The next meeting of the Middle Tennessee CWRT will be Tuesday January 15, 2008. The meeting will begin at 7 PM in Bradley Academy. This meeting will feature Bill Christen, author and publisher of The Watchdog. His program is entitled Pauline Cushman: Spy of the Cumberland.

Pauline Cushman, said P. T. Barnum, was the "greatest heroine of the age." An early biographer, Ferdinand Sarmiento, wrote, "The deeds of the Scout of the Cumberland will live as long as American hearts beat." She was, according to historian Elizabeth Leonard, one of the “five women who became best known both during and after the Civil War” as spies. Yet, for all her renown, Cushman’s life story has remained a blend of fact and legend.

In contemporary descriptions, she was “the Heroine of the People” who combined “all the daring of the soldier with the tenderness and modesty of the woman.” By the early twentieth century, she became the stuff of fiction, both in the movies and, later, television. In the late twentieth century, some historians told a darker story, hinting at alcoholism and drug abuse.

Mr. Christen will sort through the pieces of evidence to draw a more complete and accurate portrait of the woman, placing her within the social setting of the era. We will learn about mid-nineteenth century theater and gender roles in the Wild West, featuring a cast ranging from impresario P. T. Barnum to future president James Garfield.

The Middle Tennessee Civil War Round Table meets every third Tuesday of the month at Bradley Academy, located on Academy Street in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Membership applications are available at each meeting. Membership costs $10 per year for individuals and $15 for families. All meetings are open to the public regardless of membership status. Each meeting will include time for interested parties to share stories and memorabilia from the Civil War era with the membership.

For more information, visit our web site at http://www.mtcwrt.org or contact Jim Lewis at 615-890-1926 (before 8 PM) or by e-mail at mtcwrt@comcast.net.