Stuart Sanders on Perryville Under Fire. For more info go to WWW.CWRTChicago.org The 1862 Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, laid waste to more than just soldiers and their supplies. The commonwealth's largest combat engagement also took an immense toll on the community of Perryville, and citizens in surrounding towns. After Confederates achieved a tactical victory, they were nonetheless forced to leave the area. With more than 7,500 casualties, the remaining Union soldiers were unprepared for the enormous tasks of burying the dead, caring for the wounded, and rebuilding infrastructure. Instead, this arduous duty fell to the brave and battered locals. Former executive director of the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association, author Stuart Sanders presents the first in-depth look into how the resilient residents dealt with the chaos of this bloody battle and how they rebuilt their town from the rubble leftover. The talk is based on his book "Perryville Under Fire: The Aftermath of Kentucky's Largest Civil War Battle." Stuart Sanders worked for nearly 10 years to preserve and interpret Perryville, Kentucky's largest Civil War battleground, before coming to the Kentucky Historical Society, first to oversee community field services, then as our History Advocate and now as the Director of Research and Collections. Stuart brings his experiences as a preservationist, interpreter, outreach specialist, author of three books and speaker to his current duties, communicating the relevance, value and significance of Kentucky's history. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and completed Developing History Leaders.

Fergus Bordewich on Congress at War For more information go to: WWW.CWRTChiago.org "Congress at War" tells the story of how the oft-maligned U.S. Congress helped win the Civil War a new perspective that puts the House and Senate, rather than President Lincoln, at the center of the conflict. This perspective on the Civil War overturns the popular conception that Abraham Lincoln single-handedly led the Union to victory and gives us a vivid account of the essential role Congress played in winning the war.  Building a riveting narrative around four influential members of Congress Thaddeus Stevens, Pitt Fessenden, Ben Wade, and the pro-slavery Clement Vallandigham Fergus Bordewich shows us how a newly empowered Republican party shaped one of the most dynamic and consequential periods in American history. From reinventing the nation s financial system to pushing President Lincoln to emancipate the slaves to the planning for Reconstruction, Congress undertook drastic measures to defeat the Confederacy, in the process laying the foundation for a strong central government that came fully into being in the twentieth century.  FERGUS M. BORDEWICH is the author of eight non-fiction books, including CONGRESS AT WAR: How Republican Reformers Fought The Civil War, Defied Lincoln, Ended Slavery, And Remade America, (Alfred A. Knopf, 2020); AMERICA'S GREAT DEBATE: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise that Preserved the Union (Simon & Schuster, 2012. Winner of the 2012 Los Angeles Times History Prize); and BOUND FOR CANAAN: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America (Amistad/HarperCollins, 2005). He lives in San Francisco, CA with his wife, Jean Parvin Bordewich.

David Sutherland on VMI's Civil War Legacy  for more information visit WWW.ChicagoCWRT.org  In June 1920 just after World War I then US Army Colonel George C. Marshall, a VMI graduate, persuaded his mentor, General of the Armies John J. Pershing, a West Point graduate, to visit the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. VMI's superintendent hosted General Pershing, toured him around the Institute and the VMI cadet corps held a full dress, review parade in Pershing's honor. After the parade General Pershing addressed VMI's cadets and spoke of the role Institute alumni had played in the Civil War and the Great War and he remarked on sharp the cadets had appeared earlier that day at parade. Pershing then added that while he had often heard VMI called the "West Point of the South," having just witnessed the VMI cadets parade that perhaps West Point should be called the "VMI of the North."  The Civil War greatly impacted VMI and the Institute's alumni profoundly influenced Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Evidence of VMI's Civil War legacy is still visible around the post and VMI's Civil War heritage has shaped VMI alumni for generations.  West Point came of age during the Mexican-American War. VMI came of age in the American Civil War. During the American Civil War ninety-three percent of VMI's then living alumni served in the war. This presentation will discuss VMI's Civil War legacy and how this legacy affected the Institute and today continues to shape VMI alumni.  Dave Sutherland was born in Chicago, Illinois, grew up in Northwest Indiana and is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and the Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis. A three time, past president of the Indianapolis Civil War Round Table, Dave is a life-long student of the Civil War and has traveled to and walked scores of Civil War battlefields. He is also a US Army veteran who served in Korea. He lives in Brownsburg, Indiana, just outside Indianapolis, and has practiced law for 35 years.

Connie Langum: The Battle of and for Wilson's Creek For More Info: WWW.ChicagoCWRT.org  On February 14, Connie Langum will speak on "Wilson's Creek." This first major battle in Missouri, in 1861, was one of the bloodiest battles of the early war: A Confederate victory, which saw the death of the Union army commander. She will discuss why six hours on August 10, 1861 were important and then cover the battlefield's journey to become part of the National Park Service. She will also cover recent developments and our current renovation of our Visitor Center.  Ms. Connie Langum is a 28-year veteran of the National Park Service and is currently duty stationed at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in Republic, Missouri, where she is the Park Historian. She has a BA from Missouri Southern State College and an MA in American History from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. She is the Historic Weapons Supervisor at Wilson's Creek and enjoys giving small arms and artillery programs to the public. Connie is a lifetime member of the Newtonia Battlefields Association, and actually grew up a mere 15 miles from the battlefield. She is involved with the American Battlefield Trust and serves as Program Chair for the Civil War Round Table of the Ozarks. Connie and her husband Rick live in Springfield MO and are kept busy by their 16-year old daughter Madeline.

January 10, Pam Toler spoke on "Heroines of Mercy Street: Nurses of the Civil War." In this talk, Pamela Toler tells the story of how thousands of women with little or no experience with nursing volunteered to serve their country during the Civil War, taught themselves how to do the job under adverse circumstances (including hostility from the surgeons with whom they worked), and created a profession that did not exist before the war. Her research was the basis for the tv series of the same name.  Pamela Toler grew up in Springfield, Missouri, where she participated in living history programs at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, learned to shoot a muzzle-loading rifle, and read and reread the biographies of women like Clara Barton, Julia Ward Howe, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Today armed with a Ph.D. in history, a well-thumbed deck of library cards, and a huge bump of curiosity, author, speaker, and historian, Pamela D. Toler translates history for a popular audience, going beyond the familiar boundaries of American history to tell stories from other parts of the world as well as history from the other side of the battlefield, the gender line, or the color bar. She is the author of eight books of popular history for children and adults. In "Heroines of Mercy Street," Toler has returned to her first historical love: Civil War in general and its impact on women in particular. more information: www.ChicagoCWRT.org

Daniel R. Weinberg has been president and sole owner of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc. since 1984, having previously been co-owner from 1971. Since 1933, the firm has had an international reputation as experts in the buying, selling, appraising, and authentication of historical, artistic, and museum artifacts. The shop has conducted appraisals for libraries, museums, banks, insurance companies, and private collectors.  He is a co-author of Lincoln's Assassins; Their Trial and Execution (2001) and has lectured extensively on the subject. He has appeared on both CSPAN and the History Channel. Mr. Weinberg pursued his undergraduate work, in history, at Temple University, Philadelphia, and his graduate work, in the same field, at New York University at Washington Square.

Ethan Rafuse: 'Back to the Chivalric Days of Yore': The Valley Campaign of 1862.  In 1862, Union armies took the offensive throughout Virginia in an effort to win battlefield victories that, it was hoped, in conjunction with a policy of conciliation toward the people of the South, would bring the rebellion to an end by the end of the year. In the Shenandoah Valley, Federal forces initially seized the upper hand, driving Confederate forces from Winchester to Harrisonburg. In May, however, Confederate forces commanded by Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson took the offensive, taking advantage of Federal errors to win battlefield victories that turned the tide in the valley. In the process, Jackson's efforts helped dash Federal hopes for a quick end to the rebellion, which led to a fundamental recasting of Union strategy. This talk will provide an account of Union and Confederate efforts in the Shenandoah Valley during the first half of 1862 and the strategic and operational context that shaped and was shaped by these operations.  Ethan S. Rafuse is a professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS. His publications include Stonewall Jackson: A Biography and McClellan's War. In 2018-19 he was the Charles Boal Ewing Distinguished Visiting Professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

James Lighthizer: The Nevins Freeman Address: Battlefield Preservation  On October 11th Jim Lighthizer, President of the American Battlefield Trust, will discuss the history of Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War battlefield preservation in America, and how place-based education on this land can teach present and future generations of Americans about their country’s history, values and culture. Many of our nation’s most important principles and ideals were made real on battlefields through the sacrifices of citizen soldiers, and place-based teaching effectively tells this story of the creation and defining of the United States, warts and all: one of the greatest ever told.  James Lighthizer is president of the American Battlefield Trust. Prior to his tenure at the Trust, he served as the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation and two terms as County Executive of Anne Arundel County, Md. Jim’s years of public service began in 1979 when he was elected to the Maryland State Legislature. In 1982, he was elected to the first of two terms as Anne Arundel County Executive, where he successfully managed a full-service budget in excess of $800 million. In 1991, Jim was appointed as Maryland’s Secretary of Transportation. Jim created an unprecedented program that to date has saved more than 4,500 acres of Civil War battlefield land in Maryland and is the national model for the use of Transportation Enhancement funds for battlefield preservation. In December 1999, Jim accepted the presidency of the organization now known as the American Battlefield Trust, and more than 50,000 acres of battlefield land have been saved throughout his tenure.

Janet Croon: The War Outside My Window Our September speaker, author Janet Croon, will present the edited diaries of a young teenage boy who wrote thoughtful and wistful observances of the changing world in Macon, Georgia, from 1860-1865, as he battled his own deteriorating health.  LeRoy Wiley Gresham was born in 1847 to an affluent slave-holding family. After a horrific leg injury at age 12 he began keeping a diary in 1860 just as secession and the Civil War began tearing the country apart. LeRoy Wiley Gresham was born in 1847 to an affluent slave-holding family. After a horrific leg injury at age 12 he began keeping a diary in 1860 just as secession and the Civil War began tearing the country apart. He wrote even as his health deteriorated past the end of the war. He died in 1865. The diary is published for the first time and editor Janet Croon captures the spirit and the character of a young privileged white teenager witnessing the demise of the South and a crumbling way of life even as his own as his body fails him.  Janet E. Croon holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, Modern European History, and Russian Language and Area Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1983), and a Master's Degree in International Studies from the University of Dayton (1985). She taught International Baccalaureate History for nearly two decades and developed a deep interest in the Civil War by living in northern Virginia.

Doug Dammann: Elmer Ellsworth and His Zouaves In the summer of 1860, young lawyer Elmer Ellsworth and a civilian militia company of 50 men from Chicago set out on a twenty-city tour. In those days, volunteer militia companies held drill competitions, and Ellsworth hoped that his unit's new "Zouave" training (based on semi-gymnastic maneuvers modelled after those of French Algerian soldiers) would dominate the competition. The tour was a success beyond their wildest dreams. When war started and their training was needed on the battlefield rather than on the parade ground, the men who had accompanied Ellsworth found themselves in positions of leadership within the Union Army.   Our June speaker, Doug Dammann, will explore Elmer Ellsworth's widespread influence on the northern army. Despite all of his drills and military training, Ellsworth's death, ironically, did not come in battle but rather early in the war, inside the Marshall House hotel in Alexandria, Virginia. Ellsworth succeeded in removing the Confederate flag raised by the building owner only to be shot and killed by the owner, James W. Jackson, as he descended the stairs from the building roof. Ellsworth's body would lie in state at the White House before being taken to his home state of New York for burial.   Abraham Lincoln would call his close friend (almost a second son) Ellsworth "the greatest little man I ever met." Ellsworth's memory lived on throughout the war as "Remember Ellsworth" became a rallying cry for supporters of the Union. His death would spur even more volunteers to don the flashy Zouave attire   Doug Dammann is the curator and site coordinator of the Kenosha Civil War Museum. A native of Lena, Illinois, and son of this Round Table's close friend Gordon Dammann, he received a BA in history from Kalamazoo College in 1996 and earned his Master's Degree in historical administration from Eastern Illinois University in 1999. Prior to coming to Kenosha, he worked at The National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Maryland, and The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.