Lima Area Civil War Study Club News

Lima Area Civil War
Study Club News
January – 2010
January Program: Gettysburg
Battlewalk
Richard Esmonde will handle the program
honors at the January 13 meeting of the Lima
Area Civil War Study Club. Dick has a video
presentation called Gettysburg Battlewalk. The
meeting will begin at 7:00 PM at New Creation
Lutheran Church, 2701 Allentown Road (next
to the Tom Ahl Auto Dealership.
Dick was originally scheduled for the May
meeting. When the Beane Town Sound had to
cancel due to the retirement of their lead singer,
Dick stepped up to fill the gap.
MEETINGS AND PROGRAMS
Jan 13 .................................................. Gettysburg Battlewalk .............................. Richard Esmonde
Feb 10 ................................................... The Battle of Atlanta ........................ Chuck & Dolly Brogee
Mar 10 ............................................. Weapons of the Civil War......................................Neil Winget
Apr 14.................................................Poetry of the Civil War.................................... David Adams
The Lima Civil War Study Club meets from 7:00 to 9:00 PM on the 2nd Wed of
each month at New Creation Lutheran Church, 2701 Allentown Rd., Lima, Ohio
adjacent to Tom Ahl Auto Dealership.
The Lima Area Civil War Study Club News is a publication of the Lima Area Civil War Club, in Lima, Ohio. For information about the club or the newsletter, contact:
Founder: Tom Bowman [email protected] Editors: Gary Miller and John Hyter
Club Email: [email protected]
Lima Area Civil War Study Club
January 2010
More than a Newsletter…!
Over the last few months our little publication has become more than just a newsletter. It has become a small magazine. We
have received a great deal of praise, largely
due to contributions from you, our readers.
Each new addition and feature has been
well received and enjoyed by members of
our little Civil War Study Club and readers
who are literally spread across the country.
We need your help, readers, to keep
moving in the same direction. How can you
help? Send us your stuff! We need:
Stories about your favorite people and
events related to the Civil War period.
 Pictures from your tips to historic sites
and events.

Information about tours, festivals, reenactments, etc.
 Stories about your ancestors.
 Historic preservation news.
 Book, magazine, and web site reviews.

If you think of something else, we can
probably use it!
How can you get your stuff to us?
Email is best. Send it to the club address:
[email protected] or directly to
Tom Bowman or one of the editors. Digital pictures should be in a JPG format.
Try to keep the stories to 300 words or less.
Don’t worry about your writing style. Send it to
us and we will edit as needed. We would like to
work a couple months in advance, so if you plan
a piece for the anniversary of the Fall of Atlanta
in July, get it to us early in May.
TOM BOWMAN: [email protected]
GARY MILLER: [email protected]
JOHN HYTER: [email protected]
DAY TRIPPING
By Tom Bowman
For all you looking for something to do
during the cold winter days, let me suggest a drive to Clyde, Ohio. Clyde is a
small town of some 6500 on Rt. 20 in
Sandusky County, Ohio. It’s about 75
miles north and east of Lima. Among
other things, Clyde is the Home of Civil
War Union Major General James B.
McPherson.
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Motorists are more likely to notice the
figure of McPherson at the cemetery than
the clapboard house across the street at
Rt. 20 and McPherson Highway - as Rt.
20 was know in 1941. Local Historians
just completed a $50,000 renovation of
the 1833 Federal style home where
McPherson, the highest-ranking Union
officer killed in the Civil War, spent his
formative years.
Lima Area Civil War Study Club
January 2010
McPherson
had
the
qualities that Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T.
Sherman predicted would
one day lead him to the
Presidency.
McPherson graduated in
1853 from West Point at the
top of his class. He later
drew up the plans for the
military fortification on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco
Bay that would become the
federal prison.
When Grant was named commander
of all Union Armies in the west in 1863,
McPherson replaced him in command of
the Army of the Tennessee. He
led the capture and occupation of Vicksburg, Miss then
served with Sherman in the
Atlanta campaign. He was
killed at the age of 35 in the
Battle of Atlanta.
For additional information
on the Home of General
McPherson
contact
the
McPherson
House
at
clydeheritageleague.org.
This information was originally made
available by Jennifer Feehand of the
Toledo Blade and appeared in the December 21st issue of the Columbus Dispatch.
THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the following proclamation into law. It
was the first step toward freedom for all slaves in America. This month is the 147 anniversary
of its signing.
By the President of the United States of America:
A PROCLAMATION
“Whereas on the 22nd day of September,
A.D. 1862, a proclamation was issued by the
President of the United States, containing,
among other things, the following, to wit:
"That on the 1st day of January, A.D. 1863,
all persons held as slaves within any State or
designated part of a State the people whereof
shall then be in rebellion against the United
States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the executive government of the
United States, including the military and naval
authority thereof, will recognize and maintain
the freedom of such persons and will do no act
or acts to repress such persons, or any of them,
in any efforts they may make for their actual
freedom.
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"That the executive will on the 1st day of
January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate
the States and parts of States, if any, in which
the people thereof, respectively, shall then be
in rebellion against the United States; and the
fact that any State or the people thereof shall
on that day be in good faith represented in the
Congress of the United States by members
chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority
of the qualified voters of such States shall have
participated shall, in the absence of strong
countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State and the people
thereof are not then in rebellion against the
United States."
“Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln,
President of the United States, by virtue of the
power in me vested as Commander-In-Chief
of the Army and Navy of the United States in
Lima Area Civil War Study Club
January 2010
time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States,
and as a fit and necessary war measure for
suppressing said rebellion, do, on this 1st day
of January, A.D. 1863, and in accordance with
my purpose so to do, publicly proclaimed for
the full period of one hundred days from the
first day above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein
the people thereof, respectively, are this day in
rebellion against the United States the following, to wit:
“Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except the
parishes of St. Bernard, Palquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension,
Assumption, Terrebone, Lafourche, St. Mary,
St. Martin, and Orleans, including the city of
New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida,
Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and
Virginia (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties
of Berkeley, Accomac, Morthhampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Anne, and Norfolk,
including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and which excepted parts are for the
present left precisely as if this proclamation
were not issued.
“And by virtue of the power and for the
purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that
all persons held as slaves within said designated States and parts of States are, and henceforward shall be, free; and that the Executive
Government of the United States, including
the military and naval authorities thereof, will
recognize and maintain the freedom of said
persons.
“And I hereby enjoin upon the people so
declared to be free to abstain from all violence,
unless in necessary self-defense; and I recommend to them that, in all case when allowed,
they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.
“And I further declare and make known
that such persons of suitable condition will be
received into the armed service of the United
States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and
other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in
said service.
“And upon this act, sincerely believed to
be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.”
Do You Know What This Is?
By John Hyter
My sister-in-law brought me these pic- when it came into his family or anything else
tures of a medal the owner wants identified. about it (see the pictures below).
He has owned it all his life. He doesn’t know
It appears to be made of copper or bronze
and is about the size of a half dollar. The rib-
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Lima Area Civil War Study Club
January 2010
bon is silver and blue with a pin clasp and no
markings. The medal and ribbon appear to be
3 to 4 inches long.
The face shows a near-profile portrait of
Abraham Lincoln with the words, “WITH
MALICE TOWARD NONE WITH CHARITY
FOR ALL” inscribed around it. “THE CIVIL
WAR 1861 – 1865” appears inside a laurel
wreath on the back. A mintmark or serial
NOTEWORTHY JANUARY
BIRTHDAYS OF THE CIVIL
WAR By Gary Miller
number on the bottom edge reads “M No.
4303”.
Can you help the owner identify his artifact or point us to someone who can? Email
me at the club address or at [email protected].
Treasurer’s Report
UNION:
BEGINNING BALANCE............ $790.32
CONFEDERATE:
Gen. James Longstreet ................ Jan. 8, 1821
Gen. Robert E. Lee....................... Jan. 19, 1807
Gen. Stonewall Jackson.............. Jan. 21, 1824
Gen. George Pickett .................... Jan. 28, 1828
I do not have an exclusive list so if anyone knows of famous birthdays in upcoming
months, please email your contributions to
John ([email protected]), Gary ([email protected]), or the club ([email protected]). Thanks!
Quite an impressive list of Southern Generals born this month.
DEPOSITS/CREDITS ....................... 0.00
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INTEREST PAID ............................... 0.00
CHECKS/DEBITS............................. 0.00
SERVICE CHARGES......................... 0.00
ENDING BALANCE................... $790.32