes to the Civil War Courier and other publications. He was awarded the prestigious Jefferson Davis Historical Gold Medal by the Fairfax Chapter of the UDC for this book. His other book, Mosby’s Raids in Civil War Northern Virginia, deals with the Gray Ghost of the Confederacy, who became a friend of U.S. Grant after the War! Mr. Connery is a frequently requested speaker on the Civil War and other American history topics in the Washington, D.C., metro region. He can be reached at william.connery@verizon.net.

Southern MD Civil War Round Table Film Series

December 13, 2016

Come out and join us for the second season of Civil War films from 5:15pm – 6:45pm, prior to the regularly scheduled Round table meeting tonight.  Movies will be shown at the College of Southern Maryland’s Center for Business and Industry, Chaney Enterprises Conference Center, Room BI-113, at 8730 Mitchell Road in La Plata, MD.  Admission is free!

Tonight’s Feature:  “Pharaoh’s Army“

... Connect » Movie Collector Connect » Movie Database » Pharaoh's Army

Set in Kentucky during the Civil War, the film tells the story of an encounter between a squadron of Union Army soldiers that take up residence at the farm of a woman whose husband is fighting in the Confederate States Army. Inspired by Shelby Foote’s books about the war, the film is based on a true story of a southern child who shot and killed a Union soldier.

December 2016 Southern MD Civil War Round Table

December 13, 2016

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will take place on Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 7:00pm at the College of Southern Maryland’s Center for Business and Industry, Chaney Enterprises Conference Center, Room BI-113, at 8730 Mitchell Road in La Plata, MD.

Guest Speaker:  Paul O’Neil

The Pratt Street Massacre, also known as the Baltimore Massacre or the ...

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to welcome Paul O’Neil, who will discuss with us the Pratt Street Riots in Baltimore, MD.  Mr. O’Neil will begin his talk with on overview of life and the political and war climate in Baltimore, MD in 1860.  The ascendancy of Abraham Lincoln to President of the United States quickens the pace at which war may come, causing him to issue a call for volunteers, in order to preserve and protect the capitol city.   These volunteer troops must travel through Baltimore to reach Washington, D.C. and on April 18th, unruly mobs launch an attack on these troops as they pass through Baltimore.  Mr. O’Neil will analyze these events for us and the subsequent arrival of the 6th Massachusetts on April 19th and the riot that this precipitates.  He will also provide insight on the arrival of and attack on the Washington Brigade of Pennsylvania volunteers as they arrive at the Pratt Street Station.  To conclude, Mr. O’Neill will share with us the aftermath of these events and there affect on the war effort.

Paul O’Neil became interested in the Civil War in 1961, when he was 8 years old.  He did a scrapbook collection of photos for Cub Scouts, and poured over the hand drawn illustrated maps of battles found in the “American Heritage” history of the war, published at that time.  His father helped his interest by driving him and younger brothers numerous times to Gettysburg, making sure to tell the boys about two different bank robberies that happened in Union Mills, MD.  Paul still has photos of him at 9 or 10 wearing a Union campaign hat and carrying his toy musket.  During his high school years, Paul worked on board the U.S.S. Constellation which, though wrongly called at that time, the frigate, is the only ship to actively serve in the war still afloat.

It was as an unemployed social worker that Mr. O’Neil’s life once again was caught up in the war when, in July 2000, a friend let him know there was a job opening at the Baltimore Civil War Museum, which he quickly took.  Paul was the museum manager as an employee of the Maryland Historical Society, until being laid off in 2006.  The previously mentioned friend then let him know there was an opening on board the Constellation, to which he again returned to until this past October.

Southern MD Civil War Round Table Film Series

November 8, 2016

Come out and join us for the second season of Civil War films from 4:30pm – 6:45pm, prior to the regularly scheduled Round Table meeting tonight.  Movies will be shown at the College of Southern Maryland’s Center for Business and Industry, Chaney Enterprises Conference Center, Room BI-113, at 8730 Mitchell Road in La Plata, MD.  Admission is free!

Tonight’s Feature:  “12 Years a Slave“

 

In the years before the Civil War, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South. Subjected to the cruelty of one malevolent owner (Michael Fassbender), he also finds unexpected kindness from another, as he struggles continually to survive and maintain some of his dignity. Then in the 12th year of the disheartening ordeal, a chance meeting with an abolitionist from Canada changes Solomon’s life forever.

Southern MD Civil War Round Table Film Series

October 11, 2016

Come out and join us for the second season of Civil War films from 5:30pm – 6:40pm, prior to the regularly scheduled Round table meeting tonight.  Movies will be shown at the College of Southern Maryland’s Center for Business and Industry, Chaney Enterprises Conference Center, Room BI-113, at 8730 Mitchell Road in La Plata, MD.  Admission is free!

Tonight’s Feature:  “The General“

 

ParadeRest Presents: Buster Keaton’s The General - VFH – Virginia ...

 
This American silent comedy film, released by United Artists, was inspired by the Great Locomotive Chase, which happened in 1862. Buster Keaton stars as the hapless Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray who faces off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War. When Johnny’s fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is accidentally taken away (kidnapped) while on a train stolen by Northern forces, Gray pursues the soldiers, using various modes of transportation in comic action scenes that highlight Keaton’s boundless wit and dexterity. (67 minutes)

Ulysses S. Grant Forum and Discussion

American Ulysses Audiobook by Ronald C. White Jr. at Library

 


WHAT:                    Evening Conversation with Ronald White.

WHEN:                   Tuesday, October 4th, 2016, 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

WHERE:                 National Press Club Ballroom, 529 14th St. NW,  Washington, DC 20045

“The Trinity Forum invites you to participate in an Evening Conversation with Ronald C. White on the release date of his new book American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant on Tuesday, October 4. White will provide a new interpretation of Ulysses S. Grant as a generous, faithful and reflective man, and remarkable, if embattled leader — and the implications of Grant’s leadership approach for our own divisive time. Responding to Dr. White will be Peter Wehner, a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. The event will be held at the National Press Club from 6:30-8:30 pm on Tuesday, October 4th, 2016. Register today at http://www.ttf.org/event/evening-conversation-ron-white-0

Ronald C. White, Jr.'s American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant ...

*The Trinity Forum is a nonprofit organization that engages leaders with the great ideas of civilization in the context of faith for personal and societal renewal. With any questions about this event or the Trinity Forum, please contact Alyssa Abraham  at aabraham@ttf.org or (202) 944-9881.