The November 2008 meeting of the Clarksville Civil War Roundtable will be held Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 7 PM in the cafe of Borders Books store in Governor's Square Mall. This is located on Wilma Rudolph Highway (US 79) just south of Exit 4 off I-24 in Clarksville, TN. The meeting is always open to interested members of the public and you do not need to be an expert to attend!. We meet the Third Wednesday of each month.

OUR SPEAKER AND TOPIC:

The Prelude To Chickamauga

In September, 1863, Confederate and Union forces were maneuvering in North Georgia each side trying to gain advantage on the other. Union commander Gen. William S. Rosecrans, after maneuvering the Confederates out of Tennessee and Chattanooga in two brilliant campaigns, now tried the same tactics to move deeper into Georgia. However, instead of running this time, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg and his heavily reinforced Army of Tennessee, stood in the pocket and struck back. The result was the three day Battle of Chickamauga, the bloodiest battle in the Western Theater.

The story of these maneuvers and their results will be told by Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park historian Jim Ogden, who makes a return visit to the Clarksville, TN Civil War Roundtable. Mr. Ogden will be using a very large map and color coded pieces to reflect the armies of both sides and show how they used the valleys and ridges to try for an advantage against the other. In this way, what is a difficult campaign to understand, will be displayed in a manner that even lay people can enjoy. In fact, Mr. Ogden's earlier program on the taking of Chattanooga, done in the same style, still rates as one of the most popular in Clarksville CWRT history!

Jim Ogden is chief historian of Chickamauga-Chattanooga Military Park in north Georgia, a position he has held for many years. Ogden is rated as one of the finest historians in the National Park System and he gives lectures across the country as well as conducting staff rides for various military groups at the park.

Please join us as the Clarksville Civil War Roundtable welcomes Jim Ogden and his program "Prelude To Chickamauga."

Greg Biggs
Clarksville CWRT