SPECIAL EVENTS:

Saturday July 9, 10 AM to 4 PM Commemoration of the 152nd Anniversary of the Battle of Fort Stevens, Fort Stevens, 13th and Quackenbos Streets NW, Washington DC. Join the National Park Service for uniformed Civil War military re-enactors, living history presentations, period music, historical talks, walks, hikes, and Civil War era children's games & crafts. Opening ceremony at 10 AM with music and an appearance by President Abraham Lincoln. A musket firing demonstration at 11:30 AM will open the other planned program events. Closing ceremony at 3:30 PM at Battleground National Cemetery (Georgia Avenue NW between Van Buren & Whittier) will include a wreath laying and the playing of taps to honor the Union soldiers, veterans of the battle, who are buried there. FREE.

A timed program schedule will be posted a few days before the event at https://www.nps.gov/cwdw/planyourvisit/anniversary-of-the-battle-of-fort-stevens.htm

 

Saturday, August 13, 2016, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM. Lincoln’s 1860 Election—An Open Discussion, New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, 1313 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. The Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia is sponsoring an open discussion of Lincoln’s 1860 Election including his road to the Republican presidential nomination and his victory in the November election.  Comparisons to this year’s party nominations and campaign will be explored with experienced LGDC Open Discussion leaders John O’Brien, chair of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church History Committee, and LGDC president John T. Elliff. The church’s History Committee is co-hosting the event; and the sanctuary (Lincoln pew, stained glass window), Lincoln Parlor (Emancipation document, Gurley portrait, desk and settee), and John Quincy Adams Room (Mary Lincoln letters, Lincoln desk set, etc.) will be available for viewing.  The church was attended by the Lincoln family beginning the Sunday after his Inauguration and throughout the remainder of his life.

Members and nonmembers are invited to participate in the discussion. The cost is $15 for LGDC and church members and $20 for nonmembers. Nearest Metro stations are McPherson Square and Metro Center; Saturday discount parking is available nearby. For further information contact John T. Elliff, 703-360-1265, jtelliff@aol.com

 

AT THE MOVIES:

Free State of Jones. In 1863, Mississippi farmer Newt Knight serves as a medic for the Confederate Army. Opposed to slavery, Knight would rather help the wounded than fight the Union. After his nephew dies in battle, Newt returns home to Jones County to safeguard his family but is soon branded an outlaw deserter. Forced to flee, he finds refuge with a group of runaway slaves hiding out in the swamps. Forging an alliance with the slaves and other farmers, Knight leads a rebellion that would forever change history.

Article from The New York Times on the movie:  “A Confederate Dissident, in a Film With Footnotes.” Free State of Jones” results from the director Gary Ross’s research into a Reconstruction story, and he has a website to prove it. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/16/movies/free-state-of-jones-a-film-with-footnotes.html



ON THE NET:

From the Proceedings of the Natural Institute of Sciences:  “The War Between the Barbates: Facial hair of the commanders of the United States Civil War.”   http://pnis.co/vol2/h11.html



TOURS:

Saturday, July 23, 9 AM – 5 PM, “In Much Need of Service”: Civil War Hospitals of First Manassas Bus Tour. $80 per person (lunch included) On July 21, 1861, the first major battle of the Civil War was fought along the banks of Bull Run. The horrors of battle did not end for many men after the battle, but continued in hospitals that were set up throughout the area. The tour visits the hospitals of Manassas & focuses on medicine at the beginning of the Civil War, about the soldiers who were treated in these hospitals, & about the families whose homes were taken over.  Ben Lomond Historic Site, 10321 Sudley Manor Drive, Manassas, VA 703-367-7872

 
Friday, August 26, 7 PM, Jackson at Bristoe Station Anniversary “In-Time” Tour. Free, $5 suggested donation. Join Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park staff and volunteers on the 154th anniversary of Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s capture of Bristoe Station, the precursor to the Battle of Second Manassas. Jackson’s capture of Bristoe would allow him to capture the large Federal warehouses in Manassas on the 27th. Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park. The parking lot is located off of Iron Brigade Unit Ave., Bristow, VA. 703-366-3049.

 
Saturday, August 27, 1 – 4 PM, Battle of Kettle Run Anniversary Tours. Free, $5 suggested donation. Join Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park staff & volunteers on the 154th anniversary of Thomas J.“Stonewall” Jackson’s capture of Bristoe Station and the Battle of Kettle Run. This August 27th battle, while small, was bloody and took a heavy toll on the regiments that fought there. Visit the park on the actual anniversary for specialized in-time walking tours that will make this forgotten battle come to life in vivid detail. Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park, The parking lot is located off of Iron Brigade Unit Ave., Bristow, VA. 703-366-3049.
Join the Celebration!!!
On June 24, 2016

                                                           (Photo: Marty Gane)
  Ed has recruited some new Bearss Brigade Members this year. 



Each year, the Bearss Brigade celebrates Ed Bearss' birthday – Join us this year for his 93rd


When: Friday, June 24, 2016
Time: 5:30pm (for cocktails/social hour) to approx. 9-9:30pm
Dinner will be served at approx. 6:30 – 6:45pm
Where: Arlington Hilton, 950 N. Stafford Street, Arlington, VA
Dress is Work Attire
Menu: Chef’s Chicken Florentine, Steak Marchand de Vin (Choice Beef in Red Wine Sauce) or Mushroom Ravioli
Cost: $67
 
Interested?  Call 703/536-5464 or email abesgirl@cox.net for more information/registration form
 
RSVP Dinner Deadline: Saturday, June 18
 

Party-themed t-shirts are also available but must be ordered by June 5.
 
This Year’s Gift – Honoring the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation

Ed has chosen to celebrate his birthday this year by gifting the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation. The Foundation was incorporated in 2000 to manage the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, which includes 14 significant Civil War battlefields and a wide variety of related historic sites across eight counties. There visitors can explore the campaigns of Stonewall Jackson and Philip Sheridan and the effect of those campaigns on the civilian population. We have all visited these sites with Ed and absorbed his interpretations of the impact of the happenings there on our nation’s history. 
The Foundation’s accomplishments have been impressive.  It has helped save lands, install interpretative markers, and publish visitors guides, self-driving tours and interpretive/educational books.  Ed is especially impressed with the enhancements at Third Winchester.  
If you decide to make a donation to the Foundation to honor Ed on his special day, checks should be payable to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation or SVBF.  More information is available about the Foundation at the following site: http://www.shenandoahatwar.org

Please feel free to share this invitation with others who have toured with Ed over the years and may be interested in this event.  All are invited.  Ed enjoys the reunion of his friends and fellow Civil War buffs on his special day.




-------------------------------

The Rock Creek Civil War Roundtable Presents
Local Civil War Historian & Lecturer Robert F. Meffert, Jr.


                          
Five Areas in the Life of the Defenses of Washington”

 Saturday,  June 4, 2016 - 9:30 a.m.

Rock Creek Nature Center - 5200 Glover Road, NW (off Military Road), Washington DC

 
Mr. Meffert will make a presentation that will cover five areas in the life of the Civil War Defenses of Washington.  He will examine the heritage of Fort design with an overview to the engineering heritage of the men who designed, built, sustain, and manned in battle the Defenses.


Such an engineering heritage was sorely needed after the Union defeat at the first Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) on July 21, 1861.  President Lincoln made it clear that his engineers needed to build a strong system to protect the nation’s capital.  This is where the “Engineering Heritage” kicked in with the right tools and men in place.  The engineers – Bernard, Meigs, Totten, and McClellan went through a phenomenal learning process. 


Bob will address the questions of  “What did they build?” “How did they build it?” “How did the systems operate, individually and together?”   He will cover what the system looked like at the outset and how, by 1863, the Defenses of Washington were coming together.
 
The last part of Bob's presentation will cover how well the defenses of Washington performed in the face of General Jubal Early’s Confederate attack July 11-12, 1864.  How well did Fort Stevens do, and how did the entire system of the local defenses of Washington do?

About the Speaker:  Robert F. Meffert, Jr. is a Civil War Roundtable Member and a Board Member of the Alliance for the Civil War Defenses of Washington. He is a longtime student of the Defenses of Washington as well as a student of French military history, engineering, and economics.  Bob began his career in the Merchant Marine as a sailor and after college, in the Air Force, as an engineering officer.  He graduated from the services’ Air War College, Command and Staff College, and graduated from NDU, (then the Industrial College of the Armed Forces). He has been an instructor at the University of Maryland. Bob holds Masters in Economic Geography, Electrical Engineering, and Education.

An unabashed Francophile, Mr. Meffert has traveled extensively across France to see its fortifications on land.


Tuesday, May 31, 2016, 7:00 p.m.
In We Called Him Rabbi Abraham: Lincoln and American Jewry, a Documentary History, Dr. Gary P. Zola, a scholar of the American Jewish experience and an ordained rabbi, traces President Lincoln’s fascinating connection with Jewish Americans and his legacy among Jewish Americans. Using newspaper clippings, letters, poems, and sermons — many never published before — Dr. Zola helps us understand why Lincoln was given the affectionate title “Rabbi” by America’s small, but growing Jewish population. Dr. Zola will be in conversation with Erin Carlson Mast, executive director of President Lincoln's Cottage. A book-signing follows the program. 


Dr. Gary Zola is the executive director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives and Edward M. Ackerman Family Distinguished Professor of American Jewish Experience & Reform Jewish History at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati.

Purchase Dr. Zola’s book in advance and pick it up from our staff at the National Archives. Price of $42.08 includes tax and a special 15% discount. All sales final.

National Archives' William G. McGowan Theater
Constitution Avenue & Seventh Street, NW
Special Events Entrance
Washington, D.C. -- 
Directions

Free general admission -- register online via National Archives Foundation

Reserved seats for $10/person are first come, first serve.
Register 
online | rsvp@jhsgw.org | (202) 789-0900

In partnership with the National Archives and President Lincoln's Cottage
Promotional partners: The Foundation for Jewish Studies, National Museum of American Jewish Military History, Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Civil War Round Table of DC, Abraham Lincoln Association, and Washington Jewish Film Festival.

Dr. Zola's participation made possible, in part, by generous support from David Bruce Smith, Brenda & Paul Pascal, and Sandra & Jon Willen.

UPCOMING LECTURES & CONFERENCES
BY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

Here are some upcoming Civil War and related events that might be of interest to you, courtesy of Susan Claffey.

TELEVISION:

If you are not watching, you ought to be. Underground, WGN America, Wednesdays at 10 PM Eastern or you may also stream episodes from the WGN website. This dramatic series tracks a group of slaves in the antebellum South as they plan their escape to freedom. "Underground" is knotty with twists as it digs into the brutal realities of life at that time. A superb cast and filmed at Louisiana locations which include actual plantations and preserved slave quarters from the pre-Civil War era, "Underground" tells a story central to our history. Rumors abound of Emmy Award nominations.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

Saturday, April 2, Civil War Trust’s Park Day. Thousands of volunteers across the country will team up with the Civil War Trust to help clean and restore dozens of landmarks as part of Park Day, a nationwide effort that includes more than 125 historic sites in 29 states. Participating sites select activities tailored to their individual maintenance needs, such as raking leaves, hauling trash, painting signs and planting trees. Volunteers of all ages and ability levels are welcome. Some sites will provide lunch or refreshments to volunteers, and a local historian may be available to describe the park’s significance. Volunteers will also receive T-shirts. To find your park, visit www.Civilwar.org/parkday. Volunteers can participate in Park Day online using #ParkDay2016.

Sunday, April 10, Beyond the Mansion House Hospital: The Medical Civil War in the Mosby Heritage Area, exhibits open at 2:00 pm, talk begins at 3:00 pm. Mount Zion Historical Park - 40309 John Mosby Highway, Aldie, VA 20105. Join the Mosby Heritage Area Association, Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine for a program on Civil War hospitals in the Mosby Heritage Area by Education Specialist Kevin Pawlak. There will also be living historians talking about Civil War medicine. No reservations are required but there will be an admission fee. This is a part of our Adventures in History series.

Saturday, April 16, 3-6 PM, DC Emancipation Events, African American Civil War Museum - 1925 Vermont Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20001: April 16th marks the day that over 3,000 enslaved persons were granted freedom under the DC Compensated Emancipation Act of April 1862. The following events are scheduled in celebration of DC Emancipation. This event is FREE, RSVP on http://aacwmdcemancipation.eventbrite.com.
·         3pm to 4pm:  From Bullets to Ballets: the Voting Rights Legacy of the USCT. Scholar Hari Jones, the curator of the exhibit Glorious March to Liberty: Civil War to Civil Rights, will weave together the legacy of the United States Colored Troops with the voting rights struggle in the United States.
·         4pm to 5pm:  Andrew Green and the School of the Soldier. Born and raised a slave in the City of Washington, Andrew Green would gain his freedom with the DC Emancipation Act and later join the 1st USCT regiment based in Washington, DC during the Civil War. Come hear Andrew Green's story and learn about life for a soldier in the Union Army.
·         5pm: Reading of the Names. Celebrate this event by joining us in a reading of the names of those first freed.

LECTURES:

Tuesday, April 12, Fort McNair, 6 PM. Don’t forget our meeting with Tom Huntington on George Gordon Meade.  Deadline for dinnerreservations is EOB Thursday, April 7.

Thursday, April 21, 7:30 PM, Frederick County MD Civil War Round Table, National Museum of Civil War Medicine - 48 East Patrick Street in Downtown Frederick, Maryland 21701. Our own Ed Murphy will speak on “CROWN of MEXICO.” While the United States was pre-occupied by Civil War, the French (Second Empire) under Napoleon III deployed armed troops (including Foreign Legionnaires) to Mexico.  His motive --- to establish and bolster a Hapsburg monarchy in Mexico. A Hapsburg monarchy in Mexico?  Foreign Legionnaires operating “south of the border”? European mischief in North America?  An affront to the Monroe Doctrine? America’s reaction? The outcome of this venture? FREE.

SPECIAL EXHIBITION:

Through April 30, “Civil War Journey: Maps & Sketches of Private Robert Sneden. Civil War Interpretive Center at Historic Blenheim – 3610 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax VA. This exhibition of 45 framed original watercolor maps and drawings highlights the wartime experiences of Union soldier Robert Knox Sneden. Exhibition is on loan from the Virginia Historical Society. Open Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10AM to 3PM. FREE. For more information or call 703-591-0560.

UPCOMING LECTURES & CONFERENCES
BY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS


LECTURES & PRESENTATIONS:
 
Thursday, Feb. 4 at 7 PM. The Battle of Bristoe Station "Myths and Memory" by author and Bristoe Station Battlefield Site Manager Bill Backus will discuss the many myths surrounding the Battle of Bristoe Station. The Battle of Bristoe Station was the last major battle of the Civil War in Prince William County. Backus' recent book "A Want of Vigilance" will also be for sale. Old Manassas Courthouse 9248 Lee St., Manassas, VA, 703-792-4754. Free, donations accepted.
 
Tuesday, February 9, at Noon. National Archives William G. McGowan Theater. The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome with Alondra Nelson. A journey into how the double helix has wound its way into contemporary social issues around race. She explains how DNA-based techniques are being used in myriad ways, including the unfinished business of slavery: to foster reconciliation, to establish ties with African ancestral homelands, to rethink and sometimes alter citizenship, and to make legal claims for slavery reparations. Author and journalist A'Lelia Bundles will join Nelson. A book signing follows the program. FREE.
 
Wednesday, February 10, at Noon. National Archives William G. McGowan Theater. The Long Emancipation: The Demise of Slavery in the United States. Answers to questions about who ended slavery, how, and why remain fiercely contested more than a century and a half after the passage of the 13th Amendment. In The Long Emancipation, Ira Berlin offers a framework for understanding slavery's demise in the United States. Freedom was not achieved in a moment, and emancipation was a shifting but persistent struggle that involved thousands of men and women. A book signing will follow the program. FREE.
 
Thursday, Feb 11 at 6:30 - 8:30 PM. This presentation to the Harvard Club at Hogan Lovells is by our very own Jon Willen, MD. He will discuss the life and fascinating career of Dr. Zabdiel  Boylston Adams who served in the Civil War both as a surgeon in the 32nd Massachusetts and an infantry officer in the 56th Massachusetts.. A full three-course buffet dinner with wine and beer will begin the program and Jon has instructed that if you register as a friend of his the cost will be $40 otherwise the charge is $65. For more information and to register for the event:  http://www.harvard-dc.org/article.html?aid=1118
 
Thursday, Feb 18 at 7 PM. National Archives William G. McGowan Theater. Why Lincoln Still Matters. A panel of distinguished scholars who will share personal reflections on the importance of the life and work of President Lincoln for today's world. Panelists include Lincoln scholars Harold Holzer (moderator), Martha Hodges, Craig Symonds, and Lucas Morel. Book signings will follow the program.
Reservations for McGowan Theater evening programs are recommended. Use the new online event registration system from the Foundation for the National Archives to reserve your seats:
2. Print your email confirmation and bring it with you. 
3. To reserve by phone, call 202-357-6814.
Walk-ins without reservations will be admitted, depending on available seats.
 
Friday, February 19 at 7 PM. Politics & Prose Our own Fergus Bordewich returns to DC to present on his latest book, The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government. FREE.
 
Saturday, February 27 at 2 PM. Historic Blenheim “’Behind the Scenes’ with Elizabeth Keckley”--Lillian Garland will portray Elizabeth Keckley, a former enslaved woman, who became a professional dressmaker and a confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln. FREE.
 
TOURS:
 
Saturday, February 6 from 10 AM to 4 PM. Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall holds its next quarterly Open House of Grant Hall’s historic third-floor courtroom, located on the Fort McNair side of the Joint Base in southwest Washington D.C., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6. The courtroom is the site of the military tribunal, held from May through June 1865, of those thought responsible for the plot to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. FREE.
 
Saturday, March 5 from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Pain and Mercy in Virginia's Civil War Hospitals Bus Tour. Hospitals similar to the Mansion Hotel Hospital as seen in PBS's new drama, Mercy Street, were found throughout Virginia. Now learn the history behind the show by visiting some of these historic hospitals and learn what it was like for the wounded soldiers and medical staff working in them. Begin the tour at Ben Lomond, one of the first hospitals established during the war. Then travel to Alexandria to visit some of the hospitals and apothecaries there. You will hear stories about soldiers of both north and south and learn about their experiences while in Alexandria. Ben Lomond Historic Site, 10321 Sudley Manor Drive, Manassas, VA, 703-367-7872. $80 per person (lunch included)
 
IN THE MEDIA:
 
Don’t miss “Mercy Street” on PBS, Sundays at 10 PM.  A PBS original series inspired by real people and events, Mercy Street goes beyond the front lines of the Civil War and into the chaotic world of the Mansion House Hospital in Union-occupied Alexandria, Virginia.
 
 
The Forgotten Confederate General Who Deserves a Monument:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-forgotten-confederate-general-who-would-make-a-better-subject-for-monuments/2016/01/27/f09bad42-c536-11e5-8965-0607e0e265ce_story.html