STILLWATER CIVIL WAR
ROUNDTABLE
ANNOUNCES 2014
SPEAKER SERIES
The Stillwater Civil
War Roundtable has released an exciting and informative speaker series
for the 2014 season. As president Rex Maggert explained,
“We got off to a disappointing start when our January 21 meeting
was cancelled due to the bad weather surrounding that date” the
roundtable president said, “but we are definitely going to make up for
it with a strong lineup for the upcoming months.”
Rex went on to point
out that his group of Civil War enthusiasts, based in Troy, Ohio has had
many distinguished speakers and performers in the past.
“We have a unique mix of presentations because we balance our lineup of
national authors and experts with appearances from our regular members.
Sometimes we find their presentations just as illuminating and
educational. The key to a strong speaker series is to keep
the topics interesting and relevant and we are fortunate to have some
experts of our own to rely on for fantastic speeches.” Past
presentations have featured family histories and genealogical
connections to the Civil War as well as musical concerts discussions of
Abraham Lincoln and the politics of the Civil War era.
“We are not letting
up this year either as our topics in 2014 range from slavery to naval
battles.” Rex also points out that we are the only
roundtable in the Miami Valley area, “So anyone interested in the Civil
War era that live in Dayton, Greenville, or as far south as Warren
County are gladly invited to come join us!”
The roundtable meets
every third Tuesday of the month (except July and August) at the Troy-
Hayner Cultural Center, 301 W. Main St. near downtown Troy.
The April meeting features a dinner meeting on Saturday, April 19
at the United Methodist Church in nearby West Milton, Ohio at 6:00 PM.
Rex explains, “The dinner is moderately priced and will feature a
special guest, Harriet Tubman! Well, it is actually
historical re-enactor, Dr. Annette Jefferson, who gives a great
performance while dressed as the famous African-American heroine and
conductor of the underground railroad. She will help us
journey back in time to her days as a slave and her flight to freedom as
well as reminisce about subsequent rescue operations to free other
slaves. We will also have prizes and a silent auction.
It will be a great night.”
The officers and
members invite you to join us and attend this interesting speaker
series. Find out why the Stillwater Civil War Roundtable
is one of the Miami Valley’s “best Civil War secrets.”
SPEAKER SERIES
SCHEDULE
(Please note that
regular meetings are at 7:00 PM on the third Tuesday of each month,
except no meetings in July and August.)
February 18***John
Procuniar starts off the 2014 speaker slate as he traces the steps of
his ancestor who fought in the 110th Ohio Voluntary Infantry.
A part of Civil War history that is often neglected is the war
which raged in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. John, a
retired Ohio State Trooper and Insurance Adjuster, will thoroughly
investigate that area, with his presentation on the 110th.
John is an active member of the North-South Skirmish Association
and is not only familiar with the 110th’s history but the
weapons of that era’s foot soldiers. Come join us as we
visit one of Ohio’s more illustrious infantry units.
March 18***John C.
Fazio, a retired attorney and past president of the Cleveland Civil War
Roundtable, will enthrall the members and guests on an iconic but
little-understood battle on the high seas. His subject,
entitled Intrepid Mariners, is the real-life drama of the battle
between the Union ship USS Kearsarge and the Confederate raider
CSS Alabama in the Atlantic Ocean in front of a crowd of
Frenchmen on the Atlantic coast of France.
Ahoy, members and guests---batten down the hatches for Mr. Fazio’s
presentation!
April 19***Our
annual event, that every member looks forward to takes place on
Saturday, April 19 at the United Church of Christ (108 S.
Main St.) in West Milton, Ohio. Please join us for an
evening of interaction, fun, food, and of course our special guest Dr.
Annette E. Jefferson who will deliver the presentation: I
Be Harriet Tubman. Dr. Jefferson brings to life before
us an interactive learning experience, brimming with intimate and
historical details of the life of one of America’s most remarkable
heroines. Learn of Tubman’s Civil War experiences as a
scout, nurse and spy. You will probably believe the
real Harriet Tubman is there! (Learn the details of
how to get registered for the dinner meeting from our Facebook page at
Stillwater Roundtable )
May 20***Something
always dear to a Buckeye history buff’s heart is Confederate General
John Hunt Morgan’s raid, or at least the major part of the raid over
southern Ohio. Lora Schmidt Cahill and David Mowery
published a book entitled Morgan’s Raid Across Ohio:
The Civil War Guidebook of the John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail.
There is no doubt that our guest speaker Lora Cahill can fill
us in on that famous raid and answer any questions that we might have..
Every Buckeye should have this presentation stored in their Ohio info!
June 17***Joe Bellas
will be our speaker for this month and the first month after the summer
hiatus…September 16. Bellas is a history teacher at
Tippecanoe High School in Tipp City, Ohio. A past
president, newsletter editor and program chair of the roundtable for
eight years, he was selected as the Ohio History Teacher
of the year by the Gilder-Lehman Insti-tute; has published articles in
the magazine History Teacher and is a re-enactor in the 1st
Tennessee Infantry Regiment. He has led over forty student
tours of Gettysburg. In our tra-dition of having members
also speak to our group, he has been our guest speaker on numerous
occasions on topics ranging from the Trans-Mississippi Theater to Civil
War personalities like Dan Sickles and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.
This June, Bellas will go “full speed ahead” in his discussion of
the Battle of Mobile Bay – the pinnacle of the career of Admiral David
Farragut. Hopefully the audience won’t “torpedo” Joe’s
appearance!
September 16***Joe
Bellas will be back to lead us in our annual tradition which tests the
audience’s knowledge of Civil War history by staging Jeopardy:
The Civil War! Come out and join the fun and
see how you stack up against our pool of contestants as local
enthusiasts and masters of the genre. Don’t forget
to bring your quick reflexes for that buzzer!
October 21***What
really happened at Sharpsburg, Maryland on September 17, 1862?
The history and drama of the Battle of Antietam, where an
unreal number of Americans died in one day, 152 years ago will be
presented by our guest speaker, Denny Reiser, a graduate of Adrian
College , and a retired teacher and park ranger that carries on the
tradition of the teacher who continues to educate. He has
visited that famous killing field in Maryland numerous times and
thoroughly researched it. Although Antietam is a familiar
(and famous) subject we are sure he will present it with his own
particular viewpoint. He will specially highlight an Ohio
regiment in which two U.S. presidents served!
November
18***Stillwater Civil War Roundtable schedulers could just insert “TBA”
here, but that seems so dry! We are saving the
announcement of this presentation for a later date (hopefully to whet
your appetite!) We have two possibilities we are
considering and either one, you can be assured, will be a treat for all!
Stay tuned to our website and newsletter for the “reveal.”
December 16***Have
you sometimes wondered what Mary Todd Lincoln experienced in her life
after her famous husband was assassinated? Wisconsin
resident Jessica Michna portrays one of the most famous first ladies of
American history. Jessica will make Mary Lincoln come to
life before our eyes. Make sure to arrive early for a
front row seat to hear about the many dramatic life of this tragic and
misunderstood woman.
The year 2015***The
Roundtable will be adding many other monthly presentations before
the year 2014 is over that will be presented in our next year of 2015.
Please stand by for the exciting additions!
Our email is:
stillwaterroundtable@yahoo.com by mobile phone:
(937) 572-4736