There are three items this month for the Speaker’s Fund. The first is a copy of a new edition of the memoir of one of the Tennesseans who had to be armed—Co. Aytch. After it’s original publication, its soldier-veteran-author, Sam Watkins, made notes in a copy of changes he would like to make in subsequent editions but which he never did. The annotated volume survived in Watkins’ family and now a descendant, Ruth Hill Fulton McAllister, has published this new edition adding what Sam wanted to add, keeping what he wanted to keep unchanged, and indicating what he had proposed to cut out. Some of the changes are interesting. The second item is a copy of Avery Craven's Civil War in the Making, 1815-1860. The third item is three recent issues of The Skirmish Line, the magazine of the North-South Skirmish Association from 2006 and 2007. The North-South Skirmish Association is an organization that competitively live fires original and reproduction Civil War small arms and artillery. These issues include reports of their annual national competitions and articles on the Burnside Carbine, visiting Harpers Ferry, Fortress Monroe, and sharpshooting at Chancellorsville. Two of the three 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.

You may recall that about a year ago, information was included in the CANISTER about the fact that Vicksburg National Military Park was soliciting public input on the development of a proposed “Cultural Landscape Report” for the portions of the Vicksburg Battlefield preserved within the bounds of the National Military Park. I hope some of you all provided some comment. Well, Vicksburg NMP’s “Cultural Landscape Report” process is continuing. Now, and until May 2, the NMP is soliciting comments on what they have done since last year. Most specifically, they have developed four landscape treatment alternatives that they like to have comments on. A newsletter explaining the process and the alternatives has been prepared and mailed to those who had previously commented. If you haven't received a copy, you can see it on-line by going to Vicksburg NMP’s website at:

      www.nps.gov/vick

Look just a little left of center in the middle of the page under “Quick Links” and you’ll see:

“Cultural Landscape Report and Environmental Assessment Newsletter”

Click on that and you’ll find the newsletter. You’ll also need to look at:

“Cultural Landscape Treatment Alternatives Matrix”

This latter document includes the maps that allow for a visual comparison of the amount of historic scene restoration called for under each alternative.
      The alternative that calls for the greatest amount of historic scene restoration is Alternative D – Rehabilitation/Maintain the Broad Spectrum of Military Engagements. This alternative would remove the greatest amount of vegetation that presently exists where none such existed in 1863; this alternative, of the four being proposed, would make far more of the battlefield park today look something like it did in 1863; it would accomplish far more historic scene restoration than would either Alternative C or Alternative B or Alternative A. However, even Alternative D would leave significant portions of the battlefield un-restored, leave significant portions of the battlefield in a condition where it is very difficult to study and appreciate the action, and leave much of the original 1899 Congressional mandate for the NMP—“…to commemorate the campaign and siege and defense of Vicksburg, and to preserve the history of the battles and operations of the siege and defense on the ground where they were fought and were carried on…”—unachieved. Why isn’t there an alternative being considered that would more completely accomplish that mandate? Why does it seem that alternatives that might do that have been relegated to the section on page three of the newsletter entitled “Alternatives No Longer Under Consideration” and which goes on to say, “Two additional alternatives were considered but are no longer under consideration – Restoration to Civil War Siege Period (ca. 1863), and Restoration to Park Development Period (1899-1917….” Vicksburg National Military Park is one of the premier historic areas in our great nation and should be managed as such. It should already have a “cultural landscape” that reflects its status and a management plan that gets it to where it should be and keeps it there. I hope you will take a few minutes to go on-line and review the documents noted above and provide your comments. For folks interested in studying and understanding the Civil War actions and doing it when they can on the ground where the action unfolded, taking those few minutes is very important. The manager of that historic area, the National Park Service, needs to hear from history interested persons from across the country to be reminded of what their mission is. Please note that in this case, there seem to be constraints on how you can comment. Telephone calls, faxes, and emails are not being accepted. Some of the wording in the newsletter suggests that you need to use the comment form in the newsletter, attaching additional pages as necessary, so just a letter might not be accepted either. You can supposedly comment on-line at:

       http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkId=411&projectId=19204&documentID=22638

      So, again, let me encourage you to comment, hopefully for Alternative D (with the wish that Alternative D’s proposals were even more extensive), and if not for D, at least C or at least B…………..by MAY 2. Vicksburg Battlefield and other battlefields need your help so badly in this regard.

There were several WBTS related programs in the last month here locally and in the region. A couple of Round Table folks braved the weather on March 14 and/or 15 and joined members of a Civil War on-line forum group who came from Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, Alabama, and other places for two days of tours. If you want to see some photographs of the hardy (and damp) souls as they followed John T. Wilder, “Rock” Benning, Jerome Robertson, and the Federals who made the stand on Snodgrass Hill, check out Harvey’s photos of the tour on our website [click on: Study Group 2008]. All indications are that the group will be back next March to investigate other phases of the Battle of Chickamauga in greater detail than is normally undertaken. Did anyone get to hear Dr. Fowler’s talk on the 19th Tennessee or Mr. Carson’s talk for the N. B. Forrest Camp on Civil War music? Did anyone brave the rain to go out to Bridgeport for the re-enactment on the 29th & 30th? Did anyone participate in any of the Civil War Preservation Trust Park Day work activities in the area on April 5? At least one Round Table member helped fifty-two other volunteers and a handful of National Military Park staff members erect nearly 400 yards of historic stacked rail fencing around one of the John McDonald fields along the LaFayette Road on the Chickamauga Battlefield. Anyone make it to Knoxville for the Knoxville Round Table’s tour of Battle of Knoxville sites that was offered on the 12th as part of the Round Table’s Silver Anniversary? There was a lot to do in the past month! If you were able to attend any of these events or another one of note since our last meeting and you’re at our March meeting, give us a report. Good intelligence is one of the keys to military success!

     PART 4, THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAGA, SEPTEMBER 19, 1863, is hitting the streets. For those of you all who either subscribe to Blue & Gray Magazine or have been picking up copies from other outlets, AND who have been following the five part series on the Chickamauga Campaign, you’ll be glad to hear that Part 4, the issue that covers the Battle of Chickamauga on September 19, 1863, is hot off the presses and is starting to make its way through the distribution systems. If you subscribe, look for it in the mail in the coming days; if you pick it up at Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million or some other newsstand, start looking for it too. The publisher, again, sent me a few copies to make available to folks who might have trouble finding it and I’ll have those at the meeting. It looks good!

May 20, 2008 - May 20, 2008—Dr. Timothy B. Smith, Historian, Professor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, and author of several volumes, including The Golden Age of Battlefield Preservation: The Decade of the 1890s and the Establishment of America’s First Five Military Parks which is being released just this month by the University of Tennessee Press. Dr. Smith will speak on the subject of his new book.

The Civil War Preservation Trust’s first 2008 battlefield preservation campaign is in Tennessee at the scene of the December 31, 1862 Battle of Park’s Cross Roads. This engagement is perhaps most widely recognized because of N. B. Forrest’s statement “Charge ‘em both ways!” when he was informed that a Federal force had appeared in his rear while he was engaged with another one. CWPT’s campaign is specifically for an 88 acre parcel of the battlefield. If, no, lets say when, the campaign is successful a significant portion of the battlefield will be protected, 75% by the estimate of CWPT’s president. One of the good things about this campaign is that there is a lot of “match” money available for the effort too. Most contributions will result in an impressive 8-to-1 leverage factor. A $25 contribution could eventually ensure $200 for the effort. For more information on the effort or to contribute, visit www.civilwar.org; look under “News” for the information on Parker’s Cross Roads. There’s also a nice color map of the battle and preservation efforts at www.civilwar.org/news/append/2008ParkersCrossroadsAppealMap.pdf

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.

NEW ENTRIES:
April 21, 2008—Ceremony to recognize still more successes in battlefield preservation on the Lookout Mountain Battlefield, 10 AM, Point Park area of the Lookout Mountain Battlefield, Town of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. Tennessee U. S. Senator Lamar Alexander and Tennessee 3rd District U. S. Congressman Zach Wamp, special guests, interpretative program on the Battle of Lookout Mountain relating how the recently acquired parcels protect important parts of the battlefield and what battle events occurred on them; parking in the Point Park area is limited, if you think you might attend and know someone else who is thinking about attending, it would be a good idea to car pool at least from the base of the mountain up to Point Park.
September 19, 20, & 21, 2008—Reenactment of the Battle of Chickamauga, to be held in McLemore’s Cove, Kensington, Walker County, Georgia; for information and for tickets, see www.BattleofChickamauga.net or call 1-800-624-0281, ext. 327
October 17 & 18, 2008—Dedication of Patrick Cleburne Monument, Ringgold, Georgia; more details later.
UP-DATED----- 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; for more information, see
http://www.utc.edu/Academic/SymposiumOnThe19thCenturyPress/ or
http://www.utc.edu/commdept/conference, or call 423-425-4219

PREVIOUS ENTRIES:

April 12, 2008—Tour of Civil War Knoxville, part of the Knoxville Civil War Round Table 25th anniversary recognition, 1 to 4 PM, $7.00; see the Knoxville CWRT website at http://www.discoveret.org/kcwrt/ for more information
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.
April 25-26, 2008—Sultana Association Reunion tour of Franklin, Tenn., with emphasis on the Federals who were captured at Franklin who later wound up on the Sultana in the spring of 1865; for more information, call Norman Shaw at 865-693-2171 or email him at shawclan4@bellsouth.net
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
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
October 10-12, 2008—“In a Strange Country: Longstreet in Tennessee,” a seminar of the Longstreet Society, Holiday Inn Select Downtown, Knoxville, featuring Lieut. Col. Harold Knudsen, Dr. Alexander Mendoza, and Dr. William G. Piston; places to be visited include the McClung Museum, Confederate Hall, Fort Sanders site, Confederate Cemetery, National Cemetery, Campbell Station. For more information, call 770-539-9005 or visit www.longstreet.org.
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

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