2013 CIVIL WAR SYMPOSIUM MAY 18TH! SEE LINK FOR MORE DETAILS.

Everyone is welcome at our monthly meetings.

Attend the dinner and presentation, or just the presentation.

Recordings of many of the meetings are available for a small charge, click here for a printable list of Recorded Meetings

We meet September through June, generally on the second Friday evening of each month. See list of meeting dates and speakers below for our 2012-2013 program year.

Our meetings take place at the Mart Plaza Holiday Inn, 350 N. Orleans Street, Chicago, IL 60654
Validated hotel parking is $12
Click here for a map and directions

5:30 pm Cash Bar, 6:30 pm Dinner, 7:30 pm Presentation

Dinner/Presentation is $47 per person – There is always a choice of entrée. (Entrée options are listed below.)
Presentation only is $10 per person. Payable at the door, cash or check. Be there by 7:15.
Please make your reservation in advance by contacting us at (630)460-1865 or DinnerReservations@ChicagoCWRT.org.

Note:
Dinner reservations should be received by Wednesday evening prior to the meeting. When you make your dinner reservation, please be sure to indicate your entrée choice.
Presentation only reservations are appreciated but not required to attend.

June 14, 2013

Timothy Smith on:
“Corinth“

In the spring of 1862, there was no more important place in the western Confederacy—perhaps in all the South—than the tiny town of Corinth, Mississippi.

Major General Henry W. Halleck, commander of Union forces in the Western Theater, reported to Washington that “Richmond and Corinth are now the great strategical points of war, and our success at these points should be insured at all hazards.” In the same vein, Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard declared to Richmond that “If defeated at Corinth, we lose the Mississippi Valley and probably our cause.” Those were odd sentiments concerning a small town scarcely a decade old. By this time, however, it sat at the junction of the South’s two most important rail lines and had become a major strategic target.

Despite its significance, Corinth has received comparatively little attention from Civil War historians and has been largely overshadowed by events at Shiloh, Antietam, and Perryville. On June 14th Dr. Timothy Smith will try to correct that neglect, focusing on the nearly year-long campaign that opened the way to Vicksburg and presaged the Confederacy’s defeat in the West.

Dr. Timothy Smith, Civil War author and historian, is a native of Mississippi but now resides in Tennessee, where he teaches history at the University of Tennessee at Martin. Smith received both BA and MA degrees in history from the University of Mississippi and a PhD from Mississippi State University in 2001.

Pursuing his love of history, Smith worked for the National Park Service at the Shiloh National Military Park for seven years, where his interest in the Civil War was intensified. His main area of interest and specialty, besides the Civil War, is the history of Civil War battlefield preservation.

Dr. Smith is the author of numerous books, including Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg (2004) and Mississippi in the Civil War (2010). His most recent book is the acclaimed Corinth 1862: Siege, Battle, Occupation, published by the University Press of Kansas. He recently signed a contract with Kansas for a new book on Shiloh.

Entrée choices are:
Sliced Roast Sirloin
Baked Salmon
Vegetarian or Fruit Plate

For the remainder of our 2013 program year, we proudly welcome these outstanding speakers:

Sept. 13, 2013
John Michael Priest
South Mountain

Oct. 11, 2013
William Cooper
We Have the War Upon Us

Nov. 8, 2013
Larry Hewitt
Nevins-Freeman Address

Dec. 13, 2013
Kevin Weddle
Lincoln's Tragic Admiral

Back to Top                 Home