For our upcoming trip to Bentonville, member John Winecoff will present us with the basics (and more) of the battle. It was the largest land battle fought in the State and John has studied the battle (as well as participated in quite a few reenactments there.) For more information about the trip, go to the "Events" section of The Runner.

"Knocking on the Gates of Hell" was the title of Mr. Jim Jordan’s talk at our February meeting. It covered the five months after Abraham Lincoln’s election and South Carolina’s secession from the Union. Beginning with a short history lesson covering land acquisitions in the early part of our country’s history, he showed how precarious was the "balance of power" between Slave and Free States (i.e., 1820- The Missouri Compromise, 1850- the admittance of California as a free state and the promise of the Federal Government to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act and in 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska Act.) With a split in the Democratic Party, the Republican candidate was elected President. Interestingly, Lincoln only garnered 39% of the popular vote, but with 180 electoral votes, his majority jumped to nearly 60%.

The day after Lincoln’s election, a square in Savannah saw a jubilant crowd, now happy that they could secede. Counting down the months to war, Mr. Jordan pointed out that there were still more slave states in the Union then out of it! In January, the balance was 19 free, 9 slave still in the Union, while 6 states had seceded. Indeed, as of 30 April 1861, there were 19 free and 8 slave states in the Union, while only 7 slave states had left.
In mid-April, the crisis came to a head at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. Once the cannons opened fore, there was no turning back. With Lincoln’s call for 75,000 troops, N.C. would join the Confederacy, soon after Virginia and Tennessee joined her.

And now a word from our sponsors! We wish to (belatedly) thank Brian Kraus for donating his print entitled "Bold Reconnaissance" at our November meeting. Brian has been producing limited edition prints since 2000 when that print was introduced. Formally trained in the field of Art at East Carolina University, he majored in painting and minored in drawing. After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Art Education degree. Devoting the next twenty-five years to the study of the Civil War, he has read numerous books pertaining to all aspects of the conflict. He has visited many sites of the battles and engagements of the war in both the eastern and western theaters. Indeed, Mr. Kraus has not produced a work unless he has "walked the ground in question" at or near the same date of the action. The battles in North Carolina are of paramount importance, along with the participation of N.C. in the campaigns in the east.
Mr. Kraus lives along the coast in the Morehead City area of Carteret County. A native of Pittsburg, Pa., he has lived there, as well as in Miami, Florida before settling in Morehead City. Mr. Kraus teaches art in neighboring Craven County and also operates a successful landscape business (which, as an artist he says, makes sure he pays attention to details of terrain and plant species in his works!) When around Morehead City be sure to call Brian and stop in for a visit.

Member Rich Triebe has come out with yet another book (you remember his first: On a Rising Tide. This time he goes into a different genre. Port Royal, he says, is a horror story in the vein of what Stephen King might write. The story takes place in 1692, Port Royal, Jamaica and then moves to the present day. In the 17th century, Port Royal was taken over by pirates and became known as ‘The Wickedest Place on Earth.’ On 17 June 1692, a catastrophic earthquake caused the city to sink into the sea, killing more than three-quarters of its population. When a team of archeologists recovers a gold pocket watch from the sunken city....Enough! But check out his book to find out what happens next!

Civil War Calendar- Ed Gibson; Shipwreck Poster- Mary Royal; Tarnished Scalpels- Palmer Royal; Scout and Spies of the Civil War- Bruce Patterson; Grant Comes East- John Moore.