Recently in York CWRT Category

The York Civil War Round Table is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote, interpret, preserve, and protect the Civil War heritage of York County, Pennsylvania, through the education and exchange of information with its members and the general public. Membership is free and open to anyone interested in learning more about the American Civil War.

Founded as the White Rose Civil War Round Table, the York CWRT holds monthly meetings the third Wednesday of every month except December at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust's Historical Society Museum at 250 E. Market Street (the historic Lincoln Highway) in York, Pennsylvania. Each meeting features a guest speaker talking about a Civil War topic of local or national interest. There is no admission or membership requirements to attend any of these meetings.

Other scheduled events include an annual clean-up day at Gettysburg National Military Park as part of the "Adopt-a-Position" program. Members and guests tidy up the area around the 102nd Pennsylvania / 62nd New York on the John Weikert / Althoff Farm Lane. A free battlewalk with local experts is usually included to round out the day. Other regularly scheduled battlewalks by Dr. Charlie Fennell occur in the autumn.

For more information, contact the York Civil War Round Table.

The Historical Society Museum in York, PA, where the York CWRT meets monthly.

York Civil War Round Table - 2010 Schedule of Events

January 20, 2010 - Bruce Liddic - "George Armstrong Custer: From Ohio to Pennsylvania, Boyhood to Generalship"

February 17, 2010 - Cal Doucette - "A Conversation With Horace Greeley "

March 17, 2010 - Dick Simpson - "Missouri 1861 and the Battle of Wilson's Creek"

April 21, 2010 - Scott L. Mingus, Sr. - "The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign"

May 19, 2010 - May 19, 2010 - Matt Atkinson - "Assault on Vicksburg"

June 16, 2010 - Jim McClure - Topic TBA

July 21, 2010 - John Ream - "Civil War Hospital Stewart John Weakley of the 87th PA"

August 18, 2010 - Dr. Charles C. Fennell, Jr. - "Fighting or Flying Dutchmen: The 11th Corps from Barlow's Knoll to Cemetery Hill"

September 15, 2010 - Tyrone Cornbower - "Sheepskin Fiddlers and Straw Blowers: Field Music in the Civil War"

September 18, 2010 - Battlefield Walk at GNMP with Dr. Charles C. Fennell, Jr.

October 20, 2010 - TBA

November 17, 2010 - TBA

No meeting in December!

Adams County author and historian Timothy H. Smith will be the featured speaker at the November 18, 2009 meeting of the York Civil War Round Table. On the eve of the 146th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Tim's program "Abraham Lincoln : Twenty-five Hours at Gettysburg" will focus on the time that the President spent while a visitor in this historic town. Tim will also present a sampling of the largely untapped reminiscences of area residents and how the President interacted with the local population on his visit to Gettysburg in November of 1863 for the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery on November 19th.

Tim Smith has authored or co-authored eight books on the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War; his best selling book recounts the history of Devil's Den. His most recent work is Farms at Gettysburg: The Fields of Battle, which looks at the farms involved in the Battle of Gettysburg. Tim has been working on an extensive book detailing the civilian experience during the Battle of Gettysburg which he expects will take another five years to complete.

Tim Smith is a research assistant for the Adams County Historical Society, Licensed Battlefield Guide, Gettysburg Elderhostel Instructor, Harrisburg Area Community College history lecturer and operates his own historical consulting business. Despite all of his jobs, Tim's main emphasis is to get people to understand that the people who lived in the area in 1863 are also a part of the story of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Tim's presentation will be at 7:00 PM on Wednesday 18, 2009 in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust, 250 E. Market Street, York PA.

The York Civil War Round Table will feature James A. Hessler at its monthly meeting on October 21, 2009. The topic of the evening will be "Sickles At Gettysburg: The Controversial Civil War General Who Committed Murder, Abandoned Little Round Top, and Declared Himself the Hero of Gettysburg."

No individual who fought at Gettysburg was more controversial, both personally and professionally, than Major General Daniel E. Sickles. By 1863, Sickles was notorious as a disgraced former Congressman who murdered his wife's lover on the streets of Washington and used America's first temporary insanity defense to escape justice. With his political career in ruins, Sickles used his connections with President Lincoln to obtain a prominent command in the Army of the Potomac's Third Corps despite having no military experience. At Gettysburg, he disobeyed orders in one of the most controversial decisions in military history.

Licensed Battlefield Guide James Hessler has written the first balanced, deeply researched, and eminently readable biography of this colorful and wholly unique American icon. Civil War enthusiasts who want to understand General Sickles' tarnished life, Gettysburg's battlefield strategies, the in-fighting within the Army of the Potomac, and the development of today's National Park will find " Sickles at Gettysburg" a must read.

James A. Hessler works in financial services for Bill Me Later, Inc., is a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park, and has taught Sickles and Gettysburg-related courses at college level. He has published Civil War-related articles, and speaks regularly at Civil War Round Tables. A native of Buffalo, NY, Jim resides in Gettysburg with his wife and children.

The meeting will be held at 7:00 PM on Wednesday evening in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust at 250 E. Market Street in downtown York, Pennsylvania. There is no charge for admission and the public is welcome ! Parking is also free.

Dr. Charlie Fennell of Harrisburg Area Community College is an adjunct faculty member at the Gettysburg Campus, as well as a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park. An entertaining and knowledgeable speaker and tour guide, Charlie led a couple dozen members of the York (Pa.) Civil War Round Table on a detailed battle walk of the positions held by Iverson's Brigade during the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Here are some photos taken by Jackie Bailey of the York CWRT.

Charlie Fennell poses by a monument on Culp's Hill at Gettysburg National Military Park. A professor at Harrisburg Area Community College in Gettysburg, Dr. Fennell is one of the recognized experts on that portion of the Battle of Gettysburg. A long-time friend of the York Civil War Round Table, he will lead a battle walk / field study on September 19.

Photo from Gettysburg Daily, the most informative Gettysburg blog currently on the Internet.

The York CWRT has scheduled a battlefield walk at Gettysburg National Military Park with Dr. Charles C. Fennell, Jr. for Saturday, September 19, 2009, at 1 p.m. The walk will be approximately 2 hours and it will cover the movements of Iverson's Brigade on Oak Ridge on July 1, 1863. The cost is $10.00 and is due the day of the walk.

Meet at the Eternal Light Peace Memorial at 12:45 p.m. Please dress for the weather as we will go rain or shine ( unless it is a deluge) and wear long pants or spray for ticks.

The York CWRT welcomes members of other round tables to join them for this battlefield walk.

The York Civil War Round Table will feature Edward H. Bonekemper, III at its monthly meeting on September 16, 2009. The topic of the evening will be "Antietam: A Calamity of Mistakes by Lee and McClellan". The talk will commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Antietam which occurred on September 17, 1862, an engagement often described as the single bloodiest day of the Civil War. The author of books on both opposing generals, Bonekemper will examine how each officer in turn lost what could have been major opportunities for success, and will argue that in reality neither man could be considered a victor.

The meeting will be held at 7:00 PM on Wednesday evening in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust at 250 E. Market Street in downtown York, Pennsylvania. There is no charge for admission and the public is welcome! Parking is also free.

Edward H. Bonekemper, III is the author of four Civil War books: How Robert E. Lee Lost the Civil War, A Victor, Not a Butcher : Ulysses S. Grant's Overlooked Military Genius, McClellan and Failure: A Study of Civil War Fear, Incompetence and Worse and Grant and Lee: Victorious American and Vanquished Virginian. He is a dynamic, controversial, and informative speaker who will both inform you and challenge you to dig deeper into the always interesting subject of the Battle of Antietam. He will be available to autograph copies of his books.

Ed Bonekemper. author of four controversial Civil War books, will discuss his views on calamitous Union and Confederate generalship leading up to and at the Battle of Antietam.

Ed's views:

In the Maryland or Antietam Campaign,Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan demonstrated the weaknesses that characterized their Civil War careers. Lee launched an unapproved strategic offensive that may have lost the war, placed his army in what should have been a death-trap, failed to entrench, allowed fatal counter-attacks that decimated his force, and risked his weakened army by leaving it on the battlefield for an extra day for no explicable military reason.

On the Union side, McClellan's performance was probably even worse. He failed to aggressively pursue Lee in Maryland, allowed a large Union force to be captured by Stonewall Jackson at Harper's Ferry, squandered his massive manpower advantage for days at Antietam, attacked in piecemeal fashion, failed to use his cavalry effectively, left a huge reserve force unused, and failed to destroy the Rebel army Lee had left so vulnerable for an extra day at Antietam.

Dr. Charlie Fennell poses by a monument on Culp's Hill at Gettysburg National Military Park. A professor at Harrisburg Area Community College in Gettysburg, Dr. Fennell is one of the recognized experts on that portion of the Battle of Gettysburg. A long-time friend of the York Civil War Round Table, he will present a talk at the upcoming CWRT meeting on the July 1, 1863, fighting on Oak Ridge in Gettysburg and then will lead a battle walk / field study on the same topic in mid-September.

Photo from Gettysburg Daily, the most informative Gettysburg blog currently on the Internet, and a good friend of this Cannonball blog.

One of the most entertaining public speakers and educators in this general area will be the featured speaker at the August 19, 2009, monthly meeting of the York Civil War Round Table in historic York, Pennsylvania. Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide, Dr. Charles C. Fennell, Jr., will present what promises to be a great presentation, "Confederate Disaster on Oak Ridge: The Demise of Brig. Gen. Alfred Iverson's Brigade on July 1, 1863 at Gettysburg."

The topic of the night will focus on Confederate Brig. Gen. Alfred Iverson's North Carolina Brigade, which included the 5th, the 12th, the 20th and the 23rd North Carolina. They were in Maj. Gen. Robert Rodes' division of the Army of Northern Virginia's Second Corps (commanded by Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell).

The presentation is FREE and open to the public! Charlie will unleash his high energy, charismatic style at 7:00 PM on August 19 at the York County Heritage Trust at 250 E. Market Street in downtown York, Pennsylvania. Parking is free; the area is well lit and safe, and the camaraderie and Civil War discussion both educational and fun!

See you there!!

G. Craig Caba will be speaking at the July 15th York Civil War Round Table meeting. His program is called "Aspects of the J.Howard Wert Gettysburg Collection." Free to the public, his presentation will be at 7:00 PM Wednesday evening in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust at 250 E. Market Street in York.

The July 15th meeting of the York CWRT will feature period artifacts collected by the Wert family of Adams County for over a span of four generations. This collection of early Americana will be presented by G. Craig Caba, who is the CEO and Chief Curator of the J.Howard Wert Gettysburg Collection.

The Werts were an 18th century colonial Pennsylvania-German family who saved important heirlooms marking their accomplishments in the new nation. They actively participated in the American Revolution, the French and Indian War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. The family deeply cherished the American vision of liberty and equality, and the family slogan became "Preserve for posterity." Thus, a private collection of historical memorabilia was formed by one of Gettysburg's earliest families. This collection continued to grow well into the 20th century and these documented relics give tangible testimony to America's unique cultural heritage.

Fame commentator Paul Harvey used to close his popular radio show with the tag line, "And now you know the rest of the story." Most of us are well aware that York was occupied by Confederate forces during the early summer of 1863, but how many of us know the rest of the story? Come to the York Civil War Round Table's June 17 meeting to find out!

As a prelude to the annual Patriot Days in York and the Battle of Gettysburg, the York Civil War Round Table has scheduled York native, author and historian, Scott D. Butcher to speak at its June 17th meeting. His PowerPoint presentation is called "York: Prize of the Confederacy." He includes in his talk the residents of York in June 1863, specific York landmarks, numerous first-person accounts and quotes from both sides and the newspaper headlines from the days of the Confederate occupation.

He is also going to include information he has collected on the Underground Railroad in York County, a topic that has not often been discussed in any detail.

The Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania, railroad station in November 1863 during the Civil War. Rolling stock and trains that passed through this intersection northward from Baltimore followed tracks that led to the Pennsylvania Railroad, headed during the war by powerful businessman and politician Thomas Scott. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

When I was a kid, my grandparents being enjoyed listening to country and western singer Johnny Cash, whose star-crossed life was recently brilliantly portrayed by actor Joaquin Phoenix in the Hollywood movie "Walk the Line." Among his most popular (and haunting) songs was Folsom Prison Blues, which evokes memories of an era when the railroads were THE link between American cities and towns, and were the lifeblood of the nation's economy.

During the Civil War, the relatively young railroad industry began to come of age. It facilitated the mass logistics of moving large quantities of supplies, ammunition, war materiel, and troops to the front, and provided a transportation link for farmers, merchants, and business and social travelers. Perhaps no one has a better grasp of the critical role the railroads here in Pennsylvania played during the Civil War than native York Countian Ivan E. Frantz, Jr.

The Jackson Township resident will discuss "The Pennsylvania Railroad and the Civil War" at the monthly meeting of the York Civil War Round Table at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust at 250 E. Market Street in York. Parking and admission are FREE, and the public is quite welcome!