“THE BATTLE CRY”

V o l u me 9, I ss ue 1
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Jan. 21, 2014
“THE BATTLE CRY”
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
J.E.B. Stuart, IV Talk
Trivia Questions
Civil War, Jan. 1864
1, 4
4
2-3
KSU 11th Annual SymposiAbout the Round Table
About Next Speakers
3
Administrative Info.
4
News About Members
4
4
4
NEXT PROGRAMS:

Jan. 21, Wm C. “Jack”
Davis. “A Government of
Our Own” Meet at the
Helmsley Hotel on Lido
Key.

Feb. 18, Dr. Crain Bliwas,
“The First Day at Gettysburg”

Mar. 18, Frank Crawford,
“Is He or Isn’t She?—
Albert D.J. Cashier”
Meetings 3rd Tues. of
the month (7 pm)
GRACE BAPTIST
CHURCH, 8000 Bee
Ridge Rd, Sarasota, Fl
34236.
J.E.B. STUART VISITS SARASOTA
“KEEPING HISTORY ALIVE”
Where were you on December 10, 2013? Fifty-one persons attended a talk by the Great Grandson of Major General J.E.B. Stuart, CSA.
Col. J.E.B. Stuart, IV, USA (Ret.) held the attention of his audience for
forty minutes by providing a lively account of “What Made the Man”
who became one of the Confederacy’s most important and effective
cavalry Generals. General Stuart was assigned to the Army of Northern
Virginia under General Robert E. Lee. Following a Question & Answer
session Colonel Stuart signed books and other materials that some of
the attendees brought with them or purchased.
To this writer, the graciousness of Col. Stuart to agree to make
the trip to Sarasota from Richmond was special for at least two reasons: having traveled over the years for speaking engagements J.E.B.
may no longer continue to do so. In addition, it is of interest that Colonel Stuart is the first direct descendant of a member of the Confederate
high command to address a group of historians in Sarasota.
Pictured at the left are
Col. J.E.B. Stuart, IV USA
(Ret.) and Mr. Gordon Balme, President of the Sarasota Civil War Round Table which sponsored the
event at First Presbyterian Church, Sarasota.
“TH E BA TTL E C RY ”
.
P a ge 2
American Civil War January 1864
The relationship between Lincoln and his military commanders was tested again in January
1864 when the president commuted a death sentence passed on a Union deserter. Unionist generals believed that such a move would undermine discipline in the Union armies. Later in the same month Lincoln did the same thing.
January 1st: The weather greatly hindered nearly all forms of military activity. Sub-zero temperatures occurred as far south as Memphis, Tennessee.
January 2nd: General Banks led his campaign against Galveston by moving along the Texan
coast.
January 3rd: Chronic inflation hit the South especially hard. Basic foodstuff was 28 times
more expensive in the South than in 1861. During the same time, wages only went up by 3
to 4 times.
January 4th: Lee was given permission by Jefferson Davis to commandeer food in Virginia.
Such a measure may have helped his troops but not the people of the state.
January 5th: General Banks was encouraged by General Halleck to be more aggressive during his offensive. Halleck envisaged Union troops in Galveston by the spring.
January 7th: Lincoln commuted the death sentence imposed on a Union deserter. His move,
as commander-in-chief, was not well received by the Union’s military hierarchy who felt that
it would undermine discipline even more. Union desertion was at an all-time high, especially
in the Army of the Potomac. The problems were many but one of them was that men were
paid a bounty to enlist. Many did then deserted only to enlist again to collect another bounty. Also if your name came up in a draft for your town/city you could exempt yourself by paying $300. Or you could get a substitute to do your draft for you. Big cities saw a major
growth area in “substitute brokers” who, for a fee, would find a substitute for someone. The
whole system was open to abuse and when 57 men were recruited to the 6th New York
Heavy Artillery, 17 were physically disabled.
January 8th: David O Dodd, convicted of being a Confederate spy, was hanged in Little Rock,
Arkansas.
January 10th: The Confederacy responded to its economic plight by printing more money.
Foreign governments were unwilling to lend money to it and only accepted gold for the payment of weapons. The North made matters worse for the South by printing counterfeit Confederate notes, which made confusion endemic.
P a ge 3
TRIVIA QUESTIONS:


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
What power was
removed from
President Jefferson
Davis by the Confederate Congress
in January 1865?
Who was referred
to as “Old Reliable”?
What Confederate
official said to Lincoln’s face, “Is
there no way of
putting an end to
the present trouble?”?
What General was
riding the beautiful
bay horse “Fireeater” when he
was mortally
wounded at Shiloh?
Vo lum e 9 , Iss ue 1
January 11th: Senator John Henderson (Missouri) proposed within the
Senate that slavery should be abolished throughout the USA.
January 18th: Protest meetings were held in North Carolina regarding the
conscription policy of the Confederacy. All white males between 18 and
45 were required to enlist – shortly to increase to all males between 17
and 60.
January 19th: Pro-Union supporters met at Little Rock, Arkansas.
January 21st: Pro-Union supporters met in Nashville, Tennessee.
January 23rd: Lincoln approved a plan that allowed plantation owners to
hire those who had previously worked as slaves on their plantations.
January 26th: Lincoln commuted another 9 planned executions, as he did
not want to “add to the butchering business”. On the same day he approved a plan to improve trade between the Union and those parts of the
Confederacy now under Union control. Lincoln was already thinking beyond the end of the war and wanted to ‘normalise’ internal trade as much
as possible.
January 31st: Lincoln stated that he hoped all former slaves who wanted
to fight for the Union would swear the oath but that it was not an absolute
requirement. The same was true for those men who had been in Confederate ranks – swearing loyalty to the Union was preferred but was not absolute. Source: www.historylearningsite.co.uk
Besides preaching
and fighting, what
other purpose did
chaplains serve?
What did Confederate soldiers call
the little sewing
kits they used to
repair their uniforms?
MARCH 21-22, 2014
KSU CENTER
11TH ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM
3333 BUSBEE DR. NW
‘1864 THE WESTERN THEATER
KENNESAW, GA 30144

William C. Davis: ‘Gen. John C. Breckinridge: Trying to Remain a Gentleman in the Least Gentlemanly Theater of the War’

Richard McMurry: ‘The General in the Jar: Joseph E. Johnston and the Atlanta Campaign’

Steve Woodworth: ‘A. J. Smith’s Guerrillas and the Battle of Nashville’

Jim Ogden: ‘...All the damage you can…’Sherman’s ‘War Resources’ Target

Craig Symonds: ‘Cleburne’s Memorial: Confederate Emancipation and the
meaning of War’

A TOTALLY FREE EVENT! See Frank Crawford for more information
“The Battle Cry”
Page 4
NEWS ABOUT MEMBERS
Officers
Joe Reinhart’s new book, Yankee Dutchman, was accepted for purchase by the Sarasota and the Manatee County Library Systems! Congratulations Joe.
President: Gordon Balme
Vice President:: Matt Donovan
Treasurer: Pat McInerney
Newsletter Editor: M. Bruce
Maxian
DUES FOR THE 2013-2014
CAMPAIGN ARE PAYABLE TO PAT
McINERNEY AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE. DUES KEEP THE
PROGRAMS AND NEWSLETTERS
AVAILABLE TO YOU.
J.E.B. Stuart, IV signing books at the December 10, 2013 talk he gave on his great grandfather, Gen, J.E.B. Stuart, CSA. One of his colleagues, who he has not seen for 28 years,
surprised him by attending Stuart’s talk. Here, Russell Wiltshire is shown in the left panel, holding a copy of a poem written by General Stuart and includes a beautiful water color by Stuart IV’s wife, Mary Louise (“Weasie”) McNeil Stuart, who is an artist.
Our Annual Campaign runs from
Sept. through May, dues are
$30 .
The Sarasota Civil War Round Table has met continuously since Sept. 1992. Our
Purpose includes the sharing of members’ personal Civil War research and experiences. Invited scholars speak on their expertise and current research. Our
membership extends, on the Gulf Coast, from Tampa/St. Petersburg in the north
to the Port Charlotte, Florida area in the south.
NEXT SPEAKERS:
Find us on the web:

http://
www.sarasotacwrt.yolasite.
com
topics of the period. “Jack” as he is better known, has offered to speak on the
topic of one of his “favorite” publications, “Government of Our Own: The
Making of the Confederacy.””

Anyone interested in receiving “The Battle Cry”
by e-mail please see me
at one of our meetings or
e-mail me at:
[email protected]
Jan.—William C. Davis, a Civil War Scholar and prolific author on various
Feb.—Crain Bliwas, MD is a member of the Sarasota CWRT. He comes to us
from Wisconsin where he is an adult psychiatrist. There he is also active in
his hometown Civil War Round Table. His topic is, “The First Day at Gettysburg”
AUDIENCE AT
THE J.E.B. STUART
OUR MONTHLY
RAFFLE ALWAYS
NEEDS YOUR DONATED BOOKS &
MAGAZINES.
TALK. MEMBERS
OF ROUND TABLES
AND SVC ASSOCIATION.
INSERT
CRAIN H. BLIWAS,M.D.
Curriculum vitae
“The First Day at Gettysburg”

Delafield Wisconsin/Lakewood Ranch, FL (Home sites)

Retired Army Medical Department Officer (LTC)
Education:

Northwestern Military and Naval Academy

Dominican College

Medical College of Wisconsin

The Civil War Institute...Carol College

U.S. Army War College
Current:

Assistant Clinical Professor: Medical College of Wisconsin

Senior Medical Director: Rogers Memorial Hospital
FIRST SHOT MARKER-GETTYSBURG
Chambersburg Pike & Knoxlyn Rd.
Memberships:
Board Member:
Milwaukee Civil War Round Table
Napoleonic Historical Society
Associate Member … Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides, Gettysburg PA.
Life Member: Association of the 173rd Airborne Brigade
The American Legion
The Reserve Officers Association
Board Chairman: St. Johns Northwestern Military Academy