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NEXT MEETINGS

Saturday 3 June 2023 from 11.30 AM

CHAB BARBECUE

As in previous editions, the CHAB barbecue will take place at the club house of the Hoegaarden hockey club. This year, Hubert Leroy and Dominique De Cleer will prepare a traditional barbecue. Planter's punch – Famenne pâté – Beef skewer and spare ribs, salads, assorted vegetables and fried potatoes – Vanilla ice cream and fresh fruit salad – Coffee/Tea. Meal price (drinks not included): CHAB members: €35 – non-members: €45. Please register with our secretary Dominique De Cleer by email at d.decleer@scarlet.be or by tel. at 0475/77 34 60, and pay the amount of your meal to account BE90 0631 2838 8932 with the mention BBQ CHAB, before May 25, 2023 at the latest.

Saturday 9 September 2023 at 3 PM

PROJECTION OF THE FILM 'LINCOLN'

Projection of the 2012 film Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field. Winner of two Oscars. In 1865, as the American Civil War draws to a close, US President Abraham Lincoln struggles to pass the landmark constitutional amendment that will ban slavery from the United States forever. But his task is a race against time, for peace may come at any time, and if it does before the amendment is passed, the returning Southern states will stop it before it can become law. Lincoln must use almost any means necessary to get enough votes from a reluctant Congress before peace arrives and it is too late. But the President is torn, as an early peace would save thousands of lives. As the nation confronts its conscience over the freedom of its entire population, Lincoln faces his own crisis of conscience: end slavery or end the war. Duration: 2h30’.

Saturday 14 October 2023 at 3 PM

GEORGE GORDON MEADE

Lecture by Jean-Claude Janssens: George Gordon Meade, the last commander-in-chief of the Army of the Potomac. George Gordon Meade was born in 1815 in Cadiz, Spain, unusual for an American general. In 1835, he graduated from West Point Military Academy and was appointed to the artillery. He served in Mexico (1846-1848) and meanwhile became a civil engineer. Between 1861 and 1863, he commanded a brigade, then a division and finally an army corps. At the end of June 1863, to his great surprise, George Meade became the sixth and last commander-in-chief of the Army of the Potomac and, above all, the first to defeat the Southerner Robert Lee on 3 July in open country at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. In 1864 and 1865, General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant accompanied the Army of the Potomac in Virginia. George Meade then becomes a shadow. After the war, he commanded the Atlantic Division. In 1872, aged 57, he died of pneumonia in Philadelphia. .

Saturday 18 November 2023 at 3 PM

CIVIL WAR CEMETERIES

Lecture by Maurice Jaquemyns: Military cemeteries from North to South and from South to North. If the primary role of military cemeteries is memorial meditation, in a given context, they are organized according to a theatrical orchestration intended to reproduce social and political stratification. These functions influence each other and determine their organization. Our speaker will demonstrate that the design of Civil War military cemeteries influenced European necropolises from 1870 to the present day.

CHAB NEWS END OF PUBLICATION NOTICE

The CHAB committee wishes to inform its foreign and American friends that due to severe budget constraints, the English version of the CHAB News is no longer published. However, the French version of our quarterly remains available to the contributing members of our association. Thank you for your understanding.
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LATEST PAINTINGS OF JOHN PAUL STRAIN

MAJOR JOHN PELHAM COURTING MISS SALLIE

GOLDEN SKY

After the Battle of Antietam, General Stuart and his staff retired to “The Bower”, the home of the Dandridge family located near Leetown, Virginia. During the months of September, October, and into November the home was the site of many entertaining nights with General Stuart and staff, including John Pelham, Heros Von Borke and Wade Hampton. Both military and civilian participants enjoyed music, dancing, games of whist, chess, and cards. Even scenes from Shakespeare and Dickens were performed. It was during this respite from war that Stuart’s brilliant 24 year old artillery commander Major John Pelham met and courted Miss Sarah “Sallie” Dandridge. The couple spent every minute of spare time together, riding through the beautiful countryside and taking long walks together. By some accounts, just before General Stuart’s raid on Chambersburg, the couple were engaged to be married. Like many young soldiers Major Pelham would have to say good-bye to Miss Sallie. Major Pelham’s horse artillery battery was a key element in General Stuart’s success in the field. Pelham and his guns proved time and time again how devastating to the enemy his brave and skilled cannoneers were. General Stuart regarded his young artillery commander as a younger brother, praising, promoting, teasing, and looking after him. Major Pelham’s exploits were often witnessed by the Confederate high command. General Lee talked about watching Pelham in action, ”It is glorious to see such courage in one so young. I have never seen a more skillful handling of guns.” Lee remarked. “It is really extraordinary to find such nerve and genius in a mere boy.” General Stonewall Jackson begged Stuart to give him Pelham for his army, saying according to legend, “With a Pelham on each flank, I could whip the world.” And of course Stuart refused to give up his young artilleryman. General Stuart’s Chambersburg Raid and second ride around the Army of the Potomac was about to start. Pelham and his cannoneers would face new challenges in enemy territory covering many fast paced miles crossing difficult terrain and keeping pursuing Federals at bay. The Raid on Chambersburg would be a great success. But sadly Major John Pelham would be killed at the Battle of Kelly’s Ford, five months later. Pelham was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel posthumously on April 4, 1863. He had fought in over 60 engagements and had never lost a gun to the enemy. General Stuart would later name his newborn daughter Virginia Pelham Stuart.

A distant crack of a Federal sharp-shooter’s rifle was instantly heard, as the bullet whistled past Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, barely missing them. The two commanders made a dash to some nearby woods. It had been a close call, one that easily could have changed the whole course of the war. But this was the risk these brave leaders often faced leading their armies in battle. Lee and Jackson had been scouting the ground southeast of the Plank road on a small pathway leading to Catherine’s Furnace. In the early morning of April 27, the Army of the Potomac under the command of General Joseph Hooker had begun an offensive towards the Confederate left, by crossing the Rappahannock River on pontoons. On the 29th, General Stuart dispatched a telegram to Lee reporting that his men had engaged the enemy at Maddens, nine miles from Culpeper. They had captured Federal troops from the V, XI, and XII Corps of the Army of the Potomac. The dispatch also informed Lee that large columns of federal troops were headed for Germanna and Ely’s Ford on the Rapidan River. With this vital information Lee was able to determine General Hooker’s plan was to turn the Confederate left flank. General Lee ordered Stuart to rejoin the main body of the army post haste. On the 30th, a courier arrived from General Anderson at Chancellorsville, informing Lee the federal force had crossed the Rapidan and was heading his way. Anderson requested reinforcements, and Lee ordered Anderson and his four brigades to dig in. Hooker’s advance was tentative. When confronted by southern brigades, the Federals would stop, retreat and regroup before advancing again. General Lee felt there was something suspicious about the situation, as numerically, General Hooker’s army was far superior than his. In the late evening of May 1st, he met up with Jackson near the Plank road to get a better feel of things. After retreating from the sniper into the woods, Lee and Jackson dismounted and began discussing how best to deal with the invading federal force. They were soon joined by General Stuart in this night conference. Lee had already left part of his army at Fredericksburg to counter any federal moves there. His new plan was to divide his army again sending General Jackson’s Corps on a flanking maneuver at 4am and attack the unsuspecting Federal XI Corps in their camps. The plan the commanders came up with would lead to one of the greatest victories for the Confederacy, and one of the costliest. General Jackson would be mortally wounded.

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