March 2023 Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table

March 14, 2023

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at 7:00pm at The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Guest Speaker: Ron Kirkwood

We welcome our friend Ron Kirkwood back to share with us more stories from the historic George Spangler Farm and Hospital site in Gettysburg, PA. Tonight, Ron delves into the women on site and the various roles they played during and after the battle!

Women worked as nurses at the XI Corps hospital at the George Spangler farm during and after the Battle of Gettysburg. They listened to the dying men talk of their families, gave them water, treated their wounds, wrote letters home for them, held their hands and sang to them as they took their final breath. Others cooked and baked bread and washed filthy and bloody clothes and hospital linens. Most of these women helped save lives, and every single one made a difference.

Ron Kirkwood is retired after a 40-year career as an editor and writer in newspapers and magazines including USA TODAY, the Baltimore Sun, the Harrisburg Patriot-News and the York (PA) Daily Record. He edited national magazines for USA TODAY Sports and was National Football League editor for USA TODAY Sports Weekly. He managed the copy desk in Harrisburg when the newspaper won the Pulitzer Prize in 2012. Kirkwood is a Michigan native and graduate of Central Michigan University, where he has returned as guest speaker to journalism classes as part of the school’s Hearst Visiting Professionals series.

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!

January 11, 2022December 23, 2021

February 2022 Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table Meeting

February 8, 2022

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will be held Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 7:00pm at The Maryland Veterans Museum, 11000 Crain Highway North, Newburg, MD 20664.

Due to Charles County Board of County Commissioner updated mandates, masks will be required for all in attendance. Seating will be limited to 4 people per table. Thank you for your support and understanding.

Guest Speaker: Ron Kirkwood

We welcome back our good friend Ron Kirkwood as he shares more insights from his book, “Too Much for Human Endurance“: The George Spangler Farm Hospitals and the Battle of Gettysburg.

Too Much for Human Endurance: The George Span, Kirkwood ...

Having spoken to us in February 2021 about the importance of this site on the Gettysburg battlefield and told the stories of those who served and suffered here in the capacity of doctor, nurse or wounded soldier, tonight Mr. Kirkwood will explore the strategic importance of the Spangler Farm property and its importance in the Union victory. Specifically, Kirkwood argues in “Too Much for Human Endurance” that the George Spangler farm was the most important farm in the Battle of Gettysburg by revealing factors that have been overlooked for generations such as the presence on the farm directly behind the line of the Army of the Potomac Artillery Reserve, ammunition train and V Corps and VI Corps. This allowed for rapid and timely movement of these reserves on the farm’s roads to the fighting all over the line. Powers Hill also was on the Spanglers’ farm and played a key military role and served as the location of Maj. Gen. George Meade’s second headquarters during and after the battle.

News | George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital to Open June ...

Join us as we uncover more about one of the most important battles of the war and a seldom seem site that played such pivotal role in its outcome.

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

January 24, 2021

February 2021 Southern MD Civil War Round Table Meeting

February 9 , 2021

The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its February meeting will take place virtually on Tuesday February 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 February 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: Ron Kirkwood

Ron Kirkwood is the author of “Too Much for Human Endurance: The George Spangler Farm Hospitals and the Battle of Gettysburg.” The book was published by Savas Beatie in hardcover in June 2019 and went into its second printing in October 2019. It came out in paperback in January 2021 and an audio version will be released in February.

Kirkwood argues in “Too Much for Human Endurance” that the George Spangler farm was the most important farm in the Battle of Gettysburg, revealing factors that have long been overlooked. The book also presents newly found information about Confederate Brig. Gen. Lewis A. Armistead’s time at the XI Corps hospital at Spangler, the Granite Schoolhouse hospital, the Spanglers, the Artillery Reserve and stories of the suffering and heroism of the surgeons, nurses, wounded and mortally wounded at the two hospitals on the Spanglers’ land.

Kirkwood is retired after a 40-year career as an editor and writer in newspapers and magazines including USA TODAY, the Baltimore Sun, the Harrisburg Patriot-News and the York (PA) Daily Record. He edited national magazines for USA TODAY Sports and was National Football League editor for USA TODAY Sports Weekly. He managed the copy desk in Harrisburg when the newspaper won the Pulitzer Prize in 2012. Kirkwood is a Michigan native and graduate of Central Michigan University, where he has returned as guest speaker to journalism classes as part of the school’s Hearst Visiting Professionals series.

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!