gocwrt

BUSINESS

At the September meeting of the GOCWRT a voice vote passed our new by-laws. A copy has

been made available to anyone that wanted the document.

Now that the by-laws are effective, there will be minimum of business conducted during the meeting time. Decisions made by the Board of Directors will be announced in The Bugle or

at the meetings.

Revised membership forms will be available at the December meeting.

With the new protocol our December meeting we will include a vote on the cost of a 2011 membership in the Greater Orlando Civil War Roundtable.

$25 [as previous years]

$20 [ the current rate ]

Election of 2011 OFFICERS

Joe Mee, current Vice-president, agreed to serve as the 1-person Nomination Committee. The incumbent officers will run un-apposed unless there is a floor nomination at the meeting. The slate of officers are:

Marilyn Witko Rosinski

PRESIDENT/ Brevet GENERAL

Joseph Mee

VICE-PRESIDENT/SECOND-IN-COMMAND

Jack L. Brooks

SECRETARY/SCRIBE

Dave Armstrong

TREASURER

When the election is completed and the 2011 officers installed, there is a need for someone to step forward to 'apprentice' to the position of president and vice-president. These two people have already served a full year and are only eligible to serve one more year in their post at this time. The treasurer and the scribe have only served a partial year so their position. Think about stepping forward to learn the ropes of the organization.

2011 Troop Deployments:

Claude "Les" Leslie, who worked tirelessly on the by-laws, will assume the title of Sergeant-at-Arms, dealing with all things patriotic. His duties will include tending to the flags, leading the group in the Pledge of Allegiance, and monitoring membership attendance. {If you have a military commemoration or a special day or you just want to step up to assist, contact Les at ]

Judy Rickles will lead the Ladies AID Society, delivering greeting cards, creating a memorial wreath, and listing in The Bugle the members who share birthdays with historic figures or events. You can notify her via e-mail jarickles57@gmail.com if you know of someone in the club who is ill or has another commemoration

Corporal Deborah Yamamoto will be submitting TRIVIA questions in the The Bugle for your perusal and then at each meeting she will ask the questions aloud and ultimately provide the correct answers to that month's questions. Speakers and members are invited to provide her fodder for the trivia questions list via e-mail at dbyamamoto@msn.com.

Tom Tomlison [tocasatomlinson@aol.com ] has agreed to be Mail Clerk and he has created new guidelines for distribution of The Bugle as follows:

1. Members receive their copy of the The Bugle via e-mail automatically.

2. Guests can receive 2-3 copies of the The Bugle via e-mail.

3. Members relying on the post office will receive a post card reminding them of the meeting date, time, place and speaker the same information that is now disseminated mid-month via e-mail. Extra copies of The Bugle will be available at the meetings.

4. Members who wish to continue to receive The Bugle via mail are being asked to absorb PART of the costs. Mailing a year's worth of the newsletter costs between $12 and $15 annually. The new membership forms will offer the option to receive The Bugle by mail for $5 extra.

Don't Wait To Be Drafted ! Volunteer !

So that the Greater Orlando Civil War Roundtable can continue marching forward there are a few unfilled responsibilities.

The Quarter Master:

oversees the scheduling of the guest speakers at the meeting [2011 speakers are already contacted];

communicates the bio or topic information to the newsletter for pre-event promotions;

coordinates the details of their presentation needs, the dates, times, etc..;

notes any web site information from the presentation for listing in the next newsletter;

provides the Awards Chairman with correct information for the "Thank You" certificate.

The Newsletter Contributor or "A Red White & Blue" Journalist

Use the Long book, Civil War Day By Day, or other sources to compile the monthly "What Happened ON. . . . ?" column for the newsletter;

Write pertinent articles on Civil War sites or topics.

More Celebrating. . . . .

exciting NEWS !

GREAT PLANS:

The annual banquet of the Greater Orlando Civil War Roundtable

On Thursday FEBRUARY 24th, 2011

will be held at the

Orange County Regional History Center

This year's banquet is being held on February 24th, 2011, at 5:30 in the 3rd floor Jury Room of the Orange County Regional History Center. {This exciting venue will also be the location of our annual Show n' Tell event scheduled for October 20th, 2011, the 3rd Thursday.}

To accommodate this room, attendance is limited to the first 50 MEMBERS of the Greater Orlando Civil War Roundtable and their guests to make a dinner reservation. Ticket prices will be announced at the December meeting with the options for full banquet for members, guests, and for only dessert and speaker.

By popular demand, the event will feature Olive Garden fare. {Vegetarian options available.} Prices for members and their guests are yet to be determined but banquet organizers Allen & Peggy Beck are seeking input on the menu. Attendees will be asked to bring dessert and drinks.

What happened in DECEMBER

during the War Between the States ?

1860 . . . . . "The election of Abraham Lincoln in November has not solved anything; it appeared to have quickened tempers, increased concern, and perhaps even pushed secession over the brink. But could the nation actually be broken up? South Carolina said it could and would be dissolved. Others in the Deep South seemed to agree. How much intent and how much was just talk? What would the new President do in the spring of 1861? The old President, James Buchanan, still had three months to serve and a Congress to face . Would he or could he, do anything to avert trouble? Congress would gather the first part of the month and the President would report on the State of the Union. It appeared that Buchanan opposed secession but did not feel he had the power to coerce a state to remain if it wished to depart. His Cabinet was badly spit , his critics many. His party had practically overlooked him in the nominations and campaign. Yet he was still President and still trying to do his job as he saw it. What action would Congress take, if any? And how about the Federal forts in Charleston Harbor? Major Anderson at Fort Moultrie, call for reinforcements, suggested defending Federal property from Fort Sumter,. South Carolina was gathering state troops, beginning to arm and build defenses." Page 7

Florida's legislature was specially convened to consider the issues of the hour.

President Buchanan gave his state-of-union speech to Congress with proposals for legislation that offered appeasement but did nothing to avert secession.

Seven Senators and 23 Representatives from the South issued a manifesto to urge secession and the organization of a Southern Confederacy.

The Georgia legislature issued a call to South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi for delegates to be appointed to a convention to consider a Southern Confederacy.

The Convention of the People of South Carolina gathered at that Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina was led by President D. F. Jamison of Barnwell. The resolution to "secede from the Federal Union, known as the United States of America" passed 159 to nothing. Because of the small pox epidemic the convention reconvened at the Institute Hall in Charleston, South Carolina.

The Federal garrison transfers from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter under the leadership of Major Robert Anderson.

Secretary of War John B, Floyd, former Governor of Virginia, resigned, not just because of his extreme pro-southern leanings but also to avoid an investigation of the apparent defalcation of $870,000 of Indian-trust bonds in the Interior Department.

"The year ended, but the crisis remained, stark, apparently inevitable, and completely unsolved." Page 18

1861 . . . . . " 'The year begins with feelings of enmity & apprehension,' wrote an Episcopal minister. At least the question that there would be serious trouble had been answered. South Carolina had seceded; the Federal government was opposing it, though hard put to determine what form that opposition would take. It was more than probable that other deep South states, at least, would follow South Carolina. Compromise was still looked for by many but Congress had thus far failed; the President-elect opposed compromise. Neither side appeared willing to accept any real settlement. The basic issue of the crisis at this point had changed from a political one of the rights of the Southern states versus the greater powere of the Northern states, and from such issues as expansion of slavery, to one of secession itself. While a few talked of armed conflict and there was a building up of state forces in Charleston Harbor, war did not yet appear inevitable, necessary or even probable to most observers. It seemed unlikely that one state, or even a few, could oppose the might of the Federal government for long." Page 19

Star of the West failed to relieve Fort Sumter under the leadership of Major Anderson. But, ultimately the South Carolina waterfront was the spark that started the war .

Mississippi becomes the 2nd state to secede.

Florida is the 3rd state to secede.

William H. Seward accepted the post of Secretary of State in the newly forming Lincoln cabinet.

Alabama secedes from the Union.

Five senators withdraw from the U.S. Senate.

Louisiana is the 6th state to secede.

Texas convention votes for secession.

A convention of 37 delegates representing the seceded states met in Montgomery, Alabama. A Confederate constitution adopted.

Jefferson Davis is elected provisional president of the Confederacy; Alexander Stephens named vice-president.

"The man and the hour have met!"

said President Davis with a heavy heart as he arrived in Montgomery for his inauguration.

1862 . . . . . ."The last month of the first full year of the Civil War showed a military picture quite different from that of the summer and early fall. While Confederate arms had been victorious on the Peninsula, at second Manassas, Antietam, and for a time in Kentucky, the long-term outlook was anything but bright for the new nation. Everywhere they were even more on the defensive. In mid-Virginia Burnside

1863 . . . . .Battle of Nashville The war had devastate the area since the beginning with more than 50 battles, scrimmages, encounters, fights, etc.

1864 . . . . . The month began with President Andrew Johnson [finally] revoking the privilege [right?] of the writ of habeas corpus for all of the United States except former Confederate states, the District of Columbia, and the New Mexico and Arizona territories.

. . . . . . Alabama's legislature ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, followed by North Carolina, Georgia, and Oregon. Mississippi legislature rejected it but the total reached the necessary 27 states voting to approve the abolition of slavery . Subsequently, Secretary of State Seward declared the Thirteenth Amendment in effect.

1865 . . . . The Civil War was over and the painful days of reconstruchion had begun. But, as in all history, the cataclysm of the 1861 - 1865 would color subsequent eventws. Law, politics, economics, socal mores, the people of all the states were altered irrevocably and for generations to come.