VOLUME XX               NOVEMBER 18, 2003                NO. 11

N O V E M B E R    R O U N D    T A B L E    M E E T I N G

  VISITORS & GUESTS WELCOME

      * * * Note Special Meeting Place:
         Chattanooga Regional History Museum * * *

DATE:   TUESDAY,  NOVEMBER 18, 2003             TIME:  7:00 PM

TOPIC:  "BATTLES FOR CHATTANOOGA: STORIES
        AND ARTIFACTS"

SPEAKER:  MISTERS ANTHONY HODGES, CHARLES HARRIS, 
          LAWRENCE ALEXANDER, AND PRESTON BROWN

PLACE:  Chattanooga Regional History Museum
        400 Chestnut Street, Chattanooga  
(Directions-The Chattanooga Regional History Museum is located in the
southeast corner of the intersection of Chestnut and 4th street in downtown,
just one block east of Broad Street. The Creative Discovery Museum is
located at the same intersection in the northwest corner. Parking is
available in the Museum's lot next to the Museum, along 4th Street, 
along Broad, and along 5th Street.)
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NOVEMBER MEETING
      Art, artifacts, investigations, and images....some of the many ways to
come to understand the Battles for Chattanooga. At the meeting this month,
we'll have examples of what these aspects provide in helping one understand
the complex events that unfolded on the slopes of Orchard Knob, Lookout
Mountain, and Missionary Ridge in the fall of 1863. Archeologist Lawrence
Alexander will talk about the archeology he and the members of the Chattanooga
Area Relic and Historical Association undertook for Reflection Riding on the
lower portions of the Lookout Mountain Battlefield on the west side of the 
mountain. Charlie Harris will bring and display five of the "Lookout Mountain
Cave Rifles" discovered abandoned by Confederates in a cave on the mountain.
When you look at those rifles and find out what they are, you'll better
understand why some of the Confederates on Lookout could put up only limited
resistance when caught off-guard on that rainy, misty, cold November 24, 1863.
Preston Brown will share some of the images taken by photographers on Lookout
Mountain that not only show us some of the individuals who were here but also
give us glimpses of what the area looked like then. Dr. Anthony Hodges will
bring some of the Chattanooga wartime artifacts he's collected, including his
stero cards that show scenes from the now lost Missionary Ridge Cyclorama.
Each of our guests will have a few minutes to make a formal presentation and
at the conclusion of those, we'll be able to break up into smaller groups and
visit with each of the speakers more informally and examine their items more
closely. It will be a meeting in a different format, but one that should
allow us to get a few new insights into what happened here 140 years ago.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SPEAKER'S FUND SUPPORT OF THE MONTH
      There are three awards again this month in support of the Speaker's 
Fund. The first is a copy of The Civil War Letters of Joshua K. Callaway, a
Lieutenant in the 28th Alabama who was killed on Orchard Knob on November 23, 
1863. The second item is a copy of William McFeely's Grant: A Biography. The
third item is three of the six year 2000 issues of the Blue & Gray Magazine.
Articles include "Mosby in the Shenandoah Valley," the first day at Gettysburg,
and "Mosby's Confederacy." The third of the items was donated to the Speaker's 
Fund by a Round Table member and to that member go our thanks. Proceeds from 
the Speaker's Fund go to help pay the travel expenses of our out-of-town 
speakers. Your generous support of the Speaker's Fund helps us bring in good 
folks from greater distances.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
140th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLES FOR CHATTANOOGA
      Events at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park to
commemorate the 140th Anniversary of the Battles for Chattanooga have begun 
and will continue through November 30.  A schedule of those programs is 
enclosed. More details may be had by calling the Lookout Mountain Battlefield 
Visitor Center at (423) 821-7786 or by checking the online version of the 
schedule at the National Military Park's website, www.nps.gov/chch.
Several interesting programs are planned, so come out and take some of them in.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DUES AND OFFICERS
      Round Table Dues Year 2003-2004 begins this month. Over the next couple 
of months, either at the meetings or through the mail, please pay your dues 
for the coming year. I'll start purging the rolls of those who have not paid 
by the first of the year.
      Also, it's that time of year again when it is time to nominate officers 
for the coming year. At the October meeting, the members present nominated a
slate of officers for 2004. The slate nominated is the same as that serving
for 2003:

     President--Jim Ogden                    Treasurer--David McGruff
     Vice President--Ansley Moses           Secretary--Neil Greenwood

    At this month's meeting, we will vote on this slate of officers.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
11th ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM ON THE 19th CENTURY PRESS, THE CIVIL WAR, 
AND FREE EXPRESSION
      The 11th Annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, 
and Free Expression, sponsored by the University of Chattanooga at 
Chattanooga's Department of Communications, was held October 30-November 1. 
There were several interesting papers presented. I noted that several members 
of the Round Table attended including Steve Bartlett, Gerry Depken, Rebecca 
Karcher, Kit Rushing (also one of the sponsors), and the Jacquemin's. The 
12th Symposium will be held November 11-13, 2004.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TRANSPORTATION PLAN AT CHICKAMAUGA BATTLEFIELD
       The consultant hired by the Georgia Department of Transportation for 
the study of Transportation issues around the Chickamauga Battlefield is 
still accepting public comment. At the Study's website: 
"http://www.dot.state.ga.us/dot/plan-prog/planning/studies/index.shtml".
Click on the Chickamauga Study in that list. There is a survey listed under 
"What's New." I would encourage you all to consider filling it out and 
providing the consultant your thoughts about protecting the Chickamauga 
Battlefield. If you don't have access to the Internet, I'll bring copies 
of the survey to the meeting.
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FUTURE ROUND TABLE MEETINGS
December 16, 2003 - Dr. John D. Fowler, Kennesaw State University, 
"Mountaineers in Gray on Missionary Ridge: East Tennessee's 19th Tennessee 
Fights On Its Home Soil."
January 20, 2004 -
February 17, 2004 - Mel Young, "Dr. Block: Union Surgeon to Chattanooga 
Businessman" July 20, 2004 - "The Battle of LaFayette," Field Trip and 
Off-site Meeting, Walker County Historical Society's Marsh-Warthen House, 
LaFayette, Georgia; we'll arrange a car-pool convoy for this special trip to 
learn about one of the smaller local battles from 140 years ago; more details 
later.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
UP-COMING LOCAL CIVIL WAR EVENTS OF NOTE
November 22, 2003 - Civil War Tribute, Battles for Chattanooga 
140th Anniversary, Musical performances, Robert Trentham, 
"In Thinking of America: Songs of the Civil War," and Saxton's Cornet Band, 
UTC Patten Fine Arts Center, 7:30 PM, $18.00, for more information call 
425-4269 or visit: www.utc.edu/finearts.
January 16, 2004 - Georgia Historical Society Roundtable Discussion 
"Why Are We Still Fighting the Civil War," Dr. David Goldfield, UNC-Charlotte, 
Dr. James I. "Bud" Robertson, Virginia Tech, John Shelton Reed, UNC-Chapel Hill, 
Georgia Public Broadcasting Headquarters, Atlanta, Georgia 8 PM; we'll see 
about getting a group up for anyone interested in going.
February 7-8, 2004 - 9th Annual Great Chickamauga Southern 
National Civil War Show and Sale, Northwest Georgia Trade & 
Convention Center, I-75 Exit 333/Walnut Avenue, Dalton, Georgia, 9-5 Sat., 
9-3 Sun.; more details later.
March 6, 2004 - The 1864 Atlanta Campaign: An Historical Symposium,
sponsored by the Friends of Civil War Paulding County, Georgia, Inc., 
Chattahoochee Technical College Auditorium, Dallas, Georgia, speakers include
Dr. Keith Bohannon, Dr. J. D. Fowler, Jim Miles, and John Cissell; for more
information, 770-443-1459.
November 11-13, 2004--11th Annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, 
the Civil War, and Free Expression, sponsored by the University of Chattanooga at 
Chattanooga's Department of Communications, more details later
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"...sublime beyond conception..."
      One hundred and forty years ago today, November 18, 1863, then a Thursday,
Lieutenant Joshua Callaway, 28th Alabama, visited Lookout Mountain to take in 
the view. In a letter to his wife he wrote:

  "...I went down to the 20th Ala. and got some fellows to go up on top of the
  Lookout Mountain.  I can now say that I have been on a spot that [will] be one
  of the most renowned in all future history. I wish you could see it. The scene
  is sublime beyond conception. The height is so great that the country 
  appears perfectly level. And the renowned Missionary Ridge looks precisely like 
  a wave, about as high as your head, in an illimitable blue sea. I could not help
  to see the valley of Chattanooga, and how that the poets and painters of future
  generations will stand there to have their geniuses inspired, and then
  immortalize... the scene and the mountain in song and on canvas, and while I was
  musing thus I could not help feeling a spark of ambition, a desire to make my
  name as immortal in future history and as classic as that of Lookout Mountain.
  But just at this point in my reverie, I saw a man step out of a house that stood
  at the foot of the mountain. I suppose he was a general, as they told me that
  some general had his Hd. Qrs there but he looked so small, a mere speck, that I
  could not tell he was there at all if he had not moved. And when I compared him
  to the mountain and then to the universe, and thought of his pride and ambition,
  I could not help smiling at his impetuosity and sighing at his insignificance.
  He reminded me of an ant trying to shake the earth, and my ambition cooled off
  and I would be perfectly content to be at home with my wife and never be thought
  of after I die..."

Five days later, Callaway was killed in the fight at Orchard Knob.

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