The American Civil War Round Table of Australia
Dateline: Wednesday June 19th; anniversary of the battle between the Kearsarge and the Alabama; Melbourne is sunny but cold (as is the rest of southeast Australia) and we have our meeting next Wednesday night to commemorate the birth of James I Waddell in July 1824; so the Round Table is underwriting meals next week at the Swan Hotel- as I write the Melbourne Cricket Ground will be hosting a State of Origin that Wednesday evening though by the time we get to our meeting proper they’ll be at the ‘G and we should have more space for us.
Back in the late 1960s about the only thing editor Warren knew about the Civil War was a strange novel by the now largely forgotten cult author Richard Brautigan. The title (as with all of his books) was intriguing albeit the novel barely touched on the subject of the Civil War but it did pass on the gob-smacking fact that there were hundreds of Civil War generals on both the Union and Confederate sides of the conflict. Even today we only talk or hear about the famous Generals or the ones that stand out from the ruck because of a singular success or a shocking failure.
April may be referred to as CW Month but it also resonates in Australia with the Gallipoli landings on 25 April 1915 and the start of the eight month siege of Tobruk on 10th April 1941. Editor Warren attended the Tobruk ceremony and visited for the first time “Tobruk House” in Albert Park, Melbourne It was extremely well attended as no doubt will be the ANZAC services around the country on the 25th April.
Asa Carter/Forrest Carter – and his somewhat extraordinary and notorious life: Today he would definitely be “cancelled” but as with the likes of Bill Cosby, Rolf Harris, Kevin Spacey and Woody Allen (to name a few) where does one stand on the separation of the artist with the art, or is it even possible to achieve separation; A most vexed question. Editor warren enjoys pulp westerns and films made from the same. He enjoyed reading “Gone to Texas” and the Clint Eastwood film version “The Outlaw Josey Wales but has no time for the racist views of the author Asa Carter/Forrest Carter.
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Included in this MN is a wonderful collection of books with a CW focus and general American history by the very readable Dee Brown universally recognised for his ground breaking work on Native Americans with the poetically memorable title, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”. Dee Brown should be heritage listed! We have also included a short review of a work by cultural historian Sarah Churchwell who has written a scathing book on the “Lost Cause” and the lies America tells itself. “The Wrath To Come” is a fantastic read and she weaves the Civil War, “Gone With the Wind” and current American politics into the piece of fabric that we call America.
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This month James “Resaca” Stallard is doing a presentation on the Union General Alpheus Williams, a CW participant unknown to your editors (in many cases this is a given!). James spent some time on the Civil War battlefields last year engaging in some reenactments and otherwise having a belter of a trip. We are looking forward to his presentation.
Editor Warren read two excellent CW related books over the break; the novel “Fanatic Heart” by Tom Keneally and a provocative non-fiction tome, “The Wrath to Come: Gone With the Wind and the Lies America Tells” by Sarah Churchwell.
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As we gather on Wednesday 22nd November for our final meeting of the year it also just happens to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy the 35th President of the United States of America. There were four major assassinations in America in the 1960s, a decade which changed the minds and attitudes of millions of people. Assassinated were JFK (1963), Malcolm X (1965) and Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy both in 1968. President Gerald Ford survived two assassination attempts in 1975 and Ronald Reagan survived his in 1981.
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This month in Richmond at a crossroads much nearer, Dr. Juliet Peers will be presenting to the in-house and Zoom members. Her topic will be “Life With the Lincolns: A Social History of the Executive Mansion”. A big thank you to Byard Sheppard for his presentation at the September meeting. His creative take on hoaxes and misinformation taking place during the Civil War was most entertaining. You can fool some of the people all the time… this must have been where Lincoln got a few of his ideas!
We thank “Old school” member Stuart Duff for sending in information on Frederick Wrigley and his fighting knife.
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This month our President Byard Sheppard will be (to mix our metaphors) taking the helm at the podium. Included in this MN we have three short reviews of the latest novel by the superb James Lee Burke who once again has dipped his toe (or should that be pen) in the muddy waters of the bellum South. We also include information on the “Great” escape from Libby Prison. This prison was pretty ordinary but nowhere near as vile or inhumane as the notorious Andersonville prison.
Barry has been as busy as usual and has been absorbing a variety of Zoom presentations from the northern hemisphere. We have included a review of Megan L. Bever’s “At War With King Alcohol”. Alcohol consumption through all wars has been a common thread.
In this month’s MN we have information on Frederick Law Olmstead (designer of Central Park NY city) and a book following Olmstead’s travels by the late Civil War tragic Tony Horwitz.
Hoping to see a good roll-up at the August meeting for good conversation, comestibles and to hear young Barry talk about paper collectibles and the ACW. Cheers.
Delivered by Australia Post, your editors recieved a short missive from one of our original members Mr Stuart Duff. Normally our membership is “deaf and dumb” when it comes to sending something into MN so it was a pleasant surprise to receive this letter from Darley.
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Welcome to the July 2023 edition of MN. Who would have thought that in the one MN your editors could have made mention of and include photos of Elvis Presley and Taylor Swift along with a cricket-at-wielding Ian Caldwell OAM! Not only that but a photo of James Stallard taking us back in time to the Civil War and editor Ross and Dr. Dale Blair showing that they are all-rounders with the launch of a new radio (wireless) program called “Swell Dames” dealing with dames of the 30s, 40s and 50s.
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In this Minie News we have included two excerpts from a well argued book by Sarah Churchwell about America First and the American Dream. This book delves into some of the darker side of America in the past 120 years and wrestles with the changing ideas of what America stands for. The same ideas and ideals seem to get rehashed over time and a twisted rhetoric is continually thrust before the American public to this very day. Published in 2018 it maintains a an up-to-date currency.
We also include an article about the late John Jakes who was a great popularizer of American history in the form of his very voluble and readable novels. Not every one’s cup of tea but his popularity cannot be under-rated.