Our Guiding Principles

Next Meeting – May 14, 2013

Topic:  Women in the Civil War

Presenter:  Richard McElroy

• Canteen at 6:00 PM — Dinner at 6:50 PM
• Dino’s Restaurant — on state route 306, just south of I-90 in Willoughby, Ohio
• Cost $25.00 for an excellent family-style dinner and speaker.  Cash bar.
• Reservations are required.  Contact Mike Sears at 440-257-3956 or email mikeanddonnas@roadrunner.com

Last Meeting

2012 Fall Activity

A CIVIL WAR VACATION  by Arlan Byrne

The Northeast Ohio Manassas Expedition, consisting of Joe Abazzio, Alan Byrne, Arlan Byrne, Tom Horvath, John Sandy and Franco Sperrazzo left Cleveland at 10:00AM Thursday morning September 27^th 2012; and arrived on the battlefield of Antietam that afternoon.  We explored the battlefield for a few hours before attending a meeting of the Hagerstown Civil War Roundtable to which George Deutsch, a member of both our own Northeast Ohio Civil War Roundtable, and the Hagerstown group, had invited us.  It was held in a barn on the Mumma Farm in the middle of the battlefield.  The speaker was the nationally known Civil War historian, author, guide and our friend, Dennis J. Frye.  Dennis discussed his latest book “September Suspense: Lincoln’s Union in Peril”.  Since he was raised next to Antietam Battlefield Park and spent his childhood running around the park grounds, he was able to bring many interesting side bars into his talk.  After the meeting it was reunion time with Dennis with much handshaking, picture taking and reminiscing.  We ended our day with an exciting ride through a heavy rain and electrical storm to our hotel in Chantilly, Virginia.

Friday morning we began our actual Manassas adventure with the Second Battle of Manassas.  Our guide was National Park Ranger Henry Elliot.  He began his outstanding tour of the battlefield with a short overview of the battle, in which he explained the situation in the summer of 1862; including the plans of Generals Lee, Longstreet and Jackson and the reactions of General Pope.  Then he walked us through the individual fights at Brawner Farm, Sudley Springs Church, the Big Cut, Chinn Ridge and Henry Hill.

The park has spent an enormous amount of time and money removing trees and underbrush; trying to restoring the land to the way it was at the time of the battle.  Thus, at Brawner Farm and the Big Cut, for instance, you can see what the Union soldiers saw preparing to attack.  As you look across the open rolling fields ahead of you with cannon pointing at you in the distance; you can almost see the enemy battle line at the top of the far ridge waiting for you.  You experience the excitement and the anxiety building as the troops around you begin their assault.  And, as you walk across the ground in the footsteps of those long dead men, hearing in your mind the noise of the cannons and muskets, and the shouts and screams of the soldiers; you can feel the spirits of them rushing past you.  It is a very emotional experience.

Saturday our guide for the First Battle of Manassas was our own George Deutsch.  He started the tour at the Stone Bridge where he discussed the battle plans of both Union General McDowell and Confederate General PGT Beauregard.  Our next stop was at the top of  Matthews Hill.  Here George explained the fighting during the morning of July 22^nd, 1861.  Then we descended Matthews Hill, crossed the Warrenton Turnpike and Young’s Branch and climbed Henry Hill where George explained and made sense of the confused fighting on that  hill in the afternoon.  We ended the day with the Confederates following the defeated Yankees north, back up the Warrenton Turnpike, and across the Stone Bridge toward Centreville.

We also visited the Stone House at the bottom of Matthews Hill and the intersection of the Warrenton Turnpike and the Sudley Springs Road.  Because it served as a hospital in both battles, it was never destroyed.  Both before and after the war it served as a tavern and overnight rest stop.  It also had a cannon ball imbedded in the front of the house.  Since nobody knew which battle it came from; I think it must have been cemented in the wall by the owner himself as an early example of a tourist attraction.

Sunday morning before we headed home we visited the Chantilly Battlefield.  This battle, fought a few days after Second Manassas, was Lee’s last attempt to destroy Pope by getting between him and his Washington defenses.  The small, neatly kept, two acre memorial park, is located in the midst of huge sprawling commercial and residential sub-divisions.  The interesting thing to me was since part of the original battle took place in a corn field, the park volunteers had planted a small plot of corn at one side of the park.  A local visitor told us it was probably the only cornfield in this densely populated county.

Our final stop was at Thoroughfare Gap. The narrow, rough 200 foot wide break in the Bull Run Mountains with Pond Mountain on the South side and Mother Leathercoat Mountain on the North side of the gap played an important role in both battles.  In 1861, at the First Battle of Manassas, a railroad transported Confederate troop reinforcements from the Shenandoah Valley through the gap to the Bull Run Battlefield just in time to give the victory to the Confederates.  Thirteen months later the gap allowed Jacksons half of Lee’s army to get behind Pope and a few days later allowed Longstreet’s half of Lee’s army to join him.  The only problem occurred when a wandering Union detachment happened to trap Longstreet’s Wing of the Confederate Army in the gap for a few hours.  Rebel troops charged up the western sides of both mountains, drove the Yankees off the top of the mountains and opened up the gap so Longstreet and Lee could continue through.

In 1862 a visitor described the gap as a “dark and gloomy spot.”  Well, it is “dark and gloomy” no longer.  The gap has been widened to accommodate a modern interstate highway; and if you are not careful you will zoom right through it and not even know it is there.

As the final event of our trip we climbed to the top of Mother Leathercoat Mountain and saw where the battle to open the gap was fought in a stone quarry.  It was so much fun I am willing to climb anything named Mother Leathercoat.

In conclusion: It was a perfect trip.  The guides were excellent.  Their explanations were clear and easily understandable. John reserved rooms at the modern Chantilly Hyatt Hotel.  They were large, spacious and only cost $70 per night.  The hotel even threw in a free meeting room for us.  There are many good restaurants in the area and we ate each meal at a different one.  Brent and Sharon Morgan drove up from their home near Richmond and went to dinner with us on Saturday night.  John, Tom and Franco rented a seven passenger van so we were all able to travel together.  The weather was perfect each day, just right for walking.  It only rained at night.  We watched Ohio State beat Michigan State.  What more could you want?

Other Web Sites of Interest

4 Responses to “Home”

1. Max R. Terman says:

   April 20, 2011 at 4:48 PM

   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.
2. Dave Krueger says:

   September 29, 2011 at 10:01 PM

   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
3. George Richards says:

   June 18, 2012 at 1:54 PM

   I’m very interested in your group. May non-members attend meetings?

   Many thanks,
   George Richards
4. admin says:

   June 18, 2012 at 3:54 PM

   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.