Wednesday May 15, 2019.
Spotsylvania Courthouse: The Clash of Grant and Lee at the Crossroads: Discussion to follow: To commemorate the 155th Anniversary of the furious battles in the Wilderness and Spotsylvania County, Virginia, we will have a special video presentation of: Spotsylvania Courthouse: The Clash of Grant and Lee at the Crossroads: For nearly two weeks in 1864, the titans of the Civil War, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant -- clashed violently, for the first time, at the crossroads of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia. Recorded during the 140th anniversary reenactment of Spotsylvania, this film highlights thousands of reenactors in a variety of media formats, from the ultra-high resolution of high-definition video to the authenticity of archival looking film. Utilizing Wide Awake Films signature Civil War Combat Cameraman footage, Spotsylvania Courthouse is the first documentary of its kind. Winner of 2006 Telly Award. ALSO included is a brief battlefield tour with the great civil war historian Ed Bearss. This ensures to be a fascinating program and evening with the RCWRT. Bring some friends and family on Wednesday, May 15, at 7:30 PM at the Pirate Cove at Pearl River High School |
The RCWRT will present: The 5th NY Zouaves: In a Living Historian and Teacher’s World By Bill Wienecke in the Pirate Cove at Pearl River HS on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 7:30 PM. Bill Wienecke has been a social studies teacher in the Somers School District for almost 40 years. He is an experienced living history educator and historical reenactor of several eras of the past, including the American Civil War. "Part of what makes Somers such a wonderful place to live is our dedicated volunteers," said Somers Town Supervisor Rick Morrissey. "Bill Wienecke lives the role of General Washington and has been great at engaging the students and getting them interested in learning more about our heritage. I often tell our seventh graders how lucky they are, because while other seventh graders are sitting in a classroom, they get to have an interactive history lesson with equipment and artifacts that range from the Revolutionary War up to the War in Afghanistan. Bill, A Living History Master Teacher is also affiliated with The Hudson River Teacher Center and the Living History Education Foundation, where he trains teachers in "hands on" history lessons. In the Pirate Cove at Pearl River HS on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 7:30 PM. |
President Lincoln documentary film. “Lincoln, Trial by Fire” (1971) in the Pirate Cove at Pearl River HS on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 7:30 PM. The RCWRT will present: Lincoln, Trial by Fire / Warner Bros. Pictures; produced in association with the editors of American Heritage. Hosted and narrated by Cliff Robertson. Lincoln, Trial by Fire: Lincoln, facing the crisis of a divided nation, was forced to turn for help to General George McClellan, who supported Southern positions on slavery and states' rights. The conflict between Lincoln and McClellan was intense from the start and before their uneasy partnership ended it became one of the strangest stories in American history. In the Pirate Cove at Pearl River HS on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 7:30 PM. |
Wednesday, March 28, 2018: 7:30 PM PRHS Pirate Cove, Pearl River High School The Fall of Richmond: By Robert M. Dunkerly (Bert) The climactic event of the Civil War generated tremendous controversy, at the time and in the years afterward. Yet for such a momentous event, few historians have studied the actual capture of the Confederate capital by Union forces. Who were the first troops into the city? Who started the fires? How did the Confederates evacuate? These questions and more will be answered in this presentation. |
Robert M. Dunkerly (Bert) is a historian, award-winning author, and speaker who is actively involved in historic preservation and research. He holds a degree in History from St. Vincent College and a Masters in Historic Preservation from Middle Tennessee State University. He has worked at nine historic sites, written eleven books and over twenty articles. His research includes archaeology, colonial life, military history, and historic commemoration. Dunkerly is currently a Park Ranger at Richmond National Battlefield Park. He has visited over 400 battlefields and over 700 historic sites worldwide. When not reading or writing, he enjoys hiking, camping, and photography. |
Wednesday, January 10, 2018:
7:30 PM PRHS Pirate Cove, Pearl River High School
The Morning Ride of Captain Samuel Johnston: July 2 at Gettysburg:
The reconnaissance and counter march of Longstreet’s Corps
By Larry Drennan
Early on the morning of July 2, 1863, General Robert E Lee dispatched his Engineer, Captain Samuel R. Johnston to discover the Left of the Army of the Potomac. This reconnaissance was in preparation for the main effort of the Army of Northern Virginia on the second day at Gettysburg. We will briefly examine how this and other intelligence shortfalls may have contributed to the overall loss of the battle for Southern forces on their Invasion of Pennsylvania.
Larry Drennan works out of Bear Mountain State Park, supervising maintenance for the Palisades Region for NY Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. He has twice undertaken the written portion of the License Battlefield Guide Examination at Gettysburg Battlefield.
The reconnaissance and counter march of Longstreet’s Corps
By Larry Drennan
Early on the morning of July 2, 1863, General Robert E Lee dispatched his Engineer, Captain Samuel R. Johnston to discover the Left of the Army of the Potomac. This reconnaissance was in preparation for the main effort of the Army of Northern Virginia on the second day at Gettysburg. We will briefly examine how this and other intelligence shortfalls may have contributed to the overall loss of the battle for Southern forces on their Invasion of Pennsylvania.
Larry Drennan works out of Bear Mountain State Park, supervising maintenance for the Palisades Region for NY Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. He has twice undertaken the written portion of the License Battlefield Guide Examination at Gettysburg Battlefield.
Presidential Visits at Gettysburg, begins with an in-depth look at Lincoln's visit and the newspaper coverage around the nation. Jay will conclude with a discussion on a number of the more interesting visits to GB by various post-Civil War presidents. Mr. Jorgensen will also have copies of his books for sale at the event.
Jay Jorgensen graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a BA in history, from Villanova University School of Law with a JD, and from American Military University with a MA in military history - Civil War Studies. He is a Superior Court Judge in New Jersey. Jay is the author of Gettysburg’s Bloody Wheatfield, which won the prestigious Bachelder-Coddington Award for best new book on Gettysburg in 2002. He is also the author of The Wheatfield at Gettysburg: A Walking Tour, Edward Porter Alexander: Confederate Cannoneer, and Gettysburg’s Leadership Lessons for Lawyers (and Non-Lawyers too!).
Wednesday, October 18, 2017:
7:30 PM PRHS Pirate Cove, Pearl River High School
RICH ROSENTHAL: Civil War Women of Compassion, Courage and Grit
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
7:30 PM PRHS Pirate Cove Pearl River High School 275 East Central Ave, Pearl River, NY, 10965. |
A story of survival during wartime – not from cannons and bullets – but of life itself. The women who are left at home without adequate means of support and must provide the basic necessities of food and shelter and still impart their values.
Cornelia Hancock, who is rejected by Dorothea Dix because she is too pretty to be a nurse! She defies Dix and goes to Gettysburg to assist the wounded soldiers, arrives on the battlefield and is thrust into fields of wounded and dying soldiers. Sara Pryor, a woman of position and standing, living through the privation and destruction of the south, still has the courage to defy Gen. Sheridan and demand rations for the starving women and children families in her community. And although she never owned slaves, in the last days of the war, with the last of her resources buys a slave to free him immediately. This lecture is not merely one of the retelling of series of individuals, but will detail the status of women before the Civil War and how they had to break the bonds of a restricted patriarchal society in order to serve their country. The story of these women and others will be told in that perspective. Although I have given this lecture on other occasions, recently this lecture is suddenly thrust within today’s news. Will you make an effort to bring a student? |
Rich Rosenthal has lectured on numerous historical subjects and is president of the North Jersey Civil War Round Table and one of the founding members, with the pre-eminent New Jersey historian, the late John T. Cunningham, of the North Jersey American Revolution Round Table.
Fred Campisano: Lincoln’s Foreign Legion: September 20, 2017:
Wednesday, September, 2017
7:30 PM PRHS Pirate Cove Pearl River High School 275 East Central Ave, Pearl River, NY, 10965. “Lincoln’s Foreign Legion” A presentation on the Garibaldi Guards, 39th New York Volunteer Infantry Fred'd presentation focused on the history of the 39th New York and its men, from its pre-war beginnings, inception and formation, following the regiment’s service through some of the many major battles to the end of the American Civil War. |
Fred Campisano is an operatic tenor and is presently, concentrating on his vocal and performance studies with Metropolitan Opera tenor and star actor of HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”, Anthony Laciura.
A former chorister of the Saint Patrick’s Cathedral Choir in New York, he has performed for Pope John Paul II; former United States Presidents and politicians and various noted dignitaries and celebrities. He also performed at the funeral and memorial services of the first responders of the NYPD, FDNY and EMS that were lost on September 11th, 2001. As a soloist, Mr. Campisano has performed in concert with the Ars Musica Chorale and the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra of New Jersey, as well as in other venues in New York. He has been a guest soloist and cantor at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, and other churches throughout the Archdiocese of New York. He continues to honor our fallen servicemen and women and veterans of our armed forces, including Hudson Valley Honor Flight for our World War II veterans. As a living historian/re-enactor, Mr. Campisano served as a Union Army extra in the American Civil War movies “Gettysburg” and “Gods and Generals”. He has reenacted as a member of the 5th New York Regiment, of the American Revolution; and in the Garibaldi Guards, 39th New York Regiment, the 5th New York Duryea’s Zouaves and the 11th New York Fire Zouaves at various living histories and reenactment battle events. Mr. Campisano has also performed at living history and reenactment events on many of the actual battlefields of those wars here in the United States. He has also performed, and continues to perform, the National Anthem in addition to other patriotic songs at various events and functions in the New York and New Jersey areas.
He is currently a member of the Yorktown Historical Society, and the Army Air Forces Historical Association honoring those in the Allied Forces who served during World War II. |
Patrick A. Schroeder: "Zouaves: America's Forgotten Soldiers" June 7, 2017
Civil War Author/Historian — Patrick A. Schroeder was born January 1, 1968, at Fort Belvoir, VA. In the spring of 1990, he graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Historical Park Administration from Shepherd College, Shepherdstown, WV. He has a M.A. in Civil War History from Virginia Tech. From the summer of 1986-1993, Patrick worked as a seasonal living history interpreter at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. In 1993, he wrote Thirty Myths About Lee’s Surrender, which is currently in its twelfth printing. From 1994–1999, he was employed at Red Hill, the Patrick Henry National Memorial. Patrick has written, edited and/or contributed to more than twenty-five Civil War titles including: More Myths About Lee’s Surrender; The Confederate Cemetery at Appomattox; Recollections and Reminiscences of Old Appomattox; Images of America: Appomattox County; Tar Heels; Sailor’s Creek: General Custis Lee Captured with Controversy; Civil War Soldier Life: In Camp and Battle; A Duryee Zouave; We Came To Fight: A History of the 5th NY Veteran Vol. Inf., Duryee’s Zouaves; Campaigns of the 146th Regiment New York State Volunteers; Pennsylvania Bucktails; The Bloody 85th; The Life of General Ely S. Parker: Least Grand Sachem of the Iroquois and Grant’s Military Secretary; Appomattox County; and With the 11th New York Fire Zouaves: In Camp, Battle and Prison. Patrick resides in Lynchburg, VA, and has worked as an independent researcher, author, historian, and tour guide. He has served as the Historian at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park since 2002. In an effort to protect sites relevant to the Appomattox Campaign, Patrick has set up the “Appomattox Fund” with the Civil War Trust, to save land important to the climatic events of April 1865.
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June 7, 2017: Pat Schroeder:
Jay Jorgensen: May 17, 2017:
A Re-Assessment of Robert E. Lee Through the Years.
Jay Jorgensen graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a BA in history, from Villanova University School of Law with a JD, and from American Military University with a MA in military history - Civil War Studies. He is a Superior Court Judge in New Jersey. Jay is the author of Gettysburg’s Bloody Wheatfield, which won the prestigious Bachelder-Coddington Award for best new book on Gettysburg in 2002. He is also the author of The Wheatfield at Gettysburg: A Walking Tour, Edward Porter Alexander: Confederate Cannoneer, and Gettysburg’s Leadership Lessons for Lawyers (and Non-Lawyers too!). Books will be available for purchase and signing at the meeting.
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Ron Coddington: April 19, 2017
Cardomania! The Rise and Fall of the Carte de Visite in Civil War America
The Civil War Generation was the first to grow up with photography. This transformative medium made it possible for Americans from all walks of life to preserve their own likeness, a privilege once reserved only for the wealthy. During photography’s early years, daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes ruled the portrait world. Then, on the eve of the Civil War, a curious new format landed in America—the carte de visite. After hostilities began, hundreds of thousands of citizen soldiers and sailors posed for their likenesses. Countless millions of photographs were produced. Significant numbers of these most intimate and personal artifacts survive today. Some are finding a place among the iconic images of the war. Join Ron Coddington, author of four books of collected Civil War portraits and editor and publisher of Military Images magazine, as he tells the story of the dramatic rise precipitous fall of the carte de visite.
The Civil War Generation was the first to grow up with photography. This transformative medium made it possible for Americans from all walks of life to preserve their own likeness, a privilege once reserved only for the wealthy. During photography’s early years, daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes ruled the portrait world. Then, on the eve of the Civil War, a curious new format landed in America—the carte de visite. After hostilities began, hundreds of thousands of citizen soldiers and sailors posed for their likenesses. Countless millions of photographs were produced. Significant numbers of these most intimate and personal artifacts survive today. Some are finding a place among the iconic images of the war. Join Ron Coddington, author of four books of collected Civil War portraits and editor and publisher of Military Images magazine, as he tells the story of the dramatic rise precipitous fall of the carte de visite.
While other kids in his Middlesex, New Jersey, neighborhood were collecting baseball cards, 14-year-old Ron Coddington was browsing flea markets looking for old photographs. Little did he realize after he purchased his first photo in 1977 that collecting historic images would become a lifelong pursuit. He originally collected various formats of vernacular photography dating from the 1840s to the 1890s. Over time, he focused his collection on Civil War era cartes de visite, a paper format popular during the 1860s. From 2001-2016, he authored Faces of War, a regular column in the Civil War News. Each month, Ron profiled a soldier, and each was illustrated with an original, wartime carte de visite photograph. His subjects were enlisted men and non-commissioned officers, and officers below the rank of colonel. Ron believes that appreciating the role of the volunteer soldier is key to understanding America’s greatest conflict. He writes, “The history of the Civil War is the stories of its soldiers and sailors.” |
In 2004, a collection of columns became part of Ron’s first book, Faces of the Civil War: An Album of Union Soldiers and Their Stories. A companion volume, Faces of the Confederacy: An Album of Southern Soldiers and Their Stories, followed in 2008. Four years later, the publication of African American Faces of War: An Album marked the third book in the series. A fourth volume, Faces of the Civil War Navies: An Album of Union and Confederate Sailors, was released in 2016. All are published by The Johns Hopkins University Press. His next volume will profile the lives and contributions of nurses and other caregivers.
Ron also wrote for the New York Times Disunion series from 2011-2014. His contributions documented the experiences of the enlisted men and line officers who participated in the Civil War. In 2013, he became editor and publisher of Military Images, a quarterly magazine dedicated to showcasing, interpreting and preserving early American photographs of soldiers and sailors. Ron has participated as a speaker at numerous Civil War-related events, and at meetings for round tables and other organizations. A 1985 graduate of the University of Georgia, Ron lives in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife, Anne, and pug Bella. He is currently Editor, Visuals, for The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Chronicle of Philanthropy. |
William "Pat" Schuber: The Vicksburg Campaign: March 8, 2017
William “Pat” Schuber served as The County Executive of Bergen County for 12 years, 9 years as a member of the New Jersey State Assembly and Mayor of the Borough of Bogota for 4 years.
He is an Assistant Professor in the School of Administrative Science, Petrocelli College, Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is a faculty member in the Master of Administrative Science (MAS), Master of Science in Homeland Security (MSHS), Master of Sports Administration (MSA) and Bachelor of Arts in Individualized Studies (BAIS). His courses include Leadership, Government, Homeland Security, Law, Ethics and Communication. Pat is also the Co-Director of the Diplomacy and International Relations Program. He is a past Adjunct Professor in Business Law at Montclair University and Seton Hall University. He is an Instructor in the Certified Public Manager Course of Studies (CPM) and the Police Executive Leadership Course sponsored by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police and the New Jersey State Police (NJSP). He is also an honorary member of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police. Pat has conducted Leadership Staff Ride Seminars at the Battlefields of Gettysburg, Antietam, Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth Courthouse, Brandywine and Normandy, France. He lectures frequently on military history, historical leadership, homeland security, ethics, communication and conflict resolution to numerous civic groups. He has written several scholarly articles and co-authored books on topics of History, Leadership and Homeland Security. He served as a Captain in the US Army Reserve (Retired). Pat is a graduate of Fordham University with a BA and received his JD at Fordham University School of Law. He is currently serving Of Counsel to the law firm of DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick & Cole, LLP in Teaneck, New Jersey. |
Partial List of Past Speakers
Mike Kochan “Torpedoes, a Closer Look at the Infernal machines of the Civil War" Mike Kaufman “American Brutus: The John Wilkes Booth Conspiracy” John Koster “ Frenchmen in the Civil War” Kevin Graffanino, “ Rebels In Vermont, the St. Albans Raid” Jim Meaney, “The Orange Blossom Monument “ Jeff Richman, “Final Camping Ground: The Green-Wood Cemetery” Debby Applegate, “The Most Famous Man in America: Henry Ward Beecher” Harold Holzer, “Abraham Lincoln In New York”. Bill Gent “Hollywood vs. Reality: Civil War Medicine” Tony Czarnecki “ Lincoln’s Secret Visit to West Point” William Ronk “The Role of the Garibaldi Guards and other Europeans Soldiers” John Koster “Custer Survivor, The End of a Myth, the Beginning of a Legend.” Joe Truglio, “New Jersey’s 150th Anniversary Celebration of the Civil War” Bill Styple, “Writing and Fighting the Civil War” Hank Greenberg ,“Lee’s Reasons for Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg” Carolyn Evans “Portraying Harriet Tubman” Richard Bellamy “Cutler’s Brigade at Gettysburg” Robert Sheridan “The USS Monitor at the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff” Stuart Lutz “Civil War autographs and how to detect forgeries” Joel Craig “Zouaves: The Beau Ideal Of A Soldier" Les Jensen “A Lean and Hungry Band of Wolves: Confederate Enlisted Men’s Uniforms” Lisa Saunders. “Ever True: A Union Private and His Wife." Dr. John Latschar, Superintendent of the Gettysburg National Military Park “Gettysburg Monuments” |
John Zinn
Ken Colomba
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Historian Ken Colomba presented a Power Point Presentation with accoutrements and discussed
“Cavalry during the Civil War with a brief history of the 15th NYVC”
Photo Gallery from past program meetings.
Jeff Cook displayed and discussed his collection of Connecticut Officer (Identified) presentation swords in 2015.
Historian John Muranelli gave a presentation on the Abraham Lincoln Assassination Conspirators in April of 2015. His presentation was a brief overview and history of the assassination plot and the men and women who conspired to kill Lincoln.