Thursday,
October 10 -- Camden County and Virtual
The Old
Baldy Civil War Roundtable
WHEN: Thursday, October 10, 2024, 7:15 PM ET
WHERE: Camden County College, William
G. Rohrer Center, 1889 Marlton Pike East, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003, and
simulcast on Zoom. ADMISSION: Free and open to the public. Please email oldbaldycwrt@verizon.net at least 24 hrs
prior to request Zoom access.
Topic:
Allen R. Thompson on “In the Shadow of the Round Tops: Longstreet’s
Countermarch, Johnston’s Reconnaissance, and the Enduring Battles for
the Memory of July 2, 1863”
James
Longstreet’s countermarch and Samuel Johnston’s morning reconnaissance
are two of the most enigmatic events of the Battle of Gettysburg. Both
have been viewed as major factors in the Confederacy’s loss of the
battle and, in turn, the war. Yet much of it lies shrouded in mystery.
In the
Shadow of the Round Tops explores how the individual soldiers experienced,
remembered, and wrote about the battle, and how those memories have
created a cloud over James Longstreet’s enigmatic countermarch and
Samuel Johnston’s infamous reconnaissance. Each soldier had a particular
view of these historic events. Because many people saw part of the
story, but no one saw all of it, each memory is a critical piece to the
puzzle. By comparing the veterans’ memories and sifting through the
factors that affected each memory, the picture of the countermarch,
reconnaissance, and the entire battle, comes into sharper focus.
Allen R.
Thompson is a practicing attorney in New Jersey, where he lives with
his wife and three kids. His writing focuses on reevaluating primary
source materials to examine the standard interpretations of historical
subjects, from legal doctrines to historical events. His articles have
appeared in the St. Thomas Law Review and Gettysburg Magazine."
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