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CINCINNATI
 CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE
Serving Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana Since 1956

Saturday April 17, 10 AM: Dedication of Museum in Morgan Township, Butler County

David Mowery's article on the significance of the township meeting house built in 1858 for Morgan Township, Butler County, is available here. The first Copperhead society in southern Butler County was organized on July 17, 1863, in a meeting at this township building. The interior of the house has now been restored and will become a museum. It will be dedicated on Saturday, April 17, 2010, at 10 AM. The building is located in the town of Okeana, on Route 126 about 7 miles northwest of Ross. If using the interstates for access, take the Colerain exit off I-275, and go north on US 27 about 5 miles to Ross.

Congratulations to the Cincinnati Museum Center for being awarded the National Medal for Museum and Library Service; see information here.

Victorian Society Symposium on "Ohio Presidents and Politicos"

COVINGTON—The Ohio River Valley Chapter of the Victorian Society in America will present “Ohio Presidents and Politicos,” the title of this year’s popular annual symposium, on Saturday, March 13, 2010, at historic Trinity Episcopal Church, Fourth Street and Madison Avenue.

Maybe you already knew that eight Ohioans served as U.S. president. But did you know that three of them were from Hamilton County? Or that Abraham Lincoln made three visits to Cincinnati? Or how about the pivotal role that Cincinnati’s infamous “Boss” Cox, whom muckraking journalists called “the biggest boss of them all,” played in bringing order and reform to the changing city?

Learn more about how the Queen City led our country at “Ohio Presidents and Politicos.” Speakers are:

• Dan Hurley, historian, “The Taft Family: A Remarkable Legacy of Leadership”
• Bob Wimberg, author of six books on Cincinnati history, “Ulysses S. Grant and his Family”
• Judith Spraul-Schmidt, University of Cincinnati history professor, “ ‘Boss’ Cox’s Cincinnati”
• Warren G. Harding III, great-nephew of President Warren G. Harding, who will talk on “Our Common Country: Mutual Good Will in America”
• Joyce Baer, library genealogist and costumed historical interpreter, “Remember the Ladies: Presidents’ Wives from Ohio and Mrs. Lincoln, Too”
• J.A. Chewning, UC senior design historian, “Lincoln in Cincinnati”

The symposium runs 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; registration starts at 8:30 a.m. Cost is $30, members, $35, nonmembers, and includes a catered lunch. To register or for more information, call Karen or Jim Schwartz at 513-829-3483.

Cincinnati Museum Center's GOLD Exhibit to Feature General Lytle's Medal

From February 6 through May 16, 2010, the Cincinnati Museum Center will host GOLD, an exhibit that "explores the splendor of the world's most valued mineral." According to CMC's Mosaic magazine, the exhibit will allow visitors to "Follow gold from the molten depths of the Earth to glittering examples of jewelry and artifacts, from gold rushes that shaped the world to the modern pop culture baubles that mesmerize us today. You can experience firsthand the attraction of the finest gold specimens on Earth and learn how gold has been located, mined, processed and turned into objects both beautiful and useful."

CMC's presentation will also include gold artifacts unique to Cincinnati and this region. Of special interest to us Civil War students will be the magnificent gold medal presented to General William Haines Lytle by the officers of the 10th Ohio Volunteer Infantry regiment. An elaborate gold cross, decorated with an emerald on a star of diamonds, was attributed to Tiffany & Company, New York. It was presented to General Lytle on 9 August 1863, just six weeks before his death at Chickamauga.

Lytle referred to the medal in a letter to his sister on 16 August: "I almost forgot to say that my cross was presented in due form a few days since by the officers of the 10th a delegation of whom came away down here [to Bridgeport AL] for the purpose. My old friend Major Halpin 15th Ky intended to write an account of the affair & publish it in the Commercial. I trust you may see it and may like the style of what I had to say. All present seemed to enjoy themselves hugely. A movement is again near at hand." (from For Honor Glory & Union, edited by Ruth C. Carter, from Lytle's letters at the Cincinnati Historical Society Library, pages 194-196.)

In Echoes of Battle: The Struggle for Chattanooga, Rick Baumgartner and Larry Strayer included a photograph of Lytle in uniform wearing the medal (page 65.) The photograph was taken at Bridgeport AL.

Whitelaw Reid's biographical sketch of Lytle (Ohio in the War, Volume I, page 881) summarized the event: "A few weeks before the battle of Chickamauga Lytle's old regiment, then on duty as head-quarters guard for General Rosecrans, presented him with an elegant testimonial of their regard, in the shape of a Maltese cross of gold, studded with diamonds and emeralds. The spot selected for the presentation was a most picturesque valley among the Alabama hills, and surrounded by his present and his old command, and by ladies, and officers of rank. The hero, with a graceful elegance so peculiarly his own, acknowledged the tribute."

From personal experience, this webmaster can assert that this medal is a stunning item, and a unique symbol of the respect and affection that the officers and men of the 10th OVI held for their former commander. If you have not seen it, make every effort to visit the exhibit at CMC between February 6 and May 16.

Hiram's Honor: Reliving Private Terman's Civil War, by Max R. Terman

Author Max Terman will visit Andersonville National Historic Site GA on Saturday, February 20, 2010, and will sign copies of Hiram's Honor between 11 AM and 3 PM. See information in this column below, and our book review here.

Ohio Historical Society Names Civil War Sesquicentennial Advisory Group

The fifteen Ohioans appointed to the Civil War 150 Advisory Committee are familiar names to many CCWRT members, including two who have spoken at CCWRT, Paul LaRue and Eric Wittenberg. See the full announcement here.

Hiram's Honor: Reliving Private Terman's Civil War, by Max R. Terman

Private Hiram Terman of Richland County OH served in the 82nd OVI from December 1861 until January 1865. With the 82nd, he fought in the 1862 Shenandoah campaign,Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run, and Chancellorsville. Captured at Gettysburg, he was a POW for more than 17 months at Belle Isle and Andersonville. The author, a native of Mansfield OH and professor emeritus of biology at Tabor College KS, has put enormous research effort into making this work of historical fiction as accurate and comprehensive as possible. OCWGJ readers will recognize many of his sources, such as Andersonville historian and OCWGJ Contributing Editor, Kevin Frye. The book is now available on Amazon and other booksellers, or from the author at maxt@tabor.edu. See book review here.

Max Terman's scheduled book signings in Ohio in August:

CCWRT Member Lois Lambert Wins 2nd OGS Book Award

At the annual conference of the Ohio Genealogical Society on April 4th, CCWRT member Lois Lambert became a two-time winner of OGS' "Oliver Hazard Perry Award for Ohio-related Military Historical Records," winning the 2009 award for her new book, Heroes of the Western Theater: 33rd Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry. It was published in 2008 by Little Miami Publishing Company, Milford. Dan Reigle's review of the book is available here. The book is being stocked in the major Cincinnati-area bookstores, and is also available at http://www.littlemiamibooks.com/.

Last year, Lois won the award for 91st Ohio Volunteer Infantry With the Civil War Letters of Lt. Col. Benjamin Franklin Coates. Congratulations to Lois!

Ed Bearss Named Honorary Cincinnati CWRT Member

CCWRT President Bob Limoseth Presents Honorary Membership to Ed Bearss

At the November 20, 2008 meeting Ed Bearss was made an Honorary Member of the Cincinnati Civil War Round Table. This is only the second time the Round Table has bestowed this level of recognition upon a distinguished member of today's Civil War community. James I. (Bud) Robertson was named our first honorary member on February 21, 1974.
If we were to develop a list of individuals who have contributed the most to the education, preservation and understanding of the significance of the American Civil War, Ed Bearss' name would indeed be one of the most prominent on the list. His lifetime of contributions to the Civil War community, and to American history in general, has touched Americans from all walks of life and from all parts of the country. It was the magnitude of this body of work that caused your officers to recommend the award and it was approved by the membership at our September 18, 2008 meeting.
The recipient of this honor gets to make a $1,000.00 contribution from our Preservation Fund to the non-profit Civil War organization of their choice. Ed chose the Civil War Preservation Trust and their current campaign to save a portion of the Glendale Battlefield.
The letter that accompanied the contribution made in Ed Bearss' name includes several of the comments made during the presentation ceremony, and can be read here: Letter to CWPT.

CCWRT President Bob Limoseth and Program Chair David Mowery Present Ed Bearss with a Reproduction of the CCWRT $1000 Donation that will be made in Ed's Honor to the Civil War Preservation Trust's Glendale preservation project.

Updates on Preservation and Archaeology at Johnson's Island

Dr. David Bush has provided us with two updates on the summer's work at Johnson's Island. For the most recent newsletter of the Friends & Descendants of Johnson's Island Civil War Prison, go to FDJI Newsletter. For a very interesting website at the Archaeological Institute of America, go here AIA Interactive Site. The FDJI website is FDJI website.

CCWRT Member Lois Lambert's New Book on the 33rd OVI is now available:

Heroes of the Western Theater: Thirty-third Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry

The 33rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry was recruited originally from the Ohio counties of Ross, Pike, Adams, and Scioto, but by the end of the war, the regiment contained men from nearly every county in Ohio. These men fought in the battles of Perryville, Stones River, Hoovers Gap, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Atlanta, Savannah, Averasboro, Bentonville, and Raleigh. Their stories are told through their letters to wives, sisters, and other family members in an engaging style that will personalize the experiences of the war. For a review of the book, go to Review.

Lois J. Lambert's previous book, Ninety-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, won the 2007 Oliver Hazard Perry Award for an Ohio-related military history record from the Ohio Genealogical Society.

Both books are available from Lois' website, or email to Lois' email. The book is published by Little Miami Publishing Company, Milford OH, 2008.

Fall Ohio Genealogical Society Seminar to Focus on Military Research; CCWRT Member Lois Lambert One of Featured Speakers

The annual Fall seminar hosted by the Ohio Genealogical Society will focus this year on "Researching Military Records in Ohio." It will be held on Saturday, October 3, 2009, in Shelby OH at the James W. Kehoe Center for Advanced Learning, North Central State College--Shelby Campus, from 9 AM to 4:30 PM. Featured speakers will be: Eric Johnson, an expert on the War of 1812 in Ohio; CCWRT member Lois Lambert, author of award-winning Civil War regimental histories of the 33rd and 91st Ohio Volunteer Infantry regiments; and Marjorie Waterfield, who will compare Spanish-American War records to Civil War, World War I, and World War II records. A registration form with links for further information is available here.

Dr. John Cimprich Lecture on "The Interaction Between Runaway Slaves and Northern Reformers During the Civil War. Tuesday, February 10, 2009, 7:00 PM, Thomas More College, Steigerwald Hall (in Holbrook Student Center.) Part of NKU's Military History Lecture Series.

The Confederacy originated in fear for the future of slavery and white supremacy, even though most Northerners at the beginning of the war didn not see the institution as the issue of the war. Within one month after the war began, slaves started running away to Federal armies. They offered to help the Union cause in return for freedom. The surprised Federals made no promises but often allowed the fugitives to stay. Northern reformers inside and outside the army provided supervision and charitable aid for these blacks, now called "contrabands," meaning that they were potentially confiscatable property of the enemy, as the United States government wrestled with making decisions about their future. The relationship, which sometimes developed constructively and sometimes contentiously, played an important role in shaping the major social change of slavery's end that resulted from the Civil War.

Dr. John Cimprich, who has spoken to CCWRT on Fort Pillow, is professor of history at Thomas More College. He has the A.B. degree from Thomas More, and the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Ohio State. His publications include Slavery's End in Tennessee, 1861-1865, and Fort Pillow: A Civil War Massacre and Public Memory.

Directions and a campus map are available on the TMC website here.

Paul LaRue's Research History Class featured at National Trust for Historic Preservation

CCWRT members who were present at the February 2006 meeting to hear about the work of the Research History Class at Washington High School in Washington Court House were impressed with the research projects and accomplishments of that year's class. That year's major project resulted in legislation by the Ohio General Assembly that designated September 22nd as Emancipation Day in Ohio.

Last Saturday, October 26, Paul LaRue presented the work of the Research History Class during the annual conference of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The session, sponsored by the American Council on Historic Preservation, "announces the beginning of its federal government-wide effort to actively involve the historic preservation community in creating service learning and/or community service opportunities for students and school systems across the United States. See more information here.

A summary of the Research History Class project, along with projects in Oklahoma, Maryland, and California, is available at the ACHP website here.

The presentation made at the conference, with many great photographs of the class at work, is available here.

Lincoln Bicentennial Speakers at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Fall 2008

Military History Lecture Series at NKU, Fall 2008

Northern Kentucky Law Review Symposium: "Lincoln, the Lawyer" - Oct 04, 2008

Saturday, October 4th, 8:30am - 12:30pm, Marriott River Center in Covington, Kentucky. Admission is free and open to the public. You must register for the symposium in advance by sending your name, address and phone number to lincolnsymposium@gmail.com. The email address is active now and accepting registrations.

The Northern Kentucky Law Review of the Chase College of Law and the Kentucky Historical Society are co-sponsoring a free public symposium titled "Lincoln, the Lawyer," on Saturday, October 4, at the Marriott RiverCenter in Covington, Ky. The symposium, which is free and open to the public, will look at the life and career of Abraham Lincoln.

• It will begin at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast and registration, followed by an introduction from the Northern Kentucky Law Review Editorial Board.
• At 9:05 a.m., Chase Law Professor Roger Billings, Jr., will draw from client correspondence and speeches to discuss certain ethics principals that Lincoln adhered to in his law practice. Billings will also show where these principles are found in the Code of Professional Responsibility.
• At 9:35 a.m., Christopher Schnell will discuss the impact of Kentuckians on Lincoln in order to provide a richer understanding of Lincoln the lawyer. Schnell is assistant editor of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, a project of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Lincoln was one of thousands of Kentuckians who migrated from their native state north across the Ohio River to eventually settle in Illinois during the early decades of the 19th century. Throughout his life, Lincoln's fellow migrants from Kentucky would have a profound impact on his social and professional development. John Stuart, who would become his first law partner, first encouraged him to study law. Joshua Speed became his closest friend, confidant and early client. Ninian Edwards gave him entry to Springfield's elite social circles. His wife Mary brought her fine Kentucky manners and family connections to the upstart lawyer. And many of Lincoln's clients, whose cases are counted among his most historically interesting legal work, originally hailed from Kentucky.
• At 10:05 a.m., Schnell and Billings will take part in a question and answer session.
• Dr. Mark Steiner, professor of law at South Texas College of Law and author of An Honest Calling: The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln, will then examine how Lincoln's professional life as a lawyer reinforced his commitment to the rule of law and influenced his presidency.
• At 11:20 a.m., Frank Williams, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island and one of the nation's most renowned experts on Lincoln, will discuss Lincoln's role as a leader. Although nearly 200 years have passed since Lincoln's birth, he still remains a leader who spoke the enduring words at Gettysburg that students once memorized, a commander-in-chief who reunited the nation by winning the Civil War and a chief executive who is continually ranked highest among all American presidents. Lincoln has become a mythic figure and is best remembered for his preservation of the Union, his abolishment of slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation and his support of the Thirteenth Amendment. But seldom do we think about the leadership characteristics that made Lincoln a successful lawyer, politician and president.
• The symposium will conclude with a second question and answer session with Dr. Steiner and Chief Justice Williams, followed by closing remarks from members of the Northern Kentucky Law Review Editorial Board.

Attendees from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana may receive three CLE credits by attending. Anyone interested in registering is asked to send their name, address and telephone number to lincolnsymposium@gmail.com.

Contact: Rhonda Schechter Email: schechterr1@nku.edu. More information at Chase College of Law.

New CCWRT Meeting Location in Sept 2008: The Conference Center at Drake

For the last three months Vice President Pat Homan has been working on meeting site arrangements for the upcoming campaign season. After several meetings with the Quality Hotel & Suites, and with their designated caterer, it was decided that a change in location would be needed in order to meet the officers' objective of providing quality meetings at a central location for a reasonable price. After visiting several new locations that built upon the site search conducted in the summer of 2007, The Conference Center at Drake was selected as our new meeting site.

Located just off Highway I-75 (Exit 10), The Drake Center, a part of the Drake Hospital complex, has professional meeting rooms of various sizes to accommodate our needs. They will also handle the catering needs of our group and menus have been finalized for the upcoming season.

As a result of this move, the following changes will be implemented beginning with the September 18th meeting:

1. The dinner price will now be $27.00. It's important to note that had we stayed at the Quality Hotel & Suites, the dinner price would also have been $27.00.

2. The date for making reservations has been moved up by four days to the Wednesday evening, by 8:00 pm, which is eight days before the meeting. This is important! The final count must be called in on Thursday morning for the ordering of the food.

The September Canister Newsletter, which will be arriving soon and will be posted on this web site, will contain complete details on this change, as well as other decisions made by the officers at their summer meeting. Directions on how to get to the Drake Center will be provided in the Canister, or at the links mentioned below and on the "About Us" page on this website.

Our thanks to member Allen Berenson for bringing The Drake Center location to our attention.

Information Items Relating to the 2008-2009 CCWRT Year:

Effective with our September 18th meeting, our new meeting location is the Conference Center at Drake, 151 W. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati. The meeting room will be Conference Room G on the lower level of the West Pavilion. Parking is in the West Pavilion parking lot.

Directions: From I-75: Take the Galbraith Road exit (Exit 10) and go west one mile; use the third parking entrance, marked "West Pavilion." From Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway: Take the Galbraith Road exit and go west two miles; or take the Galbraith/Winton exit and go east one mile; use the parking entrance marked "West Pavilion."

For a map showing the location of Drake Center, go to Drake Center Map. For a layout of the Drake Center site, go to Drake Center Facility Layout. These maps and other information are also available on the Drake Center website, Drake Conference Center website.

Free parking is available in the WEST PAVILION parking lot. The West Pavilion entrance will take you to the meeting rooms; enter the West Pavilion lobby, take the elevators on your right down to level A, turn to your right, and Motivation Meeting Room G is located at the end of the hallway.

Dinner will be available at $27 per person. It will be catered on-site by the Drake Center staff, and will be served buffet style with china and silverware.

Reservations date has changed to one week before the meeting. You must make your reservation by email CCWRT Reservations or by calling Pat Homan (513-861-2057) no later than 8:00 PM on the Wednesday that is eight days before the meeting.

Dues will remain at $25 per year, at least for the 2008 - 2009 campaign year (unchanged since 1986).

The Book Raffle will go up in price to one ticket for $2.00 and three tickets for $4.00.

The extra $25.00 received from members who pay the Sustaining Member rate will go to the General Fund not the Preservation Fund.

More details and explanation will be available in the September Canister.

Mark Neely at Thomas More College, August 22, 2008

Dr. Mark Neely, professor of history at Pennsylvania State University and author of numerous books on Lincoln & on the Civil War, will give a free public presentation, "Lincoln and the Political Problem of Faction in the Civil War," on Friday, August 22, at 7:00 p.m. in the Science Lecture Hall at Thomas More College. The Kentucky Historical Society and the Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission provided partial funding for the program. For further information, call Dr. John Cimprich at (859) 344-3394.

Gary Ecelbarger at Museum Center, 7:00 PM, September 16, 2008

Gary Ecelbarger, who spoke to our Round Table last November on "The Unheralded Alliance: John 'Black Jack' Logan and Ulysses S. Grant," is returning to Cincinnati in September for a presentation at Museum Center. Scheduled as part of the Seminar on the City series, he will be talking about his new book The Great Comeback: How Abraham Lincoln Beat the Odds to Win the 1860 Republican Nomination. Some of you might remember Gary's reference to his new book during the Question and Answer period that followed his presentation. During that session he commented that it was Lincoln's speech in Cincinnati in September of 1859 that played a large role in starting him on his way to national prominence. The book, which has a release date of September 4, 2008, has garnered tremendous advance praise according to the Museum Center internal memo announcing his visit. Harold Holzer (our May 2009 speaker) raves: "This is a rousing - yet authoritatively researched - account of one of the most dramatic, unlikely, and history-altering conventions ever, a welcome addition to the literature in this presidential election year."

Gary's presentation will be on Tuesday, September 16, in the Museum Center's Reakirt auditorium beginning at 7:00 pm. Gary's new book will be available for sale and he will do a book signing after the lecture.

Special Hamilton CWRT Meeting with Jim Bissland, April 9th. Different Location and Reservations Required.

Meeting Location will change, and reservations will be required for the April 9th meeting with Jim Bissland. The meeting will begin at 6 PM, and will be held at the Symmes Tavern on the Green, 500 Wessel Drive, Fairfield OH 45014. Dinner will be a buffet, have choice of beef or chicken entree, and will cost $25. Dinner reservations will be required by Sunday, 6 April, to Glenn Purdy at 513-737-7377 or email to glennp@ix.netcom.com. Restaurant location is near the intersection of Nilles Road and Pleasant Avenue (US 127) in Fairfield.

Jim is the author of Blood, Tears, & Glory: How Ohioans Won the Civil War. The book discusses "how Ohio men and women led the nation to victory. No State did more than Ohio to assure victory for the Union. While Easterners were battling to a bloody stalemate, Midwestern farmers, shopkeepers, and country lawyers fighting elsewhere were shaping the war's outcome. Dismissed by haughty Easterners as "armed rabble or drunkards, these citizen-soldiers, white and black, often were poorly trained and poorly equipped--but they were tough, confident, and supported by strong women who found their own ways to get into the fight." For more information on the book, see Orange Frazier Press.

Civil War History Day at Main Library, Feb 24th. (Go here for details.)

Lincoln Bicentennial Lecture with Dr. Chris Phillips at NKU, Feb 12th. (Go here for details.)

Civil War Medal of Honor Tour at Spring Grove Cemetery with Jack Simon, Veterans' Day 2007.

CCWRT Member and Spring Grove Cemetery researcher Jack Simon led a driving tour of the Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients at Spring Grove Cemetery on a soggy Veterans Day, 11 November 2007.  The one-hour tour included a short history of the Medal of Honor, visiting the five Civil War recipients' gravesites, and a visit to the 5th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Association monument. See photos here.

Proposed Fortification Study Group

Jack Simon has proposed to set up an informal discussion group within our Round Table on the topic of Civil War fortifications. The group would meet three or four times a year on a day and time different from the Round Table's regular meetings. No dues, no officers, just informal presentations and discussion of any facet of Civil War fortifications. Possible locations could include a library or a restaurant. Membership in the Round Table would be required. If you are interested, please contact Jack by phone or email as listed in the CWRT Officers section on the last page of the newsletter or in the "About Us" page of this website.

Paul LaRue & Washington Senior Research History Class Honored by The History Channel

Many of you were present in February 2006 when Washington Court House teacher Paul LaRue and members of his 2005-2006 Senior Research History Class presented their project work for the year to CCWRT. One of those projects culminated in the passage of state legislation setting September 22nd for commemoration of Emancipation Day in the State of Ohio. Paul and this year's class have been honored by History Channel for their work to preserve the history of the Gist Settlement in Highland County, including the installation of markers for several USCT veterans buried at the Gist Settlement. See History Channel's statement here. Below, Paul and two class members unload the new VA grave marker they have obtained for Benjamin Lay, a 27th USCT veteran. As the History Channel statement indicates, the class' Gist Settlement project was featured as the cover story in the Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal (Volume Vol. XI, 2007, No. 2). To obtain this issue, contact the Ohio Genealogical Society at www.ogs.org, or contact Dan Reigle of CCWRT. The class' project is described more completely on their website WCH Senior Research History.

Last Living Hamilton County Union Veteran to be Honored on October 14th

One of the National Programs of the Sons of Union Veterans is to identify and suitably mark the grave site of the last Union Veteran to die and be buried in every county in the USA. The General William H. Lytle Camp #10 located in the Cincinnati area has has identified and held ceremonies in both Clermont and Clinton Counties.

On October 14, 2007 at 1:30 P.M. in the Spring Grove Cemetery the General Lytle Camp will honor Frederick Pfiester by placing a bronze plaque on his grave site.

• Frederick was born 9 April 1846 in a house on Main Street in Cincinnati.
• On 2 September 1862 at age 16, he enlisted in the 11th OVI as a drummer boy and served for 30 days.
• He enlisted a second time on 2 May 1864, at age 18, in the 137th OVI and served for 90 days, and was mustered out at Camp Dennison on 19 August 1864.
• Pfiester was a life long Cincinnati resident.
• He retired in 1936 as Superintendent of the Butcher's Hide Association. He was reported to be the oldest man holding executive office in the United States at that time.
• He was a member of the Cincinnati Board of Alderman from 1880 to 1884 and a member of the Ohio Legislature 1888-1889.
• As a life long member of the Grand Army of the Republic, he was Commander of the George H. Thomas Post #13 for 50 years and Ohio Department Commander in 1937.
• Frederick was a member of the St. Peter Evangelical Church and the Mason McMillian Blue Lodge # 141.

Dedication of Morgan's Raid OHS Marker in Springdale, Sept 11, 3 PM

An Ohio Historical Marker will be dedicated in Springdale on Tuesday, September 11th, at 3 PM. The marker will observe the location in Springdale where Morgan's group turned south to head into Glendale. The location will be the southeast corner of Route 4 and Kemper Road. Dave Mowery researched and wrote the initial application for this marker, and will be one of the speakers at the event, along with Springdale Mayor Doyle Webster and an OHS representative. As we approach the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, it is important that public officials know that there is significant interest in the Civil War, so please attend this event if it is possible for you to do so. In addition, Dave has worked hard on this, and deserves our support.

Copperheadism in Butler County, Ohio: Ohio Historical Marker Dedicated at 1858 Morgan Township House on June 16, 2007.

See David Mowery's article and photographs on this house and the dedication here .

CCWRT Member Lois Lambert Wins Book Award

At the annual conference of the Ohio Genealogical Society on April 14th, CCWRT member Lois Lambert won OGS' "Oliver Hazard Perry Award for Ohio-related Military Historical Records" for her book, 91st Ohio Volunteer Infantry With the Civil War Letters of Lt. Col. Benjamin Franklin Coates. It was published in 2005 by Little Miami Publishing Company, Milford. The book is being stocked in the major Cincinnati-area bookstores, and is also available from the publisher at http://www.littlemiamibooks.com/. Dan Reigle's review of the book is available here. Congratulations to Lois!

New Meeting Location: Sharonville Conference Center (for April & May, 2007)

The meeting site location for the April 19th and May 17th meetings has changed!

The Quality Hotel and Suites in Norwood, OH, the site of our regular monthly meetings the last eight years, has unexpectedly lost their restaurant and catering service prior to the hotel's planned on August 2007 termination date. Attempts to negotiate a new arrangement with another caterer and restaurant manager will not be completed in time for our last two meetings of this campaign year.

Given the late date, and our desire to hold these meetings, the officers of the Round Table have decided on the following:

The April 19th and May 17th meetings will be held at the Sharonville Conference Center, 11355 Chester Road, Sharonville, OH 45246 (Ph. 513.771.7744). For those of you not familiar with that location, it is Exit 15 as you travel Highway 75 North/South. The conference center is directly across the street from the Sheraton Cincinnati North, and just north of Princeton High School. More detailed directions to the Sharonville Convention Center are provided at the bottom of this message.

We realize this site change might be a little longer drive for some of our members and visitors, but we had to concede on something in order to ensure these meetings took place as planned. We encourage all members who have made reservations for the April meeting, and those who plan to attend the May meeting, as well as any visitors who might want to attend as a result of viewing this site, to show up and give us your support on this unexpected, and last minute, change in plans. And, if you had made plans to arrive after dinner to hear Terry Winschel speak, we hope you will still attend and not let the location change alter your plans for the evening.

The Sharonville Convention Center, of all the options considered, has been one of the most professional, flexible and accommodating of our needs. The April and May dates are available, with a little flexibility on our part regarding room location from meeting to meeting. They will provide the catering support and the cost of the meals will be the $25.00 price we communicated to our membership in an earlier message. The menu for the April meeting will be: Spinach Salad, Grilled Pork Chop, Glazed Baby Carrots, Twice Baked Potato & Fluffy White Cake Topped with White Chocolate Mousse and Strawberries. The meeting times remain the same.Social Hour: 6:00 to 6:45; Dinner: 6:45 to 7:45; Business Mtg: 7:45 to 8:00; Terry Winschel's presentation on Companion to the Fishes: The Saga of the Gunboat Cincinnati: 8:00 pm. Parking is free.

A decision on where we will meet for the September meeting, and the remainder of the upcoming campaign year, will be made over the summer months. One of our primary objectives in making this decision will be to minimize any loss of members, because of distance traveled, if a meeting site change becomes necessary. The Quality Hotel and Suites will again be considered, if they satisfactorily resolve their current catering problem, and the promised price increase they signaled to us meets with our approval. We will provide time, during the May business meeting, for an open discussion on meeting site preferences. We realize we may not be able to meet everyone's needs, but we do need to determine if the Sharonville location, or any other more northerly site, should be considered as a possible replacement for the Quality Hotel & Suites, if relocating on a permanent basis is required. We will also provide an update on what we learned about other possible meeting sites, and their costs, as a result of this unplanned emergency search for a meeting site location.

Driving directions to the Sharonville Convention Center are:

From the North (Dayton): Take I-75 South to the Sharon Road Exit (#15). Turn right on Sharon Road. Go one block to Chester Road and turn right. The Convention Center is located ½ mile on the left.

From the West: Take I-275 around the north side of the outer-belt (North/East) to I-75 South. Take I-75 South to the Sharon Road Exit (#15). Turn right on Sharon Road. Go one block to Chester Road and turn right. The Convention Center is located ½ mile on the left.

From the East: Take I-275 around the north side of the outer-belt (North/West) to I-75 South. Take I-75 South to the Sharon Road Exit (#15). Turn right on Sharon Road. Go one block to Chester Road and turn right. The Convention Center is located ½ mile on the left.

From the South: Take I-75 North to the Sharon Road Exit (#15). Turn left on Sharon Road. Go one block to Chester Road and turn right. The Convention Center is located ½ mile on the left.

Expanded and Reprinted Geaslen Book Now Available at Ramage Museum

Our Moment of Glory in the Civil War, Chester F. Geaslen's 1972 history of the events of the Fall of 1862 in the Cincinnati area, has been long out of print. It has now been expanded with new contributions by Dr. James A. Ramage, Jeannine Kreinbrink, and Bob Clements. The book is now available at the James A. Ramage Civil War Museum in Fort Wright and at the Behringer-Crawford Museum in Devou Park. See more information here: Geaslen Book Signing.

Our congratulations and appreciation to the editors, to the City of Fort Wright and the Behringer-Crawford Museum, and to the Geaslen Family for making this important publication available.

Update: CCWRT 2006-2007 Preservation Project: Richmond & Perryville

We are now in the second phase of our Perryville and Richmond Battlefield Dedicated Preservation Fund Raising Project.  We are pleased to announce that 14 members contributed to the project during the first phase in which we teamed with the Civil War Preservation Trust.  We were able to take advantage of the large matching dollar incentive offered by the Preservation Trust to help save a total of 454 acres of unprotected land at both the Richmond and Perryville Battlefields!  Member contributions combined with the $1.00 for $2.00 match from our Preservation Fund (with a $250.00 cap) allowed the Round Table to make a contribution to the Civil War Preservation Trust of $850.00.  When you multiply this total by the large $1.00 for $12.30 match by the Preservation Trust, our $850.00 contribution equaled $10,455.00 or almost two acres saved!  You can see a copy of a letter that the Civil War Preservation Trust sent us as an acknowledgment of our contribution at the link below.

Read CWPT's thank-you letter to CCWRT: (Here)

Although we have already accomplished so much, further preservation is still in need! The second part of our dedicated fund raising program for the Perryville Battlefield runs from January to May.  All monies received between now and our last meeting of this campaign year will go directly to the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association.  The Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association (PBPA) is a non-profit organization devoted to the interpretation and preservation of the battle lands and the historic town of Perryville. Founded in 1991, the organization has been successful in its numerous achievements in the field of preservation. In 1993, the Congressionally-appointed Civil War Advisory Commission named Perryville as a Priority-One Class-A Battlefield. This designation ranks Perryville as one of the top eleven battlefields in need of preservation and ranks the site as one of the top eleven battlefields in terms of overall historic importance out of 384 conflicts included in the study.

Contributions can be made at the check-in-desk during our monthly meetings, or by mailing your gift to our Treasurer, Jim Stewart at Cincinnati CWRT, P.O. Box 621082, Cincinnati, Ohio 45262.  Checks should be made out to the "Cincinnati CWRT" and the memo line should indicate "Perryville Battlefield".  A receipt will be provided as all contributions are tax deductible under our status as a 501(C)3 organization.  Donations can be accepted anytime from now until the May 2007 meeting.

Take CWPT's Virtual Tour of Perryville

Nov 9th Book Event at NKU: New Book on Sue Mundy

Northern Kentucky University's Friends of Steely Library will present the first public reading of former Kentucky Poet Laureate Richard Taylor's newest work, SUE MUNDY: A NOVEL OF THE CIVIL WAR, on Thursday, November 9, 2006, at 7 p.m. in the loggia of Steely Library, on the Highland Heights campus. The reading is free and open to the public.

Books will be available for purchase at a reception following the reading, with a portion of the proceeds donated by the NKU Bookstore to the Friends of Steely Library. For more information, contact Julie Matthews at (859) 572-5636 or matthewsju@nku.edu.

For a description of the book, see: Civil War Terrorists

For Q&A with Professor Taylor, see: A Conversation with Richard Taylor