Meeting Announcement

When: Wednesday, April 10,2024

Where: La Navona, 154 North Hamilton, Gahanna, Ohio. AND via this YouTube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQqEGhBGgUk

Time: 7pm

Speaker: Harry Smeltzer, the host of Bull Runnings

Topic: The U. S. Marine Corps at First Bull Run. 

You may know that a battalion of U. S. Marines accompanied Irvin McDowell’s army at the First Battle of Bull Run. What’s less known is who they were and what they did there. Harry will discuss that event, as well as the antebellum makeup and role of the Corps and follow in the footsteps of this band of 350 “regular” marines on the Plains of Manassas, much of it described in their own words.

Harry Smeltzer is the host of Bull Runnings, a website dedicated to the digitization of primary resources and original content related to the First Battle of Bull Run.  He lives just outside Pittsburgh, and was born and raised in Southwestern PA.  He has earned degrees at The Pennsylvania State University and the Katz School of the University of Pittsburgh.  He’s also been published in print media including in the journal Civil War History, The Civil War Monitor, Civil War Times, and America’s Civil War.  He is a Digital History Advisor for The Civil War Monitor. He sits on the board of directors of the Save Historic Antietam Foundation.  He has presented programs on digital history and Bull Run related topics to organizations in eight states and the District of Columbia and organizes and leads tours of the battlefield of First Bull Run. Groups with which he’s worked include Civil War round tables, libraries, historical societies, universities, and the United States Marine Corps. He’s been hosting Bull Runnings since November 2006.

Harry Smeltzer

From our President Jamie Ryan:

We have started a new Roundtable year, so you need to pay dues. The Roundtable is a “Not for Profit” organization so donations are accepted and greatly appreciated.

Dues are:

individual membership     $35.00

family membership          $40.00 

Student membership        $20.00

 I have a copy of an email that I received from the Richmond Battlefields Association.  This is NOT a request for money; please see the email and street addresses for the Henric County (Virginia) Planning Commission and send them a message that the land should not be rezoned unless the developer agrees to sell or donate the 100 acre tract described in the message. Save Savage’s Station.

Tom Ayres has provided a report on our March program from Codie Esch on Aaron Jerome of the Signal Corps. Aaron Brainard Jerome

Meeting Announcement

When: March 13th 2024

Where: La Navona, 154 North Hamilton, Gahanna, Ohio. AND via this YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/9Dyfx-krleQ?si=baErIMu7O_Ftw7g6

Time: 7pm

Speaker: Codie Eash, Director of Education and Museum Operations at Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center in Gettysburg. 

Topic: “General Buford’s Signalman: Aaron Brainard Jerome at Gettysburg and Beyond.”

Many Civil War enthusiasts are aware of Brig. Gen. John Buford’s use of the Seminary cupola at Gettysburg, an incident since popularized in literature and film, but few are familiar with First Lt. Aaron Brainard Jerome. As the person who likely spent the most time in that structure among any of the battle’s participants, Jerome served as an underrecognized member of the United States Signal Corps, an influencer in shaping perceptions of Buford’s legacy, and an officer who Buford praised as having been “ever on the alert.” This presentation will focus on the Signal Corps experience during the Civil War, with a special emphasis on Jerome’s life, writings, and role in shaping the Gettysburg story.

Codie Eash serves as Director of Education and Museum Operations at Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center in Gettysburg, and is a 2014 graduate of Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor degree in communication/journalism and held a minor in history. In addition to museum tours and interpretation, he lectures for National Park Service sites, historical societies, Civil War roundtables, educational groups, and other organizations. He has published articles and essays in local newspapers, regional magazines, and national history journals. Codie is a founding contributor to Pennsylvania in the Civil War, writes book reviews for Civil War Monitor, and serves as a member on the Gettysburg Magazine editorial board.

Codie Eash

From our President Jamie Ryan: My Fellow Roundtable Members:  Our next meeting will be Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at 7 pm at La Navona, 154 North Hamilton Road, Gahanna, Ohio.  I will be out of town at a scintillating unclaimed property legal seminar, but Tim Maurice will ably replace me. 

We have started a new Roundtable year, so you need to pay dues. The Roundtable is a “Not for Profit” organization so donations are accepted and greatly appreciated.

Dues are:

individual membership     $35.00

family membership          $40.00 

Student membership        $20.00

Tom Ayres has provided a report on our February program from Justin Mays on the Kanawha Division.

Click to access the-unknown-division.pdf