September 2024 Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table Meeting

September 10, 2024

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, September 10, 2024 at 7:00pm at The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker: Kevin Pawlak

Lucky year 13 kicks off with a return visit from another of our old friends, Mr. Kevin Pawlak. Join us tonight as Kevin discusses his book, “John Brown’s Raid: Harper’s Ferry and the coming of the Civil War”.

Co-written with Jon-Erik M. Gilot, Kevin will discuss on the most significant events that helped to trigger the American Civil War. The first shot of the American Civil War was not fired on April 12, 1861, in Charleston, South Carolina, but instead came on October 16, 1859, in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia—or so claimed former slave turned abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Brown led a band of nineteen men on the nighttime raid that targeted the Federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry. There, they planned to begin a war to end slavery in the United States. But after 36 tumultuous hours, John Brown’s Raid failed, and his subsequent trial further divided north and south on the issue of slavery. Herman Melville and Walt Whitman extolled Brown as a “meteor” of the war.

Kevin Pawlak is a historic site manager for Prince William County’s Office of Historic Preservation and a Certified Battlefield Guide at Antietam National Battlefield. He previously worked as a Park Ranger at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Kevin has written seven books about the American Civil War, including John Brown’s Raid: Harpers Ferry and the Coming of the Civil War, October 16-18, 1859, part of the Emerging Civil War Series.

As always, attendance is free, but membership is encouraged. Membership fees allow us to continue fine speakers every year. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org.

February 17, 2021March 9, 2021

March 2021 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

March 9 , 2021

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its March meeting will take place virtually on Tuesday, March 9, 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 March 9, 2021 at 7pm. Not a member! Please reach out to us at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org to learn how to become a member.

Guest Speaker: Matt Borders

We welcome back Matt Borders, who spoke to us in November about his book “Faces of Union Soldiers at Antietam”, as he shares images and stories of some of the 30 Union soldiers highlighted in his latest book, “Faces of Union Soldiers at South Mountain & Harpers Ferry”.

Written and published with his fellow National Park Service certified guide Joseph Stahl, this work looks into 30 individual soldiers that fought in the opening battles of the Maryland Campaign, South Mountain and Harpers Ferry on September 14 & 15, 1862. These images are previously unpublished and are of the men in the ranks, not the generals that commanded them. Matt will discuss a sampling of these soldiers, who they were, what they did on these fields, and what can be gleaned from their images.

A long time student of American History and the Civil War, Matthew Borders holds a BA in US History and an MS in Historic Preservation. He has worked as a National Park Service ranger at Antietam National Battlefield, as well as a historian and battlefield surveyor for the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program. He is also a Certified Battlefield Guide at Antietam and Harper’s Ferry. Currently Matthew is a Park Ranger at Monocacy National Battlefield in Frederick, MD. In 2019, Matthew was honored to be the recipient of the Save Historic Antietam Foundation’s prestigious Dr. Joseph Harsh Award for his research topic, The Loudoun Valley Campaign of 1862: McClellan’s Final Advance.

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!

April 12, 2016

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

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.