York CWRT: February 2008 Archives

Through the efforts of Kathy Friel, the speaker schedule for the 2008 meetings of the revitalized York Civil War Round Table is filling in. Tim Smith, well respected author and official of the Adams County Historical Society, has agreed to speak in July. Tim will speak on the civilians of Gettysburg. This year marks the tenth anniversary of his and Gary Adelman's landmark book Devil's Den, so bring your copy for Tim to autograph.

Dr. Charlie Fennell will speak at the October meeting and will again lead a battle walk for those who are interested on Saturday, November 1. Charlie is an entertaining and very knowledgable battlefield guide, as well as a professor at HACC's Gettysburg campus.

Other speakers are in the works, with some fascinating topics. More to come!!!

Our family moved to York County in 2001 from the shores of scenic Lake Erie. My oldest son (now a college history professor) was soon accepted to grad school in history at Millersville, and his master's level report on the burning of the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge inspired me to write a full-length book on John B. Gordon's brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign (and the subsequent follow-up book on the Louisiana Tigers that has just been submitted to the publisher).

Among the many resources we found for the bridge burning was a series of articles written by local professor Thomas L. Schaefer. Tom also made an interesting VHS tape which we purchased early on. Entitled Defend or Destroy?, this program offers a walking tour of Wrightsville and examines the bridge burning. It's worth a look if you haven't seen it.

A. Lincoln

2008 York CWRT schedule

Honest Abe. The Rail Splitter. The Great Emancipator. The Buffoon. In his lifetime, Abraham Lincoln elicited many nicknames, most positive and some decidedly unflattering. Lincoln was a polarizing figure, with almost as many detractors as admirers. Newspapers of the period were biased, depending upon political backing, and hundreds of anti-Lincoln cartoons exist.

Speaker Andrew Martin will present what promises to be a fascinating talk on the life of Lincoln at the next meeting of the York Civil War Round Table on February 20 at 7 p.m. at the York County Heritage Trust in downtown York. The meeting, as always, is free to the public, so be sure to mark your calendars! His presentation is entitled "Abraham Lincoln as Seen Through the Eyes of Many Historians."