The Outpost The Newsletter of the Salt Creek Civil War Roundtable Vol. XLVI No. 2 October 2008 414th Regular Meeting DATE: 3rd October 2008 PLACE: Fairview Village, 200 Village Dr., Downers Grove, Il. TIME: 8:00 PM SPEAKER: Tony Cichantk TOPIC: Civilians of Gettysburg If someone mentions “Gettysburg”, to many of us it brings to mind the names Lee, Meade, Longstreet, Pickett, and Hancock. We remember the Peach Orchard, Little Round Top, Cemetery Hill, The Angle, and other places of horrendous carnage. Some of us may even recall the names of individual soldiers, what they did, and with which regiments they fought. But, with a few exceptions, who remembers any of the nearly 2,400 civilians who awoke one July morning to find the bloodiest battle of the war on their doorstep? This month, we will attempt to get to know some of the residents of Gettysburg; what they experienced; what they felt and what they were left with when the armies moved on. Tony Cichantk received his B.A. from Roosevelt University. He is a past- president of the SCCWRT and a member of The Friends of Gettysburg Foundation. This is his second presentation to the Roundtable. The Salt Creek Civil War Roundtable takes great pleasure in welcoming back this valued member and strong leader who has been absent from our fellowship for far too long! SEPTEMBER MEETING BY RICK BENSON On September 5, 2008, Maryann Oblak presented, “Colonel Arthur James Fremantle and his Three Months in the Confederacy.” Maryann is a long time student of the Civil War, a member of the SCCWRT and, in the past, was a member of two Ohio-based CWRT’s. Arthur James Lyon Fremantle was born in November, 1835 to an aristocratic family. He was educated at Sandhurst, the British Military Academy, and graduated with a commission as Ensign in the 17th Regiment, Surrey Light Infantry, in late 1852 at the age of 17. His progression through the ranks was steady and his most important posting, for our purposes, was to a Junior Staff position at Gibraltar between November 1860 and October 1862. He was eventually promoted Full General in 1896 and died on September 25, 1901 at the age of 65. (107 years ago tomorrow as I write this!-Ed.). He is buried in Wooddale Cemetery, Brighton, England. It was during his Gibraltar days that he met Confederate Captain and commerce raider Raphael Semmes. He was captivated by Semmes’ stories about the CSA and had the natural “Victorian Age” sympathy for the underdog. (Except, I suspect, in “The Empire”-Ed.) At the end of his Gibraltar service, he applied for a leave of absence and it was granted. He first went to Mexico to avoid violating the blockade and traveled to Brownsville, Texas where he explained to some rather puzzled, but polite, Confederate authorities, that he was an unofficial observer from the English Army. He apparently held to this as no official report from Fremantle to the British War Department has ever been found. On this basis he was allowed to proceed on his travels. He traveled throughout the Confederacy to Tennessee, Charleston, SC; Richmond, VA.; Gettysburg, and, finally, NYC, from which he returned home in July, 1863. Fortunately for us Fremantle kept a diary during his sojourn and the great body of Maryann’s talk consisted of excerpts from it. A selection of these follows April 2, 1863-His first impression of the Southern Army was that it was “motley”. The soldiers had ancient trousers, flannel shirts, jack boots with large spurs, high black hats, and no real standard uniform. Additionally, the clothing contained every shade of grey and brown imaginable. At that time, there was a general feeling in the South that the Confederacy needed foreign intervention to survive. Therefore, any foreign visitors were to be entertained and serenaded to receive the best possible impression of the Confederacy and its citizens. le. At that time, there was a general feeling in the South that the Confederacy needed foreign intervention to survive. Therefore, any foreign visitors were to be entertained and serenaded to receive the best possible impression of the Confederacy and its citizens. April 25th-Before the war San Antonio was very prosperous. Now it is in bad shape. No men, as they are in the military. Effect of inflation-Coffee selling at $7.00 a pound. He sells his old boots for $32 and 5 old shirts for $42. April 30th-Comment on Texas railroads. The engineer gave a couple of “snorts” on the engine, a yell from the conductors, and a tremendous jerk of the cars. You had better hang on. The railroads in 1863 were more perilous than the battlefields. They were laid out poorly and had no maintenance supplies. Southern RR presidents met and wanted 49,500 tons of rails made available by the government. However, the South had only 20,000 tons of mill capacity in total and most of that used for cannons. May 18-At Jackson, Miss. -All military stores burned to deny Grant. Amongst these were pikes. “Stonewall”, in 1862 had advocated them to smash enemy columns like an armadillo. Lee had ordered 1000. Jackson population suspicious of Fremantle’s commercially produced clothes. Almost hanged as a spy, but talks them out of it. June 9-Meets Beauregard, whose hair is now grey due to inability to get toiletry articles through blockade. June 17-Richmond Va.-meets Judah Benjamin and Jefferson Davis. Meets Sec. of War Seddon the next day and gets letter of introduction to Longstreet. June 27-Accompanies Longstreet towards Gettysburg. July 3-Hears Alexander’s cannonade but only sees Pickett’s men coming back in retreat. July 9-passes through lines and goes to New York City where he catches ship for home. Prophesies Confederacy will win the war. The SCCWRT thanks Maryann Oblak for her highly entertaining account of Col. Fremantle and his Civil War adventure. PRESERVATION REPORT BY LEN OVERCASH, SR. TN.-General Motors is in breach of contract “or at least a breach of concept,” says a city planning commission member unhappy with the corporation’s plans to sell more than 500 acres including historic Rippavilla Plantation. Gwynne Evans last week cast the lone opposing vote at a city Planning Commission meeting that approved an annexation request from land buyer SLF Acquisitions. Its hope is to close by the end of the year and build a mix of commercial and residential properties outside nearly 100 acres set aside as a buffer for Rippavilla. Source: Civil War Interactive ((www.civilwarinteractive.com) “The Daily Newspaper of the Civil War” ALL FOR THE UNION Our trip to the Civil War Museum in Kenosha is on for Oct.11. It will start at 10 AM with our tour guide Lance Herdegen. Fee is $15 sent to Jan Rasmussen by 10/8. You must provide your own transportation. For directions and further details see enclosure. Our table at the Du Page Show was a roaring success! Thanks to Roger Bohn, Jan Rasmussen, Cindy Intravartolo, Barney Bucholz, Rick Zarr, Mike Miller, Dan McCarthy, Maryann Oblak, and Gil Mitchel for helping to set up and person the table through the long day. Extra- Special Thanks to Gale Pewitt for providing our most successful item: His book, The Saint Albans Raiders. We sold all 10! (It’s a good’un!-Ed.). Pick up your own copy ASAP!! The Salt Creek Civil War Roundtable extends a Hearty Welcome to new members Richard Niersbach of Downers Grove and Kevin Barry of Darien. Thanks for joining us pards! We’re sure you’ll enjoy the experience! EDITOR”S NOTES Any opinions or comments expressed in this newsletter are strictly those of the editor and do not necessarily reflect those of the Salt Creek Civil War Roundtable, its Board of Directors or General Membership. The next board meeting will be at Fairview Village on 9/30/08 at 7:30 PM. The usual room. ?’s Call Jan. CALENDAR OF EVENTS November 7-Annual Battlefield Preservation Auction at Glen Ellyn Historical Society. Details to follow 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; Dan McCarthy, macarthaig@aol.com Newsletter Staff: Rick Benson, Rick Zarr, Len Overcash Sr.