February, 2015
Our Next Meeting – Thursday, February 19, 2015
edition 20, No. 6
"No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted."
Confederate forces at Fort Donnelson surrender to Grant, February, 1862
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: February 19, 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.
Barbara Berenson
Civil War Walking Tours of Boston
“The Election of 1864”
Members of the OCCWRT had the privilege to be escorted
on tour of Civil War sites in Boston by Ms. Berenson.
She has become one of the most renowned and important
historians of the Civil War era in Boston.
Coauthor of the guide book now available through the
Boston Freedom Tail Foundation
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
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!
Ms. Berenson is now the author of the newly published
Boston and the Civil War
as reviewd on Amazon.com:
Boston's black and white abolitionists forged a second American
revolution dedicated to ending slavery and honoring the promise
of liberty made in the Declaration of Independence. Before the
war, Bostonians were bitterly divided between those who
supported the Union and those opposed to its endorsement of
slavery.
A publication of the
Olde Colony Civil War Round Table
Headquarters: Dedham, Massachusetts
Editor Emeritus – David Kenney
Current Editor
[email protected]
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.
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The Fugitive Slave Act brought the horrors of slavery close to
home and led many to join the abolitionists. The story
encompasses many brave soldiers, including the grandson of
Patriot Paul Revere and the Fighting Irish.
He had become inspired to study the Civil War watching a
dramatization of a battle at the New England Fair “Big E” He
attended the 1963 Centennial of Gettysburg, where Eisenhower
and Alabama Gov. George Wallace were in attendance. Also
inspired by the Ken Burns series, he began reenacting, and
appeared in the History Channel production “Horrors of
Andersonville.”
He has travelled to numerous Civil War sites. He is the founder
and president of the East Bridgewater Civil War round Table. He
is conducting research at the Bridgewater Iron Works, which
provided the anchor for the USS Constitution and plates placed
on the US Monitor.
He described how the Round Table functions, and how it has
become so successful. Rarely engaging formal speakers, each
meeting is more of a discussion in which all members are invited
to participate. Several topics may be presented each meeting.
One of the most notable of his suggestions was to promote
greater interaction among the members. He illustrated this idea
by dividing the group into sections. Over 30 members of the
OCCWRT were in attendance, and each group was challenged
to provide answers to interesting Civil War questions:
1. What was the complete title to Harriet Beecher Stowe
book Uncle Tom’s Cabin: “Life among the Lowly”
2. Who was involved in the caning in the US senate:
“Preston Brooks caused serious injury to US Senator
from Massachusetts Charles Sumner”
3. Which Supreme Court Justice presided over the Dred
Scott decision: “Roger Taney”
4. What were Beecher Bibles: “Rifles stored in cases sent
to fight supporters of abolition in the territories”
5. How old was Lincoln at his first inaugural: “52”
6. The first state to secede was South Carolina, which was
the second: “Mississippi”
7. Where was the first capitol of the Confederacy:
“Montgomery Alabama was the capitol for 4 months
8. What did Lincoln and Jefferson Davis have in common:
“both experienced deaths of children during the war,
both were originally from Kentucky
9. Bonus: who was the youngest general in the war: “Galusha
Pennypacker, distinguished at the Battle of Fort Fisher
The all-black Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment battled
against both slavery and discrimination, while Boston's women
fought tirelessly against slavery and for their own right to be full
citizens of the Union. Local historian and author Barbara F.
Berenson produced a memorable journey through Civil War
Boston.
Mrs. Berenson will lead a discussion regarding the
events of the election of 1864.
Mini-bit "Civil War in 4"--Dana Zaiser
Mini-bit "POW's in the Civil War"--Jim O'Neil
Don’t miss what is sure to be a terrific meeting
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Information to be aware of: if a monthly meeting will not be
held because of severe winter weather: If the Dedham
Schools announce that they will not open OR they will have
early dismissal, the Endicott Estate will be closed for the
day; in turn, we will not be meeting that night.
Our Last Meeting:
January 16, 2015
Mr. Julius led discussions regarding such topics as “who
was most responsible for the confederate defeat at
Gettysburg” and a debate considering what were the most
important books relating to the Civil War. He concluded by
showing some relics he had collected, including 34 star
American Flag. It was a lively and energetic meeting,
Hopefully some of Mr. Julius suggestions will be included
in meetings of the OCCWRT.
Dale Julius, president of the East Bridgewater Civil War Round
Table, introduced us to different ways to conduct meetings. His
goal was to promote greater participation in meetings from all
members, and to allow members to share in their experiences
and knowledge of the Civil War.
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Wide Awakes get possession of the purse and the
sword?
Stay warm and remember how often we used the
expression “Slower than the coming of the next ice
age” I think it’s already here!
THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE
PRESIDENT
In 1860 political campaigns were often rough and
tumble, filled with vitriolic cartoons and sarcastic
jibes. The tall and gawky Lincoln’s weak spot was his
appearance and his picture was rarely used , even in
his own campaign materials. Pictures of Vice
Presidential candidate Hannibal Hamlin who had a
patrician Roman nose and straight hair could not be
shown in the South, lest they contradict allegations
printed in Southern papers like The Montgomery Mail
which told its readers: Hamlin who is on the ticket
with Lincoln is a free Negro and boasts of his African
blood.
African newspapers voiced a fear of being ruled by
Negroes. The Memphis Enquirer lamented: “Think of
it; a nigger in principle elected president and a
mulatto, for Hamlin is said to be one, sitting as Vice
President and presiding in the senate. What Southern
man could submit to sit under the shadow of such a
creature? It would be disgraceful in the extreme.
Lincoln’s victory was the South’s worst nightmare
come true; the first being a wide spread slave
insurrection.
As Southerners grappled with their fears, a few
newspapers suggested giving him a chance, especially
since the new congress and Supreme Court were
Democratic and pro slavery. Other papers took their
cue from the inevitable over the top “Go get em Abe”
hoopla that came out of his hometown newspaper and
other radical papers. They could not live with the
unfavorable election results. One Alabama paper
intoned; “Lincoln can never be president of the
Southern States”; suggested another: “ It would it not
be better to secede immediately while Buchanan and
his cabinet who are friendly to the south have the
reins in their hands, than to wait until Lincoln and his
Joe Dipoli
DUES ARE DUE! Please submit!
OCCWRT 2014-2015
MEMBERSHIP DUES
Date:_____________2014
Name ____________________________________
Address___________________________________
City______________________State___Zip______
Enclosed is my check for :
‫۝‬Individual Membership $ 20
‫۝‬Family Membership
$ 25
‫ ۝‬Annual Membership plus added
Donation to Preservation Fund $_____
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
3
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
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
781-647-3332
www.cwrtgb.com
The Civil War Round Table
of North Worcester County
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 Roundtable
of the Merrimack
P.O. Box 421
West Newbury, MA 01985
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
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England abolitionist, and Emma Green, a willful
young Confederate belle, collide at Mansion
House, the Green family’s luxury hotel that has
been taken over and transformed into a Union
Army Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, the
longest-occupied Confederate city of the war. As
the boundaries of medicine are being explored
and expanded, the role of women is also
broadening. Here, in the collision of a wartime
medical drama and a family saga of conflicted
loyalties and moral dilemmas, the series plays
out a story of the highest stakes.
Executive produced by Ridley Scott (Gladiator,
Thelma & Louise), David W. Zucker (“The Good
Wife”) and Lisa Q. Wolfinger (“Desperate
Crossing, The untold story of the Mayflower”)
and written by David Zabel (“ER”), the new
drama is set against the backdrop of doctors and
female nurses valiantly struggling to save lives
while facing their own trials and tribulations. The
intersection of North and South within the
confines of a small occupied city creates a rich
world that is chaotic, conflicted, corrupt, dynamic
and even hopeful — a cauldron within which
these characters strive, fight, love, laugh, betray,
sacrifice and, at times, act like scoundrels. In the
end, Mary and Emma will learn a vital lesson in a
country split in two and ravaged by war: Blood is
neither blue nor grey — it is all one color.
54th Mass Glory Brigade Foundation
Ben Goff, Corr. Secy
P.O. Box 260342 Mattapan 02126
(617) 254-7005 [email protected]
President Emmett Bell-Sykes
[email protected]
617-333-9970
[email protected]
The Greater New Bedford
Civil War Roundtable
Bob MacFarlane, Pres.
508-748-2197, [email protected]
Fourth Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m.
1000 S. Rodney French Blvd.
New Bedford
(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])
Dana Zaiser: Renowned expert: Civil War Tokens
OCCWRT Preservation Chair:
PBS President and CEO Paula A. Kerger
announced today at the PBS portion of the
Television Critic’s Association Press Tour that a
new Civil War historical drama, shot in Virginia,
will join the PBS Sunday night drama lineup. The
first season of six episodes is slated for a winter
2016 premiere.
Based on true stories, the new drama follows
two volunteer nurses on opposite sides of the
Civil War. Mary Phinney, a staunch New
The series is created by Lisa Q. Wolfinger and
David Zabel and based on research conducted
over the last three years. The story is inspired by
the memoirs and letters of actual doctors and
female nurse volunteers at Mansion House
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Hospital. In addition, the writers and producers
have worked with a prominent group of
historians and medical experts, including James
M. McPherson (“Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil
War Era”), Thavolia Glymph (“Out of the House
of Bondage: The Transformation of the
Plantation Household”) and Jane Schultz
(“Women at the Front: Hospital Workers in Civil
War America”).
Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Executive and
General Manager, General Audience
Programming, PBS, said, “Viewers know that
Sunday nights are a destination for original
drama on PBS. It has been more than a decade
since our Sunday night drama lineup has
included truly American stories. With this new
series, we will look into one of the most
complicated, tumultuous and dramatic moments
in our country’s history, the Civil War. I’m
delighted to have this new series join an
impressive history of past American dramas on
PBS.”
Lisa Q. Wolfinger said, “We think of the Civil War
as a brutal, devastating chapter in American
history, but it was also a moment of remarkable
transition that presented opportunities
unthinkable just a few years before. Doctors,
faced with mass casualties on an unprecedented
scale, pushed the boundaries of medical
science, women left the confines of the home
and volunteered as nurses, and thousands of
escaped slaves got their first taste of freedom.
All of these elements come together in
Alexandria’s Mansion House Hospital — a
dysfunctional and unpredictable world filled with
conflict and passion. Our characters (many
based on real people) are colorful, complicated
and completely relatable. This series is not about
battles and glory, it’s about the drama and
unexpected humor of everyday life behind the
front lines. It’s a new twist on an iconic story, one
that resonates with larger themes we still
struggle with today.”
David W. Zucker said, “These are rich, personal
stories that are based on the real experience of
the horror of war combined with the drama,
excitement and energy of what it is like to work
in a trauma ward, especially given the limited
state of medicine at the time. But equally, the
series will explore what life was like in this
occupied city, for the female nurses — of the
North and South — the transient soldiers and the
former slaves who were either heading north to
freedom, into battle or trying to figure out, like
others, what the war would ultimately mean for
them.”
David Zabel said, “Speaking as a writer, it would
be difficult to find an event in American history
more dramatic and riveting than the Civil War. It
was an extraordinary time that served in so
many ways as transitional from an earlier world
— we see massive change enacted in a range of
areas, including medicine, social mores, military
practices, transportation, media, commerce and
government. And yet, as these transformational
moments were unfolding, people tried to live
their lives and maintain some normalcy while in
the midst of a great upheaval. The locus of
Alexandria at this time as a crossroads of North
and South, war and peace, old and new, offers a
wealth of characters and situations that is a gift
for a storyteller and a perfect setting for a great
American story.”
The series is not only set in Virginia, it will also
be filmed there. Production is scheduled to begin
in the spring in and around Richmond, where so
much of this history took place.
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ANNOUCEMENTS
3. Ted Roosevelt as a boy famously witnessed the
funeral of Abraham Lincoln. What other future
President as a boy saw the end of a president of the
Civil War? Bonus: name the 5 Civil War officers who
went on to become President of the United States.
Nine-year old Woodrow Wilson saw the captured
Confederate President Jefferson Davis, as he was brought
through Augusta, Georgia on the way to Fort Monroe.
Grant, James Garfield, Rutherford Hayes, Benjamin Harrison,
and William McKinley served as President. Ironically, along
with Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley were assassinated
before completing their terms in office.
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
The Olde Colony Civil War Round Table can now be
found on FACEBOOK!
4. Thomas Jackson most famously was known as
Stonewall, but he had a number of other nicknames,
can you name another 5? Bonus: provide 5 nicknames
for Robert E Lee
Arguably the worst teacher at VMI, students who
suffered through his classes called him Tom Fool,
His religious fervor could clash with others, who knew
him as the Crazy Presbyterian. It may be more myth
than fact that when he was a child, his family knew him
as the Real Macaroni. It was said he was so emotional
in battle, his eyes would change and his soldiers
recognized him as Blue Lights. But his soldiers came
to trust his leadership so much that he was simply
known as the Old Man. But perhaps the most
interesting was the label placed on him by his
subordinate Ewell, so exacerbated by his secretive
nature that Ewell simply called Jackson Insane.
Civil War Trivia:
1. Who said, "No pack of whining, snarling, ill-fed,
vagabond street dogs ... ever more strongly produced
the impression of forlorn, outcast, helpless, hopeless
misery." Frederick Law Olmsted was the chief
administrator of the Sanitary Commision. In his
report in September 1861, on Bull Run, Olmsted
showed how “excessive fatigue . . . heat, and . . . want of
food and drink” led to the “demoralization” of the troops.
He was by nature argumentative, and despite his work he
was removed from the position in 1862.
2. President Lincoln ordered work on the capitol dome
to continue throughout the Civil War as a symbol of the
Union…NOT! We learned this is just another Civil War
urban legend. What was the real reason work continued
Early in the war, defeats in West Virginia, and ordering
the development of defensive positions, led Lee to be
called Evacuating Lee, the King of Spades, and
Granny lee. Revered after the Seven Days, his troops
knew him as Marse Robert. But it was McClellan, after
discovery of the Lost Orders before Antietam, who
bragged he would defeat Bobby Lee.
Materials for the completion of the dome had already been
purchased, much had been delivered and was wasting away
unused, mostly in the area now known as the great Lawn .
Congress had signed numerous contracts, and unions were
clamoring for jobs.
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Major contributors to the Raffle:
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation"...to preserve,
conserve, and interpret the legacy of the Civil War in the
Shenandoah Valley..."
Classics are not conceived nor created overnight, they are works of art so
defined by their timelessness and wide acclaim. Executive Chef John
Mahoney and owner Frank Santo have artfully prepared a menu of new
American standards that continue to build on this legacy of enduring
quality for which they’ve been known for over 19 years.
566 High Street MAP
Dedham, MA 02026
781-461-8485URS
Battlefield protection in the
Shenandoah Valley is possible only because people
value the lessons of our nation’s past and are
determined to preserve it for the future. The legacy
of the Shenandoah Valley’s battlefields is
unparalleled. The Civil War battles fought on these
fields shaped the nation. The sacrifices made on
these battlefields should be remembered.
The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation serves
a critical purpose: to ensure that these sacred places
continue to convey their meaning to current and
future generations. Together, the foundation strives
to ensure that the events that transpired here are
never forgotten.
You are invited to help in safeguarding the
Shenandoah Valley’s incredible Civil War landscapes
and historic sites, ensuring that they remain
immediate and inspiring for generations to come.
Join the fight to preserve these irreplaceable national
treasures
To Donate by Check/Cash:
Please make checks payable to Shenandoah Valley
Battlefields Foundation
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation
P.O. Box 897
New Market, Virginia 22844
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Civil War Trivia: The election of 1864:
Answers at the next meeting:
1. Lincoln was the nominee of two parties: the
Republican was one. What was the name of
the other party, and why was it formed, and
what was its platform?
2. Who else received votes by the Party to run
for President? Bonus: name four other
candidates for the vice presidential slot.
3. Lincoln and McClellan were not the only
candidates for President. Who else ran for
President, what was his party, and how did he
fare in the election?
4. Lincoln won election to a second term. Was
this common? Name the other presidents, up
to 1864, who had won two terms in office.
Gen. George McClellan
Picture credits: History.net
Wikipedia
Smithsonian.org
Boston Freedom Trail Foundation
Amzon.com
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