Peter S. Carmichael is the Robert C. Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies at Gettysburg College and the Director of the Civil War Institute. Peter’s books include: Lee’s Young Artillerist: William R.J. Pegram, and, Audacity Personified: The Generalship of Robert E. Lee. His lecture to be given at the March 15, 2021 Virtual meeting of the Round Table will be about his most recent book: The War for the Common Soldier: How Men Thought, Fought, and Survived the Civil War Armies. ■
President’s Report
With Peter Carmichael speaking at the March virtual meeting, a word should be said about the upcoming summer conference of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College. Held for four days every June for the last thirty-five years, the Civil War Institute brings together leading historians and great audiences for battlefield tours, small group discussions, lectures, and roundtable conversations about the Civil War era. Lodging and meals are traditionally held on the two hundred-acre college campus. This year the conference will be held from June 10th through June 13th.
Among the speakers, in addition to Peter, will be Gary W. Gallagher, Carol Reardon, Keith Bohannon, Jennifer Murray, John Hennessy, and many more, including yours truly. Battlefield tours of various aspects of the Battle of Gettysburg, including following the footsteps of individual Union and Confederate regiments in notable attacks on July 1, 2, and 3, 1863, will be offered. The Civil War Institute is a must for those seriously interested in the Civil War. See you in Gettysburg! ■
The members of the Kentucky Civil War Roundtable heard a wonderful lecture in November by Gordon Jones. He spoke about the great Cyclorama of the July 22, 1864 Battle of Atlanta. Gordon refused to accept an honorarium for his talk, and consequently, the Executive Committee unanimously voted to make him an Honorary Member of the Roundtable, an honor bestowed upon very few individuals. If you were not able to see his presentation, it has been uploaded to our website. Please feel free to view it from there.
For our first Speaker of the 2021 Season, Dr. Stephen Davis of Atlanta will address the Roundtable on Monday, January 25, 2021 at 7:00 PM by means of Zoom. Complimenting Gordon’s talk, Steve will speak about the magnificent photographs taken by George N. Barnard during the occupation of Atlanta by General William T. Sherman’s army in the summer of 1864, the subject of one of his recent books.
Steve is a graduate of Emory University where he studied history under the renowned Civil War historian, Bell Irvin Wiley. Steve received his master’s degree in history from the University of North Carolina and his doctorate degree in Civil War history and Southern literature from Emory University in Atlanta. Steve has taught history and has lectured widely on the campaign and battles for Atlanta.
Steve is the author of six books, all devoted to aspects of the campaign and battles for Atlanta and the prominent personalities in those operations, such as Generals William T. Sherman, Joseph E. Johnston, and John Bell Hood.
We welcome Stephen Davis to the Kentucky Civil War Roundtable! ■
Greetings! I hope this Newsletter finds all of you well. I must say our September virtual meeting with Jack Davis was great fun. We had a large audience, and they were treated to a fabulous talk about the letters of General Gabriel Wharton and his wife, Nanny Radford.
On November 16 at 7:00 PM, the Roundtable will be treated to another remarkable talk. Our speaker, Gordon Jones, is the Senior Military Historian and Curator at the Atlanta History Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where he has worked since 1996. Gordon curated the 9,200 square foot permanent exhibition Turning Point: The American Civil War, featuring the incredible DuBose and Dickey collections.
From 2014 through 2019, Gordon oversaw the five-year project to research, conserve, re-interpret and re-exhibit the famed 1886 Cyclorama painting of the July 22, 1864 Battle of Atlanta, and that will be the subject of his talk. For those who have never observed the Cyclorama, it is a circular painting that stands 49 feet tall and is longer than a football field and weighs 10,000 pounds! It is one of only two cyclorama paintings in the United States, the other being of the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg that is housed in the new Visitor’s Center at the Gettysburg National Military Park. For his talk, Gordon will have illustrations of the Cyclorama and of the effort to re-exhibit it at the Atlanta History Center.
Gordon is a graduate in History from Furman University; he received his MA in Public History from the University of South Carolina, and his PhD in History from the Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts at Emory University.
We welcome Gordon to the Kentucky Civil War Roundtable for our second virtual meeting! ■
It looks like we are going to have to get creative when it comes to our September and November 2020 meetings. The current Covid-19 guidelines make it too challenging to ensure the safety of our Members and the Embassy staff.
Our solution? A virtual meeting! For many of you this solution will be old hat because you have been conducting business this way the last several months. For others, it may seem daunting but please do not panic! We have contracted with a local media company to show us the way! They will provide us with a tutorial for how to sign into the Meeting and it will be shared with you in plenty of time before the Meeting to insure every success for you to enjoy our Speaker from the comfort and safety of your own home. ■
Stephen Davis of Atlanta has been a student of the Civil War all his life. He grew up in Atlanta, and at Emory University, he studied under the renowned Civil War historian Bell I. Wiley. After a Master’s degree in American history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he earned his Ph.D. at Emory, where he concentrated on the Civil War in Southern literature.
Steve is the author of a two-volume history of the Atlanta Campaign, published by Savas Beatie in 2016 and 2017:A Long and Bloody Task: The Atlanta Campaign from Dalton through Kennesaw to the Chattahoochee, May 5-July 18, 1864 and All the Fighting They Want: The Atlanta Campaign from Peachtree Creek to the City’s Surrender, July 18-September 2, 1864.
His book, What the Yankees Did to Us: Sherman’s Bombardment and Wrecking of Atlanta, was published by Mercer University Press in 2012.He is also the author of Atlanta Will Fall: Sherman, John Johnston and the Heavy Yankee Battalions (2001).
In December 2017 Mercer University Press published his book, John Bell Hood: Texas Brigadier to the Fall of Atlanta, which will recount Hood’s rise to commanding general of the Army of Tennessee. The companion volume, John Bell Hood: Into Tennessee and Failure is set for publication by Mercer in late 2020.
His presentation for the Kentucky Civil War Round Table, “George N. Barnard: Photographer of Civil War Atlanta,” is based on his forthcoming paperback, 100 Significant Photographs—Atlanta Campaign, to be published later this summer by Historical Publications LLC, of Charleston SC.■
Amy Murrell Taylor is a historian of the American South whose work focuses on the era of the Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction.
A native of Rockville, Maryland, Taylor graduated from Duke University and received her PhD in History from the University of Virginia. She is currently a professor of history at the University of Kentucky, where she was honored with a Great Teacher Award from the UK Alumni Association in 2016.
Her latest book, Embattled Freedom: Journeys through the Civil War’s Slave Refugee Camps (UNC Press, 2018), received the Avery Craven Prize for Civil War history, and the Merle Curti Prize for U.S. social history, from the Organization of American Historians in 2019.
Taylor is also the author of The Divided Family in Civil War America (UNC Press, 2005), and co-editor, with Michael Perman, of Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction (Cengage, 2010). She has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Southern History and the Civil War Monitor Magazine, and enjoys working with local history sites, including Ashland and Waveland, on researching and interpreting the history of slavery. ■
Robertson is the author or editor of more than 20 books that include such award-winning studies as Civil War! America Becomes One Nation, General A.P. Hill, and Soldiers Blue and Gray. His massive biography of Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson won eight national awards and was used as the base for the Ted Turner mega-movie, Gods and Generals. Robertson was chief historical consultant for the film. In recent years, his historical commentaries on National Public Radio made him something of a rock star in his field. A professor emeritus at Virginia Tech, Robertson was named by President John F. Kennedy to head up the Civil War Centennial Commission in 1961.
The recipient of every major award given in the Civil War field, and a lecturer of national acclaim, Dr. Robertson is probably more in demand as a speaker before Civil War groups than anyone else in the field. He holds the Ph.D. from Emory University and honorary doctorates from Randolph-Macon College and Shenandoah University. He is presently an Alumni Distinguished Professor, one of ten such honorees among Virginia Tech’s 2,200 faculty members. He is also Executive Director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies, created by the University in 1999. Robertson was also a charter member (by Senate appointment) of Virginia’s Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission. ■
Kent was born in Lexington, Kentucky on February 5, 1949. He is a 1971 graduate – and in 2014 named a distinguished graduate – of Centre College and received his juris doctor degree in 1974 from Washington and Lee University School of Law.
Kent has practiced law for forty-four years with offices in Lexington and Washington, DC. Kent has published six books, all on the Civil War, including Cushing of Gettysburg: The Story of a Union Artillery Commander, Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics and the Pennsylvania Campaign, and One of Morgan’s Men: The Memoirs of Lieutenant John M. Porter of the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry; they have been selections of the History Book Club and Military Book Club. All of them have received rave reviews and numerous national awards.
He is currently writing George Gordon Meade and the Gettysburg Campaign, which will go to press in early 2019. Kent has also written, hosted and produced, through Witnessing History, nine award-winning documentary films for public and cable television, including “I Remember The Old Home Very Well: The Lincolns in Kentucky and Daniel Boone and the Opening of the American West.
All Kent’s films have been widely broadcast throughout the United States, Canada, and overseas. All have won Telly Awards; one was nominated for an Emmy Award. Kent and the Witnessing History Education Foundation, Inc. are producing a new film, “In the Declaration all men are created equal:” Abraham Lincoln in Illinois, 1830 to 1860, to be released in February 2019.
A nationally-known speaker and Civil War battlefield guide, Kent was the first chairman of the Gettysburg National Military Park Advisory Commission and the first chairman of the Perryville (Kentucky) Battlefield Commission, a seat he held for eleven years overseeing the expansion of the Perryville Battlefield.
He served on the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and is now a member of the Kentucky Film Commission. He has also been a director of the Gettysburg Foundation.
Kent is now the President and Content Developer for the Witnessing History Education Foundation, Inc. Kent lives in Lexington with his wife, Genevieve, and their three children, Annie Louise, Philip and Thomas. ■
We are heading into the sixty-sixth year of the Kentucky Civil War Roundtable. It remains the largest such organization in the United States and, for speakers, the most sought after venue. That shows in our extraordinary lineup of speakers this year. We start with Ron Maxwell, the writer and director of the blockbuster films Gettysburg, Gods and Generals, and Copperhead, all classic Civil War productions. In November, our great friend, Bud Robertson, returns for the fifty-first time to regale us with a talk on Robert E. Lee as Superintendent of West Point.
In January 2020, our own Amy Taylor will present a program on slave refugee camps, a lecture from her award-winning book on that subject. In March, Professor Steve Davis of Atlanta will present a program on Atlanta during General William T. Sherman’s occupation, a program that uses all the great photographs taken by George Barnard during the occupation of Atlanta, an absolutely stunning photographic record. Keeping Atlanta in focus, our sixty-sixth year will end in May with the Curator of the Atlanta History Center, Gordon Jones, providing a program about the transfer, re-hanging, and restoration of the great Cyclorama of the July 22, 1864 Battle of Atlanta, a program that will be given using photographs of the steps taken during the process of moving and restoring that great work of art, now housed at the Atlanta History Center.
I want to take this time to let you know that the most recent film produced by the Witnessing History Education Foundation, Inc., “In the Declaration all men are created equal:” Abraham Lincoln in Illinois, 1830 to 1860, will be aired on KETKY on Sunday, September 1, 2019, at 9:00 P.M. It has already been broadcast by three PBS affiliates in Peoria, Champaign-Urbana, and Charleston, Illinois, before large television audiences, receiving wonderful reviews. It will soon be broadcast by WTTW, the PBS affiliate in Chicago.
Finally, we talked in May about a possible tour of the Perryville Battlefield for the Roundtable. Because of the UK football schedule and my own, I plan to provide that tour in April of 2020. An announcement will be made in November about a date. We want to attract a large crowd of members.
This will be a fabulous year for the Roundtable. ■
“Fighting the Civil War: Historical Treasures of the Conflict in the Collection of the National Civil War Museum”
Opened in 2001, The National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is one of the largest museums in the country dedicated to telling the complete story of the war from the viewpoint of both sides. The museum holds more than 4,000 three dimensional artifacts and over 21,000 archival items including manuscripts, diaries, letters, photographic images, newspapers, and correspondence dating from 1861-1865. Join the museum’s CEO Wayne Motts on a journey of the history of the war illustrated by some of the nation’s rarest surviving Civil War artifacts in the museum’s collection.
President’s Report
The 2019-20 Season is coming upon us, and what a season it will be! Let me give you our speaker schedule:
On September 23, 2019, Ron Maxwell, the Writer and Director of the movies “Gettysburg,” “Gods & Generals,” “Copperhead,” “Parent Trap,” and other fine films you all know and love, will be making his debut at the Roundtable and his first ever visit to Kentucky! He will speak on the making of “Gettysburg” and “Gods & Generals.”
Believe it or not, on November 18, 2019, James I. “Bud” Robertson will be making his 51st appearance at our Roundtable after an amazing recovery and clearance from his doctor to travel to Kentucky! Bud will speak on Robert E. Lee’s superintendency at West Point, the lecture he had planned to give last November.
On January 27, 2020, University of Kentucky’s own Dr. Amy Murrell Taylor, author of “Embattled Freedom: Journeys Through the Civil War’s Refugee Camps,” will speak on her fascinating book. Historian Steve Davis, an Atlanta native, businessman, and freelance writer who serves “Civil War News” as its book review editor, will speak on March 16, 2020 on the remarkable George Barnard photographs of Atlanta during Sherman’s occupation. Then, our season will conclude on May 18, 2020 with a fascinating talk by Gordon Jones, the curator of the Atlanta History Center, who will share with us the drama behind the preservation, relocation, and restoration of the magnificent Atlanta Cyclorama.
I hope all of you have enjoyed the past season of the Kentucky Civil War Roundtable. We have had some marvelous speakers. I look forward to seeing everyone next year; it will be terrific!
Kent Masterson Brown | President
A.J. Singleton – KYCWRT Secretary
Secretary’s Report
MEETING RSVPs: As we noted in our previous newsletters, we started with the last meeting – our March 2019 KYCWRT meeting – by “changing the way we do things” to make the meeting RSVP process more reliable and more cost effective.
Unless you have affirmatively opted out of our new process, you will not be receiving a copy of this Newsletter by U.S. Mail (and, as a result, you will also not be receiving an RSVP card for the May 20, 2019 meeting through the mail). To RSVP for the May 20, 2019 meeting, please either RSVP online through the KYCWRT’s website, kycivilwarroundtable.org, or alternatively, by timely contacting Susie Morton, our Administrator, by email at kcwrt.susie@gmail.com or by phone or text at (859) 221-7199.
If you affirmatively request to receive the Newsletter by mail, you will still receive the traditional RSVP card. Please note, however, that even if you receive the RSVP card in the mail, it is still preferred that you RSVP through the KYCWRT website or by contacting Susie at the email address or number above. Doing so will avoid the possibility that your RSVP card is lost in the mail or not timely received. It will also provide you the comfort of knowing that your RSVP has, in fact, been timely received.
RSVPs Generally: We must still receive your RSVP by the Wednesday before the meeting; otherwise, you (and your guests) are not guaranteed a spot (or a meal). Members (and guests) will not be seated (or presented a meal) without a timely-made reservation.
We must provide the Embassy Suites with our RSVP numbers by Close of Business the Wednesday before the meeting – i.e., 5:00 pm on May 15, 2019.
Guests: Starting with the September 2018 meeting, the guest fee (in addition to the $29 meal charge) is $25 per guest, for a total of $54 per guest. Payment is due in advance or at the door.
Cancellations: Any RSVP cancellation needs to be received no later than 4:00 pm of the Friday before the meeting (in this case, by May 17th, 2019). If you need to cancel, please contact Susie at (859) 221-7199 or by email at kcwrt.susie@gmail.com. If you do not timely cancel your reservation or miss the meeting, you will be charged $29 per person for your reserved meal.
EMAIL ADDRESSES: If you have a new or different email address and/or your physical address has changed, please remember to share that information with Susie at kcwrt.susie@gmail.com and/or me at aj.singleton@skofirm.com so that we can update our records accordingly.
CIVIL WAR FAMILY PHOTOS AND STORIES: To add content to both the KYCWRT Website and our Facebook Page, we would like to know if you have any photographs of ancestors who fought in the Civil War. If you have any such photos (and any accompanying stories) that you would be willing to share with us so that we could share with others, please let Susie or me know by email. This could prove to be a fun, educational, and rewarding project for our KYCWRT.
Chris Anderson – KYCWRT Treasurer
Treasurer’s Report
The Kentucky Civil War Roundtable finished the 2018 year at a near breakeven thanks to a reduction in missed meals expense and increased income from members’ dues, guest fees, auctions and charitable contributions. Let’s hope this trend continues in 2019 as we attempt to increase membership and hold the line on expenses.
If you’ve been invoiced for missed meals we’d appreciate your prompt payment as we are committed to the Embassy Suites to pay for meals at the time of your reservation.
We want to reinstate any members who have not paid dues for 2019. Membership dues are $100 for singles and $120 for married couples.
Our membership to date is 320 with the goal of reaching 400. Please consider bringing a guest to an upcoming meeting or recruiting a member to join to help us achieve the 400.
Administrator’s Report
Hello, Members! This upcoming meeting is a bit of an anniversary for me. I attended my first KCWRT meeting in May 2018! That meeting was for observational purposes so I could witness the registration process and experience the meeting atmosphere. Well that meeting, and the wonderful people I met that night, convinced me to join this Organization as Administrator and what a first year it’s been! This year has seen us update the Website and introduce online registration and pay options as well as electronic Newsletter mailings! These are big changes that have helped reduce our administrative costs and I, along with the Executive Committee, appreciate your support.
In August, I will be emailing 2020 Membership Dues invoices. If your email address changes, please contact me ASAP to update my database. For those members who are receiving their RSVP cards and Newsletters through the USPS that is how you will receive your Dues invoice. Have a wonderful summer and see you in September!
President’s Report
