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October 2005 CANISTER Newsletter Website Version of Our Monthly Newsletter |
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October 2005 CANISTER Newsletter Website Version of Our Monthly Newsletter |
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CANISTER From The Chattanooga Civil War Round Table |
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| VOLUME XXII | OCTOBER 18, 2005 | NO. 10 |
www.chattanoogacwrt.org |
Visitors & Guests Welcome |
| DATE: | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2005 | TIME: 7:00 PM |
| TOPIC: |
"Civil War Memoirist Fanny Andrews's A Family Secret"
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| SPEAKER: | Dr. Kit Rushing |
| 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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| OCTOBER MEETING |
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A couple of years ago, we heard about another part of Eliza Frances "Fanny" Andrews'
story. Dr. S. Kittrell Rushing told us about her life in general, reminded us of her frequently
recognized memoir of the war years, and, most specifically, told us of her 1870s diary. Dr.
Rushing had just edited and published that post-war record by Andrews and he did a wonderful
presentation, complete with images of some of the places she visited to then write about in the
'70s diary. But, beside being a memoirist, diarist, journalist, teacher, and botanist, Fanny
Andrews was also a novelist. Now, Dr. Rushing and the University of Tennessee Press are
making available again, or at least more widely, one of Fanny's novels. Entitled A Family
Secret, the sotry draws on Andrews' own experiences as a Southern aristocrat during the war.
In some ways, it is a fictionalized version of her own memoir of the war. Published in 1876,
A Family Secret focuses on the plight of upper-class Southern women unprepared for the
challenges of the war and of post-war life. When characters in the novel make a visit to
Andersonville, Andrews' prose is based on what she had heard of the place during the war; trips
by rail in the novel mirror her own experiences on the South's faltering iron horse; the
interaction between Confederate officers and their backwoods farmer-soldiers in the novel
have their origins in observations recorded in her own journals. Her characters, like she
herself, lament the passing of a treasured way of like. Increasingly, novels like Andrews are getting greater attention for the insights they provide into the culture from which they arise. Many ring as true as letters and diaries of the time but because their characters are supposedly creations of fiction, they often can be more open and reflective. A Family Secret is another that offers that insight.
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Dr. S. Kittrell "Kit" Rushing is the Frank McDonald Professor of Journalism and the head of the Communication Department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Before joining the UTC faculty in the fall of 1982, Dr. Rushing taught in the Journalism Department of the University of Mississippi. Before that, he worked for more than ten years for Memphis television stations WMC and WHBQ as a news reporter, writer-producer, and news assignments editor. A U. S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam era, he served as a radioman and cryptographer with the Atlantic and Mediterranean fleets. Dr. Rushing's academic background includes B. S. and M. A. degrees in political science from the University of Memphis and a Ph.D. from Ole Miss. His current research interests include women of the 19th century South and mass media of the antebellum and Civil War eras. |
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Dr. Rushing edited and wrote an
introduction for Fanny Andrews' Journal of a
Georgia Woman, 1870-1872 published by the
University of Tennessee Press. He was also one
of the three editors of The Civil War and the
Press published in 1999, a collection of the
papers presented at his department's annual
Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil
War, and Free Expression.
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Dr. Rushing is married to UTC English Professor and Chattanooga native Frances
Bender. They have three children and a dog. (Originally, copies of A Family Secret were to be available at the meeting. Unfortunately, a last minute printing delay has set the book back from early October to mid- October. However, Dr. Rushing will have some vouchers from the Press for the book and they will be shipped as soon as they are available. In fact, as you'll see below, the first prize in the Speaker's Fund this month is a voucher for the book. The Press and Dr. Rushing regret the delay.)
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OFFICERS FOR 2006 It is that time of year again. Time to elect, or re-elect officers for the Round Table for another year. We'll do nominations at this month's meeting, announce the nominations in November's newsletter, and then vote on them.
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DUES The Round Table's dues year is October 1 to September 30. Hence, it is time to pay dues for the new Round Table dues year. I didn't announce this in last month's newsletter as we were off site at the Chickamauga Battlefield and I couldn't collect dues there. However, a number of you all have been good about this and have already sent your checks for the 2005-2006 year in. Please pay your dues at the meeting this month or next or by mail over the next month or two.
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SPEAKER'S FUND SUPPORT OF THE MONTH There are four items again this month for the Speaker's Fund. The first is a voucher for a copy of our speacker's book, Fanny Andrews' A Family Secret. The voucher will be redeemed for the real thing when the book is available. The second item is a copy of Joseph H. Parks' biography of the Bishop-General, General Leonidas Polk, C. S. A.: The Fighting Bishop. The third item is Myra Inman's A Diary of the Civil War in East Tennessee edited by Dr. William R. Snell. The fourth item is all three issues of America's Civil War from three different years with articles with such titles as "Peachtree Creek: Desperate Assault to Save Atlanta," "Confederate Cavalry Victory in the Gettysburg Campaign," and "Rebel Ironclads at Trent's Reach." The last three of the four items this month were donated to the Round Table to support the Speaker's Fund. 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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PRESIDENT'S ABSENCE IN OCTOBER I am, unfortunately, particularly because of Dr. Rushing's wonder presentation ability, going to miss the October meeting. My 81 year old father is having some what should be minor surgery on Monday the 17th. I'm going up over the weekend so I can be there on the 17th. But, since he lives in Maryland outside Washington, D. C., I won't make it back to Chattanooga in time for the meeting on Tuesday. I'll have to leave you all in other good hands and will look forward to seeing you all again in November if not before at some program.
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THE CIVIL WAR ON TELEVISION It looks like slim pickings again, yet again, for WBTS programs on television. Even "Civil War Journal" appears to be airing only one morning on the History Channel in the week or so about our meeting and that is at 7 AM. "Pickett's Charge" is the episode on Tuesday, October 18, our meeting day. Two days later, Thursday, October 21, also at 7 AM, the History Channel's "Save Our History" will do it's program on Civil War Battlefield Preservation. It's pretty good. Another History Channel Civil War program that is coming up is it's "History Center" program on Sunday morning October 16 at 8:30 AM. Dr. James McPherson and Dr. James Horton will be discussing the war. The presently posted schedule for C-SPAN's Book TV for this weekend and next doesn't include any Civil War or even mid-nineteenth century book programs.
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FUTURE ROUND TABLE MEETINGS
November 15, 2005 - Harvey Scarborough, "Thomas' Demonstration Takes
Orchard Knob"
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UP-COMING LOCAL CIVIL WAR EVENTS OF NOTE
November 10-12, 2005--13th 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; see insert. |
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WEBMASTER'S NOTE: There is an insert to this month's newsletter - a News Release announcing
the Symposium on the 19th Century Press, The Civil War, and Free Expression.
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www.chattanoogacwrt.org |
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President -- Jim Ogden Vice President -- Ansley Moses |
Treasurer -- David McGuff Secretary -- Neil Greenwood |
| If you or a friend would like to join the Chattanooga Civil War Round Table, send your check for dues, made out to Chattanooga Civil War Round Table, to Chattanooga Civil War round Table, c/o Jim Ogden, 4 Gala Drive, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia 30742. |
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Regular Membership $20.00 Senior Citizen (62+) $15.00 |
Family Membership $30.00 Student $15.00 |
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The Round Table dues year is October 1 to September 30. Membership fee for new
members joining after October is pro-rated, being reduced by $1.50 per month for
regular membership, by $2.50 per month for family membership, and $1.00 per month
for Senior Citizens and Students. Members up-dating their dues or rejoining are
expected to pay the full rate. [Note from the webmaster: a chart with the appropriate dues can be found at: Membership Dues. An "on-line application" can be found at: application] |
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