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Join Us for Our Next Program...
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 @ 7 p.m. |
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The 26th Ohio Voluntary
Infantry: The Groundhog Regiment
Presented by Jeff Hill
The
Twenty-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry was officially organized at
Camp Chase (Columbus) from June 8-24, 1861 to serve for three years. As
such, the regiment was one of the first to answer President Abraham
Lincoln's call to defend the Union.
Throughout the War, nearly
1200 men were part of the 26th at one time or another, most as direct
enlistment volunteers, but others as transfers from other regiments (most
commonly the 97th OVI). During the war, 122 were killed or mortally
wounded, 13 died as prisoners of war (most of them at Andersonville), 85
died from disease, 245 were disabled from combat, 112 were discharged
(probably due to serious illness or injury), 48 transferred out to other
regiments, 441 were mustered out at the end of their term, one deserted,
and records are incomplete for 149 soldiers.
The regiment fought in many
well known major Western Theater campaigns including: Stones River,
Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, New Hope Church, Kennesaw Mountain,
Dallas, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Lovejoy's Station, Spring
Hill, Franklin, and Nashville. The regiment also fought in dozens of
lesser known battles or skirmishes. The regiment also is noted for routing
famous Confederate General Forrest's cavalry on several occasions.
Source:
26th OVI Website
Our speaker: Jeff Hill is the webmaster of the
26th OVI website.
He is the descendant of two members of the regiment
and is writing a history of the regiment which fought at Stones
River, Chickamauga, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Spring
Hill, Franklin and Nashville.
To make a reservation:
Use the Dinner Reservation Form on
this website, send an email to
or call 440-449-9311 and leave a message on the voice mail.
Please note: Meetings
are held at Judson Manor at the corner of East
107th Street and Chester on University Circle in downtown Cleveland.
Map to Judson Manor
FULL 2009-10 PROGRAM SCHEDULE>>
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The (Secret)
Life and Letters
of General George Gordon
Meade |
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Mumms the Word Headquarters Army of the Potomac
March 2, 1865. Late p.m.
To Mrs. George G. Meade
Lyman has returned without waiting for my
summons, he becoming nervous for fear some movement of Lee's might
precipitate matters before he could get notice, and if the army should
move, it might be a difficult matter to join it. He has been gone since
the week before Christmas and brings with him a case or two of champagne,
by way of apology for neglecting my birthday.
There is nothing new in the camp, except
you may tell George the Third Infantry has reported, and is doing guard
duty at headquarters in place of the "red legs'' as he dubbed them last
year. Lyman was so taken by this inventive naming that he spent some
considerable portion of his leave devising a new amusement, the collection
and listing of curious names for regiments. With no more pressing matters
to hand, these he read out tonight in my mess, asking our visitors their
opinion as to the derivation of these names.
There are no less than three regiments
which rejoice in the appellation “Persimmon”, including the 100th Indiana.
That unfortunate state also boasts a 1st Artillery known as the “Jackass”
regiment, which one trusts is rather more to do with their beasts than
with their brains. Lyman placed my own 13th Pennsylvania “Bucktails” on
his list, but remembering with affection their two weeks in my first
command at the start of the rebellion, I banned their continued inclusion.
I allowed him to retain the 140th
Pennsylvania infantry, who were once so burdened by huge Vincennes rifles,
that they were unable to discard the cruel jibes of “Walking Artillery”.
Iowa laid claim to two fine candidates,
viz. the 24th “Temperance” and the 37th “Graybeards”, the latter of which
Lyman avers are required to be above the age of 45 years, limiting their
active service to guarding railroads close to home.
From his own part of the world, Lyman has
collected the 16th Connecticut “Plymouth Pilgrims, and the 10th Light
Artillery of Massachusetts, known as “Sleeper’s”. I did not find this at
all amusing, especially as he tiresomely repeated that they must be the
“Light Sleeper’s”. We worked our way through a mixed bag of New Jersey
Third Cavalry “Butterflies” and 8th Wisconsin “Eagles”, with every one
guessing that the first was once gaudily uniformed. No one deduced that
the latter proudly display an imprisoned bald eagle, disrespectfully named
“Abe”, as it appears to me.
The sensation of the evening came when
Lyman gave the nom de guerre of the 26th Ohio, to wit, the “Ground Hogs”.
He says the regiment is so taken with its ability to dig tremendous holes
without tools, that they see no shame in boasting a similarity to a
verminous rodent. Such a sentiment is of course unremarkable in the
Western armies.
Warren surprised our party by declaring
it local lore in Pennsylvania, though how he heard of it I cannot
speculate, that at about this time of year, if a ground hog sees its own
shadow it presages six more weeks of winter. Perhaps, he announced to a
general silence, if the boys from Ohio see their shadows there will be six
further weeks of conflict, with the greatest event of the century to be
expected on April 15th. I am determined that Lyman’s champagne is to be
strictly rationed at table in future.
MORE MEADE>>
Note: Though NOT drawn from
The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Major General United States
Army published in 1913, the General assures us that these materials are,
like him, completely authentic. General Meade will be pleased to respond to
any questions or comments sent him at MajGenlMeade
@ aim.com.

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Roundtable Report
News from
the Cleveland CWRT |
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An Evening with
President Abraham Lincoln
Monday,
February 22, 2010 @ 7:00 p.m.
The Dover Room, Westlake Porter Library
It’s February of 1865, President
Abraham Lincoln had
been reelected the past November and will be inaugurated for his second term
on March 4th.
M ary
Lincoln, in her efforts to raise money for Union soldiers and their
families, has committed Lincoln to a talk before an audience at Washington's Ford’s Theater.
The President will speak about his life,
beliefs, policies, and the war as it nears its end. His words will provide
insight into that era, seasoned with his characteristic sense of humor.
President Lincoln will take questions from the audience after his remarks
and all are encouraged to participate.
Abraham Lincoln will be portrayed by
Westlake resident, Lincoln scholar and CCWRT past president, Mel Maurer.
This event is sponsored by The Westlake Historical Society and Westlake
Porter Public Library and will take place in the Dover Room of the Westlake
Porter Library at 27333 Center Ridge Road in Westlake. Admission is free.
The Lincoln Forum – 2009
By Mel Maurer
N ote: The Lincoln
Forum (www.lincolnforum.org)
is an organization dedicated to enhancing "the understanding and preserving
the memory of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War." Founded in 1995, the
Forum meets each year in Gettysburg, PA, on the anniversary of Lincoln's
address at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery.
This 14th meeting of the Lincoln
Forum was held as usual in Gettysburg from November 16th to 18th.
However this year we met at a new location – The Wyndham Hotel east
of town off York Road just past Route 15. Our former location, The
Holiday Inn near the battlefield had become too small for the
popular Forum’s growing needs. (By the way, this once “Holiday Inn”
is now: “1863: The Gettysburg Inn.”)
Our Roundtable was well
represented again this year - attending along with me were Lou Braman, Anne
Davis, Kirk Hinman, Gordon Doble, Dick Crews, Dave Edmonds, Maynard
Bauer and Betty Bauer. (Thanks to Forum Photographer, Hank Ballone
for the use of some of his great pix. Hank also received a well-deserved distinguished service award from the Forum this year.)
CONTINUE ACTICLE>>
Civil War 150
The Ohio Historical Society in conjunction with the Center
for Public History and Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University
proudly announces the opening of its website commemorating the
sesquicentennial of the American Civil War,
Civil War 150. The Civil
War touched almost every community in Ohio. This site is intended to be a
place for modern day Ohioans to come together to learn about and discuss the
various aspects of the war and how it affected both Ohio and our country. It
includes articles, discussion groups and lesson plans for teachers.
The
exhibit is built around web 2.0 principles and, as such, community
participation is essential. Its success will depend on getting the
word out. Please share information about this site with colleagues, friends,
and anyone who might be interested in the American Civil War. There are many
opportunities for students and teachers to get involved, including helping
to develop and fill in the timeline, putting events on the calendar, making
contributions and building exhibits. The project's coordinators welcome your
thoughts, insights and recommendations.
It promises to be an exciting place. There is an excellent
collection of Ohio regimental flags, including images of the flags. Please
check it out. The creators are looking for input and contributions,
both money and content. This is a Cleveland-based project about Ohio and the
Civil War. Let's help them out.
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From the January Charger
Newsletter of
the Cleveland CWRT |
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The Decisive Battle of the
Civil War: Another Nomination
The Battle of Rocky Face Ridge
By David A. Carrino
One
of the much debated topics about the Civil War is which battle was the
decisive battle. Much effort and time have been expended in support of one
or another Civil War battle for this distinction. A great deal of energy
and thought have also been devoted to the point of view that no Civil War
battle merits this title. Herein is offered another nomination for this
designation as well as the case for this contention. Note that the choice
of the word "contention" is intentional, because the battle which is
proposed as the most decisive is not one which is likely to be selected
and which is instead likely to provoke disagreement.
Rather than championing this battle as
the most decisive, the intent is to provide a different and hopefully
thought-provoking point of view about a little known Civil War battle, the
ramifications of which are greater than the apparent insignificance of the
battle. The battle in question is Rocky Face Ridge, the opening battle of
William Tecumseh Sherman's Atlanta campaign. This battle is nominated as
the decisive battle of the war because it set the pattern for the entire
Atlanta campaign, and the Atlanta campaign, as argued below, was the most
significant military action in ensuring Union victory.
CONTINUE ACTICLE>>
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