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Call to arms November 2012 Volume III, Issue 9 The Newsletter of the Brunswick Civil War Round Table The President’s Corner Wally Rueckel Our October meeting was well attended. Charen Fink, one of our Director’s and Newsletter CoEditor, spoke about “Civil War Women at War.” She presented a different focus on the Civil war. You can read a synopsis of her talk in this newsletter. At our November meeting Horace Mewborn will talk about what President Lincoln called the “slickest piece of cattle-stealing” he ever heard of where Confederate cavalry General, Wade Hampton, captured 2,500 hundred head of cattle from behind Union lines, to feed starving Confederate troops dur- ing the siege of Petersburg. Horace is a Vietnam veteran, retired FBI agent and a renowned historian on Confederate cavalry. You should enjoy Horace who lives in New Bern, NC and was our battle field guide during our recent tour of Civil War sites in New Bern and Kinston. At the November meeting we will officially announce the proposed slate of officers for 2013 as required by our By-Laws. Norm Praet was appointed the Nominating Committee Chairman. Several people offered to run for the open positions. Norm talked to all of them and proposed the Inside this Issue President’s Message 1-2 Next Program 2 slate of 5 candidates to run for office for next year and the Directors have approved his recommendations. The slate will consist of myself as President, Marv Hamer and Rob Clarke as Vice Presidents, Norm Praet as Secretary and Tom Kehoe as Treasurer. The recommended slate includes three returning Officers and two new Officers. Mike Powell will be retiring as one of our Vice Presidents after serving two years and doing a wonderful job but has agreed to continue handle planning and organizing our various Civil War trips. This gives Mike more Continued next page Last Meeting Synopsis 3 Ladies’ Dept 4 Book Revolution 5 Open For Discussion 5 Special Notice 6 Member7 ship/ Renewal Form 150 Years Ago 7 Co-Editors Charen Fink Jim McKee Mike Powell N OVEMBER 2012 Next Speaker P AGE 2 HORACE MEWBORN DISCUSSES WADE HAMPTON’S 1864 BEEFSTEAK RAID one of the strangest actions of the Civil War took place during September, 1864 as part of the Siege of Petersburg. This daring event will be presented by popular historian and author, Horace Mewborn at the Round Table meeting on Tuesday, November 6th. The title of his presentation is, “Hampton’s Cattle Raid.” Short on food supplies, Confederate Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton led a force of 3,000 troops, including “several certified Texas cattle thieves,” to acquire cattle that were intended for the consumption of the Union Army which was laying siege to Richmond and Petersburg, Va. With only light opposition, the raid captured almost 2,500 cattle. It was one of the largest cattle rustling operations in American history. President Lincoln called the raid “the slickest piece of cattlestealing” he ever heard of. And, soon thereafter, when Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was asked by a reporter when he thought he would take Petersburg, “never,” said the Union Commander, “if our armies continue to supply Lee’s troops with beef cattle.” Horace Mewborn is a prolific writer and author whose specialty is the Confederate cavalry in northern Virginia. He will provide details and interesting observations about this unusual raid, which while a blow to the Union Army, the Confederates lacked the grain to feed the cattle, so they soon had to revert to their previous dismal food situation. The meeting will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church, 209 E. Nash St., Southport. Registration begins at 6:30. Everyone is welcome. The fee for guests is $5 which can be applied toward the $25 annual membership dues. There is no fee for students. President… cont. ministrative matters. We are fortunate in having Tom Kehoe agree to run for the open Treasurer’s position. We have also been successful recruiting new volunteers to take over some of the other important jobs of our Round Table including meeting room set-up and clean-up, managing the sutler’s table, official meeting greeter and membership administration. We are thankful for all of your support but we can always use more help. We are currently looking for someone to assist Norm Praet with his Secretary duties and someone to assist with the A/V operation at our meetings. If you are interested please contact Norm Praet 253-8303 or myself 253-7382. time to devote to the things he enjoys best. Rob Clarke, one of our advisors, has agreed to run for the open position of Vice President. He will make another great addition to our Board. Bob Benedict is stepping down as Treasurer after three years in this position and is one of the original founding committee members that Tom O’Donnell and I brought together to study and launch this Round Table. Bob’s strong counsel will be missed on the Board but he will remain active helping with various ad- N OVEMBER 2012 Speaker Synopsis P AGE 3 EXPLOITS OF FEMALE SOLDIERS, SPIES AND FEMME FATALES (HEROES OR HARLOTS????) By Dan Fink Charen Fink and her husband (me) have been living for months with these “ladies – er—gentlemen.” Charen will tell you they have been clamoring to get their truths out. Perhaps 100 hours of research was spent getting their stories straight but once they started pediculatin’(sporting strange differences) there was no stopping and sometimes it became downright scintilatin’. Did you have any idea that so many served (400-2000) and for so long (almost half the War)? Oh, how they broke the mold. Victorian ideas were out. They could spit, cuss and shoot with the best. Being mostly agrarian in background, a soldier’s rugged life wasn’t much of a stretch. They joined for many good reasons. First – women had no legal or voting privilege – men did. Second – they could patriotically respond to the call for service. Third—Lots of adventure and freedom. Escaping detection wasn’t hard. A Civil War physical checked mainly for a trigger finger, four front teeth and two feet . They looked like most of the young recruits and covered their femininity easily. An injury, death, captivity and recognition were some causes of discovery. The world’s second oldest profession – spying—fit well. (It was a sneaky business). Women spies were resourceful and knowledgeable. They needed to be brave, willing and intelligent to avoid capture. This was an invaluable tool for both sides (The South was better at it but thru Pinkerton, the North slowly gained). Ah Femme Fatales. These women hung out on the fringe of respectability. They were dangerous, mysterious and often seductive. Most had a hidden agenda and used feminine wiles (beauty, charm and sexual allure) to gain their purpose. Being in all the wrong places was no problem – if it gained their purpose. If you were there, you know which one shot her jailer with his own gun and who danced the notorious “Spider Dance.” Wasn’t the balance in that seductress Lotta Crabtree’s bank account amazing? Charen leaves us with a mountain of information all designed to help us answer for ourselves that question she posed at the beginning – WERE THEY HEROES OR HARLOT’S??? You must decide for yourselves. N OVEMBER 2012 Ladies’ Department By Charen Fink Women Hairdressers Hairwork (continued from last month) IHairdressers earned $4-$5 a week. IWeaving hairpieces brought $1.75 -$2 per day. IWorking 10 hours/day brought $3-$8 a week for making wigs, toupees and scalps. IHuman hair was used. IBetween 1859 and 1860 150,000-200,000 pounds of hair was used for false hairpieces. IPeasant girls flocked to markets to have their hair shorn. I Most hairwork was done in the North; Southern women went North to work. IEarrings cost $4.50-$10, rings $1.50-$3, necklaces $6-$15 and fob chains $6-$12. Terminology IGod’s country—term used by Union troops to refer to the North ICafeteria—since about 1830, a coffee house; usage as a selfservice restaurant did not arise until the 1890’s Trivia Quiz Some of the questions relate to last month’s lecture about spies and soldiers. Do you remember? IThis spy provided valuable intelligence to Gen. Rosecrans prior to the Tullahoma Campaign in 1863. She was captured and sentenced to death; happily she was rescued by Federal Troops. IShe was a 19-year old daring spy for Stonewall Jackson; she received credit for the Federal defeat at Front Royal and was twice captured and briefly held in the Old Capitol Prison, in Washington, D.C. IAs color bearer of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, she ad- vanced with the men against the Confederate position at the 1st Battle of Bull Run. Holding high the colors, her position was in the center, front line. She advanced within a few hundred yards of rebel lines until a retreat was called. Was also a vivandiere. Your choices: Belle Boyd, Brownell, Pauline Cushman, Kady Brownell The Sensitive Topic of Toilets and Bathing IPotty—small chamber pot for a child IWater closet—a chair with a hole in the seat and a chamber pot beneath it, often put into a small room ICommode—piece of furniture made to look like something other than the hidden pot IOuthouses—crescent moon over the door for women and the sun for men IIn polite society an outhouse was called: house of office or necessary house. IRural or lower-class people called it: outhouse, privy, jake , joe or john. IActual toilets—quinces— came into use by 1820’s IToilet covers—by late 1830’s IUrinals—1850’s IToilet paper—1880’s— leaves, corn shuckings, and old newspapers had been used • Bathing: Americans were bathing on a weekly basis by the 1830’s. A generation before thought that bathing was considered immodest, uncomfortable and unnecessary and many went an entire lifetime without ever bathing. • Zinc coffin—zinc lined bathtub—used in the kitchen or in front of a fireplace. • • • • P AGE 4 Bathroom—a room used only for bathing without the presence of a toilet In 1855 George Vanderbilt was one of the first to have a bathroom with a tub and toilet. In 1865, Vassar College made it mandatory for girls to bathe twice a week. By the 1880’s, approximately 15% of all city people had some sort of indoor bathrooms. References Topping, Elizabeth. “Hairwork: On the Head and Off” The Citizens’ Companion, August/ September 2012, Vol. XVIII-No. 7, pgs. 18-20. Varhola, Michael J. Everyday Life During the Civil War. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books, 1999, pgs. 72-73. Open For Discussion N OVEMBER 2012 P AGE 5 The revolution in by Mike Powell books I have been a book buyer for 50 years, not a collector of rare volumes, but historical, non-fiction books for the information in them. I had one source, the small, independent, neighborhood book stores which offered limited selections and when you found something you were actually looking for, it was a good day. I think this was the way it had been done for centuries. With the growth of the mall came the book giants, Borders, Walden, Books-A-Million and they provided more selection, all the new titles and discounts. They even had catalogues that you could search and order a book you may be looking for, still limiting, but in a couple of weeks you could pick it up. The introduction of the computer changed it all. It gave the chain book stores, who were all on the same system, greater search capabilities. And, as long as the book you were searching for was still in print, you could get that book. There was still a need for the small independent book stores who provided a place for the collector to find rare gems and the big chains offered everything else. The internet took book buying to a new level. A buyer could not only search the big chains for a topic, but, they could now search books stores all over the world (amazon.com; abebooks.com) Shipping costs still limited the harvesting of the books you wanted, from a store in Charring Cross, London, but at least you knew where it was if you wanted it bad enough. I am not sure exactly when it was that the National Archives (archive.org) and other great repositories of libraries came on line, maybe 10 years ago, but they scanned out of print, out of copyright books, and put them on the internet. You could download the book and read it off your computer screen. Has there ever been a greater advancement for historians? Those doing research could now stay at home, save the travel money and research books on line that they only dreamt of before. But even this process has its limitations. It is hard to read off the computer screen. Young eyes are needed for that. Also, because the book was scanned and not typed, it could not be searched for a particular word of phrase. Now, the latest in book buying is the “print on demand” feature. Say that you want a book printed in 1800, and had not been printed since. You may be able to find a copy, on the internet for sale, but the cost would be prohibitive. Now, for between $20-25.00, they can print it on demand just for your order, and you may have received it in the mail in days. Archives and university libraries, that have the original book in their possession, are now the book printers and sellers. For the collector of rare books, it does not matter much, they still have to search for their treasures, but for the researchers, readers, historians, etc., that just want the book for what is in it, it has never been better. Open For Discussion... North Carolina reluctantly left the Union on May 20, 1861. The debates and the decision to leave the Union were painful for the Tar Heel State. It would be President Lincoln’s call for 75,000 troops to put down the rebellion on April 15 that pushed North Carolina out of the Union. Many felt that North Carolina and the south were committing suicide, yet still seceded. When all was said and done, the reluctant Old North State would supply the material and incur the most casualties of any other southern state. How long would the south have survived if North Carolina had not seceded and how would the Confederacy have dealt with North Carolina as a neutral or belligerent? We hope you will submit your opinions to Mike Powell ([email protected]) N OVEMBER 2012 Open For Discussion P AGE 6 HUZZAHS! The BCWRT extends many thanks and appreciation for all the hard work and dedication given by the following volunteers as they move on to other ventures. You will be missed but know we’ll still see you at the meetings. Mike Powell leaves as a V.P; Bob Benedict as treasurer and keeper of our name badges; Anne Benedict for her contributions as membership coordinator ; John & Barbara Lawter for maintaining the sutler’s table and selling books; Joe Butchko for setting up the meeting room and putting it back in order at the end of each meeting; and Musette Steck for her welcoming smiles as she greeted everyone coming in the door. IMPORTANT NOTICE TO THE MEMBERSHIP After two years in establishing the Brunswick Civil War Round Table, the officers and Board (9 members), and the advisors (3 members) have recently evaluated this organization. The membership should be made aware that certain changes have been decided on as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. Basic membership fees for individuals and couples will remain at $25.00 and will not change prior to January 1, 2013, if then; Students will be welcomed free of charge effective immediately; A $5.00 admission fee will be charged all guests, effective September 4, 2012. Subsequently it may be necessary to charge guests a higher fee when there is an especially renowned speaker or when travel arrangements become more expensive. The RT has the following stated objectives: 1. To promote knowledge and understanding of the complex Civil War Era through programs, travel, and the Newsletter; 2. To support the development and preservation of Civil War sites. (This group has adopted Fort Anderson as it primary site.) Pursued in various ways, some obvious and some less so, these efforts vary as to the monthly cost of speakers, venues, programs, and publicity. With this in mind, we propose to establish two categories of elective, tax-free giving which would secure our finances in light of unknown future changes. The proposed categories reflect our purposes. One category will be for programs and the other for Historic Site preservation. The membership may be assured that due diligence is given to all RT finances and other affairs. N OVEMBER 2012 MEMBERSHIP IN FO P AGE 7 BRUNSWICK CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE Membership Application and Renewal The Brunswick Civil War Round Table usually meets on the first Tuesday of each month, except during July and August. Most meetings will be held in the Southport area. Specific locations will be announced in advance, either at meetings, in the newsletter, via email, or on our web site. (brunswickcivilwarroundtable.com) Annual dues are $25.00 for individuals and couples, students are free of charge. Nonmembers pay $5.00 per visit, which can be applied to membership. Please make checks payable to: B. C. W. R. T. Payments for renewal memberships should be made on the anniversary of your initial membership. Forms and checks for membership or renewal can be given to those at the registration desk, at the meetings, or send to: BCWRT, P. O. Box 10161, Southport, NC. 28461 NAME(S):________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS:_______________________________________________________________ CITY/STATE/ZIP:________________________________________________________ PHONE:_______________________CELL:____________________________________ EMAIL:__________________________________________________________________ If you would like to make a donation to help BCWRT in its historical preservation work or to assure that we continue to get the best speakers possible please complete boxes below. Speakers and programs: Amount $________ Battlefield preservation: Amount $________ Recognition may be acknowledged in our communications should you wish. 150 YEARS AG O november 1862 • • • • • • • • • • November 2– Grant’s first Vicksburg Campaign begins November 5– McClellan relieved of command on the Army of the Potomac, again. November 6– Jefferson Davis officially elected President of the Confederacy. November 6– James Longstreet and “Stonewall” Jackson promoted to Lt. General. November 7– Ambrose Burnside promoted to command of the Army of the Potomac November 8– Benjamin Butler relieved of command in New Orleans due to disregard of civilian population November 17– First troops of the Army of the Potomac arrive north of the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg, VA November 21– James Seddon becomes Confederate Secretary of War November 24– Joseph E. Johnston assumes command of the Dept. of the West, including two armies: Army of Tennessee (Bragg) and Army of Mississippi (Pemberton) November 29– John Magruder assumes command of CS forces in Texas N OVEMBER 2012 Call To Arms P AGE 8 THE NEXT MEETING IS TUESDAY, November 6, 2012 Remember to VOTE! The Brunswick Civil War Round Table is a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt organization that meets on the first Tuesday of each month, except July and August. Unless otherwise noted, meetings will be held at: Trinity United Methodist Church 209 E. Nash St. Southport, NC 28461 Registration is open at 6:30 pm and the program starts at 7:00pm. 2012 BCWRT Officers, Directors, Advisors Wally Rueckel: President & Director Mike Powell: Vice President & Director Marv Hamer: Vice President & Director Bob Benedict: Treasurer & Director Norm Praet: Secretary & Director Tom O’Donnell: Director & Advisor Charen Fink: Director Chuck Roedema: Director Max Williams: Director Jim McKee: Advisor Jack Carpenter: Advisor Robert Clarke: Advisor Check Us Out on the Web The Brunswick Civil War Round Table's website is now up and running. The BCWRT website can be found under brunswickcivilwarroundtable.com or brunswickcivilwarroundtable.org. All of the information on the website is available to everyone except for the newsletter - Call to Arms. which is available to members. Your username and password is required to view the newsletter. Be sure to check out the list of presenters already lined up for our 2012/2013 year. There is also information on current Round Table sponsored trips and write-ups on trips already taken. Be sure to check out the Links page for other organizations involved in the Civil War. Members should have received an email with their login information including username and password. Everyone's default password is their email address. Junk mail filters will likely impede the delivery of many of those emails. If you did not receive this e-mail please check your spam folder first. For the people who did not received the e-mail due to incorrect or no e-mail address provided to the club, please contact Kathy O'Donnell at [email protected]. The website is updated frequently so please keep checking in on us.