Tag: Burnside Bridge

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September 2019 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

September 10, 2019

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its eighth year will begin on Tuesday, September 10, 2019 at 7:00pm at our NEW meeting location, The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker:  Robert Orrison and Kevin R. Pawlak

Kevin Pawlak
Rob Orrison

You saw it correctly! The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table kicks off its eighth year tonight as Kevin Pawlak and Rob Orrison will discuss their newest book “To Hazard All: A Guide to the Maryland Campaign, 1862“.

Their book traces the routes of the Union and Confederate armies during the Maryland Campaign and the ultimate bloody confrontation on the nearby banks of Antietam Creek. To this day, that clash on September 17, 1862, remains the bloodiest single day in American history. The book also includes several day trip tours and a guide many out-of-the-way sites related to the Maryland Campaign.

Kevin Pawlak is a Historic Site Manager for the Prince William County Historic Preservation Division and works as a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Antietam National Battlefield.  Kevin also sits on the Board of Directors of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association and the Save Historic Antietam Foundation. He is the author of Shepherdstown in the Civil War: One Vast Confederate Hospital published by The History Press in 2015 and ‘The Heaviest Blow Yet Given the Confederacy’: The Emancipation Proclamation Changes the Civil War in Turning Points of the Civil War, part of Emerging Civil War’s Engaging the Civil War Series with Southern Illinois University Press.

Born and raised in Loudoun County, Virginia, Rob Orrison received his Bachelor’s Degree in Historic Preservation at Longwood College and received his Master’s Degree in Public History from George Mason University. Currently Rob serves as the Division Manager for the Prince William County Historic Preservation Division.  Outside of work Rob serves on the Board of Directors of the Mosby Heritage Area Association, Board of Directors of Virginia Civil War Trails; and serves as the Vice President of the Virginia Association of Museums. His published works include: A Want of Vigilance: The Bristoe Station Campaign; The Last Road North: A Guide to the Gettysburg Campaign 1863; In A Single Blow: The Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Beginning of the American Revolution, April 19, 1775; To Hazard All: Guide to the 1862 Maryland Campaign. 

Please come out and join us as we remember the coming anniversary of one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War. As always, 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!

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May 2016 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

May 10, 2016

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 10, 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:  Dr. Bradley Gottfried

mapsofgettysburgbradgottfried

As we eagerly anticipate our annual field trip; this year to the Antietam National Battlefield, Round Table President Brad Gottfried will get us ready for our great adventure on Saturday, May 14th.  Author of the book, “The Maps of Antietam“, join us as Dr. Gottfried provide his unique insight, analysis and perspective of the battle that marked Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the North.  Bruised and battered after a long spring and summer of battles on the Virginia peninsula and at Manassas, the Army of Northern Virginia, led by Gen. Robert E. Lee decides to seize momentum and move the theater of battle away from his native state and give the north a taste of the conflict.  An audacious gambit indeed, that if successful might bring a negotiated peace and Southern independence.  Meanwhile, The Army of the Potomac has just had its beloved leader, Gen. George B. McClellan, restored to overall command, in an attempt to boost troop morale and  blunt the advances of the Confederate Army.  The result of these two behemoth’s clashing in the Maryland countryside on September 17, 1862 was one of the bloodiest days in American History.

Battle of Antietam - The New York Times

Not able to go on the field trip!  That’s OK!  Come on out anyway and hear Brad as he lays out the important events that took place prior to, during and in the aftermath of a battle that  would ultimately make the Battle of Antietam arguably one of the most significant battles ever fought.  Dunker Church!  The Cornfield! The Sunken Road! Burnside Bridge!  Dr. Gottfried will cover them and whet our appetites for the sites we shall see on the field.

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table invites all to attend this lecture on a battle fought on our own soil! Attendance is free for all, but membership is recommended.  For information, contact the Round Table’s president, Brad Gottfried, at bgottfried@csmd.edu or 301-934-7625.