CASWELL BEACH — The upcoming meeting of the Brunswick Civil War Round Table marks this non-profit organization’s seventh anniversary. It will feature returning guest historian, Ed Bonekemper, prolific author and popular speaker, he will focus his presentation on examining the accuracy of the topic, “Myth of the Lost Cause.”
The Southern-created Myth of the Lost Cause has long dominated Americans’ remembrances of the Civil War, the country’s watershed event. In many ways, that Myth has been America’s most successful propaganda campaign.
Bonekemper examines the accuracy of the Myth and how it has affected our perception of slavery, states’ rights, the nature of the Civil War, and the military performance of Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant and James Longstreet. He will begin by discussing the nature of slavery in 1860, including whether it was a benign and dying institution.
The heart of his analysis is whether slavery was the primary cause of secession and the Confederacy’s creation. He does this by examining federal protection of slavery, slavery demographics, seceding states’ conventions and declarations, their outreach to other slave states, Confederate leaders’ statements, and the Confederacy’s foreign policy, POW policy and rejection of black soldiers.
Drawing on decades of research, Bonekemper will then discuss other controversial myth issues, such as whether the South could have won the Civil War, whether Lee was a great general, whether Grant was a mere “butcher” who won by brute force, whether Longstreet lost Gettysburg for Lee, and whether the North won by waging “total war.”
Bonekemper is highly qualified to discuss these important and controversial subjects. He is author of six Civil War books, former review editor of the “Civil War News,” and former adjunct military history lecturer at Muhlenberg College.
He served as a Federal Government attorney for 34 years, and is a retired Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. His presentation will largely be based on his latest book titled, “The Myth of the Lost Cause: Why the South Fought the Civil War and Why the North Won.”
Registration and refreshments for the Tuesday, May 2 anniversary meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Hatch Auditorium on Caswell Beach. Everyone is invited to attend. The guest admission fee is $10, and can be applied toward the $25 annual membership dues.
The Round Table continues to grow with each monthly meeting, and currently has over 1,150 members, making it the largest Civil War Round Table in the country.
For information about the Round Table or the upcoming meeting, contact president Mike Powell at (910) 278-3545, or email to mpowell6@ec.rr.com. The organization’s website is brunswickcivilwarroundtable.com. You are also invited to visit their Facebook page for interesting Round Table developments and announcements.
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