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AmazonSmile Donations Increased by 10x through November 2
From today through Friday, November 2,
AmazonSmile is
donating 5% (ten times the usual amount) to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation when you shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/54-2007460. #AmazonSmile #StartWithaSmile. This is a great opportunity to support battlefield preservation when you shop!
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Coming November 27
#Giving Tuesday
On #GivingTuesday, your power to preserve battlefields will be doubled.
November 27th is #GivingTuesday. On that day, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation will be fundraising to support our next battlefield preservation effort to
save 131 acres on the
Tom's Brook Battlefield.
During #GivingTuesday, Facebook and PayPal are matching donations through Facebook for a total of up to $7 million dollars. In addition,
your donations to the Battlefields Foundation made through Facebook could be matched! Mark your calendar to donate on Tuesday, November 27, to
help save 131 acres on the Tom's Brook battlefield. Just go to the SVBF Facebook page
here and use any of the donate buttons on the page.
100% of the donations will go towards battlefield preservation;
there will be no fees. And be sure to
make your donation early while matching funds are still available!
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Dana Shoaf - "Propitious Weather and a Splendid Spectacle": The Grand Review of the Armies
Shenandoah University's McCormick Civil War Institute
Hester Auditorium, Shenandoah University, Winchester
(Thursday, November 1, 2018, 7pm)
Shenandoah University's McCormick Civil War Institute will feature historian Dana Shoaf, editor of Civil War Times, for MCWI's Fall Perspectives in the Civil War Era lecture. The presentation, "Propitious Weather and a Splendid Spectacle": The Grand Review of the Armies, Washington, DC, May 23 & 24, 1865, will examine how the events of those two days which included an unprecedented military review as the 150,000 soldiers, and 25,000 horses and mules, of General George Meade's and William T. Sherman's Union armies marched through the capital's streets. More than just a celebration of victory, the review served as a balm for the North and the nation rocked by the recent assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Join Dana Shoaf as he discusses the Grand Review and its significance, and analyzes remarkable period images of marching columns, packed crowds, and generals and politicians in reviewing stands. This event will be held on the campus of Shenandoah University in Hester Auditorium. FREE and open to the public. For questions contact Prof. Jonathan A. Noyalas at jnoyalas01@su.edu or 540-665-4501.
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The Five Battles of Winchester
Expert Historical Tours
Kernstown Battlefield on Pritchard Grim Farm, Winchester
(Saturday, November 3, 2018, 10am-5pm)
As the 2018 American History Lecture and Touring season comes to a close, Expert Historical Tours (EHT) has partnered with the Kernstown Battlefield Association (KBA) to offer a spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime event, "The Five Battles of Winchester," a full day of lectures and tours on the Kernstown Battlefield presented by the three authors and leading authorities of the First and Second Battles of Kernstown, as well as the First, Second, and Third Battle of Winchester. Featuring Gary Ecelbarger, Scott Patchan, and Eric Wittenberg.
The cost for lunch, snacks and drinks is $20; the daylong event is free! The KBA visitor Center will be open for book and other purchases; Donations to KBA will also be gratefully accepted. Pre-registration is required. RSVP to smgolden@aol.com. Questions please call (202) 302-9129. For a complete schedule, click
here
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Inalienable Rights: Free and Enslaved Blacks Crafting a Life in the Shenandoah Valley
Belle Grove Plantation, Middletown
(Saturday, November 10, 2018, 10am-6pm)
Belle Grove will honor its African American history with demonstrations, interpretive programs, and talks. The Hite family at Belle Grove owned and enslaved 276 men, women, and children from 1783 to 1851. Their lives and legacy must not be forgotten. Research is underway to learn about the contributions of the enslaved to the success of the Belle Grove. Please join this ongoing process of discovery and conversation. The event will include Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, The Slave Dwelling Project, the Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project, and other local groups. The Slave Dwelling Project's mission is to identify and assist property owners with documenting and preserving extant slave dwellings and they bring people together to talk about these important spaces of American history. While Belle Grove's slave quarters have long ago been removed, the Slave Dwelling Project will discuss the lower level of the Manor House, one place where the enslaved worked and may have slept. There will also be an opportunity to learn about the archaeological evidence that has been found where Belle Grove's slave quarters once stood. Free. 336 Belle Grove Road. For a schedule and more information, click here.
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"Myths About Lee's Surrender"- Patrick Schroeder
Nichols Auditorium, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington
(Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 7:30pm)
Patrick A. Schroeder, Civil War author and the Historian at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, will separate fact from myth, discussing what really happened at Appomattox on April 9, 1865 - including the reasons for the surrender, the "apple tree," Custer and "the flag of truce," and the number of Confederates in the field. Patrick first published Thirty Myths About Lee's Surrender in 1993. Since then he has lectured and written extensively, both as an independent researcher and from 2002 to the present as an NPS Historian, about the events at Appomattox. Pat has written, edited, or contributed to more than 25 additional Civil War titles and articles, including More Myths About Lee's Surrender; The Confederate Cemetery at Appomattox; Images of America: Appomattox County; Pennsylvania Bucktails; and We Came To Fight: A History of the 5th New York Volunteer Infantry, Duryee's Zouaves,1863-1865.
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A Discussion with Peter Carmichael
John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History
Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia
(Thursday, November 15, 2018, 5pm-6:30pm)
T
he Nau Center will host a discussion with historian Peter Carmichael about his newest book, The War for the Common Soldier: How Men Thought, Fought, and Survived in Civil War Armies (UNC Press, 2018). This event will be held at the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia. It is free and open to the public and no advance registration is required. Paid parking is available nearby at the Central Grounds Parking Garage located near the UVA bookstore. Copies of Professor Carmichael's book will be available for purchase and there will be a chance to meet the author and have your book signed after our event.
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"The Burning of Chambersburg" - Ted Alexander
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation's Civil War Roundtable
Shenandoah Valley Civil War Museum, Winchester
(Thursday, December 6 2018, 7pm)
The next meeting of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation's Civil War Roundtable will feature historian and author Ted Alexander speaking on "The Burning of Chambersburg." Ted retired from the National Park Service in 2016 after a career of over 30 years with the park service, including serving as chief historian at the Antietam National Battlefield. He is the author, editor or contributor to ten books on the Civil War and other aspects of American history, including History and Tour Guide of the Burning of Chambersburg and McCausland's Raid, The Battle of Antietam: The Bloodiest Day, as well as more than two hundred articles and book reviews for publications such as the Civil War Times, Blue and Gray, North and South and the Washington Times.
SVBF Roundtable meetings are free and open to everyone. To sign up for the roundtable mailing list, call 540-740-4545 or email info@svbf.net.
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2019 National Conference: "Give the Enemy No Rest": The 1864 Shenandoah Campaign
Based in Front Royal, Virginia
(April 10-13, 2019)
The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation's 4th Annual National Civil War Conference will focus on Sheridan's 1864 Shenandoah Campaign, the largest and costliest campaign ever fought in the Valley. The conference will include talks, programs, special events, and tours of Third Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek - all featuring the finest historians in the nation.
Guides and speakers will include Gary Ecelbarger, Caroline E. Janney, Robert K. Krick, William Miller, Jonathan A. Noyalas, Scott C. Patchan, Ralph Peters, Nicholas Picerno, and Jeffry Wert.
The cost for the full conference is $425 for SVBF members, $475 for non-members. Guests can also choose one or more individual days with a la carte pricing. For more information, click
here. To register, for the full conference, click
here. For single day registration, click
here.
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155 Years Ago: November 1863 During the Civil War
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Union Col. Edward Hatch
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November 3, 1863
Battle of Collierville (Tennessee). Four minor battles occurred in 1863 at Collierville, Tennessee, during a three-month period. The November 3 fight was intended to be a Confederate cavalry raid to break up the Memphis & Charleston Railroad behind Union Gen. William T. Sherman's XV Army Corps, then in the process of marching to the relief of Chattanooga. But, when Confederate Gen. James R. Chalmers, leading a cavalry division riding up from Mississippi, learns that only two Union regiments are defending Collierville, he decides to attack. Union Col. Edward Hatch possesses more men than Chalmers supposes, stationed at Collierville and at Germantown, five miles to the west. Scouts warn Hatch of Chalmers's approach from the south, so he orders Collierville's defenders to be prepared and rides from Germantown with cavalry reinforcements. Chalmers, as he had done only three weeks earlier, attacks from the south. Col. Hatch arrives with help. Surprised by the unexpected appearance of the enemy on his flanks, Chalmers concludes that he is outnumbered, calls off the battle, and, to ward off Union pursuit, withdraws back to Mississippi. The Memphis & Charleston Railroad remains open to Tuscumbia, Alabama, for Union troop movements.
November 6, 1863
Battle of Droop Mountain (West Virginia). In early November, Union Gens. W.W. Averell and Alfred Napoleon Alexander DuffiƩ embark on a raid into southwestern Virginia to disrupt the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad. While DuffiƩ's column destroy military property en route, Averell encounters and defeats a Confederate brigade under Brig. Gen. John Echols at Droop Mountain. The Union columns reunite at Lewisburg the next day but are in no condition to continue their raid. After this battle, Confederate resistance in West Virginia collapses.
Battle of Rappahannock Station (Virginia). On November 7, the Union Army of the Potomac forces passage of the Rappahannock River at two places. A dusk attack overruns the Confederate bridgehead at Rappahannock Station, capturing more than 1,600 men of Jubal Early's Division. Fighting at Kelly's Ford on the same day is less severe, with about 430 casualties, but the Confederates retreat, allowing the Federals across in force. On the verge of going into winter quarters around Culpeper, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of the Northern Virginia retires instead into Orange County south of the Rapidan River. Union Gen. George G. Meade's Federal army occupies the vicinity of Brandy Station and Culpeper County.
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Confederate Gen. James Longstreet
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November 16, 1863
Battle of Campbell's Station (Tennessee). In early November 1863, Confederate Gen. James Longstreet, with two divisions and about 5,000 cavalry, is detached from the Confederate Army of Tennessee near Chattanooga to attack Union Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's Department of the Ohio troops at Knoxville, Tennessee. Following parallel routes, Longstreet and Burnside race for Campbell's Station, a hamlet where the Concord Road, from the south, intersects the Kingston Road to Knoxville. Burnside hopes to reach the crossroads first and continue on to safety in Knoxville; Longstreet plans to reach the crossroads and hold it, which will prevent Burnside from gaining Knoxville and force him to fight outside his earthworks. By forced marching, on a rainy November 16, Burnside's advance reached the vital intersection and deploys first. The main column arrives at noon with the baggage train just behind. Scarcely 15 minutes later, Longstreet's Confederates approach. Longstreet attempts a double envelopment: attacks timed to strike both Union flanks simultaneously. Confederate Gen. Lafayette McLaw's division strikes with such force that the Union right had to redeploy, but holds. Gen. Micah Jenkins's Confederate division maneuvers ineffectively as it advances and is unable to turn the Union left. Burnside orders his two divisions astride the Kingston Road to withdraw three-quarters of a mile to a ridge in their rear. This is accomplished without confusion. The Confederates suspend their attack while Burnside continues his retrograde movement to Knoxville. Had Longstreet reached Campbell's Station first, the Knoxville Campaign's results might have been different.
November 19, 1863
Abraham Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg. While the initial reception to his remarks is mixed, it will go down as one of the greatest speeches in American history.
Battle of Chattanooga (Tennessee). From the last days of September 1863, Gen. Braxton Bragg's army has laid siege to the Union army under Gen. William Rosecrans at Chattanooga, cutting off its supplies. On October 17, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant receives command of the Western armies; he moves to reinforce Chattanooga and replaces Rosecrans with Gen. George Thomas. A new supply line (the "Cracker Line") is soon established. Gen. William T. Sherman arrived with his four divisions in mid-November, and the Federals began offensive operations. On November 23-24, Union forces strike out and capture Orchard Knob and Lookout Mountain ("The Battle Above the Clouds"). On November 25, Union soldiers assault and carry the seemingly impregnable Confederate position on Missionary Ridge. One of the Confederacy's two major armies has been routed, and the Federals hold Chattanooga, the "Gateway to the Lower South," which will become the supply and logistics base for Sherman's 1864 Atlanta Campaign.
Battle of Ringgold Gap (Georgia). Following the Union victory at Missionary Ridge and the Confederate retreat, Yankee troops set out in pursuit. Confederate Gen. Patrick Cleburne's command falls back to Ringgold Gap where the Western & Atlantic Railroad passes through Taylor's Ridge. Union Gen. Joseph B. Hooker sends his force forward to seize the ridge, which it fails to do after five hours of heavy fighting.
November 27, 1863
Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan and six fellow officers escape from the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. Morgan had been captured by Union forces in July, ending his famous raid of the north. The escapees will eventually make their way safely back to Confederate territory.
November 27-December 2, 1863
Battle of Mine Run (Virginia). In late November 1863, Union Gen. George G. Meade attempts to steal a march through the Wilderness and strike the right flank of the Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate army south of the Rapidan River. Confederate Gen. Jubal A. Early, in command of Ewell's Corps, marches east on the Orange Turnpike to meet the advance of Union Gen. William French's III Corps near Payne's Farm. Union Gen. Joseph B. Carr's division attacks twice. Confederate Edward "Allegheny" Johnson's division counterattacks but is scattered by heavy fire and broken terrain. After dark, Lee withdraws to prepared field fortifications along Mine Run. The next day the Union army closes on the Confederate position. Skirmishing is heavy, but a major attack does not materialize. Meade concludes that the Confederate line is too strong to attack and retires during the night of December 1-2, ending the winter campaign.
November 28, 1863
Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, commander of the Army of Tennessee, telegraphs his resignation to Richmond. His resignation will be accepted on November 30
Battle of Fort Sanders (Tennessee). In attempting to take Knoxville, the Confederates decide that Fort Sanders is the only vulnerable place where they can penetrate Union Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's fortifications, which enclose the city, and successfully conclude the siege, already a week long. The fort surmounts an eminence just northwest of Knoxville. Northwest of the fort, the land drops off abruptly. Confederate Gen. James Longstreet believes he can assemble a storming party, undetected at night, below the fortifications and, before dawn, overwhelm Fort Sanders by a coup de main. Following a brief artillery barrage directed at the fort's interior, three Confederate brigades charge. Union wire entanglements--telegraph wire stretched from one tree stump to another to another--delay the attack, but the fort's outer ditch halts the Confederates. This ditch is twelve feet wide and from four to ten feet deep with vertical sides. The fort's exterior slope is almost vertical, also. Crossing the ditch is nearly impossible, especially under withering defensive fire from musketry and canister. Confederate officers lead their men into the ditch, but, without scaling ladders, few emerge on the scarp side and a small number enter the fort to be wounded, killed, or captured. The attack lasts a short twenty minutes. This is the decisive battle of the Knoxville Campaign. This Confederate defeat, plus the loss of Chattanooga on November 25, puts much of East Tennessee in the Union camp
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