april 2007 - Civil War Round Table of Greater Boston

April, 2015
Our Next Meeting – Thursday, April 16, 2015
edition 20, No.8
"...that shot was a sound of alarm that brought every soldier in the harbor to his feet."
(General) Stephen D Lee describes the first shot at Ft. Sumter, and the beginning of the Civil War, April 1861
THE OLDE COLONY CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE
THE CAMPAIGN!
Reporting the latest Occurrences from Both the Front and the Rear.
http://www.occwrt.org
Our next meeting
Our Next Meeting: April 16, 2015
OFFICERS
President
Joe Dipoli
Vice President
Dana Zaiser
Secretary
Gail Dugan
Treasurer
Don Fitzgerald
Campaign Editor
Thursday at 7:30 pm. Book sale at 7:00 pm.
Raffle and refreshments after the meeting.
Mini-bit "Civil War in 4"--Dana Zaiser
Main Speaker: Al Smith
Civil War Round Tables of Greater Boston
“Civil War ReUnions”
Paul Griffel
Past President
Rich Campagna
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
(Officers are also members)
President Emeritus Joe Scalia
Bob Hearsey
Martha Horsefield
Barbara Magruder
Dana Zaiser
Dave Sheldon
For
the Webb/Pickett flag ceremony, two 1863 units
advanced about 50 ft (15 m)--Union from the North,
Confederate from the South--to flags at the The Angle
stone wall where they "clasped hands and buried their
faces on each other's shoulders".[1]:167–8,171s
Programs: Jack Kavanagh
Membership: Paula Cunningham
Jubilee: Bob Hearsey, Gail Dugan
Web Master and Preservation: Dana Zaiser
Revere Award: Martha Horsefield
Refreshment Barbara Magruder
THE CAMPAIGN!
(Wikipedia) Almost immediately after the end of the Civil War,
A publication of the
Olde Colony Civil War Round Table
Headquarters: Dedham, Massachusetts
Editor Emeritus – David Kenney
Current Editor
[email protected]
veterans sought out occasions to gather together, to relive their
shared experiences, find solace in their battle-forged bonds, to
celebrate their heroic deeds, and commemorate the sacrifices of
their fallen comrades. These reunions of regiments, corps,
OCCWRT Monthly Meetings (except June/July/August and
the October Jubilee Dinner)) are regularly held the 3rd
Thursday each month, 7:30 PM (except December—2nd
Thursday) at the Endicott Estate, Dedham.
armies, and fraternal organizations – so important to the soldiers
and their families – came eventually to serve as a symbol of a
wider national reunification, despite the vast majority of
reunions remaining purely separate former Union or Confederate
affairs. By contrast, at infrequent “Blue and Gray” reunions,
veterans of both sides made conciliatory overtures, enjoyed
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James B. Conroy has been a trial lawyer in Boston for 32
years, and was recently elected a Fellow of the Massachusetts
Historical Society. Our One Common Country is his first
book, born of a love of history and a lifelong ambition to
contribute to it. Conroy earned a bachelor’s degree at the
University of Connecticut in political science and history and
served for six years as a photographer and a journalist in antisubmarine aviation units in the United States Navy Reserve.
In the 1970’s and early 1980’s, he worked as a writer and
editor for public interest advocacy groups in Washington
D.C., as Press Secretary for an Iowa congressman, as chief
speechwriter for the President of the American Federation of
State, County, and Municipal Employees, as Press Secretary
for the United States Senate Committee on the Budget, and as
chief of staff for a New York City congressman.
the hospitality of former enemies and celebrated their
collective American identity. Attended by the hundreds
and thousands, reunions of all kinds evoked powerful
sentiments and became fertile ground for the construction
of Civil War memory.
Al Smith, director of the famous Civil war tours,
including the May tour of 1865 battlefield, is a life
long student of the Civil War. There are few people
who have such experience with Civil War sites, and
his insights into Civil War history should be most
appreciated. Do not miss this event!
Our last meeting! March 19, 2015
"Presidential Peace Talks on a Steamboat,
February 3, 1865” James B. Conroy
Praise for Our One Common Country:
“Conroy is a terrific writer who tells the story of one of the
war’s least known episodes, the Hampton Roads Peace
Conference. But it is the way he describes the people around
Lincoln, their interaction with him and each other that makes
this such a good read. Great anecdotes—if you’re like me you’ll
find yourself pausing every few pages and saying, ‘I never knew
that’—my favorite kind of book!” —Bob Schieffer, CBS News
“In this massively researched, exceptionally well-written book,
James Conroy has illuminated and set in its historical context an
episode familiar and yet hitherto not closely examined. By
carefully inserting vignettes of the actual fighters into the Big
Picture, he gives his account an immediacy and human
dimension rarely found in serious historical works. This is,
moreover, a page-turner to be read for sheer pleasure.” —
Hiller B. Zobel, author of The Boston Massacre
IN FEBRUARY
1865, Abraham Lincoln slipped quietly out of the White
House and travelled south to Virginia to meet Confederate
leaders on a steamboat at Hampton Roads. Their goal was a
peaceful end to the Civil War. OUR ONE COMMON
COUNTRY tells their story, the first book ever written about
the only presidential peace mission in America's wartime
history. 2015 Finalist for the prestigious
GILDER-LEHRMAN LINCOLN PRIZE
“This book is notable for several reasons. First, it relates
the backgrounds, personalities, and personal agendas of
the participants, both North and South, to the historical
events central to the book. Second, the book is
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Confederate President Jefferson Davis announced that the
exceedingly well written: characters are vivid, settings are
explained, context is clear, and the events that are
intertwined, or occurring simultaneously -- such as the
voting on the Thirteenth Amendment and the planning for
peace conferences -- are always explained. Third, the
irony of soldiers battling in the trenches -- while politicians
pontificate and editorial writers preach -- is superb. Fourth,
even the footnotes and endnotes are of interest. A page
turner history book -- now that's unusual!”
Amazon Reviews
North would not compromise. Lincoln drafted an amnesty
agreement based on terms discussed at the Conference,
but met with opposition from his Cabinet. John Campbell
continued to advocate for a peace agreement and met
again with Lincoln after the fall of Richmond on April 2.
The war continued until April 9, 1865.
A brief summary can be provided. The Hampton
Roads Conference was a peace conference held between
the United States and the Confederate States on February
3, 1865, aboard the steamboat River Queen in Hampton
Roads, Virginia, to discuss terms to end the American Civil
War. President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State
William H. Seward, representing the Union, met with three
Sources: Wikipedia, author Conroy, et.al.
commissioners from the Confederacy: Vice President
In the opening of his talk, Mr. Conroy made mention of the
movie “Lincoln” in which the Hampton Peace Conference
appeared notably. Both the conference and movie were
reviewed extensively, and will provide additional insight into the
wonderful talk provided by Mr. Conroy:
Alexander H. Stephens, Senator Robert M. T. Hunter, and
Assistant Secretary of War John A. Campbell.
The representatives discussed a possible alliance
against France, the possible terms of surrender, the
“One of the several critical strands in the “Lincoln”
movie concerns the controversy surrounding the
Hampton Roads peace talks (February 3, 1865),
where President Lincoln and Secretary of State
Seward met with Confederate envoys Alexander
Stephens, John Campbell and Robert M.T. Hunter for
secret discussions about how to end the war on board
the River Queen in Union-controlled Hampton Roads,
Virginia (near Fortress Monroe). No transcript exists
for their conversations that day. Lincoln and Seward
died before leaving any recollection of the affair. So
question of whether slavery might persist after the war,
and the question of whether the South would be
compensated for property lost through emancipation.
Lincoln and Seward reportedly offered some possibilities
for compromise on the issue of slavery. The only concrete
agreement reached was over prisoner-of-war exchanges.
The Confederate commissioners immediately
returned to Richmond at the conclusion of the conference.
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and proceeded to outline a wild scheme to Jefferson
Davis that included an end to the war followed by a
joint expedition of former Confederate and Union
troops to remove the French occupation in Mexico.
Davis rejected some of Blair’s ideas but agreed to the
possibility of talks for ending hostilities between the
“two countries.” Blair returned to Washington on
January 16 and met with Lincoln on January 18,
1865. The president agreed that Blair could take back
to Richmond a message that the president would
receive envoys who would be willing to secure peace
for “our one common country.” Blair then presented
this message to Jefferson Davis on January 21, 1865.
Davis subsequently met with Alexander Stephens on
January 27. Stephens was his Vice President but also
one of his biggest critics. Davis appointed Stephens
and two other notable critics of his policies, John A.
Campbell and Robert M.T. Hunter, as his envoys (a
sign for some historians, by the way, that he wasn’t
serious himself about the talks, but wanted to show up
his critics). Regardless of the motives, the men
traveled toward Union lines on January 29.and met
with Lincoln and Seward on February 3.
historians have mostly relied upon on the dubious
reminiscences of former Confederate Vice President
Alexander Stephens. Partly for this reason, many
Civil War historians consider the Hampton Roads
talks as little more than a sideshow –one of several
improbable efforts undertaken in the last year of the
war to end the conflict. According to this view,
Francis P. Blair, Sr. (Preston Blair / Hal Holbrook in
the movie) was just one of several foolish old men
(including the famous and eccentric Horace Greeley)
attempting foolish things in the name of peace but
having little effect. Both Jefferson Davis and
Abraham Lincoln were implacable in their positions
by the war’s end. Lincoln, for example, made his
preconditions for peace clear from July 18, 1864
forward –an end to the rebellion, the restoration of the
union, and the abandonment of slavery. Those three
conditions never changed, making true “peace talks”
impossible. Yet other historians are more willing to
take the Hampton Roads conference seriously, since it
did result in a real meeting between Confederate
envoys and President Lincoln. One of the best
accounts available online comes from an article by
William C. Harris in the Journal of the Abraham
Lincoln Association.
Watching the 90 pound Stephens take off his thick
gray woolen overcoat, muffler, and several shawls,
Lincoln laughed “Never have I seen so small a nubbin
come out of so much husk.”
The article helps illustrate ways that the movie takes
major liberties in presenting Hampton Roads. The
movie has Lincoln meeting with Preston Blair and his
children at the Blair House in early January,
reluctantly agreeing to secretly “authorize” an
unauthorized trip to Richmond for the elder Blair in
exchange for their support with the antislavery
amendment. In reality, Blair and Lincoln met alone at
the White House in December. Lincoln authorized a
pass for Blair to travel into enemy lines but not to
make any peace overtures. Blair began his journey on
January 3, 1865, arriving in Richmond by January 12
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The movie does not mention the biggest historical
controversy over Stephens’s account of Hampton
Roads –one which definitely undermines a key
element of the Spielberg message. According to the
former Confederate vice president, Lincoln offered to
allow southern states to reenter the union by ratifying
the Thirteenth Amendment “prospectively,”
suggesting that they could take up to five more years
to put it into effect. Stephens also claimed that
Lincoln offered payments of up to $400 million for
the South to abandon slavery. Historian William
Harris also cites recollections from the other
commissioners Campbell and Hunter indicating that
Lincoln offered compensation. There is no
corroboration for Stephens’s claim about prospective
ratification (which would be utterly unconstitutional)
but there is contemporary evidence that Lincoln did
consider paying southern states to end the war and
abandon slavery. He drafted such a proposal and
presented it to his cabinet on February 5, 1865, which
unanimously opposed it. Lincoln then dropped the
plan. Campbell met with Lincoln twice more to
discuss peace terms. Negotiations had continued up
to moment of April 9 when Lee surrendered.
Researcher Gordon Kwok maintains an excellent
website about Asian Civil War soldiers at
http://sites.google.com/site/accsacw
Member Jim O’Neil provided insights in the
experiences of POWs in the Civil War. There was
much suffering as neither side was prepared to
provide services to the large numbers of prisoners
they encountered. Often, prisoners dug holes to get
some limited protection from elements. OCCWRT
member Lawrence Enegren has an ancestor captured
at Bull Run and later died as a prisoner of war.
Overall, of approximately half million prisoners,
250,000 were paroled, but over 26,000 died.
Credit: BLOG DIVIDED by Matthew Pinster, excerpted from
the “Unofficial Guide to Spielberg’s Lincoln”
Minibits from the March meeting
30 members of the OCCWRT were on hand to hear
the fantastic news that former webmaster and Revere
Award committee member Gordon Kwok is now
published. Gordon contributed to the National Park
Service Publication edition of “Asian Americans in
the Civil war” Gordon was kind enough to mention
OCCWRT in the publication.
This drawing of Camp Asylum was done by one of the 500 Union
Officers imprisoned in the camp that was hastily erected on the SC
Lunatic Asylum grounds in October 1864.
Dana Zaiser provided the video Civil War in 4, which
is always of interest.
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DUES ARE DUE! Please submit!
OCCWRT 2014-2015
MEMBERSHIP DUES
Date:_____________2015
Name ____________________________________
Address___________________________________
City______________________State___Zip______
Enclosed is my check for :
‫۝‬Individual Membership $ 20
‫۝‬Family Membership
$ 25
‫ ۝‬Annual Membership plus added
Donation to Preservation Fund $_____
THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE
PRESIDENT
I was fortunate enough to spend Four days in New
Orleans fulfilling a long time dream of exploring the
Antebellum South. The fact that the weather was
summerlike did not enter into my timing. LOL
New Orleans was, before the Louisiana Purchase a
part of both France and Spain.
My travels took me to the Destrehan Plantation just
outside of New Orleans on the Mississippi River.
Here is kept a document signed by Thomas Jefferson
which created the mechanisms that made the territory
a large part of the fledgling United States of America
On and about this plantation occurred in 1811 a slave
revolt which caused the deaths of plantation owners
and destruction of their property. In all, 157 slaves
were accused of participating in the revolt; 45 were
executed and 22 were killed in the fighting.
The records of the tribunal show clearly the
stratification of slave society. Most members of the
revolt were those with the least to lose. They were
young men, living in profound despair, who worked
in the fields, more from “English” plantations than
from Creole plantations, and seldom in any position
of authority or trust. Some slaves, members of the
household staff and those with positions of trust were
cited by the tribunal as having defended their owner’s
property and tried to warn the free population of the
uprising. Even though enslaved they felt their honor
bound them to the owners cause,
The Creole slave code was quite liberal and slaves
working under this situation had some degree of
autonomy and were generally well treated and this
may account for the difference between Creole and
English plantations.
MAILTO: Paula Cunningham,
62 Ridgewood St., Taunton, MA 02780
Friends of Olde Colony Civil War Round Table
Generous donations were provided by the following businesses
and individuals, and resulted in one of the most successful
raffles. Wherever possible, please consider using the services of
those businesses that supported the raffle:
ALEXANDER, TED, SOUTHERN REVENGE,
AUTOGRAPHED COPY
AMERICAN DIGGER MAGAZINE, ACWORTH, GA,
SAMPLE & 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION
CAFÉ BAGEL, DEDHAM, MA, 2 DOZEN BAGELS &
CREAM CHEESE
CAMPAGNA, JOAN, NECKLACE AND EARRINGS
CIVIL WAR NEWS, TUNBRIDGE, VT, 1 YEAR
SUBSCRIPTION AND BACK ISSUES
CUNNINGHAM, PAULA, 2 BOOKS
DEDHAM COMMUNITY THEATRE, DEDHAM, MA,
$25.00 GIFT CARD
DEDHAM SAVINGS, DEDHAM, MA, $50.00 AMERICAN
EXPRESS GIFT CARD
DIPOLI, JOE, 4 DISPLAYS, CIVIL WAR RELICS
DUGAN, GAIL, MINUTEMAN STATUE
FULTON, PAT, CIVIL WAR STAMPS AND VINTAGE
CIRCUS POSTER STAMPS
GRIFFEL, PAUL, GETTYSBURG POSTER, BOOK
HEARSEY, DOREEN, 2 TICKETS, CHORUS
PERFORMANCE
HEARSEY, ROBERT, 33 BOOKS, 1 DVD
Joe Dipoli
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HOLIDAY INN DEDHAM, DEDHAM, MA, HOTEL ROOM
FOR JIM HESSLER
ISABELLA RESTAURANT, DEDHAM, MA, $25.00 GIFT
CARD
KAVANAGH, JACK, 5 BOOKS
KINGS BOWLING, DEDHAM, MA, BOWLING PASSES
MOSBY HERITAGE AREA ASSOCIATION,
MIDDLEBURG, VA, BALL CAP
PARADISE CAFÉ, DEDHAM, MA, 50% DISCOUNT
RED SOX BASEBALL AUTOGRAPHED BY DAVID ROSS
REGIMENTAL QUARTERMASTER, GETTYSBURG, PA,
SWORD
ROCHE BROTHERS, WESTWOOD, $50.00 GIFT CARD
RON’S ICE CREAM, DEDHAM, MA, $15.00
SARRA, HELEN $30.00 GIFT CARD FOR CHATEAU
RESTAURANT, NORWOOD, MA
SHENANDOAH VALLEY BATTLEFIELDS
FOUNDATION, NEW MARKET, VA, MUG
STAR MARKET, DEDHAM, MA $25.00 GIFT CARD
TAUNTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY, TAUNTON, MA,
MEMBERSHIP 1 YEAR
THOMAS PUBLICATIONS, GETTYSBURG, PA, 4 BOOKS
VALORI TRELOAR, MD, NEWTON, MA,
DERMATOLOGY SAMPLES, 3 BAGS
USS JACOB JONES VFW POST 2017, DEDHAM, MA, 2
DINNERS AND $20.00 DONATION
ZAISER, DANA, CIVIL WAR TOKEN
50’S RESTAURANT, DEDHAM, MA, $25.00 GIFT CARD
Meetings: 7:00 pm on the 2nd Tuesday of each
month, Sept. to June, at the
Leominster Historical Society
17 School Street
Leominster, MA 01453
For information contact:
President, Ruth Frizzell
[email protected] or www.nwrccwrt.org
978-365-7628
The Civil War Round Table of
Central Massachusetts/Worcester
Meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. on the
4th Wednesday of each month
September to June
at the Holden Senior Center
Main Street
Holden, MA
For information contact:
President Mark Savolis
860-923-2777
Civil War Roundtable of Cape Cod
P.O. Box 1431 20 Main St.
The Riverview School on Rte 6A
3rd Monday of each month, 1:00 p.m. Yarmouth
Senior Center
Fred Wexler, President, or John Myers, Programming
at (580) 896-6421
Civil War History:
The incredible opportunities to learn and share our
heritage:
The Civil War Round Table of Greater Boston
Meetings: 7:30 pm on the 4th Friday of each month,
Sept. to June
President David L. Smith
781-647-3332
www.cwrtgb.com
The Civil War Roundtable
of the Merrimack
P.O. Box 421
West Newbury, MA 01985
54th Mass Glory Brigade Foundation
Ben Goff, Corr. Secy
P.O. Box 260342 Mattapan 02126
The Civil War Round Table
of North Worcester County
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(617) 254-7005 [email protected]
President Emmett Bell-Sykes
[email protected]
617-333-9970
[email protected]
The Olde Colony Civil War Round Table can now be
found on FACEBOOK!
The Greater New Bedford
Civil War Roundtable
Joe Langlois, Pres.
[email protected]
Fourth Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m.
1000 S. Rodney French Blvd. New Bedford
Civil War Trivia:
In memoriam: Steve Lawrence
Answers at the next meeting:
1
Name the last battle of the Civil War. Who
won? Who was in charge of Union forces?
2. What was the Confederate major command to
surrender? When and where did the surrender
take place?
3. Who was the last Conferate General to
surrender? Hint: he appeared on a set of Civil
War stamps. Bonus: name other individuals
who appeared on the stamps.
4. What was the date the war was officially
declared ended?
(thanks to Nadine Mironchuk, Northshore CWRT)
Rhode Island Civil War Round Table
third Wednesday of the month at the William Hall
Library,1825 Broad Street, Cranston, R.I.; social hour
at 6:30, meeting and speaker at 7:00.
Chairman is Mark Dunkelman
([email protected])
Secretary is Len Levin ([email protected])
Civil War Round Table of East Bridgewater
Dale Julius, president
508 378-2706
[email protected]
Major contributors to the Raffle:
Holiday Inn : Boston-Dedham Htl & Conf Ctr
Minutes from the area’s newest shopping extravaganza
Westwood Station. Closest full service Holiday Inn to Gillette
ANNOUCEMENTS
Stadium - Easy access to Boston Trains and T Stop via
complimentary shuttle
OCCWRT pins are now available. The pins will be
provided to all (paid up) members of the group.
Additional pins are available at the meetings for $5
These are newly formatted pins and are spectacular.
10 minute video of the Lincoln Cabin Forbes
Museum Grand Opening in 1984.
www.youtube.com then search 1924 Lincoln Cabin
or www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxBNr4tP47o
8
47 Legacy Boulevard
Dedham, MA 02026
[email protected]
Tel: 781-326-1955
Ron's Gourmet Ice Cream
559 High Street
Dedham MA 02026
781.326.8664
Our Dedham Shop is conveniently located in Dedham
Square! We are Open from March 1-October 31
Kings Bowling, Dedham
Kings Dedham • 600 Legacy Place | Dedham, MA 02026 •
Phone: 781.329.6000
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