The Great Lakes Civil War Forum: Command Decisions Saturday, September 12 Registration 8:30am | Program Begins at 9:30am $65 ($55 FOM Members) includes Lunch

During the 2020 Forum, four renowned Civil War historians will consider the decisions made by Union and Confederate military leaders at several of the most important campaigns of the Civil War: Antietam, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and Petersburg.

Featured Speakers Include:

The Chris Kolakowski

In 1861 said "I think to lose is nearly the same as to lose the whole game." Over ten weeks in the late summer and early fall of 1862, Confederate armies invaded the Bluegrass State in an effort to wrest it form Union control. They retired after a series of maneuvers and battles culminating in the Battle of Perryville on October 8. This talk will examine this critical campaign and battle through some of the key personalities and their decisions.

“Sir I Have No Division:” Command Decisions and Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg Wayne Motts

Join historian and author Wayne E. Motts as he explores the command decisions surrounding Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. What options did Robert E. Lee have for Confederate forces for July 3? What was Lee’s original plan for the day? What led Lee to decide on a frontal assault? What support and planning did he envision and provide for the charge? What were the consequences of these actions? These questions answered and many more.

Negley on Horseshoe Ridge Dave Powell

On September 20, 1863, Union General James S. Negley faced a difficult battlefield choice. Negley and two brigades of his decision occupied Horseshoe Ridge on the Chickamauga Battlefield. Though the fight had not yet come to Negley’s sector, much of the rest of the appeared to be breaking and routing around him, fleeing the field. Confederates swarmed to the north and south, menacing both flanks. Worst of all, Negley could not communicate with his Corps Commander, George Thomas; and the only reply he received to a message sent to army commander William Rosecrans offered no help. Apparently abandoned by higher command, Negley struggled to choose: Should he retreat and save what he could, or stand and try and rally what forces he could. Negley chose to retreat. It was a fateful decision, made under the most trying of circumstances, which ended his career.

Grant, Lee, Butler and Beauregard at Petersburg: June 12-18, 1864 Will Greene

From June 12 through June 18, 1864 the Army of the Potomac and elements of the Army of the James moved to, along, and across the James River, and for four days engaged grossly outnumbered Confederate defenders. At the end of the fighting, Petersburg--'s second largest city and the key to the Confederate capital at Richmond--remained in Rebel hands. This period created some of the most enduring controversies in Civil War military history. Was Robert E. Lee completely baffled by Ulysses S. Grant's movement to and across the James? Should Union forces have pushed into Petersburg on the night of June 15 after capturing two miles of the Confederate defense line? Why did fail to exploit his opportunity to cut communications between Richmond and Petersburg on the Bermuda Hundred peninsula? Was P.G.T. Beauregard's generalship at Petersburg brilliant or flawed? A. Wilson Greene will address all of these topics and more in a talk based on his recent book, A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg.