Tag: Lincoln Assassination

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March 2026 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

March 10, 2026

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 7:00pm at The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker:  Garth Bowling

We invite you to join us this evening, as we welcome back local educator, historian and friend of the Round Table, Mr. Garth Bowling.  Garth has written three books about Charles County’s role in the Civil War.  In his most recent book, Shadows of War, Civil War Comes to Charles County, Maryland, Garth continues to write about the experiences of the Union soldiers in the county, as well as the spy network that flourished during those four tumultuous years.  Special attention is given to the four regiments of African-American soldiers who were trained at Benedict, how they distinguished themselves in combat, and how they adjusted to freedom after the war.  Other chapters deal with Charles County men at Gettysburg and Booth’s attempted escape from the Federals.  Garth’s presentation to the Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table will focus on some of these chapters from his newest book.

Garth Bowling is a native Charles Countian who lives in La Plata with his wife Debra.  He has a B.S. in Political Science from Towson University as well as an M.Ed. from Towson.  He earned an Advanced Degree in School Management from Loyola College of Baltimore.  Garth served in the Army National Guard for six years. He was the recipient of the Washington Post Educational Leadership Award from Charles County in 2002 and from St. Mary’s County in 2014.  His professional career spanned 43 years in public education.  He taught for six years, was a vice principal for six years, and served as a principal for 31 years.  Most of his career was in Southern Maryland where he was principal of Piccowaxen M.S., Hanson M.S., McDonough H.S., La Plata H.S., and Chopticon H.S.  After serving as an educator in nine schools in four counties, Garth retired in 2016.

From the time he was a small boy he was interested in the American Civil War.  He was raised on stories told by his great-grandfather who remembered the Civil War.  When he was in 6th grade his class took a trip to Stratford Hall, birthplace of Robert E. Lee.  From that moment on he read and studied all he could about the Civil War. For five years he was a Confederate re-enactor and in 1982 he formed the La Plata Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

He has been a member of the board of directors of the Historical Society of Charles County, the Charles County Heritage Commission, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Society for the Restoration of Port Tobacco, the Surratt Society and the American Legion.

Since his retirement he has written three books entitled, Gateway to the Confederacy, On the Confederate Border, and his most recent book, Shadows of War, Civil War Comes to Charles County, Maryland.

If you have ever heard Garth Bowling speak in public, heard one of his many presentations to the Round Table, or attended the field trip he conducted for us around Charles County, MD, you know what a treat we are in for.  Bring a friend and come out for an evening of entertaining local history.  Attendance is free, but membership is recommended.  Please contact us with any questions at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org or 443-975-9142.

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September 2022 Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table Meeting

September 13, 2022

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, September 13, 2022 at 7:00pm at The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker:  Michael J. Mazzeo

Rescheduled from January 2022 the Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table welcome Mike Mazzeo from the Friends of Rich Hill as he speaks to us about the Past, Present and Future of Historic Rich Hill.

Located not too far from our meeting location, Historic Rich Hill was built in 1729 by Dr. Gustavus Brown, but played a prominent role during the era of the Civil War.  From Samuel Cox to Thomas Jones, Rich Hill took its place in history following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.  This presentation will include the history of Rich Hill with a focus on the role Samuel Cox and Thomas Jones played in hiding John Wilkes Booth in April 1865, its aftermath, and the current rehabilitation of this historic site.

Michael J. Mazzeo, Jr. is a retired History Teacher from Charles County Public Schools.

He holds an Associate of Arts Degree from the College of Southern Maryland, Bachelor’s Degree from Salisbury State University as well as a Master Degree from Western Maryland College.

He is the Past President of the Historical Society of Charles County, Charles County Heritage Commission, Charles County Tourism Advisory Board and the Thomas Stone Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution.

He is the author of The Simmons and Welch Family of Charles County, Maryland; Dr. Gustavus Brown of Rich Hill and his Illustrious Descendants; and Dear Aaron, Dear Sarah.  He was the Illustrations Editor of Pathways to History, Charles County Maryland, 1658-2008 and Research Consultant and Co-Director of The War of 1812 in Charles County’s Backyard:  A Virtual Tour.

Currently, he is a tour guide in the Port Tobacco Historic Village, the Vice-President of the Historical Society of Charles County, Chair of both the Friendship House Foundation and the Friends of Rich Hill and Registrar of the Thomas Stone Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution.  In November 2020, he and his daughter, Madelyn, were accepted into the General Society of Mayflower Descendants through lineal descendant of Mayflower Passenger, George Soule.

We encourage you to come out and shake off those post-holiday blahs, while learning about a place with deep ties, not only to the Civil War in Southern Maryland, but to the history of Charles County and the state of Maryland.

Attendance is free, but membership is encouraged. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns at bsunderland@somdcwrt.org

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January 2020 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

January 14, 2020

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at 7:00pm at our NEW meeting location, The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker:  Bob Bowser

Referred to by modern historians as “the least well known of the conspirators,” the story of Edman “Ned” Spangler has been neglected in the historical record. Often overshadowed by the larger personalities in the great conspiracy against Lincoln, Spangler makes short cameo appearances in narratives of the assassination story, usually being portrayed as the willing drunk lackey of John Wilkes Booth. “A Good Natured Drudge: the Untold Story of Edman ‘Ned’ Spangler” sets out to correct these misconceptions by analyzing the often ignored story of his life. The talk follows Ned’s tale from his humble beginnings in York, Pennsylvania through his days in Baltimore, Washington, and Dry Tortugas, Florida. It culminates with his untimely death in Bryantown, Maryland. Along the way, we will explore the ongoing controversies over Ned’s arrest and conviction, as well as his attitude toward serving time in prison. Additionally, we will examine the intricate details and friendships that made up the life of this complex, yet neglected, character in American history and attempt to answer the question “Who was Ned Spangler?”

Bob Bowser is a high school history teacher at Henry E. Lackey High School, located in Charles County Maryland. For the last 11 years, Bob has been a tour guide at the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House Museum. Additionally, Bob has done a first-person portrayal of Dr. Mudd for the last four years. Bob holds a BS in Education and a MA in History.

We welcome all to come out and hear about this player in the Lincoln assassination. Attendance is free, but membership is encouraged. 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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November 2016 Southern MD Civil War Round Table

November 8, 2016

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 8, 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:  Mr. Don Thomas

Debuting as the new kid on the block, former President and founder of West County Corporation, Don Thomas has recently retired from the industry to turn his hobby and lifelong passion for history into a new career. An avid reader with an insatiable appetite for nonfiction Don has always sought reading material untainted by legend, myth or fabrication.

Realizing few authors dare to venture outside the sanitized limits prescribed to explain the American experience, he began his own study compiling buried documents once hidden or forgotten, but never lost.

In 2012, after years of accumulating a personal library swollen with uncovered new evidence Don decided to publish some of his research, but needed an author. Though he quickly found it was futile trying to persuade a scholar to write his story which abandoned the mainstream chronicles surrounding Lincoln’s murder conspiracy. Growing frustrated he reluctantly decided to write the book himself.

The Reason Lincoln Had to Die is but a small portion of his painstaking four-year research into the violent removal of a United States president from office. While his book mainly focuses on the treasonous self-serving motive to assassinate President Lincoln, his investigation and publications about Lincoln’s hidden assassins continues as an ongoing project. With two highly acclaimed essays including many published articles, Don also is a popular speaker addressing private and public organizations each year.

Only those who have not yet learned about Don Thomas believe the conspiracy to kill Lincoln still remains an unsolved mystery.

The Reason Lincoln Had to Die - How They Got Away with Murder

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Southern MD Civil War Round Table Film Series

February 9, 2016

Come out and join us as our series of Civil War movies, shown free of charge, continues prior to the regularly scheduled Round table meeting tonight from 4:47pm – 6:49pm 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.

Tonight’s Feature:  The Conspirator

Amazon.com: The Conspirator: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline ...

This 2010 film tells the story of Mary Surratt, the only female conspirator charged in Lincoln’s assassination and the first woman to be executed by the United States federal government.  It stars James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Jonathan Groff, Tom Wilkinson, Alexis Bledel, Kevin Kline, John Cullum, Toby Kebbell and James Badge Dale and was directed by Robert Redford.

In the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, the Vice-President and the Secretary of State.  The only woman charged, Mary Surratt, 42, owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks.  Against the back drop of post Civil War Washington, D.C., Frederick Aiken, a 28 year old Union war hero and a “green” lawyer, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal.  As the trial unfolds, Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used a bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt, her own son!

This movie was the first completed project of the American Film Company.  Their CEO, Joe Ricketts also founded the online brokerage firm Ameritrade and is a partial owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team.  Mr. Ricketts has stated that his goal is to produce high quality and entertaining feature films which will attract adult audiences and be historically accurate.  His first effort has earned high praise for its historical accuracy.

After the movie be certain to stay for the regularly scheduled Round table meeting, featuring Dr. Bradley Gottfried discussing the Battle of the Wilderness.

 

 

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April 2015 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

April 14, 2015

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will take place on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 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:  Michael Kauffman

Local author, Michael W. Kauffman, author of “American Brutus: John ...

Michael Kauffman, author of the best seller “American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies” will speak to the Southern Maryland Civil War Roundtable about the Booth conspiracy and how it was built largely around Southern Maryland politics. Booth was often described as a Southerner, but in fact, he was a Marylander — and so were almost all of the people who were drawn into his plot.  The people of Southern Maryland lived on the fault line of national politics, in a Border State, where politics had grown intensely personal through the war, and where the phrase “Brother vs. Brother” was literally true for many local families. Its geographical position — nearly surrounding the nation’s capital — gave it a strategic importance far beyond that of any other state that remained in the Union.

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In the fall of 1864, John Wilkes Booth set out to recruit a band of conspirators for his plot against the president. Booth knew little about the area, but he knew how the people here felt about Lincoln. He was a master of manipulation, and he took full advantage of the political climate to build his plot. When he looked for cohorts, a sympathetic ear, and a secure route of escape, he knew where he would find friendly territory. Southern Maryland was his only option.

MICHAEL W. KAUFFMAN is a political historian and graduate of the University of Virginia who has studied the Lincoln assassination for more than thirty years.

Taking a full-immersion approach to his research, he has rowed across the Potomac where Booth rowed, leaped to the stage in Ford’s Theatre, and for a time he even took up residence in Tudor Hall, the Booth family home in Maryland.

Kauffman has written for Civil War Times, the Washington Post, American Heritage, Blue and Gray, and the Lincoln Herald, among others. He has lectured throughout the United States, and has appeared in more than twenty television and radio documentaries, including programs on A& E, The Learning Channel, the History Channel, National Geographic Channel, and the Discovery Channel.

His works include a modern edition of Samuel B. Arnold’s Memoirs of a Lincoln Conspirator, as well as American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies, which was named as one of the best non-fiction books of 2004.His latest book, “In the Footsteps of An Assassin” is a 161-page book which guides the reader with maps, rare photos and an accompanying CD through the sites Booth encountered on his flight from Washington to the Garrett Farm, the site of Booth’s death.