The Outpost THE NEWSLETTER OF THE SALT CREEK CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE VOLUME XLIV No. 9 May 2007 401st Regular Meeting DATE: 4th May 2007 PLACE: Fairview Village, 200 Village Dr., Downers Grove, Il. TIME: 8:00 P.M. SPEAKER: Many and Various TOPIC: “What Are You Reading? : A General Book Discussion” The simple book, a few pounds of paper, cloth, glue, and print transformed into a magical vehicle that educates, enlightens, enthralls, and entertains. The types of books we read and love say a lot about the kind of person we are. A high school principal of my acquaintance says the one question he always asks when he is conducting a job interview is always, ”What books are you reading?” Not only the answer, but the speed of the answer, tells him a lot of what he needs to know about the candidate. Despite the development of movies, television, the Internet, etc. interest in the Civil War has always been book driven. Some people say the Ken Burns series initially spurred their interest but it has been sustained by the vast printed literature available. Generation succeeds generation and the river keeps flowing. Authors like Freeman, Catton, Nevins, Foote, Williams, Horn, and Dowdey passed the torch to McDonough, Connolly, Robertson, Davis, Sword, Tanner, and Bearss. In recent years they have spawned Trudeau, Rhea, Cozzens, Sears, Woodworth, Pfanz, McPherson, and others too numerous to mention. I would venture to say that a new generation will be filling their shoes in a few years. All of which bodes well for us. Please join us as we celebrate the book and tell us what you have enjoyed (or suffered!) recently. Everyone desiring to speak will be heard and lively discussion will ensue, the very essence of a roundtable! 1 . APRIL MEETING BY CINDY INTRAVARTOLO On March 30, Gordon Ramsey presented, “Ballooning in the Civil War: How the Air Force Really Began” before 65 members and guests at the 400th regular meeting of the Salt Creek Civil War Roundtable. Ramsey discussed the history of balloons, how balloons worked, their military use and what lessons were learned from the Civil War that were carried forward into future wars. The history of balloons dates back as far as250 B.C. when Archimedes discovered the principles of buoyancy and wondered if it would be possible to make things float on the air. Roger Bacon, and others in the 13th century, proposed hypothetical flying machines. Ramsey noted, however, that it wasn’t until 1783 that the first balloon actually took flight,if only for ten minutes, due to the efforts of two brothers, Etienne and Joseph Montgolfier, in France. From those first efforts a balloon was sent up with a sheep, rooster, and duck as passengers and soon the first manned flight was performed by DeRozier, in France on October 15, 1783. There are many advantages to using balloons, Ramsey said. They have a long-range view for example. At 100 feet in the air; the visibility would be about 22 miles. They couldn’t be reached by gunfire. They could travel great distances and were literally an all- terrain vehicle. Disadvantages were that they were susceptible to the weather and difficult to guide. In addition, balloons required a lot of gas to operate and transporting them by ground was difficult. Gordon stated that the success of the flight was dependent on the country, the proximity of the enemy, and the weather conditions. Another factor in the use of balloons is that it took a crew of fifty to manage one balloon. During the Civil War, Thaddeus S. Lowe, a well-known balloonist, built the first balloon, Enterprise that was used to send the first telegraph message, in June 1861, to Lincoln. In August, Lowe did the first reconnaissance mission near Washington D.C.. He became a significant leader in the use of balloons, developing an efficient system to power, and transport, them. He was an expert at navigation techniques. His balloon corps consisted of six balloons of varying sizes. Since the balloons were not owned or operated by the military, a team of civilians was needed to navigate them. Smaller balloons were much more useful, especially in winter, because they were easier to fill up and transport. They were used primarily for observation as well as communication. Ramsey noted that balloons led to the first military blackout. When General Beauregard noticed that there were balloons spying on his troops, he ordered all campfires put out. Lowe was very successful in his reconnaissance and observations during the war. Ramsey stated that Lowe became the eyes and ears for the Army of the Potomac; he functioned as the “cavalry” in the air. Due to the 2 proposed restrictions, put on the Balloon Corps by Congress, Lowe resigned his position on April 12, 1863. The last observation by Lowe was at Fredericksburg in December 1862. After the summer of 1863 balloons were no longer used during the war. In conclusion, it was noted that ballooning during the Civil War was a mixture of successes and failures. What was learned was the advantages of air reconnaissance and air communications and new ideas of what could happen if you used the air as a weapon. Today’s Air Force had its beginnings in the Civil War balloon corps. The SCCWRT wishes to thank Dr. Gordon Ramsey for a very interesting discussion of one of the Civil War “firsts”. This was the first presentation on the role of the aeronauts in Salt Creek history. Following the meeting everyone enjoyed cake and coffee served by Mary Lord, Evelyn Wilson, and Paula Walker. The meeting was attended by ten past presidents including: N.P. (Bob) Luginbill (65-6), Don Sikorski (67-69), Gale Pewitt (74-76), Kurt Carlson (8587), Dan McCarthy (89-91), Roger Bohn (94-5), Cindy Intravartolo (97), Don Sender (98), Janet Linhart (99-00), Brian Ruxton (01-02), and current president Rick Zarr (04-07). We received well wishes from our founder, Marilyn Steele, and past president, Kim Foster (96), who could not attend. All in attendance received a commemorative certificate marking the 400th meeting designed by Roger Bohn. (400 meetings and 45 years. How many organizations of this kind have compiled that kind of record? Makes one proud to be a Civil Warrior! May we have as many more-! Ed.) PRESERVATION REPORT BY LEN OVERCASH SR MURPHYSBORO, IL.-A popular museum is getting cleaned up as part of a nationwide program. Volunteers and members of a Civil War preservation group are touching up exhibits-painting and trying to restore the General John A. Logan building. This restoration project is part of Park Day, a nationwide effort to preserve and clean up U.S. battlefields, museums, and cemeteries dedicated to the Civil War. GETTYSBURG, PA-A few years ago, the park began cutting trees that weren’t around in 1863 to make the battlefield look more like it did when fighting took place. Work is temporarily stopped because of weather but, when finished, visitors will have a view more like what the soldiers saw during the battle. Battlefield rehabilitation means taking down trees, putting up fences, and planting orchards to show visitors what kind of terrain soldiers were dealing with during the three-day July battle. Source: Civil War Interactive (www.civilwarinteractive.com) “The Daily Newspaper of the Civil War AL-The Civil War Preservation Trust has underscored the seriousness of Fort Morgan’s decline by again listing it on the registry of the country’s 10 Most Endangered Civil War Sites Source: Civil War Preservation Trust 3 ALL FOR THE UNION The SCCWRT has been offered participation in a two-day excursion to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Springfield from Fancy Free Holidays. Departure would be 6/7/07. Interested? Contact Mary Lord Phone: 630-769-6182. The DuPage County Civil War Show was April 21 at The DuPage Co. Fairgrounds. Thanks to Cindy Intravartolo, Jan Rasmussen, Cindy Heckler, Paula Walker, Barney Bucholz, Gil Mitchel, Rick Zarr, and Dan McCarthy for staffing the table. Roger Bohn and Jan did a great job in setting up! We are working with Civil War Historian magazine to sell subscriptions. For each regular subscription of $28.95 the SCCWRT will receive $14.50 for a new subscription or $5.00 renewal. Proceeds to go to battlefield preservation. Call Rick Zarr at 708-5972780 with questions. Forms will be at the meeting. Welcome New Members: Alan & Margie Busic, Timothy Atchinson, John Flynn, Jane Munsie, and Mike Walsh. Also “lost” Members: Kevin Naughton & Gerald Gall. We will drink from the same canteen, pards! (Not literally!) EDITOR’S NOTES The next board meeting will be held at the home of Mary Lord, 200 Village Dr., Apt. 341, Downers Grove, Illinois at 7:30 P.M., 5/22/07. Phone No. 630-769-6182. CALENDAR OF EVENTS June 1-Annual Banquet at Lisle Hilton- Patrick Brennan on the Battle of Nashville September 7-Marshall Krolick-Council of War, July 2, 1863 October 5-Paula Walker-Major General Gouverneur Kemble Warren and the Battle of Five Forks November 2-Annual Battlefield Preservation Auction at the DuPage Co. Historical Society. Dec. 7-Roger E. Bohn-Anecdotes and Adventures of the Civil War Blockade. January 4, 2008: Robert I. Girardi-TBA February 1-Bjorn Skaptason-Shiloh March 7-Eric Girardi-69th New York State Volunteers of the Irish Brigade April 4-TBA May 2-TBA June 20-Annual Banquet-Cricket Bauer Pohanka-TBA September 5-TBA October 3-TBA (Plenty of spots left for those who want to get in on the fun! -Ed.) The Salt Creek Civil War Roundtable www.saltcreekcwrt.org. President: Rick Zarr Vice-President: Gil Mitchell Treasurer: Brenda Grazis Secretary: Jan Rasmussen Historian: Cindy Intravartolo Meeting Liaison: Mary Lord Newsletter Editor: Dan McCarthy, 4358 Lawn Ave., Western Springs, IL,60558. 708-246-7873, macarthaig@aol.com Newsletter Staff: Cindy Intravartolo, Len Overcash Sr., Jan Rasmussen 4