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Next Meeting: Tuesday, December 8, 2020
The Executive Committee has decided that there will be no dinner meeting in December.
However, we will have an online meeting — a Civil War quiz — hosted by President Tom Horvath, Jr. Once details are finalized, notice will be sent to all members.
Subject: Civil War Quiz
Presenter: Tom Horvath, Jr., President
Our president will host an online quiz centering on Civil War history. Have paper and pencil handy to record your answers and see how you do when the answers are revealed. Winner gets bragging rights.
- Canteen at 6:00 PM — Dinner at 6:45 PM
- Pine Ridge Country Club, 30601 Ridge Road (Ohio 84), Wickliffe, OH (1/2 mile west of Ohio 91)
- Cost $25.00 for an excellent family-style dinner and speaker. Cash bar.
- Reservations are required. Email Franco Sperrazzo at francomichael2414@yahoo.com.
Last Presentation
Subject: Civil War Alternative History
Presenter: William Vodray
A surprising number of books have been written about what-ifs in Civil War history. The most popular topic seems to be: What if the South had been victorious at Gettysburg? But there are numerous tipping points — some based on changes in historical events — such as: What if Booth had failed in his attempt to assassinate Lincoln? Others come completely from the mind of the author: What is a cat spooked Grant’s horse and the general was thrown and killed?
Mr. Vodray presented a list of these books and described their tipping points. In a number of instances, he outlined the author’s ideas of where history would have taken us as a result of this change. In most cases, he provided analysis of the likelihood of such events following, as well as a critique of the quality and readability of the work.
This was an interesting look at a different form of fiction.
Schedule of Speakers
Note the change in the November program
- January 14
- Boston Corbett
- Presenter: Paul Seidel, Secretary
- February 11
- Chancellorsville
- Dave Lintern, past-president
- March 10
- Elizabeth Keckley
- Cheri Tolliver
- April 14
- League Park
- Kenny Krsolovic
- May 12
- Civil War Alternative History
- William Vodray
- September 8
- Michael Kraus
- October 13
- George Deutsch
- November 10
- William Vodray
- Civil War Alternative History
- December 8
- Tom Horvath, Jr.
- Civil War Quiz
2020 Spring Outing – to be rescheduled
Lunchtime Series: Leaders and Legacies of the Civil War
These talks normally take place on the second Wednesday of the month, and may now be viewed online. Register at www.mentorpl.org and click on “Events”.
December’s presentation will take place on the second Wednesday, December 9, at 12 noon and is titled “I Can Make Georgia Howl”: Sherman’s March to the Sea, November-December 1864 (Encore)
Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman captured the important Confederate city of Atlanta in September 1864. He then turned his eyes to the Atlantic coast, intending to march across Georgia and then turn north toward South Carolina. That journey across Georgia has gone down in history as “the March to the Sea.” Learn more about this famous and fascinating event in this program originally presented in 2014. SPEAKER: Todd Arrington, James A. Garfield NHS.
2019 Civil War Symposium
Last year’s event was a one-act play entitled Lincoln’s Last Debate: A Confrontation at Hampton Roads. The story line, written by members of the Cleveland Civil War Round Table, envisions a fictional meeting between Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis at a peace conference that actually happend, but which Jefferson Davis did not attend.
The cast included Mel Mauer and John Fazio of the Cleveland Civil War Round Table and our own Norty London.
James A. Garfield National Historic Site Civil War Music Festival
The first Civil War Music Festival presented by the James A. Garfield National Historic Site was held last year on Saturday, July 6. Several bands and performers presented era-appropriate music and discussed the role of music in the Civil War armies.
Themocracy
I came across your Civil War Round Table and thought you might be interested in a true story about an 82nd Ohio soldier told in the first person in dramatic form. The ebook is written with a discussion guide for Civil War Round Tables and you may want to check it out.
Hiram’s Honor: Reliving
Private Terman’s Civil War, ISBN 978-0615-27812-4.
Hiram’s Honor can be examined at http://www.amazon.com/Hirams-Honor-Reliving-Private-Termans/dp/0615278124/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239221935&sr=8-1
Ebook
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/50674
The unique thing about this book is that I assume the identity of my ancestor in all of his battles and prison misery. It was quite a challenge to match every detail that actually happened (dairies, letters, first-hand accounts) with a first person dramatized and riveting story of how I would have reacted in his situation. Best wishes in your work.
Greetings from Delafield, Wisconsin, Birthplace of Lt. Alonzo Cushing. Just a quick update on the Medal of Honor. Although it was widely reported that the Secretary of the Army had approved the nomination, the process is still ongoing. The Secretary of Defense has not yet made his recommendation. Additionally, the President would still have to sign off. I would be happy to keep you updated if the situation changes.
Best Regards
Dave Krueger
Delafield, WI
I’m very interested in your group. May non-members attend meetings?
Many thanks,
George Richards
George — yes, non-members may attend. Because we take the summer off, our next meeting is not until Sepetember 11. Closer to the meeting date, make a reservation (see above) and look me, Tom Horvath, up at the meeting. I’ll be glad to introduce you to some of our members. Meanwhile, you may be interested in the symposium being held at Lawnfield on July 13, also described above.
Hello NEOCWRT. My name is Jonathan Hennessey. I am author of a new Civil War nonfiction graphic novel from HarperCollins. I would like to let members of your group know I will be doing a reading from my book at 6 pm Thursday, August 8 at the Barnes & Noble bookstore on Medina Road in Akron.
THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS: A GRAPHIC ADAPTATION (www.graphicgettysburg.com) is a bold and innovative use of the comics medium. It uses the words from Lincoln’s iconic speech to tell the “whole story of the Civil War, 1776 – The Present.” I will be presenting a chapter of the book mostly examining the Confederacy’s legal case for secession, Lincoln’s counterargument, and how both the language of both the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence informed those two different positions. I will be projecting still and animated segments of the book on a movie screen.
Kirkus Reviews called the book, “Engaging, provocative and deftly nuanced. … This second collaboration by Hennessey and McConnell again finds them probing the implications of history through incisive analysis and compelling art.”
Library Journal hailed it as, “An excellent work. … Not a simplification but a detailed and nuanced analysis of Lincoln’s famous speech.”
Thank you for your consideration!
All best,
Jonathan Hennessey
Thanks for the invitation to speak at the CWRT again. My topic this year will be Confederate General William “Extra Billy” Smith: From Virginia’s Statehouse to Gettysburg Scapegoat.