Home

Due to the renovation works at the Communal Museum, the CHAB Club House has moved into temporary premises at Wolubilis, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. Our monthly meetings will thus be held there until further notice. New Address: 1 place du Temps Libre - Local A300 - 3rd floor (right when leaving the elevator). The building is located along the Cours Paul-Henri Spaak, just opposite the Woluwe Shopping Center. The entrance is on the ground floor, left of the bookstore/restaurant Cook & Book. See access map

NEXT MEETING

Saturday February 8, 2020, at 3 PM

BUSHROD JOHNSON, A FRUSTRATED CONFEDERATE GENERAL

At our temporary premises at Wolubilis, lecture by Jean-Claude Janssens: Bushrod Rust Johnson, a frustrated confederate general, eager for promotion. Originating from a Quaker family, Bushrod Johnson (1817-1880) managed to enter the West Point Academy where he graduated in 1840. The lack of active duty and promotion generated in him a deep sense of frustration and injustice that would devastate most of his life. Johnson served without much enthusiasm in Florida and Mexico. Accused of corruption and smuggling at Vera Cruz, he is forced to resign from the army. When the Civil War breaks out, Johnson intends to participate actively and take the opportunity to bounce back. Hesitant to enlist in the Federal army for fear of seeing his past in Mexico being unfurled, he joins the Confederate army where he is promoted brigadier general in 1862 and major general in 1864. Unhappy with his performances, General Lee eventually relieved him of his command in April 1865. After the war he spent the rest of his life on a farm somewhere in Illinois.

Saturday March 14, 2020, at 3 PM

THE SECRETE MISSION OF GENERAL POLIGNAC IN 1865

At our temporary premises at Wolubilis, lecture by Daniel Frankignoul: The secret mission of General Polignac in 1865, a Confederate retrocession of Louisiana to France in exchange for the support of Napoleon III? In March 1901, the Washington Post published an article accusing General Polignac of having led a secret mission in 1865, proposing to Emperor Napoleon III the retrocession of Louisiana to France in exchange for an armed intervention in favor of the Confederate States. The newspaper added that before making a decision, Napoleon frequently consulted Lord Palmerston and that Queen Victoria personally intervened, before reluctantly rejecting the proposal. Prince Camille de Polignac did indeed leave Shreveport, the capital of Confederate Louisiana, on January 9, 1865, with the agreement of Governor Henry W. Allen and General Edmund Kirby Smith, Commander of the Department of Trans-Mississippi. After a trip that lasted nearly three months, he managed to pass though the blockade and continue to Paris where he met the Emperor twice. Our speaker, engaging in a genuine police investigation, will recount the episodes of this amazing journey as related by the general in his war diary. On the basis of historical documents, he will then tell us how Polignac refuted these allegations that were made-up 36 years after the end of the war.

Saturday April 18, 2020 at 3 PM

PROJECTION OF THE FILM 'THE BIRTH OF A NATION'

At our temporary premises at Wolubilis, projection of the film The Birth of a Nation. Set against the antebellum South, the film follows Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities - against himself and his fellow slaves - Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom. Inspired by a true story, this 2016 film by Nate Parker was awarded the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

The CHAB committee wishes to inform our foreign and American friends that due to severe budget constraints, the English version of our 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.

LATEST PAINTINGS FROM JOHN PAUL STRAIN

THE CHARMING LUCY BUCK AT BEL AIR

HOME ON BRADDOCK STREET

It had been an arduous march south from the bloody fields of Gettysburg for the Army of Northern Virginia. Torrential rains had flooded the Potomac River delaying the southern army’s retreat to the relative safety of Virginia. With US General George Meade’s Federal forces closing in, Lee’s army was finally able to cross the Potomac on July 13th. Still in pursuit, General Meade’s cavalry crossed the Potomac farther down river, East of the Blue Ridge Mountains and began to occupy a number of passes around Loudoun County. As hats, coats and uniforms began to dry out, the Army of Northern Virginia arrived at the Shenandoah River. Across the river was the town of Front Royal, and Lee ordered his engineers to quickly build another pontoon bridge. On July 22 the southern army crossed the bridge into Front Royal. A wealthy businessman and prominent citizen of Front Royal, William M. Buck sought out General Lee at the pontoons, to invite him and his staff for refreshments at his home Bel Air House. Lee welcomed the kind invitation and rode to the manor house with some members of his staff. There he was introduced to the Buck family. 19 year old Lucy Buck wrote of the encounter in her diary. “The old gentleman greeted us with such a warm, fatherly manner.” General Lee along with his staff including Majors Taylor and Talcott enjoyed fresh buttermilk while Lucy and her sister Nellie entertained with songs of the south. The brief respite of time with the Buck family had been most welcome for General Lee. But upon returning to his army he warned his staff, “We must now prepare for harder blows and harder work.”

General Stonewall Jackson was in high spirits during the snowy days of January 1862. He and his army had returned from successful expeditions to Bath and Romney. He learned that his men were strong and faithful through difficult and challenging days. The Federals in Northern Virginia had been shown that his army was not to be taken lightly. Also to Stonewall’s delight, his wife Anna was in Winchester staying at the home of Reverend James R. Graham located on Braddock Street. For the first time General Jackson and Anna could be together for an extended period of time. The General’s headquarters and office were just up the street at the home of Lieutenant Colonel Lewis T. Moore, commander of the 31st Virginia Militia. The Graham family home was the perfect place for the Jacksons to stay in Winchester. Fanny and James Graham were wonderful hosts and the General loved their three children, Anne, Alfred and William. The Jacksons were given the upstairs northeast corner of the house for their privacy. The family atmosphere at the Graham home was just the respite that the General needed from the stress and responsibilities of the military. The General would never conduct or discuss any military matters or business at the Graham home. If a courier or dispatch arrived, Jackson would direct the man to his office up the street. General Jackson was a man of meticulous habits. He would arise at the same early hour every day and immediately go to his headquarters to attend to the mail and issue orders for the day. A few minutes before 8:00am he would return to the Graham’s home and escort his wife downstairs to breakfast. Speaking of General Jackson, Reverend Graham would tell his parishioners that “he is really a member of my family. He ate every day at my table, slept every night under my roof and bowed with us morning and evening at our family alter. He called my house his home.”

For information or online orders: