NOTE DATE CHANGE FROM TUESDAY DUE VETERANS DAY HOLIDAY.

http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/b/c/a/e/600_427968302.jpeg

"Denouement—the Civil War in 1864-1865" and Ed Bonekemper is our speaker.

Reservations required and DEADLINE is the morning of November 7. To make reservations or for more information, call or email John Restall (703) 578-1942, restall@joimail.com

6 PM Cash Bar, 7 PM Dinner, 8 PM Lecture. Dinner is optional and costs $30. You must pay for your dinner reservations unless cancelled at least 24 hours in advance. We encourage attendance for the speaker’s lecture only, $5 charge to help with travel costs for our speakers.

About Our Topic: From Bull Run to Chattanooga, the Union armies had fought their battles without benefit of either an overarching strategy or an absolute field commander. In 1864, the people of the North were restless and as the election approached, many of them supported a policy of peace with the Confederacy. Lincoln, however, never wavered. Committed as ever to destroying the armed power of the Confederacy, he needed a general who could gather all the threads of an emerging strategy to bring to bear the combined power of the Union armies and their supporting naval power against the secessionists. Ulysses S. Grant was that man.

However, after Grant became Union general-in-chief in March 1864, the Union still had a long way to go to win the Civil War. Military victories were essential to the reelection of Abraham Lincoln and his reelection was critical to Northern victory. This presentation will be an overview of the 1864-65 campaigns that led to Lincoln’s reelection and the Union victory in the war. While Grant’s Overland Campaign and other Eastern developments will be discussed, our speaker, Ed Bonekemper, will emphasize the events in the West.

About Our Speaker: Historian Edward H. Bonekemper III is the Civil War News Book Review Editor and a native and resident of Pennsylvania. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in American history from Muhlenberg College and Old Dominion University, respectively, and his J.D. from Yale Law School. During his 34 years as a federal government attorney he wrote for Navy and Coast Guard publications and spoke on a variety of topics for the Coast Guard and the Interior and Transportation departments. He is retired as a commander in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve.

He writes and lectures widely on the topics of his books, slavery, turning points of the Civil War and Union and Confederate generals. Bonekemper has taught several Civil War and other military history courses and is an adjunct lecturer on U.S. military history at Muhlenberg College. He has spoken at numerous Civil War Round Tables, given nine lectures about the Civil War at The Smithsonian Institution, and lectured at The Chautauqua Institution and on numerous other occasions.

He has published: Grant and Lee: Victorious American and Vanquished Virginian; McClellan and Failure: A Study of Civil War Fear, Incompetence and Worse; A Victor, Not a Butcher: Ulysses S. Grant’s Overlooked Military Genius; How Robert E. Lee Lost the Civil War; Lincoln and Grant: The Westerners Who Won the Civil War.

DIRECTIONS: Fort McNair is located at 4th and P streets, SW, near the Waterfront/Marina, the Waterfront Metro station, Waterside Mall, Arena Stage, Washington Nationals Stadium.

Visitors must use the 2nd Street Entrance at 2nd and Q Streets SW to enter the installation. Best approach is from M/Maine Street SW to turn south onto 4th Street SW, follow 4th to where it dead ends at P Street, turn left onto P Street SW (your only option), follow P along the base wall to the stop sign at 2nd Street SW, turn right onto 2nd Street, Visitor entrance is one block down on the right.

Coming from Virginia (South) via the 14th Street Bridge:

Take 95 North to 395 North going into Washington, DC. Go over the 14th Street bridge staying to the left. The road splits - left to route 1 and right to 395 North. Stay to the left but after the split get in the right lane. There is a right exit for Maine Avenue. At the light turn left. Stay straight on Maine Avenue - Waterfront is on the right. Maine Avenue turns into M Street near Arena Stage which is on the left. Turn right on 4th Street (Waterfront metro/Waterside Mall/Safeway is on the left). Go through one light and then the road dead ends at the front gate of McNair. This entrance will be closed, so proceed on P Street following the brick wall to the stop sign at 2nd Street SW and turn right. Entrance to the base is approximately a block down on the right. The military police at the gate will give you directions to the Officers' Club.

Coming from Virginia (West) via I-66:
Take Independence Avenue along the Tidal Basin. Follow signs for Maine Avenue. Stay straight on Maine Avenue - Waterfront is on the right. Maine Avenue turns into M Street near Arena Stage, which is on the left. Turn right on 4th Street (Waterfront metro/Waterside Mall/Safeway is on the left). Go through one light and then the road dead ends at the front gate of McNair. This entrance will be closed, so proceed on P Street following the brick wall to the stop sign at 2nd Street SW and turn right. Entrance to the base is approximately a block down on the right. The military police at the gate will give you directions to the Officers' Club.

Coming from Maryland:
Take 95 South toward Virginia. Just before the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, take 295 toward Washington, DC. Exit at South Capitol Street. Go over the Fredrick Douglas Bridge. Get in the right lane. Make a left at the light onto M Street. (This takes you over South Capitol Street). Turn left on 4th Street (Waterfront metro/Waterside Mall/Safeway is on the right). Go through one light and then the road dead ends at the front gate of Fort McNair. This entrance will be closed, so proceed on P Street following the brick wall to the stop sign at 2nd Street SW and turn right. Entrance to the base is approximately a block down on the right. The military police at the gate will give you directions to the Officers' Club.

Coming from Northwest DC:
From Constitution Ave. going east toward the Capitol, turn right on 7th street, which brings you to Maine Ave. Turn left on Maine Ave. (The Waterfront is in front of you if you went straight). Maine Avenue turns into M Street near Arena Stage, which is on the left. Turn right on 4th Street (Waterfront metro/Waterside Mall/Safeway is on the left). Go through one light and then the road dead ends at the front gate of McNair. This entrance will be closed, so proceed on P Street following the brick wall to the stop sign at 2nd Street SW and turn right. Entrance to the base is approximately a block down on the right. The military police at the gate will give you directions to the Officers' Club.

Susan Claffey

The Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia

Science & Education

American History

Museum

History

Historical Tours

Historic Preservation

U.S. Civil War

Historic Locations

Military History

Erin Hodgess

Next Meeting:  WED. Nov. 12, Ending the Civil War with Ed Bonekemper

Fort McNair Officers' Club

Share

The Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia

Next Meeting: WED. Nov. 12, Ending the Civil War with Ed Bonekemper

The Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia

Details

Members are also interested in