Going Back Home Again

Last Wednesday night I had the opportunity to speak about the 33rd New Jersey at the monthly meeting of the Phil Kearny Civil War Roundtable. The PKCWRT meets at the Wayne library - my family moved to Wayne when I was eight and I went through the Wayne public schools attending what was then Wayne High School in the early 1960's.

In addition to everything else that happened in the early 1860's, those were the years of the Civil War centennial. While I don't remember extensive media coverage at the time, those were the years when I became interested in the Civil War. I remember reading historical novels about Antietam and Gettysburg when I was a freshman and then moving on to Bruce Catton's "This Hallowed Ground" in American History through literature.

Since the Wayne library is literally across the parking lot from Wayne High School, this was a way of coming full circle. Over the years I also borrowed enough Civil War books from the Wayne library which added to the effect. It was nice to be back in Wayne, but it would have been nice to be with this group regardless of where they met. Joe Truglio, Bob Gerber, and Henry Ballone from this roundtable have been early and enthusiastic supporters of the New Jersey Civil War 150 committee and are helping move the whole process forward in very positive ways. I look forward to working them and another member of the group, Sylvia Mogerman as, we continue to work on this important anniversary.

The talk was well received and both Carol and I enjoyed the evening. My basic talk on the 33rd continues to evolve. I continue to use the opening to talk about the formation of the regiment and where the name "Mutinous Regiment" comes from. Recently I have substituted talking about the Atlanta campaign for an overview of the regiment's service. It works well, but I am still tinkering with it. If I can figure out the technical issues, I would like to think about using my computer to include pictures of some of the key battle sites, a case where a picture would well be worth a lot of words. It looks like I will have the chance to keep working on that aspect, before the program, I received another invitation this time for a group that meets at West Point - something I am really looking forward to doing.