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March 2010 CANISTER Newsletter Website Version of Our Monthly Newsletter |
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March 2010 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 XXVII | MARCH 16, 2010 | NO. 3 |
VISITORS AND GUESTS WELCOME |
| DATE: | TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2010 | TIME: 7:00 PM |
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TOPIC: |
"Confederate General Sterling Alexander Martin 'S. A. M.' Wood |
| SPEAKER: | MR. CHRISTOPHER P. YOUNG, HISTORIAN & EDUCATOR |
| 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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MARCH MEETING |
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It is almost always overlooked, but Alabamian Sterling Alexander Martin Wood (whose 187th birthday is the day after our meeting) was one of the first Confederate operational commanders in our region's Civil War story. When Unionist struck at the Western & Atlantic Railroad in early November, 1861, burning two bridges on that strategic road, Colonel S. A. M. Wood was sent here with his 7th Alabama Infantry to crush the Unionist up-rising and safe-guard the W & A and the equally vital East Tennessee & Georgia RR. A year and a half later, he would be back in the Chattanooga area, as the commander of an Alabama and Mississippi brigade in Pat Cleburne's Division, and would soon thereafter fight the last battle of his Civil War in the woods and occasional fields of the valley of the "River of Death" a dozen miles south of town. In between, S. A. M. Wood had had a promising but checkered career, one that has left him as one of the lesser understood long-time figures of the Army of Tennessee. In his talk this evening, historian, educator, and Park Ranger Chris Young will take us S. A. M. Wood's career. He'll look at the little different up-bringing of Wood and a pre-war career that might suggest some of what Wood would experience during the war. Fortunately, for us and Chris, Wood's wartime letters survive and Chris is hard at work preparing them for publication and researching the clues they contain. You'll come away with a better understanding of this interesting figure in the Army of Tennessee's history. Christopher P. Young, like S. A. M. Wood is an Alabamian, from Piedmont, Calhoun County. He is a graduate of Jacksonville State University, where, in addition to history and archeology, he has studied to be a secondary education teacher. For several years while in college, he worked as a seasonal interpreter at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and presently holds a term Park Ranger position there. As an aside, if you're an Alabama 'Tide fan or you're in Bryant-Denny Stadium hoping that your team beats the 'Tide, take a couple of minutes before or after the game and walk into the cemetery, Evergreen Cemetery, across the street behind the stadium and there you'll find S. A. M. Wood's grave; Josiah Gorgas is there too.
S. A. M. Wood (seated right) and staff--Alabama Department of Archives and History website |
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SPEAKER'S FUND SUPPORT OF THE MONTH There are four items this month for the Speaker’s Fund. There are four items this month for the Speaker’s Fund. The first is a copy of Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862 by O. Edward Cunningham, edited by Gary D. Joiner and Timothy B. Smith, one of the overlooked treatments of Shiloh, a battle in which S. A. M. Wood played an important role. The second item is a copy of Eliza Francis Andrews' A Family Secret: A Novel, edited by Kit Rushing, one of our previous speakers. The third item is a copy of American Scoundrel: The Life of the Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles by Thomas Keneally. The fourth item is a copy of the September, 1999, issue of North & South with articles on the Confederate artillery plan at Gettysburg and whether any Civil War battle was really decisive. Three of the 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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SCOUTS REPORTS! There were several Civil War related programs in the last month or so. Did anyone make it to the Stringer's Ridge hike on the 13th? A couple of folks I know made it out for the Moccasin Bend fortifications walking tour on the 27th. Did anyone go on the Georgia Battlefield Association tour with Ed Bearss of Hood's North Georgia Campaign or attend the "Seminar in the Woods?" If you were able to attend one or more, or another one not listed here, and you’re at our March meeting, give us a report. Good intelligence is one of the keys to military success! |
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FUTURE ROUND TABLE MEETINGS April 20, 2010 -- To be announced May 18, 2010--Zack Waters, Historian & Author, co-author of forthcoming book on Florida Confederate Soldiers in the Army of Northern Virginia, A Small But Spartan Band: The Florida Brigade in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia (University of Alabama Press, 2010), with James C. Edmonds June 2010 -- To be announced July 2010 -- To be announced August 2010 -- To be announced September 21, 2010--IN THE FIELD--"Forrest vs. Old Rosy: The First Days After Chickamauga" October 2010 -- To be announced November 2010 -- To be announced December 2010 -- To be announced |
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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 had been 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 and has raised all but $192,000 of the purchase price. They're making a final push now to get the last of the deal paid off. 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. |
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UP-COMING LOCAL CIVIL WAR EVENTS OF NOTE
NEW ENTRIES:
PREVIOUS ENTRIES: |
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...from the report of Colonel Sterling A. M. Wood, 7th Alabama, of operations during the
revolt of the Unionist in East Tennessee, November, 1861
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| Official Records, Series I, Vol. 4, p. 247 |
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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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