January 20th, 2010 – Our 70th Meeting!
The next meeting of the Clarksville (TN) Civil War Roundtable will be on Wednesday, January 20th, in the café of Borders Books in Governor’s Square Mall. This is located on Wilma Rudolph Blvd (Hwy 79) south of Exit 4 off I-24, then head south a bit. The mall is on the left. The meeting begins at 7:00 pm and is always open to the public. Members please bring a friend or two – new recruits are always welcomed.
OUR SPEAKER AND TOPIC:
“Preserving The Civil War In Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley”
The Civil War in the Valley of Virginia, better known as the Shenandoah Valley, consists of a number of battles fought between 1862 and 1864. One can even say that things there began in 1861 when Virginia state troops seized Harper’s Ferry at the lower end. Of course the battles in the valley in 1862 were made famous by the lightning moves of CS Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson made his fame at such battles like Front Royal, Port Republic. McDowell and Kernstown. In 1864, the Confederates began the year on the offensive and ended it defensively. Battles like Third Winchester, Cedar Creek, and Tom’s Brook were defeats while New Market was a victory. One can drive up and down Interstate 81 or US Highway 11 (the old valley Turnpike) and see Civil War history all over. While still largely rural, growth is threatening many of these sites and a battlefield preservation group was formed to save what could be save.
Our speaker this month is Howard Kittell, former director of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, and his program will discuss the problems and triumphs of saving ten of these important fields from destruction and development while promoting them to tourists. The Battlefields Foundation is the manager of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, a congressionally-enacted national heritage area.
Now President and CEO of The Hermitage, the home of President Andrew Jackson in Nashville, TN, Mr. Kittell previously ran the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation for 10 years. He has extensive experience directing preservation societies in Rhode Island and Philadelphia as well as the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. He holds degrees from Michigan State University as well as the University of Virginia. His wife Jennifer Esler, was just named Director of the Battle of Franklin Trust which now oversees the operations of both Carnton and the Carter House in Franklin, TN. They have two grown children, Jeffery, a West Point graduate, and Elizabeth, a graduate of the University of Virginia.