The Camp Griffin Gazette News and Information from the Green Mountain Civil War Round Table

Vol. XXIV, No. 2 – February 2017

Publicity/Founding Member: Jack Anderson Treasurer: Gail Blake -

jwahist@comcast.net auntis@comcast.net

Program Committee: Peter Sinclair – Peter.R.Sinclair@Dartmouth.Edu ; Gail Blake – auntis@comcast.net ; John Mudge: Durandpress@aol.com;

Newsletter Editor:: Ginny Gage - lewandginny1863@comcast.net - Video Maven : Alan Cheever – URFINE@aol.com

Our Web Site: http://www.vermontcivilwar.org/gmcwrt/index.html

AND DON’T FORGET: WE’RE ON FACEBOOK!

February 2017 Camp Griffin Gazette Page 1

“ZOUAVES: AMERICA’S

FORGOTTEN SOLDIERS ”

PATRICK SCHROEDER

SATURDAY, FEB. 11, 2017

BUGBEE SENIOR CENTER

WHITE RIVER JCT., VT

12-12:15 Social Hour

12:15 Buffet Dinner 12:45 Business Meeting

1:00 Program, followed by discussion and book raffle Adjournment

Guaranteed dinner reservations must be made by 12 Noon, Feb. 10. Cost per person for the meal is $12.00. For reservations please contact Gail Blake at auntis@comcast.net or 802-296-2919. Cost for the meeting only for members is $2.00, and for non-members $5.00. PLEASE LET GINNY OR GAIL KNOW IF YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO BRING DESSERT. EITHER E-MAIL OR CALL. GAIL: 802-296-2919 – GINNY: 603-542-4664

Thank you to Ruth Perrinez, Joan Tomasi, Bill Estabrook and Alice Evans for bringing desserts for our January meeting.

MENU Soft Rolls w/Butter Mixed Baby Greens w/Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette Baked Beans Macaroni & Cheese Pulled Pork BBQ Sauce Dessert

PATRICK SCHROEDER

Patrick Schroeder was born January 1, 1968 at Fort Belvoir, VA, was raised in Utica, NY, and attended Stuarts Draft High School in Augusta County, VA. In the spring of 1990, he graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Historical Park Administration from Shepherd College, Shepherdstown, WV. He has a M.A. in Civil War History from Virginia Tech. From the summer of 1986-1993, Patrick worked as a seasonal living history interpreter at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. In 1993, he wrote Thirty Myths About Lee’s Surrender; The Confederate Cemetery at Appomattox; Recollections and Reminiscences of Old Appomattox; Images of America; Appomattox County; Tar Heels; Sailor’s Creek; General Custis Lee Captured with Controversy; Civil War Soldier Life; In Camp and Battle; A Duryee Zouave; We Came To Fight: A History of the 5th NY Veteran Vol. Inf., Duryee’s Zouaves; Campaigns of the 146th Regiment New York State Volunteers; Pennsylvania Bucktails; The Bloody 85th; The Life of General Ely S.

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Parker; Least Grand Sachem of the Iroquois and Grant’s Military Secretary; Appomattox County; and With the 11th New York Fire Zouaves: In Camp, Battle and Prison. Patrick resides in Lynchburg, VA, and has worked as an independent researcher, author, historian, and tour guide. He has served as the Historian at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park since 2002. In an effort to protect sites relevant to the Appomattox Campaign, Patrick has set up the “Appomattox Fund” with the Civil War Trust, to save land important to the climatic events of April 1865. (Patrick spoke at our Round Table back in January 2016 on “Myths About Lee’s Surrender.”)

2017 Program Schedule March 11: Robert Grandchamp April 11: Chris Army May: Christine Smith - Womens’ Relief Corps. June: Tom Ledoux – Nurses from Vermont September 12: Ed Chamberlain October 10: Hunter Lesser Other Round Table Meetings and Happenings

Feb. 9 - 5:00-7:00 - $5.00 cover charge Harriet Beecher Stowe: Outspoken Advocate Venue: Brunswick Inn on Park Row, Brunswick, ME– Happy Hour series. Speaker: Cathi Belcher, Stowe House Guide In a day and age when it’s more important than ever for people to speak their minds and stand up for what they believe in, there is a historical and inspirational role model we can still look up to: Harriet Beecher Stowe. Stowe House Guide Cathi Belcher shares Harriet’s outspoken stances on slavery, women’s rights, education, and more. Featured treasures: Newly acquired Stowe House scrapbook. Check PHS website for additional details: http://pejepscothistorical.org/events Feb. 17 – CWRT of NH – 7:15 P.M. – Epping Town Hall, Epping, NH – “Gettysburg 1938: The Last Reunion of the Blue & Gray” (special video program).

WORLD WAR I GROUP

This group meets monthly on the 4th Monday of the month at 1 p.m. in the Café next to the Hotel Coolidge. If you want to come or want more information, contact Peter Sinclair [802-584-3280] or David Curtin [802-633-2536].

Welcome New Member Ralph Eddy!

William Wallace “Willie” Lincoln, the

President’s third son, died on February 20, 1862 at the age of 11.

Treasurers Report Gail Blake

Starting Balance: $2271.55 Expenses: January Speaker expenses: $26 (meal, maple syrup) Maple Street Catering: $255 (meal, tax, delivery, gratuity) Deposit: $384 (meals, dues, raffle, donations) Petty Cash: $150 Balance: $2524.55

Round Table Trip May 18-22, 2017

JEB STUART; THE IMMORTAL CONFEDERATE CAVALIER; AND HIS INFAMOUS RIDE TO

GETTYSBURG. THE WHERE’S, THE WHY’S, AND THE WHO’S

Please join us as we follow the path of JEB Stuart and his cavalry along their 1863 journey to Gettysburg. Chris Army, Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg will provide us with an in-depth look at this controversial campaign and how it influenced the outcome of those three pivotal days in July 1863. We plan to visit Brandy Station Battlefield, Middleburg, Aldie, Westminster, Hanover, Gettysburg, The National Museum of Civil War Medicine, and other sites along the way. Our base of operations will be the Country Inn and Suites in Frederick MD. We have booked a 56 passenger Premier Coach and Bob Spaulding has been duly noted as our preferred driver. It seems the Frederick Keys (the Carolina League affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles) will be in town during our stay, so if there is sufficient interest I will be happy to plan an optional evening out at the ballpark. Pricing has not been set as I am awaiting further details, but as always a deposit of $75 per person will save you a seat! The larger our group, the lower the cost, so please share with anyone that might be interested! Questions? Call 802-296-2919 or email me at auntis@comcast.net

NOTES FROM OUR JANUARY MEETING

We had a total of 35 people attend our last meeting, 32 for lunch. It was so nice to see some of our members who haven’t been able to attend meetings in many months. Rolf Diamant gave a great presentation of his new research on “The Civil War Legacy of National Parks.’ After his presentation we spent a half hour asking him questions, and he was able to answer all of them, no matter what the topic! Raffle winners were Peter Sinclair, Bob Coburn, Ralph Eddy (our new member), Ruth Perrinez, Brian Smith, Sue Cutting, Jeanette Cook, and Alice Evans. (Note: I’m still looking for someone to take minutes of our meetings! Please let Ginny know if you’d like to help.)

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From the Minutes of the Vermont in the Civil War Heritage Trail Organizational Brainstorming Meeting

January 21, 2017 Rokeby Museum

Welcome and Introductions The group was welcomed by Jane Williamson of the Rokeby Museum and Terry Richards of the General Stannard House Committee. Each delegate introduced themselves and stated their affiliation. Purpose of the Meeting The purpose is to see what interest and support there may be for a Civil War Heritage Trail which would run the length of the Route 7 corridor. Howard Coffin gave an outline of potential sites along the proposed trail. He included sites from Bennington to Swanton. He stated that this route is “rich with Civil War history”. Liam McKone added information on the Fenian Raids. Terry Richards outlined the proposal. He suggested that with a little advertising and a small sum of money the Heritage Trail could unite all of our small sites into a larger picture of the Civil War and Vermont’s role in the war. Each site along the trail had some significance to the Civil War. The creation of the trail would offer continuity and consistency to the promotion of the sites. Introduction of “Deliverables” Bill Kaigle of the General Stannard House Committee offered an explanation of the potential promotional materials that could be used for the Heritage Trail. A handout outlined the promotional materials (brochures, signs, window stickers, etc) and the estimated costs of these materials. Discussion of the Proposals Bullet Points of ideas generated through group discussion: *The Vermont Department of Tourism will be included with the promotion of the Vermont in the Civil War Heritage Trail. *Our promotional materials should include forms of social media such as FaceBook. *Vermont Tourism could be a place to go as an umbrella organization. *A downloadable app of the trail or a mobile website could be used. In St. Albans high school students designed a mobile website for a walking tour. Mobile website would cost roughly $100.00 for the domain address. *Social media offers additional appeal to younger users. *Geocaching was suggested. *Mayor Bill Benton of Vergennes suggested that we could utilize the collective political influence to help promote the project. *Alex Lehning of St. Albans asked what the scope of the project maybe? Do we organize and then hand the project over to the state or do we utilize a non-profit (or form our own non-profit) and keep control of the project? *It was suggested to “start small” and then build our project.

*Howard Coffin suggested that Governor Phil Scott has an interest in history and that he could be approached with the project idea. Expenses and Time Line Bill explained the preliminary expenses and proposed that we have a soft launch of the program by this summer tourist season. Further Discussion of the Proposals *What would be a fair way of financing the trail? *Should the membership be on a sliding scale? *A weekend should be identified as a day to roll out the trail with all of the sites. The media could be contacted. *The kick off weekend could include a bus tour of the trail. *Eventually a guided bus tour could be initiated for the trail. *Brochure listings could include the sites that are important, accessible and/or may offer staffing. A separate more complete listing of trail sites could appear on the Trail’s website. Next Planning Session Bill suggested that he could do a mock-up of a brochure for the next meeting. It was suggested that the next meeting be held in southern Vermont to include potential sites in that area. The Hildene was mentioned as a potential meeting site. The group was looking at late March for a potential time. Potential financial resources were identified. The Tarrant Foundation was mentioned. Kevin Christopher of LCATV offered some ideas on video options. He suggested that individual sites could be highlighted and that the kick off weekend could be documented.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

At eight o’clock in the morning on February 12, 1909, the forts around New York Harbor, the battleships in port, and the National Guard field batteries fired a salute in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s centenary. At noon the Gettysburg Address was read in New York City’s public schools. Booker T. Washington marked the day with a speech to the Republican Club at the Waldorf-Astoria. Boston’s celebrations included U.S. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge addressing a joint session of the Massachusetts House and Senate and Julia Ward Howe, author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” presenting the new poem “A Vision.” The same day in tiny Hodgenville, Kentucky, visitors lined up to drink from a spring that flowed on the farm where Lincoln was born. Just a few years before, Robert J. Collier of Collier’s Weekly had purchased the far for $3,600 and, with the help of the Lincoln Farm Association, was preserving Lincoln’s childhood home. The highlight of Hodgenville’s festivities: President Theodore Roosevelt slapping the first trowel of mortar on the cornerstone of the temple John Russell Pope would build to shelter the tiny log cabin. In this speech, Roosevelt compared Lincoln and George Washington, saying that each possessed “inflexible

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courage in adversity” and “the gentler virtues commonly exhibited by good men.” Of Lincoln’s virtues, the most important “was the extraordinary way in which Lincoln could fight valiantly against what he deemed wrong, and yet preserve undiminished his love and respect for the brother from whom he differed.” Throughout the country’s towns and cities, there were parades, concerts, school programs, and much oratory. But none celebrated like Chicago, the city where Abraham Lincoln received the Republican nomination for president in 1860. Mayor Fred A. Busse’s proclamation exhorted the citizens of the Windy City to dedicate a whole week “to the study of the life and words of President Lincoln.” Nathan W. MacChesney, secretary of the Lincoln Centennial Memorial Committee, reported in Abraham Lincoln: The Tribute of a Century that remembrances in Chicago began with prayers in the churches Sunday evening, February 7. Bronze tablets inscribed with the Gettysburg Address were placed on the walls of 167 public and 184 parochial schools for the edification of the city’s 400,000 school children. The mayor’s proclamation and Lincoln’s address were translated and published in the city’s foreign-language newspapers. Green Mountain Civil War Round Table P.O. Box 982 White River Junction, VT 05001

The Chicago Tribune took on the task of teaching Lincoln. Its blockbuster February 7 edition “ran to 194 pages and weighed three and one-quarter pounds. A year in the planning, over five weeks in printing on thirteen presses using five tons of ink, the sheets of the edition laid end to end would stretch eleven thousand miles, or all the way to Singapore,” says Merrill Peterson in Lincoln in American Memory. (The above is from the National Humanities, January/February 2009, Volume 30, Number 1.)

The Camp Griffin Gazette is the monthly newsletter of the Green Mountain Civil War Round Table. Editor: Ginny Gage. We encourage and welcome all contributions and suggestions. Send news and information to

Ginny Gage 365 East Road Cornish, NH 03745 or E-mail: lewandginny1863@comcast.net

Happy February Birthday to Elaine Coburn!