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CONFEDERATE
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OF BELGIUM |
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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 |
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THE DATES OF THE ACTIVITIES MENTIONED BELOW
ARE INDICATIVE ONLY. THEY MAY BE MODIFIED
ACCORDING TO THE EVOLUTION OF THE CORONA VIRUS
PROPAGATION AND LOCKDOWN MEASURES IN FORCE IN
THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR 2021. AN EMAIL WILL BE
SENT TO ALL OUR MEMBERS IN DUE TIME,
SPECIFYING THE EFFECTIVE DATES OF OUR NEXT
MONTHLY MEETINGS. |
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Saturday 13 February 2021 at 2.30 PM |
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VICKSBURG 1863 - THE UNION
TAKES CONTROL OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
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Following the lockdown measures in force until
further notice, the CHAB committee is compelled
to cancel the meeting scheduled for February 13.
This activity will be rescheduled at a later
date.
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Saturday 13 March 2021 at 3 PM |
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THE SECRET MISSION
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GENERAL POLIGNAC IN 1865
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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 deciding, 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. Based
on historical documents, he will then tell us how Polignac
refuted these allegations that were made-up 36 years after
the end of the war.
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Saturday 10 April 2021 at 3 PM |
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At our
temporary premises in Wolubilis, lecture by Maurice
Jaquemyns: The Civil War and comics.
Comics have explored the Civil War. With the expression
codes of their art, screenwriters and/or designers have
attempted to approach the event from different
perspectives: historical, anecdotal, or entertainment.
The speaker will try to demonstrate that comics
translate an artistic specificity that fits into the
historical evolution of comics. |
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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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CHRISTMAS BLESSING |
FATHER
CORBY |
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During the late months of 1862 General Thomas
J. Jackson had already developed a wonderful
reputation as a great leader for the southern
armies. He was also known as a man of strong
religious beliefs and admired not only for his
victories on the battlefield but also for his
love for the Lord. Some members of the army
worried that Stonewall's religious fervor
might cloud his judgement at times, but many
others had faith the great General would be
guided and helped in his endeavors by the
Almighty. When asked how a servant of the Lord
could lead men into battle where thousands of
men would be killed, the General replied,
"It is the duty of his men to fight and pray."
Stonewall was a strict observer of the Sabbath
and would never mail a letter that would be in
transit on a Sunday. And yet so many of his
battles were fought on Sundays, the soldiers
believed that on that day he would have more
guidance from the Almighty. In the vicinity of
Martinsburg, General Jackson was directing his
men to tear up as much of the B&O Railroad as
possible. While he and his staff were making a
reconnaissance of enemy positions, a beautiful
young woman who had heard of the General's
presence, ran out to meet him carrying her
18-month-old child. The young mother then
handed the child up to the General and asked
him to bless it for her. As the young woman
placed her hand on Little Sorrel and bowed her
head, the two joined in prayer as the Great
Stonewall Jackson gave a Christmas blessing.
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In late June of 1863 a Washington newspaper
headline blared out, Invasion! Rebel
Forces in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
President Abraham Lincoln was more than
concerned. General Robert E. Lee’s Army of
Northern Virginia with 65,000 soldiers had
crossed the Potomac with the intent to
destroy the Federal army and march on to
Washington. In public President Lincoln had
full confidence that his Army of the Potomac
would be able to stop Lee’s invasion.
However Lincoln had his doubts about the
army’s commander, General Hooker. The
president needed a leader who had the
fortitude and strength of character to lead
his army in a desperate fight which could
change the course of the war. He had the
brave men who would give their all in
battle, but he needed a leader who Lincoln
said, would not be outgeneraled by
Lee. Three days before the battle of
Gettysburg, Lincoln announced to his war
cabinet that he had replaced General Hooker
with General George Meade whose nickname was
the Old Snapping Turtle. The two
great armies met at the sleepy little
crossroads town of Gettysburg on July
1st. Lead elements of the armies engaged
around the town, while the main body of the
armies converged into place. President
Lincoln was a constant fixture at the
telegraph office, receiving dispatches, and
updates, as he was poring over a map hung on
the wall. For the next couple of days, the
fate of the nation seemed to be hanging in
the balance as Lincoln paced back and forth
across the room, only to rest occasionally
on a small couch. The second day of the
battle General Lee attacked with the full
force of his army on both flanks of the
Federal lines. General Meade’s 2nd Corps,
which included the Irish Brigade was placed
on the left center of the Union lines on
Cemetery Ridge. The Irish Brigade had the
reputation as one of the best fighting
brigades of the army and were led by Col.
Patrick Kelly. As the thunder of the
fighting grew, and shells burst along
Cemetery Ridge, the Irish Brigade was told
to prepare themselves for battle. Father
Corby, the spiritual leader and Chaplin of
the 88th infantry, had not been able to hold
religious services for weeks because of the
heavy marching. The reverend asked Col.
Kelly if he could address the men. In one of
the poignant moments of the day Father Corby
gave absolution to the men of the Irish
Brigade as they knelt, bowed in prayer. Soon
afterward at about 3:00 P.M. the order came,
Move by the left flank. Caldwell’s
Division, including the Irish Brigade
marched past George Weikert’s one story farm
house and on into the Wheatfield, and
surrounding area where some of the most
heavy fighting of the day then took place.
During the whirlwind of battle, the 530 men
of the Irish Brigade sustained over 200
casualties at the Wheatfield and Stony Hill.
Colonel Kelly was the only brigade commander
of Caldwell’s division not killed or
wounded. Father Corby would spend hours
giving the fallen last rights and helping
the wounded. President Lincoln would say
about his soldiers in the Gettysburg
address "... that from these honored dead
we take increased devotion to that cause for
which they gave the last full measure of
devotion...”. |
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For
information or online orders: |
www.johnpaulstrain.com |
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