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November 2008 CANISTER Newsletter Website Version of Our Monthly Newsletter |
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November 2008 CANISTER Newsletter Website Version of Our Monthly Newsletter |
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CANISTER From The Chattanooga Civil War Round Table www.chattanoogacwrt.org |
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| VOLUME XXV | NOVEMBER 18, 2008 | NO. 11 |
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| DATE: | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2008 | TIME: 7:00 PM |
| TOPIC: |
“'CONDEMNED AS UNFIT FOR SERVICE:' THE STORY OF THE LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN CAVE RIFLES”
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| SPEAKER: | CHARLES HARRIS, HISTORIAN & AUTHOR |
| 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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| NOVEMBER MEETING |
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"What! Does the General expect us to fly?" So recorded one Union soldier the response of some
of his comrades on that rainy, foggy, misty, drizzly, low cloud ceiling, low visibility cold November 24, 1863,
when informed that their division had been ordered to attack the Confederates on Lookout Mountain. But,
by the end of the day, the deed had been done and at a far lesser cost than anticipated. There are a number
of reasons why that was so. One of those reasons is because of what one of the Confederate commanders
on Lookout's slopes had to say about his men's arms, "My brigade was supplied with a lot of arms and
accouterments that had been condemned as unfit for service.......These arms were of many different calibers.
Most of them, however, had the essential parts--lock, stock, and barrel--but were in bad order." Other
accounts from John Moore's Alabama Brigade confirm Moore's assessment. But, just how bad was the
situation really? We're fortunate that some physical evidence survives as well and that story is the subject
of our program this month. Captured at Vicksburg, paroled, exchanged, rearmed with pieces of junk, and sent to Chattanooga, you can get some sense of why morale in John Moore's Brigade might be low. In part, that low morale was probably responsible for the fairly large number of desertions the brigade was suffering. It was probably some of those deserting troops who left us the physical evidence of just how poor Moore's arms were for it was probably those departing troops who left eight of indifferent arms in a cave on the slopes of Lookout. Discovered there in the early 20th century and divided amongst several collectors, Historian, Author, Collector, Avid Relic Hunter Charlie Harris has reassembled part of this collection and can put real meaning, via five of the actual arms, which he'll have at the meeting, to Moore's words that his men's weapons were "condemned as unfit" (one was only sixty-eight years old in 1863). So, before going on the 145th anniversary walking tour of Lookout Mountain on the 22nd, come out and see and learn a little more about why Union soldiers didn't have to fly to take the mountain. |
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REGULAR MEETING PLACE As you hopefully noted above, we're back in our "regular" meeting place at McCallie this month, the Millis-Evans Room. So, find your way up the Ridge once you get on campus and to the Academic Quad and into Caldwell Hall. |
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CHANGE IN SPEAKER As previously announced, our speaker this month was supposed to be Mr. Christopher Young, a Jacksonville State University grad student who has worked summers at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, speaking on Manigault's Brigade at Chattanooga. Unfortunately, some apparently unexpected requirements associated with his grad school scholarship have come to light and have forced him to cancel his talk for the Round Table. We can hope that perhaps we'll be able to reschedule Mr. Young for a future meeting. We are fortunate, given such a late cancellation, that our ranks include a number of folks who essentially have an enlightening talk in their back pocket and who can be called on at short notice. One of these is Charlie Harris, the man who is now our November speaker. Many thanks to Charlie! |
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VICE PRESIDENT AT THE HELM Our fine Vice President Ansley Moses will officiate at this month's meeting as a result of your president having to be out of town to speak to two other Round Tables. I make every effort to avoid such conflicts, but was unable to resolve this one so Ansley will lead in my stead. I'll see you at the December meeting. |
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SPEAKER'S FUND SUPPORT OF THE MONTH There are three items this month for the Speaker’s Fund. The first is a copy of our speaker's latest book, Never Mace A Skunk, a collection of humorous stories from years of relic hunting. The second and third items are ones offered to recognize events of importance from 145 years ago, in particular, the Battle of Knoxville. The first of these is a copy of the revised edition of Digby Seymour's Divided Loyalties: Fort Sanders and the Civil War in East Tennessee, long the "standard" work on East Tennessee in the war. The other of these "145th" items is a copy of the video that was last year's November program, "Its Memory Alone Remains: The Battle of Fort Sanders, November 29, 1863." The fourth item is included in case any of you all will have to taking your wife to New York City for a Christmas shopping trip. It is a copy of the Blue & Gray Magazine issue with an article on New York City in the war and a tour to some of the Civil War sites of the Big Apple. 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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DUES ARE DUE It is that time of the year again...............time to pay Round Table dues..............please do at this month's meeting or over the next few weeks by mail. For those who have already paid, a hearty THANK YOU. |
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SCOUTS REPORTS! There were several WBTS related programs in the last month here locally and in the region. Ground was broken on October 27, 2008 for the Resaca Battlefield State Historic Site in Gordon County; the time-line for that work and when the park will actually open is still a little uncertain, but work is underway and the goal is to have it open by the beginning of the Civil War 150th commemoration. That same day, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Walker County, Georgia, celebrated the conservation of another 1,800 acres in McLemore's Cove. These acres are down in the south end of the Cove, but they join others already protected around Doughtery's Gap, the route the Union cavalry used in coming off the top of Lookout Mountain down into the Cove in the days just before the Battle of Chickamauga. Did anyone make it to Battle of Knoxville/Fort Dickerson Living History Weekend November 7-9 or to the Civil War Naval History Symposium at the Port Columbus Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia? If you were able to attend any of these events or another one of note since our last meeting and you’re at our November meeting, give us a report. Good intelligence is one of the keys to military success! |
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STRINGER'S RIDGE PRESERVATION EFFORT Almost certainly, you've seen in the paper or on the news or heard on the radio that The Trust For Public Land (TPL; www.tpl.org, 202 Tremont Street, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37405; 423-265-5229) has put together a deal to purchase and preserve the 92 acre tract of land on Stringer's Ridge that late last year and early this year was being considered for a high-rise condo development. These hill tops are the backdrop to downtown Chattanooga when viewed from downtown northward and are some of the ones occupied by Union soldiers in June of 1862 and August of 1863 in their first direct attacks on the "Gateway to the Deep South." The view from some of them is quite enlightening and instructive. TPL has and is putting together a coalition of community and conservation agencies, activities, groups, and individuals to make the purchase possible. Part of their effort is a grass roots appeal. They would love donations small or large to help show the public support for the project. There will be more information on this effort available at the meeting. |
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National Park Service U. S. Department of the Interior |
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park |
P.O. Box 2128 Fort Oglethorpe, GA 30742 Phone: 706-866-9241 |
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to confirm an event should a last minute change occur. - CCWRT Webmaster] Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Miliary Park
to Commemorate the Battles for Chattanooga
Programs to be conducted at various sites in the Chattanooga area SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2008 - Lookout Mountain Visitor Center extended hours: 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM ET
Guided Battlefield Tours:
9:00 a.m. - Moccasin Bend Civil War Sites
10:00 a.m. - Orchard Knob Battlefield Car Caravan Tour
11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. - Poink Park Guided Walking Tour
12:00 p.m. - Sherman Reservation Tour
2:00 p.m. - Lookout Mountain Battlefield Tour
3:00 p.m. - Army of the Cumberland Assaults Missionary Ridge Walking Tour
Cravens House:
Living History:
Artillery Demonstrations
Infantry Demonstrations
Medical Program
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2008 -
Guided Battlefield Tours:
11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. - Poink Park Guided Walking Tour
1:00 p.m. - Orchard Knob Battlefield Car Caravan Tour
2:00 p.m. - Ringgold Gap Battlefield Car Caravan Tour
2:30 p.m. - Sherman Reservation Tour
Cravens House:
Living History:
Artillery Demonstrations
Infantry Demonstrations
Medical Program |
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FUTURE ROUND TABLE MEETINGS December 16, 2008 - To be announced. |
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UP-COMING LOCAL CIVIL WAR EVENTS OF NOTE NEW ENTRIES: October 2-3, 2008—UP-DATED--Dedication of the Patrick Cleburne Monument, Ringgold, Georgia; postponed from October, 2008; more details as available PREVIOUS ENTRIES:
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 |
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www.chattanoogacwrt.org |
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President -- Jim Ogden Vice President -- Ansley Moses |
Treasurer -- Harvey Scarborough Secretary -- Neil Greenwood |
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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 application can be found at: application] |
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[Go to October 2008 Issue] - [Go to December 2008 Issue] [Return to Top of Issue] |