From the Brigade Commander ~ March

March ... a time when the first signs of spring appear and, like every other month, a myriad of events and special days, ranging from the zany (National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day) to the patriotic (National Anthem Day) are observed. To either inform you or jog your memory, inside you’ll find the most significant Civil War-related events that took place during March.

Our spring field trip will take interested members and their guests to Richmond, Va. If you missed our January meeting, you can find preliminary details in the March Newsletter on page 5. We’ll be sharing updated details at our March 4 meeting. (And we’ll also email revised (flyers) presented at the March meeting to all members of record.) The deadline to sign up for this trip is March 25, 2025. Sign-up contact information is included in the preliminary itinerary (in the March Newsletter on page 5).

Our March meeting’s guest speaker will offer a topic I hope will be as fascinating as it sounds: The mystery of Robert E. Lee’s Lost Special Order 191. Our speaker brings with him a deep, academic grounding in history and years of personal Civil War research, the latter of which has helped inform his interpretations of existing evidence surrounding the lost order. You’ll find the summary of his talk in the March Newsletter on page 2.

Hope to see you there!

Barry

P.S. For your scheduling purposes, we want to remind you that our April 1 meeting program will be presented by historian and Civil War buff David Walter. His presentation is entitled: “Come on You Wolverines! Gen. George Custer’s War.” No fooling!

March Program Details Announced - Change in Speakers

The loss of Robert E. Lee's Special Orders No. 191 is one of the Civil War’s enduring mysteries. But there is a LOT you have never been told. In this meticulous study, Dr. Alex Rossino presents a bold new interpretation of the evidence surrounding the creation of the orders, their distribution, and their loss outside Frederick, Maryland, in September 1862. Rossino makes extensive use of primary sources to explore these subjects and other important questions related to the orders, including why General Lee thought his army could operate north of the Potomac until winter; why Lee found it necessary to seize the Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry; what Lee hoped to accomplish after capturing Harpers Ferry; where Corporal Barton Mitchell of the 27th Indiana found the Lost Orders; and if D. H. Hill or someone else was to blame for losing the orders. The result is a well-documented reassessment that sheds new light while challenging long-held assumptions.

A resident of western Maryland, Dr. Alex Rossino is an independent historian and author. He earned Master’s and Doctoral degrees in History at Syracuse University before working for nine years as a historian at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Dr. Rossino turned his attention to the American Civil War in 2011 and after several years of research, he produced Six Days in September: A Novel of Lee's Army in Maryland, September 1862. The book proved to be popular among historians and enthusiasts alike, leading to a sequel titled The Guns of September: A Novel of McClellan's Army in Maryland, September 1862, which came out in September 2024. Dr. Rossino also returned to writing history, producing Their Maryland: The Army of Northern Virginia from the Potomac Crossing to Sharpsburg in September 1862 (November 2021) and co-authoring with Gene Thorp The Tale Untwisted: General George B. McClellan, The Maryland Campaign, and the Discovery of Lee's Lost Orders, which came out in January 2023. His most recent history, Calamity at Frederick: Robert E. Lee, Special Orders No. 191, and Confederate Misfortune on the Road to Antietam (October 2023), completed his in-depth study of the Lost Orders saga from the Confederate perspective.

February Meeting Highlights and Photos

Andy Waskie presented a fascinating study of Octavius Valentine Catto a brilliant scholar, professor, Renaissance Man and the highest-ranking Black US Army officer at the time, who was serving in the PA National Guard.

Cato was assassinated a few steps from his South Street home by political opponents of the Black community. It was Election Day 1871, and Catto was protecting the right of African American citizens to vote.

  Waskie was born in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, but noted he has ancestors scattered throughout the local area.

          Waskie was an Associate Professor at Temple University for 20 years, retiring in 2019. He also taught at Rider University, N.J., and Holy Family University in Philadelphia, teaching Civil War history in the Civil War Institute. He now teaches online courses for Camden County College; Manor College; etc.

          Waskie is a Civil War historian, author, and preservationist. He specializes in the life of General George G. Meade, whom he portrays in a Living-History performance.  He is a member of the Union League of Philadelphia, among many other organizations.

As usual we held our monthly preservation book raffle with winners pictured below.

Claire spoke about an upcoming field trip to Richmond VA in June.

Laura spoke about a change in schedule for March - details to be announced shortly.

June Field Trip to Richmond VA

Claire has done it again!

An amazing field trip to Richmond Virginia featuring

• 2 nights in that beautiful city

• the White House of the Confederacy

• American Civil War Museum

• Richmond National Battlefield

  • 13 sites

  • 4 visitor centers

• Hollywood Cemetery

  • grave sites of Pres James Monroe & John Tyler

  • JEB Stuart, Jefferson Davis, and Henry Heth

  • 1869 Pyramid - earliest Confederate monument

  • 18,000 Confederates buried there, including 3,300 exhumed from Gettysburg and reinterred here.

Contact Claire ASAP to reserve your spot.

Additional details below.

Civil War Institute Summer Conference Discount for CWRT Members!

Civil War Institute Summer Conference Discount for CWRT Members!

CLICK HERE FOR SUMMER CONFERENCE DETAILS

  The Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College would like to offer the members of your Civil War Round table or organization a 15% discount to attend the 2025 CWI summer conference, June 13-18.

You can explore further details about our conference on our website, as well as check out our schedule for this year’s event. At CWI, we believe in the mission of CWRTs and we are making this special offer to recognize the efforts of your organization in promoting the study of Civil War history.

  We hope to have the opportunity to work with you to help continue the educational missions of both your Round Table and the Civil War Institute. Please let me know if you have any questions, and we look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

 Thank you!

Details of February Presentation Announced

Andy Waskie “The Story of the Forgotten Hero of Emancipation:  Major Octavius V. Catto”

On Oct. 10, 1871, Octavius Valentine Catto was assassinated a few steps from his South Street home by political opponents of the Black community. It was Election Day, and Catto was protecting the right of African American citizens to vote. Catto was a brilliant scholar, professor, Renaissance Man and the highest-ranking Black US Army officer at the time, who was serving in the PA National Guard. A statue of this great military and emancipation hero now stands on the south side of Philadelphia’s City Hall.

 Short Bio:  CV Anthony (Andy)  Waskie, Ph.D.

  Professor Waskie was born in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and pursued a Languages/History major at Bloomsburg University, studying abroad in Austria, and Germany. He studied Slavic Linguistics in Prague on a Czech government scholarship and received an M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at New York University. He had experience with the State Department, and duty with the U.S. Army as an army linguist. He became a teacher of languages and history at Pennsbury School District, Bucks County, PA. He is a recipient of the Commendation Medal of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

          Waskie was an Associate Professor at Temple University for 20 years, retiring in 2019. He also taught at Rider University, N.J., and Holy Family University in Philadelphia, teaching Civil War history in the Civil War Institute. He now teaches online courses for Camden County College; Manor College; etc.

          Waskie is a Civil War historian, author, and preservationist. He specializes in the life of General George G. Meade, whom he portrays in a Living-History performance.  He is a member of the Union League of Philadelphia; Executive Council of the Civil War History Consortium of Philadelphia; and a co-founder and co-director of the ‘Civil War & Emancipation Studies program’ at Temple University. He has been a Pennsylvania ‘Commonwealth Speaker/Scholar’ from 2006 to 2018. Waskie serves as president of the General Meade Society; Board of the Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery; Historian and Board member of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Civil War Museum & Library; American Legion Post 405 at the Union League; Armed Services Council of the Union League; a founder and officer of the OV Catto Society; and of the ‘Dandy First’; Armory Museum, Drexel University Campus;  and other history related organizations and institutions.

From the Brigade Commander - February 2025

February is an important month in the history of emancipation in the U.S., as it marks the signing of the 13th Amendment, in 1865, and the issuance of a symbolic proclamation and practical step toward ending slavery, which allowed Black Americans to serve in the Union Army. February is also the month that remembers the surrender of Fort Henry, the Battle of Roanoke Island, and the inauguration of Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederacy.

In 1949, President Harry Truman signed a bill establishing National Freedom Day, observed each year on February 1, to commemorate the day Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery. Not surprisingly, February was also selected as Black History Month, established by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1926, and first officially observed by President Gerald Ford, in 1976, as a way to highlight the history, struggles, and accomplishments of African Americans.

Our February speaker will be Dr. Andy Waskie, who returns to the Civil War Round Table of Eastern Pa. stage to introduce a black man who became a Union soldier, emancipation hero and, later, a martyr. Hope you’ll be able to join us.

Barry

January Meeting Highlights and Photos

Ed Root

The January Meeting was highlighted by an unexpected change of speakers due to illness.

Our own Ed Root kept the attendees enthralled with a narrative about the life of General Benjamin Butler.

Butler was best known for his oft criticized command of New Orleans, which earned him the name of “The Beast” among others labels.

Ed described who he was visiting a military museum in New Orleans and got into a conversation with a staff member who said that Butler wasn’t all bad. That set him off on a mission to discover more about this Massachusetts lawyer turned soldier.

General Benjamin Butler

Ed described his quest and delighted us with what he found about this man who joined the war effort early on, but was noted more for the controversies which surrounded him than his military prowess.

We thank ed for his superior job!!

As usual we held our monthly book raffle to benefit our preservation efforts and the winners are depicted below.

From the Brigade Commander - January 2025

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued in January, 1863, was used as a military strategy to weaken the Confederacy by depriving it of slave labor and encouraging enslaved people to join the Union Army. It also added moral force to the Union cause. Inside the January Newsletter, you’ll find more about the forces of war, politics and the military during the Civil War era.

Also in the newsletter, you’ll also find our standard fare of new book releases, statistical highlights from last month’s meeting, an update on Civil War preservation efforts that took place/are taking place in multiple locations around the country, and, of course, information about the speakers and their planned presentation for our January 7th meeting.

According to Merriam-Webster, the first New Year’s resolution was made in 1671. These promises became so commonplace, in fact, that a Boston newspaper, in 1813, reported it believed folks made these promises to make up for having fully satisfied their sins the year before. Here at the Civil War Roundtable of Eastern Pa., we make the same resolution each year: To make a real difference in the fight to preserve battlefield land and the legacy of our nation’s defining conflict and to provide our members and the community at large with opportunities to develop a greater understanding of the Civil War.

Your membership dollars and other financial support and word-of-mouth advertising of our efforts is key—and greatly appreciated. Happy New Year 2025!

BARRY

Details of the January 7th Program Announced

James Lamason and Gerard Myers  present “Into the Vortex of Fire”

On the afternoon of July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pa, the Eleventh New Jersey Volunteer Infantry regiment found itself in a literal vortex of fire.

Come and hear co-authors James (Jim) Lamason and Gerard E. (Gerry) Mayers as they share the hows and whys the Eleventh NJVI found themselves in a key position on the bloody battlefield of Gettysburg.

Speakers:

Jim Lamason- For the last 25 years he has independently studied and researched New Jersey at Gettysburg, especially the 5th , 8th and 11th New Jersey at the battle. .

In addition to the above he is in the process of researching and writing a book on the 12 th New Jersey with Gerard, along with books on the III Corps of the AOP, E Clarke Cline, and the life of Major General G.K. Warren. Also considered the biographer of Robert McAllister and the go to person on the units noted above.

He has contributed in various ways to several of other historical projects including editor and proof reader of a released on Kindle books and in paper back, “Nothing but heros” by Mr. Gerald Mayer , a recently released work “A little hill over yonder” by Mr. Paul Knoke and contributed to Dr David Martins guide book on New Jersey at Gettysburg.

He has also spoken on G.K. Warren and Robert McAllister to several Civil War Round tables and at the Warren statue on Little Round Top to several other Round tables. In addition he has lead volunteer battlefield walks at Gettysburg in the Wheatfield and at the Klingle Farm.

During the 150 Commeration he led the re-dedication of the 5th , 8th and 11th New Jerseys monuments at Gettysburg.

He was also a Trustee for the New Jersey Civil War Heritage Association, and where was also the past president After a 30 year career in information technology, and 22 years with Home Depot, he has retired.

He is married to Mrs Beverly A. Lamason, has two adult children Heather and Steve and his wife Sraci . He resides in Middlesex NJ.

Gerard “Gerry” Mayers has been a life-long Civil War buff but credits both the Ken Burns mini-series The Civil War and the Ted Turner Pictures Gettysburg movie with rekindling his interest. He holds degrees in both English and History (with Honors) from St. John’s University, New York. Active with the Bucks County Civil War Roundtable (Doylestown, Pa.), he is the program chairman for that organization as well as an At-Large Member of its Board of Directors. He is also involved with Civil War reenacting and living history. An alumnus member of the Civil War Heritage Foundation (where he portrayed John W. Fairfax of Lt. General James Longstreet’s staff), he currently belongs to Company C, 44th Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry as a re-enactor. In that organization, he portrays a member of the original Company C of the regiment.

Mayers has previously published an historical fiction novel about the Confederate side of the September 1862 Maryland Campaign, culminating in the horror that was Antietam/Sharpsburg. Titled None But Heroes, the book is presently available on Amazon Kindle. (A companion novel, dealing with the Union side of the same campaign, remains in the works.) This book is his second historical fiction project. In conjunction with Scott Mingus, Sr., he co-authored Erin Go Bragh: Human Interest Stories of the Irish in the American Civil War, 1861-1865.

Mayers’ maternal two times great-grandfather, Patrick Bracken, was a veteran of the Mexican-American War; his maternal great-grandfather James T. Bracken served with Battery E, First N. J. Light Artillery; and his maternal great-granduncle John G. Bracken served with the Twenty-first Regiment, N. J. Volunteer Infantry,