Tag: George B. McClellan

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August 2021 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

August 10, 2021

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its final Summer Series meeting will take place virtually on Tuesday, August 10, 2021 at 7:00pm from your computer. Due to continuing concerns over the COVID 19 virus and in the interest of member health and safety, we are moving our meeting on line for the immediate future. Members should be checking their email for directions on how to connect to the meeting on August 10, 2021 at 7pm. Not a member! Please reach out to us at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org to learn how to become a member.

Guest Speaker:  Dr. Zachary Fry

Dr. Zachary Fry will be with us this evening, discussing his recent (2020) UNC Press book , A Republic in the Ranks: Loyalty and Dissent in the Army of the Potomac. The book details the heated debate over war aims and loyalty within the Union Army, including the role junior officers played in mobilizing the ranks for political action. He will discuss how voting records, unit political statements, and correspondence with home front politicians show a steady acceptance of the Lincoln administration’s policies and a resounding rejection of the army’s former commander George McClellan.

Dr. Zachary Fry is currently an assistant professor of military history at the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He received his PhD from Ohio State in 2017 and taught at the US Military Academy at West Point before moving on to CGSC. Dr. Fry’s book received the Edward M. Coffman Prize from the Society for Military History and was named one of the best Civil War books of 2020 by Civil War Monitor.

Please come out and join us and beat back those summer doldrums as Zachary Fry introduces us to the intrigue and behind the scenes politicking inside the Army of the Potomac. 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.