Circular Memorandum #460 louisvillecwrt.yolasite.com July, 2014

Summer 2014

Third BBQ and Bourbon Fund Raiser a Success!

Some fifty-five members and guests gathered at the lovely home of Art Boerner on the Ohio in southern Indiana Saturday, June 15 for a wonderful afternoon of fun, food, and fellowship! Thanks to the very generous contributions of all, over $1000 was raised that will go directly into our general fund to offset the costs of bringing the very best historians and speakers to our meetings. First, Nelson County historian Dixie Hibbs gave us an overview of small distilleries that were in operation during the Civil War in Nelson County. This was followed by a BBQ feast with fantastic ribs prepared by Art Boerner and scrumptious pulled pork slow cooked and smoked by Marc Oca with all the side dishes and desserts you could handle. Lastly, those in attendance were treated to a Civil War bourbon presentation by bourbon historian Mike Veatch which featured tastings of four very different bourbons including a couple of ‘moonshines”. We were blessed with great weather and a good time was had by all!

It is Time for Membership Renewals

**** Patron Memberships Are a Major Boost to the Round Table ****

The annual membership fees of the Round Table are now due and there is good news! Once again we are not raising any of our membership fees. And even more good news, any amount you give above the basic or family membership fee is tax-deductible since the Round Table has tax-exempt status as a 501 (c) (3) organization! Following is a description of three membership options from which you can choose. Please read carefully the following explanations so that you will understand what your choices are. First, you may choose a single membership. Your membership dues will be $30 and this will allow you and your spouse to attend all Round Table meetings and events. The second option is a family membership for $35. Under this option, you may choose to add a spouse, son or daughter as a member. For each family member, the cost will be an additional $5. For example, the cost for three family members would be $40. A family is defined as anyone living in the same household. Thus, two brothers who live in the same house can join on a family membership. By choosing this option, the spouse or family member will be recognized as a member of the Round Table, will be eligible to be elected to the Board of Directors, can serve on committees appointed by the President, and will receive a name tag to wear at the meetings. The third option is a special category of membership called Patron, which was introduced in 1998 and has been a big success. This option allows members who so desire to make a contribution with their membership dues to the Round Table above the usual cost of membership. This is for

The Adjutant’s Call 2 Summer, 2014

members who want to make a financial gift because they believe the Round Table is a worthy organization and they wish to show their appreciation and insure its ongoing success. Patron memberships start at $55 and can include a family membership. Of course you can contribute more if you wish. Patron memberships provide no additional benefits to members but simply give the individuals the satisfaction of supporting our Round Table with a financial gift. The additional funds raised through this option will allow the Round Table to take a more active role in the Preservation of Civil War battlefields and sites and also help pay the costs of bringing the very best Civil War speakers to our meetings. Note: Please send your renewal check made out to LCWRT directly to Louisville Civil War Round Table, 11024 Indian Legends Drive – Apt-203, Louisville, Ky., 40241-3455. Thanks. To Summarize the Options: Option One: Regular Membership $30 Basic membership. Option Two: Family Membership $35 A spouse or family member living at the same address

can also join +$5 for each additional family member. Option Three: Patron Membership $55+ Membership with tax-deductible financial gift to

LCWRT.

We Wish to Recognize and Thank the 2013-2014 Patron Members!

Win Ahrens Gary & Jackie Hopkins Jerry & Sharon Armstrong Bixler & Jane Howland John & Mary Bellucci John & Mary Jefferson John & Faris Bilby Maurice Jeffries Stephanie Blair Al & Janet Jozik Art Boerner Patricia Kochert Bob & Judy Bortner Milt & Lisa Koger Jack & Brenda Brammer Doug & Margaret Krawczyk Bob & Barbara Braverman Doug Kremer Les & Janet Brooks John & Jo Mader Katie Brophy Bob & Linda Marrett Doug & Barbara Brown Don & Peggy Meyer David & Sandra Cheatham Charlie & Tish Moore, Sr. John & Joy Davis Sonny & Betty Neurath, Jr. Dave & Penny Deatrick, Jr. Marc & Jill Oca Russ & Angie Ditsler Terry Pyles & Edwin Grosel Ken & Melissa Draut Sheldon Rein Monty & Holly Jenkins Evans Joe & Virginia Reinhart Steve & Pam Fleece Doug & Tina Rose Sean & Mary Fore Kerry Short James & Sherry Forrester Jim & Carol Simpson, III Paul Fridell & Alex Rohleder Dick Skidmore Maria Fernandez & Ray Ganong Robert Slaton & Mary Bradley Dale & Donna Gettelfinger Clay & Jo Stuckey Len Gross & Emily Durrett John Thomas Bob & Cindy Heleringer Harriette Weatherbee Dave & Sue Hoffmann Bryan & Cindy Doyle Winslow Jack & Virginia Holt, Jr. Cary & Jane Wiseman Herb Zimmerman

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Antietam is Destination for Spring 2015 Field Trip

Mark your calendars for the spring 2015 field trip. We are going to ANTIETAM! We will leave on Wednesday, April 15 and return on Sunday the 19th. Our guide will be Antietam expert and current Haprer’s Ferry historian Dennis Frye. As many of you know, Denis grew up near the Antietam battlefield and has spent his life studying and interpreting this fascinating campaign and battle. We could not have a better guide than Dennis. The tour will include Harpers Ferry, the battles on South Mountain, and Antietam. Look for more details in future newsletters. Demand will be high so sign up early.

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2014 – 2015 Schedule

Saturday September 13 Jack Davis “Grant and Lee, the Generals Nobody Knows” Saturday October 11 Jeffrey Wert “TBA” Sunday November 16 Bud Robertson “TBA” Saturday December 6 Robert Girardi “The Murder of General Bull Nelson” Saturday January 17 “TBA” “TBA” Saturday February 14 Phil Seyfrit “The Battle of Richmond (Kentucky)” Saturday March 14 Jim Lewis “TBA” Saturday April 11 Joe Reinhart “TBA” Saturday May 9 Richard McMurry “TBA”

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Winners of the May Door Prizes

Congratulations to our door prize winners at the May meeting. American Scoundrel by Thomas Keneally won by CindyWinslow The Civil War State by State by Paul Brewer won by Dianne Webb Wilson’s Creek by Piston & Hatcher won by Dave Hoffman

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May 2014 Quiz Answers: 1. What was General Robert E. Lee's last military victory as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia? It was the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 3, 1864. 2. The Army of Northern Virginia enjoyed numerical superiority on the battlefield only once during the Civil War. When did this happen? It was the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. 3. Allan Pinkerton and his agents provide military intelligence to the Union during the first half of the Civil War but not in the latter half. Why not?

Pinkerton had been hired by General George B. McClellan and was extremely loyal to him. In spite of being urged to stay on, Pinkerton submitted his resignation as head of intelligence for the Army of the Potomac when McClellan was relieved of command.

4. In August 1861, Secretary of State William H. Seward issued a directive that required what? It required a passport for those leaving and entering the country. 5. When was the first time the United States Government seized a privately owned company and kept it operating in the midst of a labor dispute?

In July 1864 the War Department seized the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, the main carrier of coal to Philadelphia for use by military railroads and Union naval vessels, and kept it operating.

July 2014 Quiz: 1. What was the pay of Union chaplains? 2. Who was the last surviving corps commander on either side at the Battle of Gettysburg?

3. Who said, "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance," and what was the occasion? 4. Who was the highest-ranking U.S. Army officer to resign his commission and join the Confederate Army? 5. What was the largest single surrender of troops during the Civil War?

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The Adjutant’s Call 5 Summer, 2014

Groups To Buy Two Critical Franklin Battle Acres For $2.8 Million

By Gregory L. Wade (July 2014 Civil War News)

FRANKLIN, Tenn. - After many years eyeing the location, Franklin city and preservation leaders announced the $2.8 million purchase agreement for almost two acres adjacent to and south of the Carter House.

Franklin's Charge, a coalition of local preservation groups active in land preservation since 2005, and the Battle of Franklin Trust (BOFT), which manages both the Carter House and the Carnton Plantation, are buying the property. They have one year to raise the money and complete the transaction. The Carter House Farm, with house and outbuildings, is considered to be the center of the heaviest fighting in the Nov. 30, 1864, Battle of Franklin and had long been one of the few preserved battle areas.

The tract to be purchased from Reid and Brenda Lovell, now occupied by a florist shop and dwelling, is seen as a key piece of the rising Battle of Franklin Park at Carter Hill. The tract has long been sought as perhaps some of the most bloodied ground in American history. After the battle the ground was so littered with dead and wounded a person could walk and not touch the ground, according to historians.

Tennessee State Historian Dr. Carroll Van West said of the benefit to future generations, "When we celebrate the bicentennial, even the tricentennial, Carter Hill will be here." Carter Hill is the name given to the overall evolving park in downtown Franklin now comprised of about 20 acres.

Among the Franklin preservationists who attended the purchase agreement signing were Franklin's Charge co-founders Julian Bibb and Robert Hicks, longtime preservation leader Ernie Bacon, the mayor and several aldermen. Alderman Michael Skinner said, "We have a history in this town of getting things done and I am sure we'll be able to complete this purchase." Skinner was involved in other projects and is a member of the City of Franklin Battlefield Preservation Commission, a municipal advisory board made up of representatives of various preservation groups. (See story about the Civil War Trust's award to the group.)

In his remarks to the crowd Reid Lovell noted his five ancestors who fought at Franklin saying, "My family and I have a 150-year relationship with this property." He said there had been other opportunities to sell the land, but it had to be "right."

It is anticipated the Civil War Trust might be involved in an advisory capacity initially helping the local entities with their applications for possible federal grants which could be a significant component of the $2.8 million cost. At least $1 million-plus will remain to be raised locally.

Several other tracts have been purchased in the last few years. The Civil War Trust recently contracted to buy the Eley Tract, an empty house on 0.2 acres, for $250,000 with closing costs. It is a short walk from the Lovell land. The Trust asked the city to match the Trust's $62,500 contribution to meet the required match for a $125,000 grant from the National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program.

The preservation of roughly 20 acres the last several years, which was difficult in an urban environment, is one of the largest land reclamation success stories in American preservation history.

The Adjutant’s Call 6 Summer, 2014

Civil War Trust Trying to Save Lee’s HQ at Gettysburg (From Jim Lighthizer)

Dear Civil War Preservationist,

On the first day of the 151st anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Civil War Trust announced one of the most momentous preservation opportunities in the history of the organization—a $5.5 million national fundraising campaign to acquire the period home where Gen. Robert E. Lee made his headquarters during the battle. The 4.14-acre property on Seminary Ridge that the Trust hopes to purchase also represents the bloodiest unprotected portion of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Operated as a museum since 1921, Lee's Headquarters was passed over for inclusion in Gettysburg National Military Park. Today, a small hotel operates on the site, and when the owners decided to cease operations, they chose to work with the Trust to preserve it. If we did not move quickly, current zoning would permit a new owner to pursue a host of intense development options that would loom over the battlefield. Making this historic announcement, and declaring that we will ensure that the land will one day be the property of the American people, was a highlight of my preservation career. If we are able to raise the necessary funds—$1.1 million—we will work toward restoring this hallowed ground to its wartime appearance. Imagine the incredible transformation from commercial real estate to battlefield park! With your support, we can make it a reality. - Jim Lighthizer, Civil War Trust President

Gen. Robert E. Lee arrived at Gettysburg at about 2:30 p.m., on July 1, 1863, and took control of the chaotic battle already in progress. In heavy fighting, Lee's veterans managed to dislodge Union soldiers clustered around the house of the widow Mary Thompson, capturing more than a thousand of them in a nearby railroad cut and driving many more back through the town. Lee quickly established his headquarters at the Thompson house, which was strategically located on Seminary Ridge. For the next three days, the home became a fortress, a field hospital, and the nerve center of the Confederate army. From there, Lee surveyed the Gettysburg battlefield and made the decisions that would forever change American history.

Left out of the Gettysburg National Military Park in the 1890s, the site of Lee's Headquarters has been in private hands ever since the battle. In that time, the site has largely been overrun by development and was once believed to be lost. Today, however, the Civil War Trust has the opportunity to purchase, restore, and reclaim this vital piece of American heritage. If successful, this effort—the result of years of working with the present owners—will save Lee's headquarters and the 4-acre tract on which it stands, the scene of fierce combat on July 1, 1863. This is, beyond a doubt, the most important preservation effort we've yet undertaken.

Go to www.civilwar.org to donate and to read more about this and other preservation efforts.

Attest: By Order of: John Davis John Davis Adjutant President