Civil War Roundtable of the Merrimack
June 14, 7:30-9:30 PM
Hilton Senior Center, 43 Lafayette Rd, Salisbury, MA
Following a brief business meeting, there will be a presentation by historian Chuck Veit on his most recent book “Monitor’s Unknown Mission”
From the author’s website: Here is the unsung and all but forgotten story of a major failed mission of the American Civil War. Undertaken at the request of the President, the Navy dedicated a dozen gunboats (including the ironclads Monitor and Galena) and an untried secret weapon to the destruction of the railroad bridges connecting Petersburg with Richmond. Success would not attend their efforts, but the attempt was well worth the risk. Had it succeeded, the naval expedition bid fair to bring about or at least hasten the end of the Rebellion. That most of the squadron escaped unscathed was due entirely to the battles raging on the peninsula to the north. Southern leadership was necessarily focused on the Union army sitting but a few miles from their capitol—and missed the opportunity to capture or destroy a dozen of the Yankee ships on the James River.
The event is free and open to the public. Anyone with an interest in the American Civil War is welcome to attend.
