HISTORIAN STEVEN DITMYER SPEAKS on "RAILROADS, HERMAN MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS HAUPT and the BATTLE of 7 P.M
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BRCWRT — Vol. XXVII, Issue 4, MAY 2020 Page 1 The Newsletter of the Bull Run Civil War Round Table — Vol. XXVII, Issue 4, MAY 2020 HISTORIAN STEVEN DITMYER SPEAKS ON "RAILROADS, HERMAN MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS HAUPT AND THE BATTLE OF 7 p.m. LIVE via GETTYSBURG” AT THE MAY 14th ~ Webex and Facebook ~ VIRTUAL MEETING THURSDAY, May 14, 2020 In June 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee had two strategic objectives for the Army GUEST SPEAKER: of Northern Virginia before it was to move on Washington, DC: destroy the Baltimore & Ohio Historian Steven Ditmeyer Railroad between Harper’s Ferry and Martins- burg, and destroy the Pennsylvania Railroad TOPIC: main line and its bridge across the Susquehanna “Railroads, Herman Haupt and River at Harrisburg. These objectives would isolate the large East Coast cities of Washing- the Battle of Gettysburg” ton, Baltimore, MD; Wilmington, DE; and Phila- delphia, PA, by severing the two trunk-line May 14th General Meeting railroads bringing them agricultural and manu- Going Forward -- Virtually! factured products from the mid-West. The The Round Table’s May 14 regular Federal's Herman Haupt served as the U.S. meeting will take place … but in your Railroad Superintendent, in charge of railroad house! Utilizing web technology the construction from 1862 to 1863. He played a meeting will telecast live via Webex key role in the American Civil War, during which and Facebook our scheduled speak- he revolutionized U.S. military transportation. er, Steve Ditmeyer and his talk about We will explore his role prior to the Battle of “Railroads, Herman Haupt, and the Gettysburg with a renown historian on the Battle of Gettysburg”. Viewers will be subject. able to submit questions via a Steven Ditmyer received a B.S. degree in “chat-box”, which Steve will answer at the conclusion of his presentation. Industrial Management from the Massachusetts The meeting will still take place at Institute of Technology and an M.A. degree in 7 p.m., but instructions for connect- Economics from Yale University. He has had an ing were e-mailed to all members on extensive career in railroading. In the private May 13th as an “invite” to connect. sector, he worked for six railroad companies and Further infor- a railroad equipment manufacturer. In the public mation will also be sector, he served as an Army Transportation posted on the Corps officer with the Organization of the Joint BRCWRT Facebook Chiefs of Staff; a federal civil servant with the and Web site pag- es. Federal Railroad Administration, and an interna- Thanks go to tional civil servant with the World Bank. Kim Brace, Steph- Every autumn, Steve has led the Industri- anie Vale and Alan al College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) faculty Day for making and the entire 300-person student body of ICAF this possible. on a “staff ride” to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Con’t on page 3) BRCWRT — Vol. XXVII, Issue 4, MAY 2020 Page 2 BULL RUN CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE UPCOMING 2020 MEETINGS (Virtual - Until Further Notice) Executive Committee President: Mark Whitenton, [email protected], 703- June 11: Author and Historian Richard Quest - "I 795-8759 Held Lincoln; A Union Sailor's Journey Home" Past President: Mark Trbovich, [email protected], 703-361-1396 July 9: Author and NPS Emeritus Ed Bearss - "Civil Vice-President: Greg Wilson, [email protected], 202-494-0652 War Question and Answer Session with BRCWRT Treasurer: Joe Young, [email protected], Membership" 703.281.7935 Secretary: John Pearson, [email protected], 703.475.1943 August 13: Author Historian Chris Mackowski - At Large: Jim Lewis, John De Pue, Drew Pallo "Grant’s Last Battle - Personal Memoirs of U. S. Marketing: Stephanie Vale, [email protected] Grant" Membership: Greg Wilson, [email protected], 202-494-0652 September 10: Historian Kristen Pawlak - "Battle of Preservation: Blake Myers, [email protected] Student Scholarship: Nancy Anwyll ([email protected]), Wilson Creek, MO - Aug 1861" Brian McEnany and Charlie Balch Education: Brian McEnany, [email protected]; Nancy Anwyll, October 8: Professor of History Noah Cincinnati - [email protected] Field Trips: Doug Horhota, [email protected] “Capitalism: 1830-1860" Webmaster: Alan Day, [email protected] Graphic Design: Drew Pallo, [email protected] November 12: Historian David Dixon - "The Lost Fundraising Chair: Charlie Balch, [email protected] Gettysburg Address" Newsletter Editor: Nadine Mironchuk, [email protected] December 10: Historian Ron Beavers - "Arlington Newsletter Team: Saundra Cox, Mark Whitenton, Eric Fowler, Janet Greentree and Andy Kapfer. House - The Last Battle of the Civil War" The Bull Run Civil War Round Table publishes the Stone Wall. General Membership meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at: Centreville Regional Library 14200 St. Germain Drive Centreville, VA 20121-2255 703.830.2223 For specific meeting dates and information, please visit the Web site: http://bullruncwrt.org NEWSLETTER ARTICLE SUBMISSION DEADLINE In This Issue For the June-July 2020 issue, e-mail articles by 9 a.m., Monday, May 25, to Nadine Mironchuk at: President’s Column Page 3 [email protected] BRCWRT Events Calendar Page 4 NEWSLETTER ADVERTISEMENT SUBMISSION DEADLINE Preservation Corner Page 5 For the June-July 2020 issue, advertisers - please click on “Instructions for Advertisers” at: http://bullruncwrt.org and e-mail ads by noon on May Ms. Rebelle Page 6 15, to Charlie Balch at: [email protected] Col. J.E.B. Stuart, IV Page 10 Support the BRCWRT in its mission to educate and to commemorate the battles and events The Book Corner Page 11 of the Civil War New Members Page 14 JOIN US AT CARRABBA’S Do you come directly to the monthly meeting from work and look for a place to eat, or would Col. James J. Dunphy Page 15 you just like to come early to dinner? Join BRCWRT members and their monthly guest speakers for Writing During Covid-19 Page 16 good food and camaraderie. Currently, we gather prior to each meeting around 5 p.m. at Carraba’s Italian Grill, located just across Lee Highway from Battlefield Trust Resources Page 19 the Centreville Regional Library. BRCWRT — Vol. XXVII, Issue 4, MAY 2020 Page 3 The President’s Column understanding of bacteria. Just six-plus years by Mark Whitenton earlier, Florence Nightingale famously charted the causes of deaths of British soldiers in the Fellow BRCWRT members - Crimean War (1854-55). She used hospital data to graph the fact that the vast majority of British The Round Table has not met or held any soldiers' deaths were from disease, rather than tours for weeks now, so we are trying some new from wounds or other causes. ways to share history in various ways. As noted As terrible as this Covid-19 pandemic is, on page one of this Stone Wall, our May 14 we are lucky by some historical standards. speaker, Steve Ditmeyer, will be giving his talk Perhaps the "black gold standard" for epidemics on Civil War railroads live on Webex and in the Western Hemisphere is the Black Death, Facebook, and will stay to answer questions which first attacked Europe in 541-750 AD. The submitted by members. His talk will be saved worst year for Europe was the 1347-51 and posted on both our Facebook page and our outbreak, which killed up to 60 percent of the Web site, so if you miss it, you can see it at your population in some areas. Compared to the convenience. serious death rates from COVID-19, the Bubonic Instructions for connecting to the talk - and even more serious Pneumonic Plague - were e-mailed to all members on May 13th as an were far worse. The Pneumonic form of the “invite” to connect. Additional information will plague was not transmitted through fleas on rats also be posted on our Facebook and web-site but, like COVID-19, was from human to human pages. Thank you, Kim Brace, Stephanie Vale contact via the air. Once a person showed and Alan Day for putting this all together. symptoms of the Pneumonic Plague, it was 100 I hope you will frequently visit our Web percent lethal. More recently, the Spanish flu site at BRCWRT.org and our Facebook page. pandemic of 1918 killed 675,000 Americans We have been adding new content, such as four (when our population was one-third of today's), -minute historical videos from various members despite social distancing, cancelled gatherings and featuring links to Civil War videos being and use of face masks. Fortunately, history's produced by the American Battlefield Trust and lesson in these circumstances is that things will the Civil War Congress. Next month, the get better. As soon as it is safe to do so, the BRCWRT, in conjunction with the American BRCWRT will prudently resume our meetings, Battlefield Trust, will roll out a free Ox Hill tours, and - hopefully - our annual picnic. Battlefield app. This initiative could not have Until we can meet again in person, we will happened without the ideas, time and expertise continue the BRCWRT's mission to provide of Greg Wilson, Ed Wenzel, Blake Myers, historical education and support historical Charlie Balch and Eric Sebastian . preservation. Let's all do our parts to stay safe, Please note Dave Button's timely article wash hands, keep social distancing, and above on page 11 regarding disease in the Civil War. all, continue to learn and share our common love Most historians regard our Civil War as the last of history. major conflict in the West prior to the Upcoming Speakers – (con’t from page 1) During the outing, faculty members discuss anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.