Recap: Loudoun County Civil War Roundtable

Obligatory pre-presentation selfie in the basement of the Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA, Loudoun County Civil War Roundtable, 3/10/2020

This past March 10, in a time I now refer to as “Fo da quo,” (before the quarantine), I delivered a program on McDowell’s Plan for First Bull Run to the good folks at the Loudoun County Civil War Round Table in the Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, VA. I’ve spoken there before, but despite that still managed to draw about 30 folks out amidst the threat of the Coronavirus. I saw a few familiar faces, and thanks to them for coming out.

I’d like to say things went great, but they did not. With about a half hour to go in my hour long spiel I got the signal to finish things up in 15 minutes. Apparently the library wanted us out. No one to blame, but I rushed through to finish, and ended up leaving a lot of stuff out (the presentation is a process – it requires a lot of back story and some get-your-mind-righting). I stuck around on the porch outside the library as long as anyone had questions, which turned out to be about 20 minutes of good talk. The good news is that I think I’ve been able to streamline the presentation as a result. I’m tentatively giving the presentation in Charleston, SC in May at the Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table. And again in January 2021 in Frederick, MD at the Frederick Civil War Round Table.

Thanks to the LCCWRT for having me. And thanks, too, for this:

Helpful hints in the restroom at the Thomas Balch Library..

Leesburg Sojourn

This past March 10, in a time I now refer to as “Fo da quo,” (before the quarantine), I delivered a program on McDowell’s Plan for First Bull Run to the good folks at the Loudoun County Civil War Round Table in the Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, VA. But before the meeting (7:30 that evening), round table member and friend Craig Swain of To the Sound of the Guns showed me a few of the local Leesburg sites. Click on the thumbnails for great-big-giant images.

First, a few Leesburg dwellings related to Robert E. Lee and the Confederate invasion of Maryland in the summer of 1862.

John Janey house. One time VA Governor, nearly Vice President (and President), secession convention supervisor. R. E. Lee visited here after Chantilly/Ox Hill prior to Antietam.

Glenfiddich. R. E. Lee stayed here and met with Jackson & Longstreet inside to plan Maryland Campaign. Currently for sale.

Home of the physician who tended to R. E. Lee’s injured hands. Across the street from Glenfiddich. Also for sale.

Detail of physician’s house for sale sign. I guess this means it’s haunted!

Next stop was White’s Ford across the Potomac, used by the Army of Northern Virginia prior to Antietam and after Early’s raid on Washington.

Wayside at White’s Ford (text by Craig Swain)

Wayside at White’s Ford (text by Craig Swain)

Wayside at White’s Ford (text by Craig Swain)

Wayside at White’s Ford (text by Craig Swain)

Potomac River near White’s Ford. View to Maryland and C&O Canal.

Original road trace to White’s Ford.

White’s Ford view to Maryland. Much of the Army of Northern Virginia crossed here to advance into Maryland in 1862.

White’s Ford view to Maryland. Much of the Army of Northern Virginia crossed here to advance into Maryland in 1862.

White’s Ford view to Maryland. Much of the Army of Northern Virginia crossed here to advance into Maryland in 1862.

Craig Swain and me at White’s Ford.

White’s Ford view to Maryland. Much of the Army of Northern Virginia crossed here to advance into Maryland in 1862.

Our last stop was Union Cemetery in town.

Grave of and memorial to Elijah White, owner of White’s Ford and White’s Ferry, commander of “White’s Comanches,” Union Cemetery, Leesburg.

Memorial to Elijah White, owner of White’s Ford and White’s Ferry, commander of “White’s Comanches,” Union Cemetery, Leesburg.

Memorial to Elijah White, owner of White’s Ford and White’s Ferry, commander of “White’s Comanches,” Union Cemetery, Leesburg. “A Good Soldier of Jesus Christ.”

Grave of Elijah White, owner of White’s Ford and White’s Ferry, commander of “White’s Comanches.” Union Cemetery, Leesburg.

Grave of Elijah White, owner of White’s Ford and White’s Ferry, commander of “White’s Comanches.” Union Cemetery, Leesburg.

Cenotaph to engineer Morris Wampler, who designed Fort (Battery) Wagner, Charleston, SC, and was mortally wounded there. Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

Memorial to unknown Confederate dead, Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

Memorial to unknown Confederate dead, Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

Memorial to unknown Confederate dead, Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

Memorial to unknown Confederate dead, Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

Memorial to unknown Confederate dead, Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

A good day. A summary of the meeting that night to follow.

Recaps: Peninsula, OH, and Carnegie, PA

A little housekeeping. Way back in April, 2019 (on the 25th and 27th), I gave versions of my Future of Civil War History presentation at the GAR Hall in Peninsula, OH, and at the Carnegie Library (which houses its own GAR hall) in Carnegie, PA. The former was a solo gig, while the latter was an all day seminar with friends Rich Condon of Civil War Pittsburgh and Craig Swain of To the Sound of the Guns.

I thought this presentation was a “one off” when I first gave it back in 2013, but I’ve been asked to do it three times since then. It’s changed over the years, but the thrust remains the same. I think both April presentations were pretty well received. The crowds were good at both events, about 45-50 folks at each. Below are a few photos from each venue.

Peninsula, OH GAR Hall (a restored, self contained building with some original documents and photos on display):

The Venue

The audience

The Post 272 Charter

The Charter

The Man for Whom the Post was Named, George Waterman

The Man for Whom the Post was Named, George Waterman

Carnegie Free Library, Carnegie, PA (home of he fully restored Espy GAR post);

The Audience

Yours Truly

A Blurry Craig Swain

Rich Condon in Focus

Post Seminar Decompression

Another Upcoming Talk

I’ll be speaking to the Loudoun County Civil War Roundtable on March 10, 2020. The subject will be on Irvin McDowell’s plan for First Bull Run. I’ve presented to this fine group before, back in 2011. They meet in Leesburg, Va., in the Thomas Balch Library. Hope to see you there!

Upcoming Talk

On May 11, 2020, I’ll be giving a talk on First Bull Run in Charleston, SC, where the Ft. Sumter Civil War Round Table meets at The Citadel. Barring any other invite prior to that, this will mark the farthest I’ve travelled to speak, and my first sojourn to do so in the heart of Secessia, a state which partners with Virginia to bracket the Vale of Humility which is North Carolina. It should be a fun trip and I’m really looking forward to it. More as the date approaches.

A Hot Time on Anniversary Weekend, July 20-21, 2019

This past anniversary of the First Battle of Bull Run was spent by me, for the first time, in Manassas. I was booked for two talks on Saturday and a bus tour on Sunday, the actual anniversary of the battle which, as you know, was fought on a Sunday. I’ve never really felt the attraction of anniversaries like some, maybe most, of you do – the earth just happens to be in a very similar position to one star in a vast, endless sea of stars as on the day of the actual event. I know, I have no soul. But the fact that this anniversary fell on a Sunday seemed to be a big deal, and lots of activities were planned by the NPS for the day. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans.

Saturday started off hot and sultry, and the weekend kept that up through the end. My morning talk, for the Prince William County Historic Preservation Division (PWC), was scheduled for a tent outside historic Ben Lomond south of the battlefield, along the trace of the historic farm road that led from Manassas Junction to Liberia, past Ben Lomond, past Portici, to the Henry House and the Warrenton Turnpike. I’ll have more on Ben Lomond in a future post. Luckily for me and the 25 or so folks who attended, my talk on McDowell’s plan for the battle was moved indoors (it was 102 degrees Fahrenheit outside). The talk went well though I had to rush through the conclusion due to time constraints. Nobody threw anything at me. It was great to see some old friends and folks who have attended some of the Bull Runnings Battlefield Tours. I appreciate your continued support. Thanks to Rob Orrison and Kevin Pawlak for the invite. I completely forgot to take my usual pre-talk selfie, but here’s one courtesy of Rob.

Me talking about Johnny Caspar from Miller’s Crossing, who plays an integral role in explaining McDowell’s Plan.

After my talk, I was taken to lunch by Kim Brace of the Manassas Battlefield Trust (MBT), which was hosting my talk at the Manassas National Battlefield Park (MNBP) visitor’s center later that evening. After a change of clothes, I repaired to The Winery at Bull Run for a pleasant, if muggy, sit-down on the patio with Kim and my good friends Dan and Kathy Carson.

After yet another change of clothing, it was off to the visitor’s center, where the MBT had invited me to talk about Peter Conover Hains and his 1911 account of his experiences at First Bull Run. I saw a few familiar faces in the crowd, including former U. S. Army historian Kim Holien and MNBP museum specialist (and long-time Friend of Bull Runnings) Jim Burgess, who joined me for dinner afterwards. Again there were about 25 people in attendance. Not too many glitches, and I think everyone enjoyed the presentation and learned something (I know I did). Thanks to MBT and Christy Forman for the invite.

Pre-talk selfie. Sorry to those folks blocked by my big giant head.

Bright and early Sunday morning it was back to Ben Lomond for a bus tour of sites on and off the battlefield. This was a fundraiser for PWC and was led by Kevin Pawlak of that group and myself. We had ten people, including Civil War TImes Magazine’s editor Dana Shoaf and his media guru Melissa Wynn, and old friend and Licensed Antietam Battlefield Guide Jim Rosebrock (look, if you’re gonna hire someone to guide you about Antietam, hire an ALBG – it just makes sense). Yes, it was hot on Saturday, but it was hotter on Sunday, as my dusty dashboard attests.

One Hundred and Three Degrees!!!

It was in fact so hot that the NPS cancelled most of the events they had scheduled for the day. But we few, we happy but sweaty few, vowed to endeavor to persevere.

Kevin and I conducted the tour kind of like a sporting event broadcast – at each stop, Kevin laid out the action, rather, the play-by-play, and I provided the color. We had to cut out a couple of stops due to time. I’ll lay out the route of the tour in photos:

First Stop: Old Stone Church in Centreville, where we talked about the Confederate dispositions, the Federal approach, and some after-battle incidents. Kevin Pawlak in dark blue.

Quick stop in Centreville McDonalds to pay respects to the Centreville Six. Someone will do an Abbey Road take on this. But not us.

Blackburn’s Ford

Blackburn’s Ford – View south

Panoramic view south at Blackburn’s Ford

Signal Hill monument

Kim Brace (white beard, red shirt) provided a little more info on E. Porter Alexander

Kevin saying something worthwhile at the Stone Bridge.

Me – in white hat – trying to think of something worthwhile to say at the Stone Bridge. Photo by Rob Orrison.

Group shot at Reynolds’s guns on Matthews Hill. A couple folks did not make the trek from the bus at this stop.

View south from Matthews Hill

Reynolds’s guns (James rifles). There were only six Federal smoothbores, all howitzers, that crossed Bull Run that day. The other 20 were rifles.

Me, on Matthews Hill, pointing. Others, looking. Photo by Rob Orrison.

Dana Shoaf and me, trying to figure out what direction we’re facing, on Chinn Ridge, our final stop.

Kevin Pawlak wrapping things up on Chinn Ridge.

Afterwards, upstairs at air-conditioned Ben Lomond, Dana and Melissa introduced me to Facebook Live. Enjoy Dana, Rob, Kevin, and me in all our technicolor glory.

Behind the scenes: Videographer Melissa Winn, Dana Shoaf, and Kevin Pawlak

Afterwards, Rob, Kevin, and I enjoyed a couple of cold ones at the 2 Silos Brewing Co. in Manassas. A cool place, check it out.

Rob Orrison and Kevin Pawlak show the way to the 2 Silos complex.

Update on Coming Attractions

My apologies. I know last week I mentioned I had a lot to post “in the days ahead.” Well, those days have yet to arrive. I have two talks and one tour to recap, dozens of letters to transcribe, and this stack of books to preview:

As always, though, life has a nasty habit of getting in the way of things. When I get my head above water, I’ll write up my recaps and previews, and will be most likely transcribing when I shuffle of this mortal coil, but right now I’ll take just a moment to thank a few people who helped make this a great May:

• Rebecca Urban of the Peninsula Foundation, who invited me to speak at the GAR hall in Peninsula, OH. A cool joint, you should visit there for a talk or an evening of “roots” music.
• Diane Klinefelter who invited me to speak at the Carnegie Library and Music Hall’s Civil War Symposium in Carnegie, PA. Also thank you my fellow presenters, Craig Swain and Rich Condon.
• My good friends in the all-star guide lineup for the 4th Bull Runnings Battlefield Tour, In the Footsteps of the 69th NYSM – John Hennessy, Joseph Maghe, and Damian Shiels. You went above and beyond. As John said, we were a jam band who never before played together, but we pulled it off! Think Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and, well, me. Also a shout-out to my sister Patrice Smeltzer, who provided significant assistance.
• Also a big thank you to everyone who attended these events. Some of you came from pretty far away (California, in two instances), and took valuable time from your busy schedules. I enjoyed meeting many of you for the first time, and renewing old acquaintances. I hope it was worth your while, and I hope to see you all again sometime soon – perhaps in Manassas for the battle anniversary weekend July 20-21 (two talks on Saturday and a bus tour on Sunday).