Fred Bohmfalk on “A Personal Look at the Lives of Generals Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan”

The talk explored the West Point careers, married lives, and civilian careers of these very different men, and dealt with topics seldom explored by historians.

Dana Lombardy on “Why did World War Two happen—How were the United States and its allies able to defeat Nazi Germany?”

Dana Lombardy

Dana described  how the “sudden” cease-fire in November 1918 was later used by Nazi propaganda to as proof that Germany’s “unbeaten armies were “stabbed in the back” by their political leaders. In addition, the 1919 Treaty of Versailles worried many important people at the time that the treaty’s harsh terms would only lead to another war. But what was the treaty’s real impact on World War Two? What does this mean to Americans today? What lessons can we learn from the mistakes of the past?

Dana Lombardy was an Associate Online Editor for Armchair General magazine and now does research, writing and design through Lombardy Studios. Dana is best known for his nearly twenty television appearances, including multiple episodes of The History Channel’s “Tales of the Gun” series. He has contributed as an editor, cartographer, graphic artist and designer on many books, games, and magazines, and was Publisher of Napoleon Journal from 1996 to 2000.

Bob Hubbs on “Four Regiments and Four Privates”

Often CWRT presentations are prepared based on an important Civil War battle, a famous Civil War person, a famous regiment or unit, or a special Civil War site or location. Bob’s presentation was prepared without any special fame and any famous leaders, but by selecting four unknown or little known regiments and an unknown or little known private from regiment and then doing research. Selection of the regiments and how the privates were selected will be presented and why they were selected. The four regiments will be followed from their formation until the end of the Civil War, and the movements, battles, and actions they encountered during that period. What happened to “their” private during the Civil War period? Why select only four regiments and four privates?

There were unexpected challenges is finding information about the regiments and the privates who were selected—several of those challenges will be introduced and discussed. It was a surprising search, discovering more information than expected, and it was much later after several years of research that Bob realized that he had material to give a presentation.

Bob Hubbs is active in the following Round Table groups: San Francisco, Peninsula, and South Bay. He has presented to each of those groups multiple times over the years. He has also served as the Program Chair for each of those groups.

From 1956 he has been active in research and laboratory work. During that period he has been called chemist, teacher, educator, Professor, Dean, and Historian. His Civil War interests are Grant, Lincoln, and he has been called on several occasions “A Dam Yankee”.

MEETING CANCELED. THE FOLLOWING PRESENTATION WILL BE RESCHEDULED.

Join us at Harry’s Hofbrau in Redwood City, 11:30 on Tuesday, July 15. See the MEETING INFO menu item for specific times and directions. This month’s topic is

Jack Mather on “San Francisco World Fairs, 1894–1940”

Jack Mather

These World Fairs were technological marvels and “set the bar” for such events for decades to come. Don’t miss Jack’s talk.

Jack Mather is a long-time member of the PCWRT and teacher of history.

Howard Jones on “Corinth and the Battle of Shiloh”

Howard Jones

April of 2012 marked the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh. In this battle over 65,000 Federal troops and 43,000 Confederates engaged in two bloody days of warfare. Total casualties from this battle exceeded 25,000. The battle was fought at Shiloh, but it was not about Shiloh – it was always about Corinth. In fact, the Shiloh Battlefield is only 20 miles north of the City of Corinth.

Corinth was of great strategic importance to both armies. It was a key railroad center and served both the (east/west) Memphis & Charleston railroad and the (north/south) Mobile & Ohio railroad. It was also just 20 miles from Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. In 1861, the Federal government developed its strategy for invading the Confederacy in the West. The object was to attack and capture key rail centers and waterways in the South.

In April, 1862 General Henry Halleck ordered the Army of the Tennessee under General Ulysses Grant and the Army of the Ohio under General Don Carlos Buell to converge on Pittsburg Landing for the purpose of attacking and capturing Corinth. As General Grant waited for the troops under General Buell to arrive he was attacked by 43,000 Confederate troops under the Command of Albert Sidney Johnston. The two day battle that ensued is the subject of this presentation.

Howard Jones is a long time member (and current president) of the Peninsula Civil War Roundtable and a student of the Civil War.

Jack Mather on “James Wolfe and John Burgoyne and The Struggle for Control of North America”

Jack Mather

Jack Mather told the story of two British generals, one of whom enjoyed poetry and the other a noted playwright. One a military success, the other judged a failure.

Jack Mather is a long-time member of the PCWRT and is well read on broad historical topics. Jack is a retired teacher of history at both the high school and college level.

Hal Jespersen on “Civil War Cartography”

front page of CWMaps.com

Readers say that one of the most important features of a modern book about the Civil War is a good collection of readable, accurate maps. Hal’s presentation revealed some of the details behind the process for creating such maps. Hal Jespersen’s cartography business has produced over 800 maps for Wikipedia and numerous books, magazines, and battlefield displays. Hal discussed  the state of mapmaking during the war, reviewed the work of some famous cartographers, and described tools and processes he uses to create maps. Some of the technical concepts included were projection, elevation rendering, evaluating the accuracy of the Official Records Atlas, and plotting the courses of 19th century rivers, roads, and railroads.

Continue reading →

Arthur Henrick on “Civil War Pistols and Rifles”

Major Henrick

Arthur Henrick, Civil War reenactor and collector, explored the workings and production issues of Civil War pistols and rifles. He brought the following (unloaded of course):

Original 1851 Colt Navy (made 1852),
Remington Navy – old Model Elliot type (made June, 1862),
Remington Army – old model (made August, 1862),
Colt 1861 Navy (made June 1863)

He also brought reproductions (modern) of the following:

Giswold Gunnison Navy (CSA)
Colt Navy 1861 model
Remington New Model Army (Circa 1864)
Enfield Long Rifle
1860 Henry Repeater

Dana Lombardy on “The Waterloo Myth: How Napoleon Nearly Won the 1815 Campaign”

Dana Lombardy

Many historians discount the Waterloo campaign as irrelevant—a French victory in Belgium could not prevent an eventual Allied triumph due to overwhelming numbers, the same way it happened in 1813 and 1814. Was Napoleon desperate and out of touch with reality? Or, was the entire 1815 campaign, not just the battle on 18 June, more of a “close run thing” than assumed?

Dana Lombardy was an Associate Online Editor for Armchair General magazine and now does research, writing and design through Lombardy Studios. Dana is best known for his nearly twenty television appearances, including multiple episodes of The History Channel’s “Tales of the Gun” series. He has contributed as an editor, cartographer, graphic artist and designer on many books, games, and magazines, and was Publisher of Napoleon Journal from 1996-2000.