We are fortunate that we can walk so much of the most hallowed ground of the battles in the Chattanooga region as a way of gaining an ever greater appreciation of the significant events that unfolded here. We are fortunate too that we can read the accounts of so many of the men who participated in these battles; their memories, their words, help further that richer, deeper appreciation and understanding. Considering the material culture of the age is another important avenue of investigation. We can read about the weapons and materials. But, we can also see still, even one hundred and forty-five years after, some of that very material culture. And one of the very best places to go see to see some of that material culture is the Gate City’s Atlanta History Center. The Atlanta History Center’s ever growing Civil War collection is one of top three or four such collections in the United States. Arms, ammunition, accouterments, colors, personal items, uniforms, and souvenirs of all types make up the collection. And, within it, are some items with direct connections to the battles that unfolded here in the shadow of Lookout Mountain.

In his talk this evening, Dr. Gordon Jones, the Atlanta History Center’s Vice President for Programs and Collections will talk with us about some of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga related within the History Center’s collection. They include items that allow us other ways to consider and appreciate the events fought for the control of the Gateway to the Deep South.

Dr. Gordon Jones is a longtime member of the staff of the Atlanta History Center. For many years he was the Curator of Military Collections and was very involved in the in-processing of much of one of the History Center’s largest Civil War collections. He was also a key member of the History Center team that developed what is probably the best permanent Civil War exhibit in the country, the History Center’s “Turning Point” exhibition. Long interested in the interpretation of the story of the Civil War era, the subject of Dr. Jones’ dissertation looked at the history of Civil War reenacting.

There are four items this month for the Speaker’s Fund. The first is a copy of Cadet Gray and Butternut Brown: Notes on Confederate Uniforms by Thomas M. Arliskas, a book about a subject that relies critically on some of the kinds of items so significantly preserved by the Atlanta History Center. The second item is a copy of Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander edited by Dr. Gary W. Gallagher. The third item is a copy of Avery O. Craven’s Civil War in the Making, 1815-1860. The fourth item is a copy of the Winter, 1998, issue of the Civil War publication Columbiad. It contains some interesting articles including one about the 44th Georgia at the Battle of Mechanicsville, one on George Pickett’s now missing Gettysburg report, and one on the Confederate Navy. 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.

The 13th Great Chickamauga Southern National Civil War Show in Dalton was February 2 & 3. After missing it the last few years because of having to work, your editor was able to make it there for a short time on Saturday. As always, there were some neat things to look at. I know a few other members were able to attend to. Did you all see anything of note. I saw Charlie Harris examining a bayonet for a double barreled shotgun. I guess if you didn’t get’em with one or both of the barrels, you could still stab them! I’m sure we can look forward to the 14th Great Chickamauga Southern National Civil War Show the first week of next February.

The Chattanooga Area Historical Association Annual Luncheon this year will have as its speaker Dr. Nat Hughes. Dr. Hughes will speak on “Constance Cary in the Civil War & Its Aftermath.” The luncheon will be held on Saturday, February 16, 2008, in the Chattanooga Choo Choo’s Roosevelt Room. There is a cost of $20.00 for the meal. If you are interested in attending to hear Dr. Hughes, call CAHA and Round Table member Dr. R. Smith Murray at 423-266-5592 or Dr. John Farr at 423-875-9282.

Did any one attend the N. B. Forrest Camp’s Lee-Jackson Dinner? Or get up to Farragut for the talk on the Battle of Campbell’s Station? If you attended any events of note and are at the February meeting, make a report! Good intelligence is one of the keys to military success.

In June, 2007, the Tennessee General Assembly approved a special Tennessee license plate to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States. Proceeds from the sale of the plate will go to support Civil War preservation activities in Tennessee through the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association. Actually implementing the plate’s use requires 1,000 pre-orders by June, 2008. For more information, see the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association website, www.tcwpa.org or email tcwpacontact@aol.com.

March 18, 2008 - “To be announced"

NEW ENTRIES:
February 22, 2008—“Two Future Presidents & Their Roles in the Chattanooga Campaign,” talk by Park Ranger Anton Heinlein about the Chattanooga Campaign roles of James Garfield and U. S. Grant, 7 PM in the theater of the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; for more information, call 706-866-9241, ext. 123
February 26, 2008—Dr. Michael Bradley speaks to the N. B. Forrest Camp No. 3 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, 6:30 PM, East Ridge Community Center, East Ridge. His address is “Home Fires in the Line of Fire” and regards the civilian experience behind Union lines in southern and southeastern Middle Tennessee in late 1863 through the end of the war; for more information, see www.scv-nbforrest3.com or email Camp Commander Terry Siler at Tenncoastie@aol.com
March 1, 2008—Kennesaw State University’s Center for the Study of the Civil War Era’s 5th annual symposium, this year, “Nathan Bedford Forrest: Hero or Villain?,” featuring Forrest biographers Dr. Brian S. Wills, Jack Hurst, Paul Ashdown, and Ed Caudill; 9 AM to 4 PM, for more information see www.kennesaw.edu/ksumall and click on “Center for the Study of the Civil War Era,” or call 770-423-6244 or email jfowler2@kennesaw.edu.
March 20, 2008—“The 19th Tennessee: Chattanooga Area Confederates,” by Dr. John Fowler of Kennesaw State University, author of the recent regimental history of the 19th Tennessee, 7 PM, Rock Point Books, the southwest corner of Broad and 4th Street in downtown, Chattanooga.
March 25, 2008—Mr. Doug Carson presents a slide show on Civil War music to the N. B. Forrest Camp No. 3 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, 6:30 PM, East Ridge Community Center, East Ridge; for more information, www.scv-nbforrest3.com or email Camp Commander Terry Siler at Tenncoastie@aol.com
March 28-30, 2008—2008 Liberty University Civil War Seminar, Lynchburg, Virginia, “Reaping the Whirlwind: The Battle of Gettysburg,” featuring Kent Masterson Brown, author of Retreat From Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics and the Pennsylvania Campaign, Gettysburg National Military Park Ranger Troy Harmon and author of Lee’s Real Plan at Gettysburg, U. S. Army Command and General Staff College professor and A Single Grand Victory: The First Campaign and the Battle of Manassas author Dr. Ethan Rafuse, Dr. Steven Woodworth of Texas Christian University and author of many volumes, and others; for more information see www.liberty.edu/civilwar or call 434-592-4366 or email klburdeaux@liberty.edu.
May 27, 2008—Dr. Richard McMurray speaks to the N. B. Forrest Camp No. 3 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, 6:30 PM, East Ridge Community Center, East Ridge; for more information, see www.scv-nbforrest3.com or email Camp Commander Terry Siler at Tenncoastie@aol.com

PREVIOUS ENTRIES:
February 16, 2008—Chattanooga Area Historical Association Annual Luncheon with address by Dr. Nat Hughes; see information above
March 11, 2008—Retired National Park Service Chief Historian Ed Bearss speaks to the Knoxville Civil War Round Table, “Forrest at Parker’s Crossroads, Tenn.: ‘Charge ‘em both ways!;’”
March 14-16, 2008—UPDATED Chickamauga Study Group 2008 “Seminar in the Woods;” two days of half day walking tours of specific phases to be studied in the 2008 Seminar will be the role of Wilder’s Brigade (in two parts—Wilder’s role September 10-17 covered by the tour of the morning of March 14 and Wilder’s role on September 18-20 during the tour on the afternoon of the 14th), Brannan’s Division’s fighting withdrawal from the Poe Field line, and Archibald Gracie’s The Truth About Chickamauga’s Snodgrass Hill. For more information, contact David Powell, Dpowell334@aol.com. [See Study Group 2007 for last year's event.]
March 23-24, 2008—Civil War Naval Living History Weekend, Port Columbus Civil War Naval Museum, 1002 Victory Drive, Columbus, Georgia 31901, 706-327-9798, www.portcolumbus.org
April 24-27, 2008—PNJW Collections Civil War Era Civilian Clothing Exhibition, a FIRST RATE display of original Civil War era civilian clothing items that is interpreted by two extremely knowledgeable material culture experts, Rippavilla Plantation, 5700 Main Street, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 931-486-9037.
July 3-5, 2008-- PNJW Collections Civil War Era Civilian Clothing Exhibition, a FIRST RATE display of original Civil War era civilian clothing items that is interpreted by two extremely knowledgeable material culture experts, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Kennesaw, Georgia, 770-427-4686.
September 17-18, 2008—Andrew Johnson Bicentennial Symposium, Tusculum College, Tusculum, Tennessee, featured historians include Dr. Paul Bergeron, University of Tennessee (ret.), long time editor of The Papers of Andrew Johnson, and Dr. Eric Foner, Columbia University; more details later at www.tusculum.edu
November 8-9, 2008—Civil War Naval History Symposium, Port Columbus Civil War Naval Museum, 1002 Victory Drive, Columbus, Georgia 31901, 706-327-9798, www.portcolumbus.org
November 13-15, 2008—16th 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.

[Note from the webmaster: a chart with the appropriate dues can be found at: Membership Dues. An application can be found at: application]