|
|
CONFEDERATE
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OF BELGIUM |
|
. |
NEXT MEETINGS |
. |
|
Saturday 3 June 2023 from 11.30 AM |
.. |
|
.. |
 |
. |
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
|
.. |
|
.. |

|
. |
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
|
.. |
|
.. |

|
. |
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.
. |
|
|
.. |
|
|
. |
|
. |
 |
|
|
. |
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.
|
. |
© All copyrights reserved
by John Paul Strain Historical Art
|
|
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.
|
. |
© All copyrights reserved
by John Paul Strain Historical Art
|
|
. |
For
information or online orders: |
www.johnpaulstrain.com |
. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|