MEETINGS ARE GENERALLY HELD ON THE FIRST MONDAY OF EACH MONTH AT THE ATHENS COUNTY LIBRARY BRANCH AT THE CORNER OF LINCOLN AND HOME STREETS IN THE CITY OF ATHENS. MEETINGS START AT 7:00 P.M. AND RUN FOR AN HOUR AND HALF. EXCEPTIONS TO THE FIRST MONDAY MEETING DATE ARE IN NOVEMBER BECAUSE OF PREPARATION AT THE LIBRARY FOR ELECTION DAY ON THE FIRST TUESDAY AND OUR FIRST MEETING OF THE FALL WHICH IS CO-SPONSORED BY THE LIBRARY AND MEETS ON THE DATE OF THEIR MONTHLY COMMUNITY MEETING.
2023-24 Schedule (Tentative)
Monday, 9/11/23, “The Civil War & the Roman Catholic Church: Slavery & Abolition”
Monica Forsthoefel, a Masters of History student at Ohio University, will give a talk on the role of the Catholic Church in the United States before and during the Civil War. She will focus primarily on the stance of American Catholics on the issues of slavery and abolitionism, bolstered by a summary of the Church’s activity in the pre-war and wartime periods. She will also give a brief overview of religion in the United States in first half of the nineteenth century in order to situate the Catholic Church in the American religious context.
Monday, 10/2/23, “Athenian Dr. William Parker Johnson, Regimental Surgeon”
Bill Walker will make a presentation on his ancestor William Parker Johnson, a Athens County physician, who enlisted and served as a surgeon in the 18th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Dr. Walker served from September 24,1861 until his mustering out on the expiration of his term on November 9, 1864. The 18th OVI was raised in Athens County, and appears to be the only regiment actually raised in our county, though Athens County men served in a number of other regiments.
During the December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863 Battle of Stones River, which sustained the highest percentage of casualties of any Civil War battle, he served as regimental, brigade and hospital surgeon receiving recognition for his work. On December 31 his field hospital received artillery shelling and a direct attack by rebel forces overrunning McCook’s corps. This necessitated the field hospital’s immediate evacuation.
The trauma of the war and his family’s situation at home during the war served as the foundation for his humanitarian medical work after the war in Athens and Indianapolis. Copies of Johnson’s letters are in the possession of the Ohio University Library Archives and are a part of the permanent archival collection at the Stones River National Battlefield.
Monday, 11/13/23, “Civil War Music: Inspired, Written or First Performed by Women,” Steve Ball
Monday, 1/8/24, Book Review Panel, Steering Committee members with audience participation
Monday, 2/5/24, Place holder, in case January cancelled due to snow
Monday, 3/4/24,“Southeastern Ohio Regiments,” Larry Strayer
Monday, 4/1/24, “Canada & the U.S. Civil War,” Brian Schoen
Monday, 5/6/24, “ Great Kidnapping Myth,” John Fazio
In this PowerPoint presentation, the speaker exposes as a gigantic myth the all-but-universally accepted history that Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth, led an action team in a conspiracy to kidnap Lincoln, but had a change of heart and decided, at almost the last minute, to murder him instead. The plan, ostensibly, was to convey Lincoln to Richmond, there to be held as a hostage pending the release of Confederate prisoners of war and to sue for peace. The speaker proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Booth never intended to kidnap anyone and that, pursuant to instruction from his handlers in the Confederate Secret Service, under the overall direction of the highest levels of the Confederate government, multiple assassinations were always his purpose and goal.
Possible substitutes (as needed):
“What did your ancestor do in the war?” Steering Committee members, with audience participation
“Journalism during the Civil War,” Carl J. Denbow
Flamboyant Generals. A true roundtable discussion of some of the most eccentric and flamboyant generals of the late rebellion. Possible candidates include George Custer, Stonewall Jackson, Judson Kilpatrick, David Hunter, Thomas Francis Meagher, Nathan Forrest, Don Carlos Buell, Thomas Maley Harris, and John C. Frémont.
Battles of Monocacy and Ft. Stevens. This will be a two-part presentation. First Carl J. Denbow will discuss the Battle of Monocacy, which was a Confederate victory but delayed the rebel advance on Washington enough to allow reinforcements to be put in place so that Confederates were repulsed at Ft. Stevens. Monocacy was an ironic battle in that while it was a defeat, it probably represented the best leadership of the war for General Lew Wallace. The second part of the meeting will be a discussion of Ft. Stevens lead by John Murray. Some have called this campaign by Jubal Early to threaten or take Washington as the last chance for victory by the Confederacy.
Due to weather considerations we have decided to make the January and February meetings a “floating meeting.” This means if the weather permits a meeting in January, we will not have a meeting in February, but if the January meeting is called off because of weather, we will try and have that same topic covered at a meeting in February.
