The Newsletter of the Salt Creek Civil War Roundtable Vol. XLXVII No. 3 November 2011 445th Regular Meeting Now that we have reached the Civil War Sesquicentennial more attention has been focused on the Civil War. Preservation groups have hoped this attention would result in increased donations to preserve endangered hallowed ground. Although we are a small group, the Salt Creek Civil War Round Table has been able to make significant donations to the Civil War Trust and other organizations to help purchase key endangered acres. The annual auction is our primary source of funds for donations. Another key factor is that Oak Trace, formerly Fairview Village allows us to hold our regular meetings at their facility free of charge. Not having to pay a monthly room fee or have a special insurance policy, which was a requirement at the College of DuPage, allows us to operate with a low overhead. The money we save, plus the proceeds from the annual auction allow us to make donations and help make a difference. Besides having books and various items for auction there will also be tables set up for books and items FOR SALE. Each item will have a card inside with the price. The auction items will have a card inside stating it is an auction item with the price to be determined. This method seemed to expedite the auction as we seem to run late. Donations will be accepted the night of the auction. The auctioneers will provide an entertaining and educational evening as they share their vast knowledge of Civil War literature. (I have not seen a book one of them has not read). SPREAD THE WORD AND BRING A FRIEND. Help our organization continue to save hallowed ground and make a difference. The Outpost DATE: Friday, November 18, 2011 PLACE: Glen Ellyn History Center, 800 N. Main Street Glen Ellyn TIME: Viewing 7:00 p.m.; Bidding Begins at 7:30 p.m. TOPIC: Annual Auction For Battlefield Preservation OCTOBER MEETING BY JAN RASMUSSEN AND ROBERT GIRARDI On Friday, October 21, 2011 forty five members and guests trod down the What If path of history in a counter-factual discussion of Civil War History. The discussion was led by Ron Carlson and Roger Bohn. Ron led off with a discussion on the how the Union failure in the Peninsular Campaign changed the outlook of the war. It caused the war to drag out and prompted Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. The initial battles such as Shiloh, Pea Ridge, Forts Henry and Donnelson and Pea Ridge were union victories that were not fought against slavery. McClellen was called the whipping boy of Civil War Round Tables because of his poor generalship, especially in reaction to the infamous lost order at Antietam. Dan McCarthy also noted What If Porter's V Corp in reserve was committed to the battle. Antietam would have resulted in a rout instead of a draw. Kurt Carlson pointed out one positive thing McClellen did was appoint Jonathan Letterman as Medical Director of the Army. Letterman developed the Ambulance Corp that implemented an evacuation system that consisted of a Field Dressing Station, a Field Hospital and a Large Hospital. Letterman's work saved thousands of soldiers from dying on the battlefield. Roger stated that the South's first mistake was firing on Fort Sumter, bringing on a war they were ill- equipped to win. He also presented an economical scenario in regards to the naval blockade of Southern ports and its effects on England, especially as it related to the cotton embargo. A general discussion of the effects of King Cotton Diplomacy ensued with many members contributing thought provoking comments. The evening proved to be both stimulating and entertaining. Discussions such as these are truly round table discussions, as everyone present can contribute to the program. Many thanks to our moderators Ron Carlson and Roger Bohn for their input and leadership in the discussion. STATE OF THE UNION The Salt Creek Civil War Round Table will be celebrating it's 50th Anniversary in 2012. Rick Benson was slated to be our next president. His untimely loss has created a vacuum in our chain of command that needs to be filled.+ I am willing to remain president through 2012 if no one comes forward. I will be stepping down at the end of 2012. Positions need to be filled. The future of the round table is in your hands. If you wish to contribute to the round table please contact me, Jan Rasmussen, by phone 630-830-7614 or email jrbarns@sbcglobal.net. CALL TO ARMS Recently the Salt Creek CWRT sent $250 to the Illinois State Historical Society's campaign to replace the worn and dated signage at Camp Butler in Springfield, Illinois. Camp Butler was the second largest Union training facility and became a prisoner of war camp later in the conflict. A total of $3000 is needed. So far, only half of these funds have been raised. This is an appeal for personal contributions. Please consider sending a check to Illinois State Historical Society, Camp Butler Restoration Fund, P.O. Box 1800. Springfield, IL 62705-1800. Make sure to mention Salt Creek! in Tennessee. Source: Civil War Trust PRESERVATION REPORT BY LEN OVERCASH SR. (Wilderness Battlefield, Va.) – At a news conference today, the Civil War Trust announced the successful completion of efforts to protect the site of Ulysses S. Grant’s Daytime Headquarters at the Battle of the Wilderness. Private donations to the Civil War Trust, the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting Civil War battlefields, were augmented by matching funds from the Commonwealth of Virginia, notably a $108,000 Transportation Enhancement Grant. Efforts to preserve the property on Route 20 in Orange County were first announced in June 2011. Although small, covering just 1.4 acres, the property’s historic pedigree as the location of Grant’s daytime headquarters during the battle made it a must have for preservationists. Strong partnerships in the state and region helped smooth the transaction. The Trust formally concluded fundraising for the site in October. THE BATTLEFIELD: Gaines’ Mill, Virginia, part of the Seven Days’ Battles of 1862 and Robert E. Lee’s first major victory as the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, where to date only about 67 acres of this 3,000+-acre crucial battlefield have been saved. THE LAND: We will save 285 acres, still highly sought after by developers, which encompasses nearly all of the attack of the Confederate right wing under General James Longstreet. THE COST: $3.2 million total, but with $1 million in grants anticipated from the Commonwealth of Virginia, plus another $1 million already committed from other donors in our capital campaign, we need to raise the final $1.2 million to save this land! Every dollar you give will be multiplied by $2.67! THE DEADLINE: We need to raise all funds so that we can close no later than July 15, 2012, less than nine months from today! Source: Civil War Trust President Barack Obama signed an executive order Tuesday granting national monument status to Fort Monroe, ending a five-year, grassroots effort to protect a storied spit of land that witnessed the beginning and end of slavery in the United States – and lots of military history in between. Obama’s proclamation on Hampton’s Fort Monroe, which he signed in the Oval Office before more than a dozen witnesses, signals the start of a new chapter for the former Army base, built between 1819 and 1834. *The Elmhurst Historical Museum is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War with a dual exhibit that is fittingly nationwide in scope, but also personal and close to home. “Between the States,” a traveling exhibit of photos from Rochester, New York’s George Eastman House presents a collection famous, rare and unpublished war-era photos by some of America’s earliest photographers. Source: Civil War Interactive ALL FOR THE UNION December 16th is Memorabilia/Show & Tell Night. VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED Contact Jan at 630-830-7614 Oct. 2011 thru March 20, 2012 Stephen A. Douglas Exhibit Kenosha Civil War Museum www.thecivilwarmuseum.org UPCOMING CIVIL WAR EVENTS NOVEMBER 15. 2011 LINCOLN DAVIS CWRT "Boy Soldiers of the Union Army" Speaker: Dennis Keese Country House Restaurant Alsip, IL Lincolndavis roundtable@yahoo.com NOVEMBER 17, 2011 SOUTH SUBURBAN CWRT "Poetry & Music in the Civil War" Speaker: Donna Work ED & JOES'S PIZZA 17332 South Oak Park Avenue Tinley Park, IL russelltarvid@hotmail.com DECEMBER 2, 2011 NORTHERN ILLINOIS CWRT "The Original Fighting Irish: Nortre Dame Chaplains" Speaker: Fr. Robert Miller Arlington Hts. Memorial Library 500 N. Dunton www.nicwrt.freehostia.com DECEMBER 9, 2011 CHICAGO CWRT "The Civil War Untold" Speaker: James Robertson Holiday Inn Mart Plaza Chicago 350 North Orleans Street Dinner 6:30 p.m. (630) 460-1865 to make reservations chicagocwrtdinner@earthlink.net FUTURE SCCWRT MEETINGS December 16, 2011 Memorabilia/Show & Tell Night January 20, 2012 Art Foley/ "James Blunt" February 17, 2012 Leslie Goddard/ "Mary Chestnut" March 16, 2011 TBA THE SALTCREEK CWRT www.saltcreekcwrt.org President: Jan Rasmussen Vice-President: Rob Girardi Treasurer: Jean Cairns Secretary: Rick Zarr Historian: Cindy Intravartolo Meeting Liason: Mary Lord Newsletter Editor: Jennie Warner Newsletter Staff: Len Overcash Sr, Rick Zarr, Jan Rasmussen Webmaster: Stephen Munier