Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens: A Marriage Made in Hell

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1 Circular Memorandum #432 louisvillecwrt.yolasite.com October, 2011 Announcing Our 468th Meeting Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens: A Marriage Made in Hell Will be Presented by Thomas Schott DATE: Saturday, October 8 Location: Big Spring Country Club COCKTAILS: 6:00 P.M. DINNER ($25.00): 7:00 P.M. PROGRAM: 8:00 P.M. Meet Our Speaker Thomas Schott Thomas E. Schott was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi and raised in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He earned a Ph.D in American History from Louisiana State University where he studied under famed historian T. Harry Williams. He has written several history-connected publications, including a prize winning biography of Alexander H. Stephens, as well as articles on numerous other Civil War subjects. He is co-editor of two upcoming publications: Confederate Generals in the Trans-Mississippi, vol. 2 & Robert E. Lee and His Generals: Essays in Honor of T. Harry Williams. Both to be published by University of Tennessee Press next year. He recently retired from a long career as a historian for various Air Force organizations and the U.S. Operations Command. Tom loves reading, baseball in general and the Texas Rangers in particular, Cajun cooking, history, writing poetry, playing chess, good wine, laughter, music, and ideas on the edge. He lives in Norman, Oklahoma, where his grandkids are. Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens: A Marriage Made in Hell Political expediency dictated the selection of Alexander H. Stephens as vice president of the Confederacy. A former Whig from Georgia, the Empire State of the South and one which could not be ignored for top offices in the new nation, he vehemently opposed secession right up until passage of the secession ordinance. Jefferson Davis was his political opposite: a Democrat who favored secession. The two men did share some personality traits, but this only served to exacerbate the differences between them. The period of

2 The Adjutant s Call 2 October, 2011 cooperation between them after their election lasted only a few months. Thereafter, Stephens stayed mostly at his home in Georgia and away from Richmond. For Stephens, the war was about "constitutional liberty" above all else. Therefore he opposed virtually everything the Davis administration did in its efforts to win the war: conscription, impressment, financial policy, and especially suspension of writ of habeas corpus. In 1864, the vice president delivered a speech to the Georgia legislature publicly attacking the administration's policies. He actively supported various peace plans being proposed in the South in the latter stages of the war. He was probably the worst possible choice for the office he held in the Confederacy. Books, Books, Books! We will have copies of the speaker's book, Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia for sale at the meeting at a 40% discount. These are paperback. RESERVATIONS: Call Doug Krawczyk ( ) to place your reservations. If you are making reservations for more than just yourself, please give the names of the others. If you leave your reservation on his answering machine, please spell out your name so he can correctly identify you. You can also make your reservation by by sending it to bryanw@macconstruction.com. Please call or no later than Wednesday, October 5, by noon. We cannot accept reservations past this date! If you wish to join us just for the program, please call and make a reservation so that we can provide you with a chair. If you are only coming for the program, you can call Doug anytime up to 4:00 p.m. the day of the meeting. Reminder for Table Reservations: We can reserve tables for parties of eight only, and we need you to provide us with the names of all the people in your party when you make the reservation. This will enable us to manage our meeting space in a more efficient manner. Thank you. It is Time for Membership Renewals It is now time to pay the annual membership fees of the Round Table. Remember any amount you give above the basic or family membership fee is tax-deductible since the Round Table has tax-exempt status as a 501 (c) (3) organization! There are three membership options from which to choose. The additional funds raised through Patron memberships allow the Round Table to take a more active role in the Preservation of Civil War battlefields and sites and also help pay the costs of bringing the very best Civil War speakers to our meetings. Dues notices were sent in the Summer Newsletter. To Summarize the Options: Option One: Regular Membership $30 Basic membership. Option Two: Family Membership $35 Allows spouse or family member living in the same household to also join. +$5 For each additional family member. Option Three: Patron Membership $55+ Membership with financial gift to LCWRT. Please send your membership renewal to: LCWRT, 1028 Sarah Drive, Louisville, KY

3 The Adjutant s Call 3 October, 2011 Shiloh Field Trip April 25-29,2012 We will be going to Shiloh April for our Spring Field Trip. Our tour guide will be Tim Smith, historian at Shiloh Military Park. More details will be announced soon. * Fall Field Trip to Lexington October 23 We will be traveling to Lexington for our annual one-day Fall Field Trip on Sunday October 23. We will meet our guide, Sam Flora, at 9:30 at the gates to the Lexington Cemetery at 833 West Main St. From there we will begin our tour which will include stops at the John Hunt Morgan House, Lexington History Museum, the Fayette County Courthouse, Ashland, and a few other interesting places. Plan on car pooling and bring money for lunch and house tours. Call John Davis if you have any questions. Round Table Extends Sympathy to Dave Hoffmann The Round Table wishes to extend our heart-felt sympathy to Dave and Sue Hoffmann and their family. Dave s mother recently passed away. * Dates Saturday October 8 Thomas Schott Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens: A Marriage Made in Hell Saturday November 12 Glenn LaFantasie The Rise of U.S. Grant in 1862 Saturday December 3 Sam Elliott Tennessee Governor Isham Harris Saturday January 21 Saxton s Cornett Band Civil War Music Saturday February 11 Michael Bradley TBA Saturday March 10 Gary Gallagher The Real Lost Cause: Union in the Memory of the Civil War Saturday April 14 Ari Hoogenboom Gustavas Fox of the Union Navy Saturday May 12 Brian McKnight Contested Borderland

4 The Adjutant s Call 4 October, 2011 Welcome New Members! We wish to extend the warm hand of fellowship to new members: Lawrence and Marie Montalto Robert Jones Winners of the September Door Prizes Congratulations to our door prize winners at the September meeting. Chancellorsville by Stephen Sears won by Bob Webb Breckinridge by William Davis won by Maurice Jeffries Embattled Shrine by David Riggs won by Milt Koger A Pitiless Rain by E. Hastings won by Cindy Winslow The Young Lions by James Conrad won by Joe Reinhart The 149th Commemoration of the Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville was fought 149 years ago on October 8, The battle although very significant to the state, was perhaps more significant nationally as the CS defeat at Perryville helped Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation. During the summer of 1862, five Confederate armies began an offensive that would eventually end at Perryville, Kentucky. Never again would the Confederate military forces be able to launch such an offensive. The Confederate defeats at Corinth, Antietam and the stalemate at Perryville gave Abraham Lincoln the political clout he needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. The Battle of Perryville was Kentucky s largest and bloodiest Civil War battle. Over 40,000 men engaged in a desperate struggle that raged throughout the day of October 8, The battle left in its wake 7,500 men killed and wounded, a countryside ravaged by war and a civilian population in serious distress with a tremendous lack of food and water. Today the preservation efforts at Perryville Battlefield are a great success. The park has over 750 preserved acres and the Civil War Trust recently entered into an agreement with several local land owners to purchase 248 more acres. The annual Commemoration of the Battle of Perryville will occur this year on October 1-2, 2011 and will feature numerous activities that can be enjoyed by both families and serious Civil War historians and enthusiasts. You can find more at for more information.

5 The Adjutant s Call 5 October, 2011 Help the Civil War Trust Save 141 Acres at Perryville The Civil War Trust has launched a campaign to save 141 acres of core battlefield at Perryville. Here is the scoop from Trust President James Lighthizer, "Today, you and I have the chance to save 141 absolutely crucial acres that go a long way toward completing this tremendously significant battlefield. (And here s an insider's tip: don t be surprised to hear soon about additional preservation opportunities at this site, adding even more to the critical mass of saved land here. Due to on-going negotiations, that s all I can say for now.) This ground saw horrific fighting during the afternoon of October 8, 1862, with hundreds of casualties occurring on this land. This property surrounds on three sides the historic Bottom House, and contains the site of Henry Bottom s Barn which burned during the battle, killing many wounded men who had crawled in there for shelter. By the end of the day, both sides would suffer a total of approximately 7,400 casualties, and local experts on the battle estimate that about 500 of those occurred in just a few afternoon hours of fighting on the 141 acres we are working to save. If we can raise $181,250, we can save this critically important land valued at $725,000 that s a $4-to-$1 match of your donation dollar". Follow this link to donate; You can mail your contribution to: Civil War Trust, P.O. Box 1477, Hagerstown, MD Getting the Newsletter via is Fast and Saves $$$ With the cost of postage going up (as always), we want to encourage everyone to consider getting the newsletter by . It costs the Round Table about $8.00 per year in postage, envelopes, and printing costs to mail each newsletter. If you multiply that times 150 you can see it adds up to a large amount. In order to receive the newsletter by , you do need the capability to read a Word Document on your computer. Just contact Harriette Weatherbee at Harriettew@att.net and let her know. You will get your newsletter faster and help us save $$$ at the same time. September 2011 Quiz Answers: 1. Who did Robert E. Lee call the "eyes of the army," who "never brought me a piece of false information"? James Ewell Brown "JEB" Stuart 2. In 1856, on the floor of the United States Senate, during arguments about slavery, a South Carolina congressman clubbed a Massachusetts senator on the head with a cane. Who were these politicians? Congressman Preston Brooks clubbed Senator Charles Sumner. Sumner was so badly beaten that he was unable to attend the Senate for the next three years.

6 The Adjutant s Call 6 October, What were "Beecher's Bibles"? Rifles surreptitiously shipped by abolitionist clergyman Henry Ward Beecher to groups opposing proslavery forces in the Kansas Territory in the 1850s. The weapons were parked in crates labeled "BIBLES". 4. Kentucky's Governor Beriah Magoffin issued a proclamation of neutrality and forbade either government from entering the state. When and how did that neutrality end? On September 3, 1861, Confederate forces under Confederate General Gideon Pillow on orders from General Leonidas Polk entered Kentucky from Tennessee en route to Hickman and Columbus, Kentucky on the Mississippi River. On September 6, Federal forces under General U. S. Grant captured Paducah, Kentucky in Grant's first major and bloodless victory. 5. At Lexington, Missouri, why did Colonel James Mulligan surrender his Federal troops to General Sterling Price's Confederate forces? Mulligan had about 3600 troops to Price's 18,000 troops; General John Charles Fremont, the Federal commander in St. Louis, failed to send aid or reinforcements; and the Confederates effectively used dampened hemp bales in their final assaults before the surrender. October 2011 Quiz: 1. During October 1861, Jefferson Davis was besieged by requests from unhappy Confederate soldiers. What did they want? 2. CSA General Thomas Jackson's map maker was a native of what state? 3. In what battle did the charging troops of Winfield Scott Featherstone, CSA, push their foes back so that they fell to their deaths over a steep cliff? 4. Why, after the above battle, were neither USA Brigadier General Charles P. Stone nor CSA Brigadier General Nathan G. "Shanks" Evans promoted? 5. This Georgia politician served as a U.S. Representative both before the Civil War and after Reconstruction. Who was he and what did he do during the Civil War? (The Quiz is prepared by Harriette Weatherbee) Attest: John Davis Adjutant By Order of: Chris Kolakowski President