VOLUME XXI                        MAY 18, 2004                         NO. 5
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www.chattanoogacwrt.org

MAY ROUND TABLE MEETING

VISITORS & GUESTS WELCOME

DATE:       TUESDAY, MAY 18, 2004        TIME:  7:00 PM
TOPIC: "THE BATTLE OF RESACA"

SPEAKER:  DR. PHILIP L. SECRIST, HISTORIAN

PLACE:  MILLIS-EVANS ROOM
        CALDWELL HALL, ACADEMIC QUADRANGLE
        THE MCCALLIE SCHOOL, HISTORIC MISSIONARY RIDGE  
(Directions to Caldwell Hall-Enter the McCallie School campus off of 
Dodds Avenue opposite the end of Bailey Avenue. Take the main drive into the 
campus and follow the signs for the Academic Quadrangle. There is a parking 
area there beside the Chapel and you will have passed Caldwell Hall on the 
right as you approach the parking area. Find a place and park. Caldwell Hall 
will be behind you as you park. Come in either the first or second floor 
doors and follow the signs to the Millis-Evans Room.)
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MAY MEETING
      The new campaign, what we know today as the Atlanta Campaign,
was a week old. After confronting one another during that first week along
the Army of Tennessee's stongly fortified lines and positions north, 
northwest, and west of Dalton, the two contending armies had relocated to 
new positions in a similar arc in the area of the Western & Atlantic 
Railroad station and small town of Resaca in the valley of the Connesauga 
and Oostanaula rivers. William T. Sherman's Union army had nearly reached
Resaca first. If they had, Joe Johnston's Confederate army could well have
been cut off from its base at Atlanta. But, Johnston had arrived with
enough soon enough to prevent that eventuality. Now, with the Confederates
at bay and in a new position that was not as stong as that at Dalton, and
with all of Sherman's force at hand, it appeared that perhaps the "Big
Battle" was about to unfold, and that a place named after a battle
from another war a decade and a half earlier was about to join Manassas,
Shiloh, Antietam, Vicksburg, and Chickamauga on the list of The Battles"
in this war entering its fourth year.
      Our speaker this month is one of the historians of the Battle of
Resaca. First visiting the field in 1958, his investigations of the battle
have taken the form of research, relic hunting, watching the construction
of the interstate, and trips to repositories rich with Resaca materials.
His interest, expertise, and position led him to be one of the leaders in
the effort to preserve what remained of the battlefield in the 1990s. Some
of what he has learned about this bloody little affair was published in 1998
by Mercer University Press in The Battle of Resaca. Dr. Secrist will share
some of his Resaca knowledge as he relates what did and did not unfold on 
those May days 140 years ago. Was the opportunity Union General James
McPherson seemingly had as great as many said it was? Did the Confederates
have a chance to bloody Sherman if they had been more aggressive? Could more
of the battlefield have been saved?
      Dr. Philip L. Secrist is a veteran of both the United Sates Marine 
Corps and the United States Army. He holds degrees in History from 
respectively the University of Tennessee, Auburn University, and the 
University of Georgia. Before retiring, Dr. Secrist had taught history at
both Southern Tech College in Marietta and Kennesaw State University in 
Kennesaw. Between 1988 and 1992, he was the elected Chairman of the Cobb 
County Board of Commissioners. He has also served as an appointed member
of the Georgia Civil War Commission and was actively involved n the efforts
to preserve portions of the Resaca Battlefield. In addition to his book
The Battle of Resaca, he has authored articles that have appeared in 
Civil War Times Illustrated, Georgia Historical Quarterly and
Atlanta Historical Quarterly.
      Come out and learn about one of the larger, more distinct "battles" of 
the Atlanta Campaign, one that was unfolded on the North Georgia landscape 
one hundred and forty years ago this month.
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SPEAKER'S FUND SUPPORT OF THE MONTH
      There are four items this month. The first item is a copy of our 
speaker's book, The Battle of Resaca. The second item is a copy of a
book on another battle whose 140th anniversary is this month, The 
Wilderness from the Time-Life "Voices of the Civil War Series." The third
item is a framed set consisting of a photo of Nathan B. Forrest, a small
version of a print of Forrest making a charge, and a postal cover from the 
Civil War Centennial of a first day issue and cancellation of the Shiloh four
cent stamp. The fourth item is five of the six issues of Civil War for
1996. Articles in these issues include such topics as "The P. O. W. Experience,"
"Escape from Point Lookout," "What Killed Turner Ashby," "What Really Happened
at Pea Ridge," and several on Stonewall Jackson in a special issue on the man.
The third and fourth items were donated to the Round Table by members for the
benefit of the Speaker's Fund and to those donors go our thanks. Proceeds from
the Speaker's Fund go toward bringing speakers in from outside the area. Your
support of the Speaker's Fund is appreciated.
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SPEAKER'S FUND II
      The winner of March's framed miniature Kunstler print left it beside
their chair at the end of the meeting. I'll have it at this month's meeting
again it they would like to claim it. If it is not claimed in a reasonable
time, we'll offer it again.
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RESACA RE-ENACTMENT
      May 15-16, 2004 are the dates for the 140th anniversary re-enactment
of the Battle of Resaca. There will be battles both Saturday and Sunday
afternoon. If you are interested in going, go south on I-75 to the Resaca/
Georgia 136 exit, go east over to U.S. 41 and then north on U.S. 41 to the
re-enactment site.
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FUTURE ROUND TABLE MEETINGS
June 15, 2004 - John Evans, "Bishop-General Leonidas Polk: His Death & 
Commemoration," see Mr. Evans's website, www.leonidaspolk.org
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.
August 17, 2004 -
September 21, 2004 -
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UP-COMING LOCAL CIVIL WAR EVENTS OF NOTE
May 31, 2004 -- Memorial Day evening Torch Light Tour of the Chattanooga 
National Cemetery, led by Jim Ogden, this year focusing on the Atlanta 
Campaign as reflected by graves in the cemetery, 8:30 P.M., more details 
later.
October 16, 2004--Bus tour of Hood's North Georgia Campaign, October 1864, 
sponsored by the Friends of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, 
more details later.
November 11-13, 2004--12th Annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, 
the Civil War, and Free Expression, sponsored by the University of Tennessee 
at Chattanooga's Department of Communications, more details later.
February 5-6, 2005--Northwest Georgia Trade & Convention Center, I-75 Exit 333,
Walnut Avenue, Dalton, Georgia, 9-5 Saturday, 9-3 Sunday; more details later.
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