The Newsletter of the Salt Creek Civil War Roundtable Vol. XL IX No.4 4 December 2009 424th Regular Meeting The display of Memorabilia and Show & Tell is an old feature of Salt Creek meetings that was resurrected last year. By popular demand it will remain in our lineup. It allows members to share items of special interest and their stories relating to their acquisition and historical significance. The first presenter of the evening has an emancipation document that freed her ancestors. Lyn Pewitt has items about her ancestor Thomas E. King, who wrote a letter to Jefferson Davis asking him to stop using corn for whiskey. (no reply from J.D.) She also has a picture of his home, Barrington Hall and photos of a new grave marker for him. Gale Pewitt will "Show & Tell" items concerning Nathan Bedford Forest. Rick Benson will be showing his Henry Wirz collection of antique photos and artists' sketches of Andersonville. Cindy Intravartolo will be bringing her John Buford CD’s along with personal items of John and Pattie Buford. She also has a picket pin from Brandy Station. Roger Bohn will be showing some confederate currency. December also means election of officers. The present officers are as follows: President: Jan Rasmussen; Vice-President: Rob Girardi; Secretary: Rick Zarr; Treasurer: Paula Walker; Board Members: Cindy Heckler, Gil Mitchell, Len Overcash and Chuck Kurtz. So far all these positions are unopposed. Nominations will be accepted prior to the meeting and from the floor. Active membership has been on the decline. The future of the round table is dependent on the membership's participation and support. If you are interested in having a voice in this group. We could use the help. Members are also encouraged to bring some holiday cookies or treats. DATE: 4th December 2009 PLACE: Fairview Village, Downers Grove, IL. TIME: 8:00 p.m. TOPIC: “Memorabilia and Show and Tell” NOVEMBER MEETING BY RICK BENSON On Friday November 6, 2009 SCCWRT held its annual book auction at the Glen Ellyn History Center. In an effort to allow time for the attendees to view all the books before the actual auction began, viewing was scheduled for 7:00pm this year, with the actual auction beginning at 7:30 pm. Last year the auction started at 8:00 pm, and had to be stopped shortly after 10:00pm as the Glen Ellyn History Center had to close at 10:30pm. This year the auction had to be cut short due to time. The books were then opened up to be purchased at the very reasonable price of $5.00 each. As usual, the books covered a broad range of topics on the Civil War, as well as many historical books on non Civil War topics. These non Civil War topic books were generally placed on a side table, and priced at roughly $5.00 each. This year there also was a significant quantity of assorted Civil War magazines, such as Civil War Times, Americas Civil War, and North & South magazines. The auction began promptly at 7:30pm. This year there were just over 30 attendees, or about 10 less attendees than the 2008 auction. The lead auctioneer was Dan McCarthy, who added his extremely knowledgeable commentary during the auction. He was ably assisted by Kevin Naughton & Rob Girardi. As usual, Kevin Naughton kept the mood of the festivities light with his innumerable humorous “one-liners”. Rob Girardi initially selected the next book to be auctioned and eventually relieved Dan McCarthy and kept the auction moving along on a knowledgeable plus humorous / light mood. The range of topics of the assorted books covered Lincoln, Gettysburg, Grant, Sherman, Stonewall Jackson, PTG Beauregard, Antietam, JEB Stuart, Battle of Carthage, MO, The HL Henley, Mosby’s Raiders, The Peninsula Campaign, etc. As time started to wind down, the auctioneers asked if there was any specific book the attendees wanted to have auctioned off. After that, the attendees were allowed to go up and purchase the balance of the unsold / un- auctioned books at $5.00 each. The highlight of the auction was a large “coffee table” sized book that was published in 1898. This book was roughly 14” x 20” in size, and 1 ˝” thick. Roger Bohn purchased this book. He already had one copy of this publication, but his copy had 6 pictures missing. Roger was hoping that this newly acquired edition would contain the 6 missing pictures. (If this newly acquired book does have the missing pages, I suspect that there would be a minor expense involved to have the two books contents combined & rebound). Yours truly left with a substantially larger load of books and magazines that I arrived with, as did a good portion of the attendees. The auction generated just over $800.00 that will be donated to Battlefield preservation. As with the reduced attendance this year, the monies generated were roughly $170.00 less than in 2008. Jan Rasmussen closed the meeting by reminding everyone that next month we will have our Memorabilia Display / Show and Tell meeting at Fairview Village. Also, the slate of officers for 2010 will be presented. A good time was had by all that attended. We would like to thank everybody for their generosity and time! PRESERVATION REPORT BY LEN OVERCASH, SR. VA -- Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) sent a letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations requesting that the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program be funded at the House-supported level of $9 million in the FY 2010 Interior-Environment Appropriations bill. The Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program is a matching grants program that has been used to preserve more than 15,300 acres of hallowed ground in fourteen states during the past decade. The program’s matching grants formula encourages state and nonprofit investment in historic land preservation, making the program a model for public-private sector conservation partnerships. VA -- In September 2009 the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation tried to protect the historic Huntsberry tract on the Third Winchester battlefield. At that time still $78,500 short of CWPT's $380,000 fundraising goal. The dedicated members of the CWPT, helped close this gap. Earlier this month [November] the CWPT reached its commitment. Of course, this project is not yet complete. The Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation is still working toward completing its $377,000 commitment to protecting this historic landscape. VA – The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT), has announced the beginning of a $2.125 million national campaign to preserve one of the most historically significant unprotected landscapes of the entire Civil War. The 85-acre property, known locally as the Wagner Tract, was the scene of bloody struggle during the battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863. It was here on that fateful day that Confederate Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson led his legendary flanking maneuver on May 2, 1863 that turned the tide of battle in favor of the South. Despite the high price tag and difficult economic climate, CWPT president James Lighthizer found the choice to pursue the property an easy one. “This land at Chancellorsville is arguably one of the most historically significant pieces of hallowed ground CWPT has ever saved, and we have just got to get it,” he said. “Just like our purchase of the Slaughter Pen Farm at Fredericksburg three years ago, this is what we are in business to do. This is why we exist!” PA -- The president of the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association is accusing staff at Gettysburg National Military Park of misappropriating funds given to the park for the repair of more than 140 Pennsylvania monuments. Kathi Schue said $77,580 appears to have gone “missing” from money secured by a state committee that dissolved when it reached its goal of raising about $165,000 – the figure that Schue said park officials provided to fundraisers as the amount necessary for rescuing Pennsylvania monuments from a state of disrepair. VA -- The Virginia State Review and Historic Resources boards unanimously approved an open-space easement donation in eastern Culpeper County for conservation during a joint meeting in Richmond on Sept. 17. Located on U.S. 29, Willow Run Farm is the 433-plus acre property southeast of Culpeper Regional Airport and owned by brothers Chuck and Pete Gypsy. The property was eyed for a 3 million square foot retail hub just three years ago. According to local historian Clark “Bud” Hall, the Gyory property has historic significance. Union cavalry, under the command of Major Gen. Joseph Hooker crossed the Rappahannock River on June 9, 1863 and attacked Major Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry and several Confederate brigades, beginning the Battle of Brandy Station, the largest cavalry battle of the Civil War and the inaugural action of the Gettysburg Campaign. The Gyory property also served as the winter camp of the Army of the Potomac’s Sixth Corps in December 1863, providing space for 20,000 men as well as the location of the “beef depot” set up to feed the entire 120,000 army. Today, the property contains a modern dwelling, a historic livestock barn, corn crib, and other agricultural outbuildings. “Protection of the Gyroy property will not only serve to preserve a portion of the battlefield, it will also protect open space and view shed, allowing the visitor to experience sights similar to those experienced by soldiers during the battle,” said Hall. The Gyory property is located near Fleetwood Heights, Louis Pound and Whitney Pound tracts, most of which is under historic preservation and open space easements, according The source for the above articles is: www.civilwarinteractive.com UPCOMING CIVIL WAR EVENTS Chicago Civil War Roundtable Holiday Inn Mart Plaza Chicago, IL Friday, December 11, 2009 5:30 p.m. Dinner 7:30 p.m. Speaker Presentation $40.00 Dinner; $5.00 for presentation only 1-630-460-1865 to make reservation www.thecwrt.org Civil War Christmas Civil War Museum 5400 First Avenue, Kenosha, WI Saturday, December 12, 2009 Noon to 4:00 p.m. $40.00 Dinner; $5.00 for presentation only 262-653-4140 for more information www.thecwrt.org Kankakee Civil War Roundtable Wednesday, January 6, 2010 Kankakee Public Library, Kankakee IL 7:00 p.m. http://kvcwrt.cwahi.net/ ALL FOR THE UNION Rob Girardi has a new book out: The Civil War Art of Keith Rocco. It sells for $25. Gale Pewitt is selling his book St. Albans Raiders for $10. $5 of each purchase will be donated to the SCCWRT Battlefield Preservation Fund. EDITOR’S NOTES Next Meeting of the Roundtable will be January 15, 2010 at Fairview Village. FUTURE MEETINGS 2010 (3rd Friday of the month) Jan- Rob Girardi/A. Lincoln’s Dr. Dog Feb- Jim Cunningham/Nation vs. State Mar- Ray Glick Civil War Horses and Mules THE SALT CREEK CIVIL WAR ROUNDTABLE www.saltcreekcwrt.org President: Jan Rasmussen Vice-President: Robert Girardi Treasurer: Paula Walker Secretary: Rick Zarr Historian: Cindy Intravartolo Meeting Liaison: Mary Lord Newsletter Editor; Jennie Warner, jenniewarner@gmail.com Newsletter Staff: Rick Benson, Rick Zarr, Len Overcash Sr.