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Our next meeting will be on Thursday, 13 December at St. Andrew's On-the-Sound (Airlie Rd.). Social hour- 6:30 p.m., meeting- 7:30 p.m.
Our December meeting will include a dual presentation by our members David Norris (president) and Ed Gibson (raffle chairman). David, as many know, is a freelance writer and artist, with a BA degree from ECU. He lived in Greenville for a number of years after graduation and has made Wilmington his home for several years now. David's articles have appeared on CNN.com, and in magazines including American Civil War, American History, Our State, the North Carolina Review, History Magazine, Family Chronicle, Internet Genealogy, Linn Stamp News, American Philatelist, South Carolina Magazine, True West and Military Images. In addition, he has contributed articles to the Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, Encyclopedia of North Carolina History and the upcoming Mississippi Encyclopedia. David will speak on a little-known aspect of the Confederacy- stamps! When the South declared independence, many things had to be made from scratch- flags, currency and stamps among them.
Committee chairman, Ed Gibson born into a Marine Corps family at Camp LeJeune and discovered early on that he had a great interest in the American Civil War. As he said: My great-grandfather emigrated from England and served in Pennsylvania units. He was at Gettysburg and then on the Sherman March. He was present at Bentonville but was not involved in the fighting. Ed has developed a keen interest in the War (as well as in our local area) and is a charter member of our RT. Ed is also a member of the Anna M. Ross Camp of the Pa. SUVCW (the camp associated with the Pa. regiment with which his great-grandfather served). Ed will discuss the interesting subject of internet resources available to researchers.
Congratulations to John Moore (winner of Brian Kraus Bold Reconnaissance) and Cathy Snavely (another winner of Mr. Kraus prints!)
Upcoming events: Saturday, 12 January 2008- come to the 143rd anniversary of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher! On Saturday, January 12th 2008, Ft. Fisher State Historic Site will hold its program commemorating the 143rd Anniversary of the Second Battle of Ft. Fisher. This event will be open to the public from 10:00 am to 4 pm. The Ft. Fisher 32lb. rifled and banded cannon will be fired from atop Sheperd Battery; field artillery and muskets will be fired inside the fort. Come experience camp life and learn about Civil War artillery through demonstrations by site staff and reenactors dressed in period costumes. Talks will be given on civilian life during the war, particularly focused on shortages. Listen to music played by local musician John Golden! Learn about field artillery and watch firings of the 12 lb. bronze Napoleon gun and others. Watch reenactor demonstrations of drill and tactics and learn about Confederate uniforms and equipment. Cap off your visit with a demonstration of the 32 lb. cannon as you learn about the assault on the Western bastion and the fall of Ft. fisher. Tours will be given at scheduled times during the event and focus on the Second Battle of the Fort, January 13-15, 1865. For more information, please contact the site at (910) 458-5538, or Amy Thornton Please visit the Fort’s website at http://www.nchistoricsites.org/fisher
Fort Anderson/Brunswick Town: February 15th will se the arrival of reenactors at the site. During the weekend (Saturday the 16th and Sunday, Feb. 17th) there will be talks, musket demonstrations (on the half-hour) as well as cannon demonstrations (on the hour). Please call (910) 371-6613 for more information.
Civil War Living History Weekend- “The Battle of Forks Road” will take place on Friday February 22 through Sunday February 24, 2008 at the Cameron Art Museum (corner S. 17th St. and Independence Blvd.) Bring your entire family to the 143rd anniversary of the battle of Forks road. The reenactment will take place on the museum’s historic site, the original battlefield of the final fight for Wilmington on February 20, 1865. Held in conjunction with the U.S. Colored Troops Symposium, this third annual event features encampments,artillery and cavalry demonstrations, workshops, storytellers and children’s games. Reenactors interested in participating may contact Richard Long at fireboss35@hotmail.com or (910) 619-4128. You may also contact the Museum (910) 395-5999 for more information.
Our November speaker, Colonel Keith Gibson, Director of VMI Museum Operations (and also Architectural Historian), presented a knowledgeable discussion on Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s formative years (1851-1861) at the 
Virginia Military Institute. Calling those years “the most mature years” of Jackson’s life, Colonel Gibson pointed out that those were the years when Jackson became a husband, father, deacon and professor. When Thomas Jackson (not yet known as “Stonewall”) first reviewed the corps of cadets, he was the object of derision as he was outfitted in his finest uniform, complete with a double-breasted frock coat, white pants, white gloves and brand-new hat. One cadet who saw the gangly new officer hollered at him, “Come out of them boots. 
They are not allowed in this camp!” Cadet Thomas Munford, at that time the adjutant of the cadet corps, was mortified and apologized to the new instructor. In 1862, as a Colonel in the Confederate Army, Munford would command Jackson’s cavalry. As an instructor, he was not well liked by many who took his courses. As professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, his students were often beset with his explanations of the subject. He would pick up various nicknames such as “Square Box”, “Old Tom-foolery” and “Old Hickory.”
Indeed, these were the years during which Jackson matured: he met and married Elinor (“Ellie”) Junkins, but would lose both his wife and newborn son who would die during childbirth; he would again marry, (in 1857, Mary Anna Morrison) and after the loss of yet another child, would become a father. Deeply religious, he became a deacon in the Presbyterian Church but was always the soldier.
The story related by Colonel Gibson about Jackson’s final hours at VMI was compelling: the cadets, ordered to Richmond when the war began, had already formed on the parade ground, in anticipation of their march to war. Jackson appeared at noon in the very finery he had worn ten years earlier, but this time there were no remarks, only quiet. An officer requested that the cadets begin their trek to the capitol, even though it was somewhat earlier than they had been ordered to depart. Jackson refused and waited as the minutes ticked by until the appointed hour. Finally, after a wait of a half-hour, promptly at 12:30 p.m., he gave the command (his very first wartime order) and the VMI cadets and faculty marched off into history.
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