October 2013 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

October 8, 2013

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 8, 2013 at 7:00pm on the LaPlata campus of the College of Southern Maryland.  The meeting will be held in the Business and industries Building, Chaney Enterprises Conference Room; Room 113.

Guest Speaker:  Harlan “Gene” Cross, Jr.

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table will host a presentation by Harlan “Gene” Cross, Jr., author of the book, “Letters Home:  51349661b4d58.preview-300Three Years Under General Lee in the 6th Alabama”.  Culled from letters found in a steamer trunk full of family heirlooms and other correspondence, Mr. Cross transcribes the original pen and ink and pencil letters written by his great-grand uncle. Lt. Thomas Smith Taylor, Confederate States of America.  From the rigors and drudgery of army life to his thought’s and attitudes on religion, slavery and the Southern Cause, Lt. Taylor takes us on his journey through the battles of Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and many others.  His sudden demise at the Battle of Cold Harbor serves to remind the readers of the cruel fortunes of war.  While doing his research, Mr. Cross was unable to come across any photos of his great-grand uncle, or find any copies of letters that he received, but did confirm his family’s connection to the former Claudia Alta Taylor, more commonly known as “Lady Bird” Johnson.

Mr. Cross currently resides in Oakton, VA with his wife Carol and their three daughters.  A retired engineer who worked for Harris and MITRE corporations, Mr. Cross now serves as a consultant two days a week.  Since 2005, Mr. Cross has served as a volunteer interpreter at Arlington House, the former mansion of Gen. Robert E. Lee.  He is also president of “Save Arlington House”, a friends group that assists the National Park Service in preserving this national treasure.

 

September 2013 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

September 10, 2013

The Southern Maryland Civil War Roundtable is pleased to announce the first meeting of its second year will take place on Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 7:00pm on the LaPlata campus of the College of Southern Maryland.  The meeting will be held in the Business and industries Building, Chaney Enterprises Conference Room; Room 113.

Guest Speaker:  Susan Youhn

The second year of the Southern Maryland Civil War Round table kicks off with a focus on our own backyard, as Susan Youhn will give a Youhn Photopresentation on the first Civil War Hospital in Southern Maryland; Hammond Hospital.  Susan will tell us about the trials and tribulations experienced by the hospital staff as the first Civil War medical facility in the Southern Maryland area was established.  This lecture will serve as a preview for our fall field trip on Saturday September 14, 2013.  The day will begin with a tour of Civil War sites in St. Mary’s County and after a break for lunch at the Brome Howard Inn, we will proceed to Point Lookout, where Susan’s husband, TJ Youhn, will give us a tour of Fort Lincoln and tell us about the Prison Pen and the fortifications that remain at Point Lookout State Park.  Meeting times, meeting places and cost to be announced.

We look forward to seeing all of our old friends, meeting new ones and hearing any tales of Civil War adventure from over the summer.

 

 

 

We’re Taking a Break….

…but that doesn’t mean we’re not around!

Check in throughout the summer for updates on Civil War events across the area, updates to our web site and Facebook page and any other important news.  Let us know if you are going to the Gettysburg sesquicentennial and share some photos if you have any!  And we are always on the lookout for anyone who might want to get more involved in the organization, be it as an officer, helping on a committee, or helping in starting up a Round Table newsletter. Let us know because September will be here sooner than you think.

Have a safe and fun summer and we look forward to seeing you again in September.

savannahbeach

May 2013 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

May 14, 2013

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 7:00PM on the LaPlata campus Dan's_photoof the College of Southern Maryland.  The Meeting will be held in the Business and Industries building, Chaney Enterprises Conference Room; Room BI-113.

Guest Speaker:  Daniel Carroll Toomey

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table will host a presentation by noted author Daniel Carroll Toomey, a University of Maryland graduate.  Mr. Toomey has authored several books on the Civil War including, “The Civil War in Maryland“, “Marylanders at Gettysburg” and “The Maryland Line Confederate Soldiers’ Home“.  He is also co-author of “Baltimore During the Civil War” and “Marylanders in Blue“, all of which were published by Toomey Press.

Mr. Toomey has lectured for a number of historical organizations, as well as for the National Park Service and the Smithsonian Institution.  His course, “The Civil War in Maryland” has been offered at a number of local colleges.  He has also contributed to radio and television programs and on two Civil War battle videos.  Mr. Toomey is a member of the Surratt Society, the Maryland Arms Collectors Association and the thewarcamebytrainCompany of Military Historians.  He serves on the Maryland Military Monuments Commission and was project historian for the Maryland Memorial erected at Gettysburg in 1994.

Among his many achievements, Mr. Toomey has received numerous awards for his  historical research and exhibits, including the Gettysburg National Battlefield Award in 1985 and was the recipient of the 2001 Peterkin Award, given by the National Park Service at Fort McHenry, for his many contributions in the field of research and preservation.

His two fondest accomplishments are writing the inscription for the Maryland Monument at Gettysburg and playing on the first ever Howard County, MD lacrosse team in 1964.  Currently, Mr. Toomey is the Guest Curator at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum for their five year project, “The War Came by Train“, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

April 2013 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

April 9, 2013

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 7:00pm on the LaPlata campus of the College of Southern Maryland, in the Business and Industry Building, Chaney Enterprises Conference Room Room BI-113.

Guest Speaker:  Peter MacNeill

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table (SMCWR) will host a presentation by licensed Washington, D.C. tour guide Peter MacNeill on Civil War forts in the Washington, D.C. area.  The forts varied from rudimentary structures to magnificent M4034S-4211engineering marvels and all were constructed to help keep the enemy out of Washington. MacNeill will lecture on location and composition of forts and their strategic purpose. While most of these forts are gone, some, like Fort DeRussy, Fort Foote, Fort Marcy, Fort Stevens, Fort Ward and Fort Washington are partially or wholly intact.

Peter MacNeill’s fascination with American military history began while watching John Wayne and Errol Flynn movies with his father on Saturday mornings in the 1950’s. Since moving to the Washington, D.C region in 1971, Mr. MacNeill has passed the National Park Service Gettysburg battlefield tour guide exam and in 1992 began a career as a licensed Washington, D.C.tour guide specializing in veteran’s military reunion tours and Civil War battlefield tours.  Mr. MacNeill estimates that he has visited Antietam and Gettysburg thousands of times.

Information and registration details for an April 27, 2013 tour of an umber of Civil War forts, led by Mr. MacNeill, will be available at the SMCWR meeting on April 9.  The SMCWR hosts monthly meetings the second Tuesday of every month from September thru May. Meetings are free and open to the public, but membership in the round table is highly encouraged.  Annual membership is $30.  For more information contact SMCWR President Brad Gottfried at bgottfried@csmd.edu or 301-934-7625.

 

Civil War Book Discussion: America’s War Anthology (Part V)

March 19, 2013

The College of Southern Maryland is pleased to announce that the fifth Civil War bookBook Discussion will be held Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at the College of Southern Maryland, LaPlata campus, Center for Business and Industry, BI-113E, 8730 Mitchell Road, LaPlata, MD.  This is a five part series sponsored in part by the Maryland Humanities Council, in which three books are discussed.  Loaner copies of the book are available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the LaPlata campus library.

Civil War Book Discussion: America’s War Anthology Part V

The final conversation focuses on the emancipation of four million people who had been held in slavery for over two centuries. Following the conclusion  of the war at Antietam, President Lincoln drafted the Emancipation Proclamation, allowing Frederick Douglass  to rally black men to the defense of the United States, because it is now fighting for their freedom.  While the Gettysburg Address, given in November 1863, does not speak of slavery directly, its potent language frames the purpose of the war as freedom understood in its broadest terms. After finally being able to enlist, 200,000 African American men joined the service in just two years. Emancipation was not a single event but a long and uneven series of struggles on plantations and farms, in cities and towns, all across the South. In a final essay on Images of the War, America’s War illuminates drawings from artists who were able to see firsthand, army camps in the midst of battle and enabled the public to picture the war as it progressed and to help us make sense of the American Civil War today.

Admission is free. For more details, please call 301-934-7606 or visit smsc@csmd.edu.

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Civil War Book Discussion: America’s War Anthology (Part IV)

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DATE FOR PART 4 OF THE CIVIL WAR BOOK DISCUSSION HAS BEEN MOVED TO THURSDAY MARCH 7, 2013.

Please call 301-934-7606 or visit smsc@csmd.edu for more details!

March 7, 2013

The College of Southern Maryland is pleased to announce that the fourth Civil War bookBook Discussion will be held Thursday, March 7, 2013 at the College of Southern Maryland, Leonardtown Campus, Building C, Room 216, 22950 Hollywood Road, Leonardtown, MD, from 7-9PM.  This is the fourth of a five part series, sponsored in part by the Maryland Humanities Council, in which three books are discussed. Loaner copies of the book are available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the LaPlata campus Library.

Civil War Book Discussion:  Crossroads of Freedom and America’s War Anthology Part IV

In the fourth segment of the discussion series, opposing views are offered on the study of Antietam. Neither the Union nor the Confederacy could claim a glorious victory, but Civil War historians James McPherson and Gary Gallagher argue sides on a victory.  McPherson sides for a Union victory while Gallagher argues on behalf of the strength  of the Confederate Army.  Drew Gilpin Faust’s excerpt shifts our focus from the the course of battle and politics, to the suffering of families and communities and asks that we broaden our vision of what took place.

Admission is free. For more details, please call 301-934-7606 or visit smsc@csmd.edu.

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March 2013 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

March 12, 2013

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at 7:00pm on the LaPlata campus of the College of Southern Maryland, in the Business and Industry Building, Room 113.

Guest Speaker:  Georgia K. Chaney Ladd

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table joins in the celebration of Women’s History Month with a presentation by Georgia Ladd on “gcladdBaltimore Belle, Hetty Cary“.  Hetty Carr Cary was the wife of Confederate General John Pegram, who smuggled supplies into the Confederate states via Southern Maryland. Later in her life, she would marry pioneering physiologist H. Newell Martin.

Georgia Chaney Ladd is a graduate of the University of Maryland Baltimore County who has presented at the Chesapeake Civil War Roundtable and has written for the Maryland Historical Society’s magazine MDHS News.  She is a thirteen year veteran to the field of education and is currently employed as a United States History Teacher for Anne Arundel County Public Schools.

Ms. Ladd’s current research reflects her interest in local history.  Recently, she has completed research on Calvert County’s lost cemeteries, namely Shiloh Cemetery in Dunkirk, MD.  Other topics include Confederate memory in Maryland shortly after the Civil War and the influence of Johns Hopkins on John W. Garrett, president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, during the Civil war years.  She is a member of the Chesapeake Civil War Round Table, the Maryland Historical Society’s Teacher Advisory Council and serves as a teacher representative for the Civil War Preservation Trust. Ms. Ladd is very active in the Maryland Council for Social Studies and the Middle States Conference for Social Studies and has presented at Social Studies conferences throughout the eastern region of the United States.

Ms. Ladd was named Gilger-Lehrman’s Maryland History Teacher of the Year in 2009 and continues to be recognized by her colleagues as a master teacher in history.  She has been called to serve the Maryland State Department of Education to create curriculum for students in Maryland, kindergarten through twelfth grade. She also serves as a district level coordinator for National History Day programs.

Ms. Ladd’s passion for researching local history began with a family genealogy project, where she discovered that her entire research could be accomplished by visiting four counties in Maryland; Howard, Anne Arundel, Calvert and St. Mary’s. She continues to support these historical societies by offering her assistance as a researcher. She is drawn to topics of social history, particularly those that focus on women.

Civil War Book Discussion: America’s War Anthology (Part III)

February 19, 2013

The College of Southern Maryland is pleased to announce that the bookthird Civil War Book Discussion will be held Tuesday, February 19th, 2013 at the Calvert County Library, Prince Frederick branch, Meeting Room 1, 850 Costley Way, Prince Frederick, MD, from 7-9PM.  This is the third of a five part series, sponsored in part by the Maryland Humanities Council, in which three books are discussed.  Loaner copies of the books are available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the LaPlata campus library.

Civil War Book Discussion: America’s War Anthology Part III

Part III of three discussion series approaches the Battle of Shiloh, which occurred in April 1862, almost exactly a year after Fort Sumter and the secession of Virginia.  The battle redefined the boundaries of the military conflict and thousand’s of men with little training and no experience in war were thrown against one another in days of inexpressible suffering and waste.  The war was seen as a desperate, defiant effort by the Confederacy to stop the progress of the Union Army and Navy and shattered any fantasies people had that the war would be won easily by either side.

Admission is free. For more details, please call 301-934-7606 or visit smsc@csmd.edu.

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Civil War Book Discussion: America’s War Anthology (Part II)

February 5, 2013

The College of Southern Maryland is please to announce the second Civil War Book Discussion will be held at the College of Southern Maryland, LaPlata Campus on February 5, 2013, from 7-9PM in the Center for Business and Industry, Room BI-113E.   This will be the second of a five part series sponsored by the Maryland Humanities Council, in which three books will be discussed.  Loaner copies of the books to be discussed are available on a first come, first serve basis in the LaPlata campus library.

Civil War Discussion: America’s War Anthology Part Two

Discussions continue with the conflict that is presented when the Confederacy and the Union are formed and Americans experience a split in beliefs and loyalties.  Abolitionists, including the March family from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, encourage Frederick Douglass to make a speech on their behalf, but Douglass gives gives them more than they asked for by stripping away any illusions white Americans may have had about their innocence, confronting them directly with the hypocrisy of a nation dedicated to freedom and built on slavery.  Abraham Lincoln attempts to restore division as he is elected into presidency; Robert E. Lee embodies the agony of disunion and Mark Twain tells of his own wayward path in the confusing early days of the war.

Admission is free. For more details, please call 301-934-7606 or visit smsc@csmd.edu

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