Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table

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 “Baltimore 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.

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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February 12, 2013

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce its next meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at the College of Southern Maryland (La Plata Campus) at 7:00pm in the Business and Industry Building, Room 113.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Bradley Gottfried

In honor of our 16th President’s 203rd birthday, our own Dr. Brad Gottfried, President of the College of Southern Maryland will give a presentation on “Lincoln as Commander in Chief“. More than most President’s, Lincoln took an active role in directing the war effort.  In this presentation, Dr. Gottfried, author of nine books on the Civil War, will cover a variety of topics, including Lincoln’s approach to directing the war effort, his successes and failures, and how his personality helped to win the war.

 

 

A Tour of the Civil War Forts of Washington D.C.

Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table

Saturday, April 27, 2013

9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is hosting its first tour.  All of us have heard about the large number of forts built around Washington during the Civil War, but few have visited them.  This tour will visit the following forts:

• De Russy
• Foote
• Marcy
• Stevens
• Ward
• Washington

We will also drive by a number of other forts, which may include (depending on time): Willard, Farnsworth, Lyons, Barnard, Albany, Myer, Craig, C.F. Smith and Ethan Allen, Bayard, Reno, Slocum. We may also swing by Battery Martin Scott and Battery Bailey. Finally, we will drive by Walter Reed Hospital to view Confederate battle lines.

Our guide will be Peter MacNeill, who has always had a fascination for American military history since he began watching John Wayne and Errol Flynn movies with his father on Saturday mornings in the 50s. He still remembers being 5 years old in 1956 and seeing the cannon at Vicksburg. Moving to the Washington region in 1971 he has visited regional Civil War battlefields such as Antietam and Gettysburg thousands of times. In 1990 he passed the NPS Gettysburg battlefield guide written exam. In 1992 he began his career as a licensed Washington DC tour guide and specializes in veteran’s military reunion tours and Civil War battlefield tours

The cost of the tour includes a Keller bus, guided tour, and lunch at the Great American Steakhouse (buffet) in Falls Church.

The cost is $55 for members of the Round Table (and their guests). Those paying by or at the February 12, 2013 Round Table meeting will only pay $50.

The cost for nonmembers is $60.

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

October 9, 2012

The Southern Maryland Civil War Roundtable is pleased to announce its next meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at the College of Southern Maryland (La Plata campus) at 7:00PM in the Business and Industry Building , Room 113.

Guest Speaker: Matthew Borowick

Matthew Borowick  will present an informative talk entitled, “The Court Martial 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.

After Robert E. Lee drove John Pope’s army back to Washington, questions were raised about who was responsible for the defeat.  Fingers quickly pointed toward Major General Fitz John Porter, who did not perform as pope had expected him to because, as Porter’s enemies claimed, Porter wanted to see Pope fail.  Porter spent the next 24 years of his life trying to clear his name.

This month’s unique and energetic presentation on a rarely discussed but incredibly fascinating topic will focus on the events surrounding the Union defeat at Second Manassas and how rivalries in the Northern Armies led to the downfall of one of the North’s ablest generals.

The program will be provided by Matthew Borowick, who has had a lifelong interest in the American Civil War, dating back to his days as a first grader, when he took his copy of “The Golden Book of the Civil War” to school daily.  Today, Matthew is one of four regular columnists for the well regarded Civil War News, serving as the author of “Round Table Review”. which describes the practices of Civil War round tables across the country.  In 2010, he authored and published The Civil War Round Table Handbook – The Indispensable Guide to Running Yours Right.

Additional Information

Meetings are free and open the public, but membership to the Round table is highly encouraged ($30 per year).  For more information, please contact Dr. Brad Gottfried at 301-934-7625 or bgottfried@csmd.edu.