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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.

Saturday 19 December 2023 at 3 PM

FROM EBONY OR CONTRABAND

Lecture by Dominique De Cleer: From ebony or contraband, black soldiers in the Civil War. The State Militia Act of 1792 allowed only white men to bear arms for the benefit of the United States. Despite requests for black men to enlist, Lincoln's administration refused to deviate from this rule, fearing that the Border States would also secede. In 1862, Congress amended this law which allowed black men to bear arms. From 1863, after the Emancipation Proclamation of slaves in the South, the integration of black soldiers into the regular Union army became official. Fearing that arming black slaves would risk turning them against their masters and putting them on an equal footing with whites, the South refused to integrate colored troops into its ranks. In March 1865, in agony, the South recruited and trained some black soldiers, but the death knell of the Confederacy had already sounded.

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

SURROUNDED

CSS VIRGINIA

“We must survive this day!” These were the thoughts of General JEB Stuart on the evening of October 13, as his two cavalry brigades were unexpectedly surrounded by the arriving Federal 2nd and 3rd Corps near Auburn. Fortunately for Stuart, he and his men had not yet been discovered by this huge Federal force which quickly filled the countryside. The days and nights of October were already cold, and the trees were flying the colors of autumn when General Robert E. Lee launched his campaign across the Rapidan River to drive the Federals back to the Potomac. If successful, northern Virginia would be free from occupation during the winter, the Federals would be less likely to send more troops to Tennessee, and Lee would have ample ground for maneuvering his army and still be able to protect Richmond. Union General George Meade’s army was stationed around the Culpeper Courthouse when Lee’s operations began on October 9. Stuart and his 1st Cavalry Division led the advance and easily disposed of Union outposts on the 10th, clearing the way for the infantry to move toward Culpeper on the 11th. Upon hearing of Lee’s advance, Meade evacuated his position and headed towards the Rappahannock river. On the morning of October 12 General Lee’s battle plan was to outflank Meade and to intercept his retreat near the Orange and Alexandria Railroad near Warrenton. On the 13th, Lee concentrated his force at Warrenton where he resupplied his troops with rations. That afternoon he ordered Stuart to reconnoiter 8 miles to Catlett’s Station. Stuart and his cavalry reached the little town of Auburn about 4:00 p.m. He left part of his force in Auburn and took two brigades towards Cattlett’s Station to investigate reports of Yankees to the south. Soon Stuart’s scouts discovered a vast camp of wagons and realized the enemy was moving from the south in force. It was the whole Federal 2nd and 3rd Corps. General Stuart arrived at the scene to view the sight for himself. At that moment another excited scout arrived to announce: “The enemy are now in our rear.” The group hurried back to find a large body of Federal troops marching on the road to Auburn cutting off their escape. Stuart then sent one of his most trusted aids, Major Andrew Venable, on a daunting mission to ride back to General Lee and inform him of the cavalry’s predicament and send help. W.W. Blackford of General Stuart’s staff would write of the situation, “With the inspiration of his genius Stuart grasped the subject in an instant and adopted a plan. He found almost in sight of Auburn the mouth of a little valley opening on the road and covered with woods and finding this valley large enough to hide his command in, he marched it in there, just about dark.” Everyone quickly settled down to a long very quiet vigil, keeping their horses as quiet as possible. Federal soldiers could be heard talking in the distance. Stuart sent more couriers during the night to seek help from Lee in case Major Venable didn’t make it through. Stuart’s plan was to have a number of Lee’s artillery batteries near enough to Auburn to open fire at daybreak. Stuart would do the same with a few of the cannons he had. This would cause enough confusion and fear in the Federals that Stuart and his command could then fight their way out. At about 1 o’clock in the morning, Major Venable arrived in Lee’s camp to inform him of Stuart’s situation and plan. Lee ordered the plan to move forward. At daybreak in the foggy valley Federal soldiers were just awaking and boiling their coffee when artillery from Lee and Stuart’s cannons opened fire. As was planned, during the surprise and confusion General Stuart and his command successfully broke out. Stuart in his official report wrote: ”Major Andrew R. Venable, Jr., A.A. and Inspector-General, deserves special mention for his conduct in evading the enemy near Auburn and reaching the Commanding General with important dispatches on the night of October 13th.”

The CSS Virginia was a marvel to behold as it cruised down the Elizabeth River in March 1862. The ship’s innovative design and construction started a new age of naval warfare with its extensive armor and powerful armaments. The ironclad vessel was some 275 feet long and her beam measured in at 38 feet, 6 inches. The ship drew 22 feet of water and had a wide turning radius. To navigate the maze of shallows and narrow channels of the Elizabeth River, two tugboats were used to help guide the huge vessel. Once in open water the Virginia with her 12 guns would be turned loose on the blockading Federal fleet in Hampton Roads, with the signal, “Sink before you surrender!” This was her maiden voyage and her cannons had never been fired. Large billows of black smoke poured from her steam engines announcing her presence to the local inhabitants who came out to witness the historic event. “Nearly every man, woman and child in the two cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth were at the same time on their way to Sewell’s point, Craney Island or other points where they could see the great naval combat.” Back in April 1861, Confederate forces had attacked the Gosport Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia (now the Norfolk Naval Shipyard). At the time Gosport was the largest Federal naval port on the East Coast. The southerners desperately wanted to capture the huge stores of war material located there, including over 3000 cannons. With no major infantry force to oppose the southerners, Washington ordered the destruction of the port, boats, and anything of value before it fell into the hands of the Virginia Militia. On April the 20th soldiers started retreating and burning ships as they went, including their own USS Merrimack. The Merrimack burned to the waterline and sank. The Confederates, who were now in control of the port, began salvage operations. Incredibly the Merrimack was raised and rebuilt as an ironclad by the three best designers in the Confederacy, John Porter a naval ship builder, John Brooke an ordnance expert, and William Williamson a naval engineer. Captain French Forrest oversaw the construction of the new ship, and on February 17th, 1862, the completed ironclad was recommissioned as the CSS Virginia, under the command of Captain Franklin Buchanan. News of the construction of a warship more powerful than anything the Union had quickly reached Washington. The US Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles assigned the task of building an ironclad to John Ericsson. After just 101 days on Jan 30, 1862, Ericsson’s new ship named the Monitor, slid into Manhattan’s East River. March 8, 1862, was wash day for the Federal fleet blockading Hampton Roads when they saw the CSS Virginia heading straight towards the fifty-gun frigate USS Cumberland. The Cumberland opened fire, but her shots bounced harmlessly off the Virginia “like India rubber balls”. The Virginia opened fire almost muzzle to muzzle with the Cumberland, sinking her in shallow water. The Virginia went on to set the USS Congress afire, damaged the USS St. Lawrence at a distance of 900 yards, and then drove the USS Minnesota aground. As it was now getting dark and the tide was receding, the Virginia drew off for the night, planning to finish off the Minnesota in the morning. The Virginia had proved she was the most powerful warship in the world, and for that day the Confederate Navy ruled the sea. From the moment the Virginia opened fire on Federal forces every other navy on the earth was obsolete. At one o’clock in the morning the Monitor arrived at Hampton Roads and drew up next to the battered Minnesota. The next morning at seven o’clock the Virginia headed towards the Minnesota and was intercepted by the Monitor. The epic battle of the ironclads was a sight to behold. The two vessels hammered away at each other so close they collided five times. Neither ship was seriously damaged as the men, blind with smoke, loaded and fired as fast as they could. With ammunition low after four and a half hours the Virginia drew off. The two-day engagement would be her only fight, as the Confederates would have to blow her up two months later when the Federals retook Norfolk.

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