Current Newsletter and Archives
Williamsburg Civil War
Roundtable
Meeting Place:
WILLIAMSBURG
Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre
Volume LIV Number 7 March 26, 2024
MONTHLY MEETING NOTICE
March 26, 2024 at 6:30 PM
Join us on Tuesday, March 26th, for the
meeting of the Williamsburg Civil War Roundtable,
commencing at 6:30 PM in the Williamsburg Regional
Library Theatre. The library is located at 515
Scotland Street in Williamsburg.
The program will also be presented online via a Zoom
link for our members and friends near and far. The
details for the Zoom link will be provided by a
follow-up announcement several days prior to meeting
date
On Tuesday, March 26, 2024, Jonathan Jones will
present “Opium Slavery: Drug Dependency Among Civil
War Veterans”.
In the wake of the Civil War, many veterans
struggled with lingering pain and disabling
illnesses. To cope, former soldiers often turned to
opioids. Tens of thousands became addicted to the
drugs. Jonathan Jones, Assistant Professor of
History at James Madison University, will discuss
how the opioid addiction crisis sparked by the Civil
War affected veterans’ lives and what this crisis
can teach us about the Civil War’s traumatic
aftershocks in the postwar decades.
Jonathan S. Jones is an assistant professor of
history at James Madison University. His first book,
Opium Slavery: The Civil War, Veterans, and
America’s First Opioid Crisis, is forthcoming from
UNC Press. Jones’s research has also appeared in The
Journal of the Civil War Era, the Washington Post,
Vice, NPR, and other outlets. Jones received his PhD
from Binghamton University in 2020. In 2020-21, he
was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Penn State’s George
and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center and from
2021-23 he was an assistant professor of history at
Virginia Military Institute.”
Last Month
On February 27th, Scott Mingus presented
“Confederate Calamity: JEB Stuart’s Cavalry Ride
Through York County PA”.
Many people erroneously believe that Jeb Stuart was
on a glory ride around the Army of the Potomac while
the battle of Gettysburg raged, deliberately
depriving Robert E. Lee of "the eyes and ears of the
army." Author Scott Mingus, making extensive use of
post-war civilian border claims and old maps,
discusses Stuart's route north, the obstacles that
caused him to miss his planned connection with Lee's
army near the Susquehanna River, and the wearisome,
exhausting ride up and down the hills of York
County, PA. on June 30 to July 2, 1863, concurrent
with the first two days of the battle of Gettysburg.
Multiple award-winning author Scott Mingus is a
retired scientist and executive in the global
specialty paper industry. The Ohio native graduated
from Miami University. He was part of the research
team that developed the first commercially
successful self-adhesive U.S. postage stamps, and he
was a pioneer in the early development of bar code
labels. He has written more than 30 Civil War and
Underground Railroad books and numerous articles for
Gettysburg Magazine and other historical journals.
He has appeared on C-SPAN, C-SPAN3, PBS, PCN, and
several other TV networks. Mingus writes a blog on
the Civil War history of York County, PA, where he
and his wife Debi live. He also has written six
scenario books for miniature wargaming. He received
lifetime achievement awards from the York County
History Center and the Camp Curtin Historical
Society for his many contributions to local Civil
War history. The Gettysburg Civil War Round Table
recently presented Mingus and co-author Eric
Wittenberg with the 2023 Bachelder-Coddington Award
for the best new book on the Gettysburg Campaign, If
We Are Striking for Pennsylvania.
Offcers of WCWRT
President: Bill Miller
Vice-President: Lee Underwood
Secretary
Treasurer:
The Executive Committee consists of the elected officers, the immediate past president and other members appointed by the incoming president. Those members include Debbie Bedosti, Tom Lamb, and Terri Teopke.
Upcoming Meetings and Speakers
- April 23, 2024: Rob Orrison: “Twice Baptized: Misconceptions & Unique Stories from the Manassas Battlefields
- May 28, 2024: Patrick Schroeder: “Forgotten Friday: The April 7, 1865 Actions in Cumberland County, VA”
Special Events
- April 7, 2024 - NAU Center special conference "Second Manassas, Campaign, Battle, and Aftermath" details
- April 20, 2024 - Petersburg Project "Hidden in Plain Sight" caravan driving tour details
- April 21, 2024 - Thomas Jefferson Performed by Clay Jenkinson details
- May 4, 2024 - Army Historical Foundation, and CVBT, Presents the 2024 Spring Battle Ride details
- June 7-12, 2024 - Gettysburg summer civil war conference details
Other Notes:
Support our Book Raffle: This
is an important secondary source of revenue to
support our programming. It’s a wonderful way to
supplement your Civil War library with great books
at bargain basement prices.
Help our effort increase our membership:
The best method of recruitment is by word of mouth.
Help our effort to grow your Roundtable by inviting
your friends and neighbors to accompany you to our
meeting.
Visit the Williamsburg Battlefield
Association
(http://www.williamsburgbattlefieldassociation.org/)
(https://www.facebook.com/WilliamsburgBattlefieldAssociation)
WEBSITE: Be sure to frequently
visit the site for newsletter info, announcements,
future and past speakers, and an up to date calendar
of events in the Civil War world. It’s
available anytime you need the info.
http://www.wcwrt.org.
The purpose of this organization shall be to promote discussion and study of the Civil War and to further stimulate interest in all aspects and phases of the Civil War period.