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Saturday September 13, 2025 at 3 PM

PROJECTION OF THE FILM 'THE CONSPIRATOR'

The Conspirator is a historical drama directed by Robert Redford, released in 2010. The film is set at the end of the American Civil War and recounts the events surrounding the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. The plot follows Mary Surratt, a Southern widow who owns a boarding house in Washington where John Wilkes Booth and his accomplices used to meet. Accused of having participated in the conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, she is arrested and brought before a military tribunal, despite doubts about her actual role in the plot. Her son, John Surratt, one of the real conspirators, is on the run at the time of the events. Frederick Aiken, a young Northern lawyer and former Union officer, is appointed to defend her. Although initially reluctant and convinced of her guilt, Aiken gradually discovers that Mary Surratt is being used as a scapegoat to satisfy a public eager for swift justice. The trial is biased, civil rights are violated, and Aiken fights to ensure that Mary receives a fair trial, despite political and media pressure. French version. Runtime: 122 minutes.

Saturday October 11, 2025 at 3 PM

US FEDERAL INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS IN EUROPE 1861-1865

Lecture by Professor Francis Balace: U.S. Federal Intelligence Operations in Europe 1861-1865. Widely regarded as the first “total war,” the American Civil War inevitably devoted significant resources to espionage and covert operations. There’s no need to revisit well-known figures like Belle Boyd, Allan Pinkerton, the Great Locomotive Chase, or the Confederate raid on St. Albans, Vermont. On the European front, Commander Bulloch’s “Secret Service” was secret in name only, as its shipbuilding operations were carried out more or less in the open. To uncover these efforts – often through private detectives, hired henchmen, and unscrupulous journalists – the U.S. government turned to Henry Shelton Sanford, its Minister to Belgium. His posting in Brussels, considered uneventful, allowed him to become a kind of “legation on wheels,” shuttling constantly between London, Paris, Hamburg, and Liège. Sanford relied on the “good offices” of some of the earliest private detective agencies, sometimes unaware that their operatives were fabricating sensational tales – such as the claim that the captain of the CSS Alabama was a Belgian from Louvain named Maes! John Fitzpatrick, the Catholic Bishop of Boston, played an unusual role: he presided at the Legation, recruited informants, and received their reports. The Confederacy, by contrast, seemed to prefer a different kind of secret weapon: crinolines. Sanford’s predecessor as Minister, E.Y. Fair – a Democrat from Alabama appointed by President Buchanan – used his final weeks in Brussels to order arms for the Confederate army, which he promptly joined. His wife, however, remained behind. Mrs. Fair retained the seal of the Legation and used it to disguise shipments of lace – or more questionable goods, if needed. Rumor had it she was on particularly friendly terms with Charles Rogier, the Belgian Prime Minister. Meanwhile, in Paris, Union Minister William Dayton died under circumstances that would eerily foreshadow those of Félix Faure some thirty years later, at the Hôtel du Louvre, in the arms of Sophie Brécart, a voluptuous Creole from Louisiana with a reputation as both a courtesan and, allegedly, a Confederate spy. To avoid scandal – which broke anyway – his body was discreetly removed by cab, propped upright with a walking stick. Who ever said history was boring?

Saturday November 8, 2025 at 3 PM

REGIS DE TROBRIAND, A FRENCH ARISTOCRAT IN THE SERVICE OF THE UNION

Lecture by Farid Ameur: Régis de Trobriand, a French Aristocrat in the Service of the Union. From Breton aristocrat to New York citizen, Régis de Trobriand embodied, in his own way, the American dream. During the Civil War, although nothing in his background as a man of letters destined him to don a uniform, aside from the legacy of his ancestors, it was through military service that he chose to defend his adopted homeland. In July 1861, he was unanimously elected colonel of the 55th New York, a local militia unit brought into active Union service and named the “Gardes La Fayette” due to the predominance of French immigrants in its ten companies. He quickly took his responsibilities to heart and discovered a natural aptitude for command. Trobriand threw himself into action with a zeal tempered by elegance, ultimately rising to the rank of major general by the end of the conflict. With mixed fortunes, he took part in some of the Army of the Potomac’s bloodiest battles, from the Virginia Peninsula to the final campaign at Appomattox. After the Civil War, he was appointed a colonel in the regular army on the special recommendation of General Grant. Until March 1879, while working on his war memoirs and accounts of life on the frontier, he served at various garrisons, moving between North Dakota, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and Louisiana, where from 1875 onward he represented the federal government during the turbulent period of Reconstruction.

Saturday December 13, 2025 at 3 PM

CONFEDERATE ESPIONAGE IN MONTREAL FROM 1861 THROUGH 1865

Lecture by Maurice Jaquemyns: Confederate Espionage in Montréal from 1861 through 1865. Starting in 1860, Montréal became the largest headquarters for Confederate secret services outside of Richmond. The Canadian metropolis welcomed a diverse array of Southern figures – refugees, mercenaries, spies, and smugglers. But how can this be explained? First, the speaker will examine the geopolitical context of relations between Canada and the United States in order to understand the sympathetic attitude of part of the Canadian political sphere. He then will then focus on tracing the roles and activities of influential Southern leaders in Montreal, particularly how the plot to assassinate Lincoln, led by Booth, was coordinated and financed. The presentation will be illustrated with period photographs and a portfolio of texts.

LATEST PAINTINGS OF JOHN PAUL STRAIN

AMBUSH AT EDINBURG

FIRST TEXAS AT MANASSAS

On the moonlit nights of February and March of 1862, federal soldiers described seeing a ghostly figure on a white horse moving along the hilltops and ridges of the Shenandoah Mountains. The ghostly figure was Colonel Turner Ashby on his white stallion, marking federal positions through the trees. Union officers constantly worried about Ashby’s cavalry, and a possible attack at any moment. Ashby’s mantle of mystery created fear in their ranks. Turner Ashby was known as the most accomplished horseman in the Confederacy. He was raised in the Shenandoah Valley and became an expert rider and trainer of horses. In those peaceful prewar days, Turner won many riding tournaments in Virginia. In these contests he often used the title, “Knight of the Black Prince.” It was said he rode two of the best horses of the army. His favorite was a huge white stallion named “Tom Telegraph” the other a dark stallion named “Gallant Gray.” In 1861 the charismatic Ashby organized his friends and family members into a militia cavalry company who became known as the “Mountain Rangers.” These young men were highly skilled horsemen and expert pistol marksmen. When the war began the Mountain Rangers officially became Company A of the 7th Virginia Cavalry, later known as part of the “Laurel Brigade.” At Harpers Ferry, the unit was placed under the command of Colonel Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson and began honing their unit fighting skills against the federal army. On July 23, 1861, Ashby was promoted to Lt. Col. of the 7th Virginia Cavalry. By early 1862 the Laurel Brigade had reached an enormous size of 27 infantry and cavalry companies. Ashby was promoted to the rank of full colonel on February 12, 1862. On the 25th of February the federal army under the command of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks crossed the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry and advanced towards Winchester and General Stonewall Jackson’s army. General Banks was supported by General James Shields division. As the federal force of over 30,000 men slowly approached Winchester, the town was evacuated by Jackson on March 11th. While Jackson’s army of 17,000 moved south, Col. Ashby when to work protecting the rear, skirmishing constantly with the federal vanguard. Ashby and his cavalry were continuously seeking points of attack, with audacious bold surprise attacks, leaving the federals in a state of anxiety and fear as to what General Jackson had in store. Ashby was a master of asymmetric warfare, using the valley’s terrain to his advantage. At Fisher’s Hill, his men quietly hid in thick woods and waited until the federals passed, then rushed upon them from the rear. At Stony Creek near Edinburg, Ashby’s men swooped down from concealment capturing many prisoners as others fled in panic. A federal officer described Ashby’s cavalrymen as “leaping over fences like deer.” Historians credit Ashby with 26 ambushes against Union forces during this time. When attacking the larger federal force, it was the Laurel Brigade’s Captain R.P. Chew’s Battery keeping the enemy at bay. Another federal officer in Bank’s army said he had learned to look for Ashby’s shells as regularly as he did for breakfast. On the 21st, while Ashby was skirmishing with the federals between Edinburg, Woodstock, and Strasburg, the federal army began to retreat north. Banks had received orders to bring his army back. But now the tables were turned, and Stonewall Jackson was in pursuit. Ashby’s ambushes played a crucial role in slowing General Bank’s advance into the valley and covering General Jackson’s movements. Colonel Ashby’s aggressive and independent actions earned him a legendary reputation as the Black Knight of the Confederacy.

General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia invaded Maryland in September 1862 with the intentions of changing the focus of battle away from the South and into the Federal’s own backyard. Victories there could lead to the capture of Washington, D.C. and the start of negotiations to end the war. General Lee found good ground to defend in southern Maryland near Antietam Creek and ordered his Army of Northern Virginia to converge there. The location was about a mile east of the little town of Sharpsburg. The Antietam Creek winds through the countryside and was swift and deep, crossable only at three stone bridges, making the position defensible from enemy flanking maneuvers. On September the 15th with Federal forces closing in from the east, Lee positioned his men near the creek and waited for McClellan to arrive. On the afternoon of 16th, the Army of the Potomac arrived and engagements soon began, continuing until the evening. But this clash between the two armies was just the beginning of what would become the deadliest one-day battle in American military history. Scattered rain showers and anxiety kept many men from sleeping during the night. Clouds lingered at first light as cannon fire erupted before sunrise. General Hood’s Texas Brigade began to fix breakfast as the epic Battle of Antietam began when Hooker’s Union corps mounted a powerful assault on Lee’s far left flank against the Texans. The Texas Brigade quickly fell into formation emerging from the West Woods near the Dunker Church and were ordered forward across the Miller cornfield in a counterattack. The moment the 1st Texas stepped into the husks of corn they received cannon fire from Battery C of the 5th US Artillery, posted atop the ridge overlooking the Cornfield from the north. Undeterred the Texans pushed deeper into the corn cornfield in a line of battle as men in the ranks now fell from musket fire. A soldier from the 4th Texas Regiment would later write “When we reached the top of the hill, (it)was the hottest place I ever saw on this earth or want to see hereafter. There were shot, shells, and Minie balls sweeping the face of the earth; legs, arms, and other parts of human bodies were flying in the air like straw in a whirlwind. The dogs of war were loose, and havoc was their cry.” Despite the fire it seemed the Lone Star soldiers were unstoppable in their charge through the cornfield, driving Federal units before them. However, in their excitement, the 1st Texas had moved ahead from the line of battle chasing after the fleeing enemy, moving farther and farther from their appointed post next to the 18th Georgia. Lieutenant Colonel Work and his officers had lost control of the 1st regiment. In his account published in the Official Records, Colonel Work explained that “[a]s soon as the regiment became engaged with the enemy in the cornfield, it became impossible to restrain the men, and they rushed forward, pressing the enemy…” General Hood would later comment that the 1st Texas had “slipped the bridle and got away from the command.” As the 1st Texas reached the end of the corn field, suddenly rising from an unseen prone position, Meade’s 12th Pennsylvania Reserves poured a solid wall of fire into the advancing Texans, followed by another volley from the awaiting 11th Reserves, and then another from the 9th Reserves. The result was devastating. Those Texans still standing tried to hold their position. In just a few minutes eight men were killed holding the regimental colors. Each time a color bearer was shot to the ground another Texan would pick up their flag. But soon the men retreated from the unrelenting firestorm leaving their Texas battle flag underneath the body of its last bearer. Eventually all of Hood’s Brigade were forced to withdraw. Only 56 soldiers of the 226 men of the 1st Texas Regiment who marched into the Miller’s cornfield survived. The unit suffered over 82% casualties on that field, more than any other regiment North or South, during the entire war. The Texas battle flag carried that day was eventually returned to the State of Texas in 1909, and hung with honor in the Texas State Capitol building until the 1920's. Despite these tremendous losses at Antietam, the men of the 1st Texas would fight on at Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, and the Petersburg siege. They would become known as “The Ragged Old First”.

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