In September, 1863 there occurred a series of events culminating in a battle whose outcome could have gone a long way toward erasing the trend of Southern reverses, and came within a few whiskers of pushing the Union Army out of Georgia and south-central Tennessee, all the way back to their base at Nashville. Unfortunately, those whiskers belonged to a senior commander who let personal pride get in the way of “the good of the cause.” We will explore these events and hear about what is not only the greatest battle of the West, but is also, for the numbers engaged, the bloodiest of the War.

Our own Round Table member, Mike Presswood, is a self-declared Civil War “sponge.” He regularly attends two Round Tables, is color sergeant in the Gen. John B. Hood Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and has recently enlisted as a reenactor with the Richmond Howitzers out of Fort Tejon. His interest in the War Between the States dates back to a pre-high school reading of Bruce Catton’s “The American Heritage Book of the Civil War.” Born and raised in the L.A. area, Mike now lives in the Antelope Valley. He also serves on the Board of the A.V. Genealogical Society and the A.V. Astronomy Club. He is past president of the Riverside Tax Consultants Assn. Mike works at a Lancaster car rental agency as its “Debit-and-Credit-Dude.” He is the son of a WWII U.S. Navy vet, and great grandson of two (so far) Confederate veterans (at least one of whom was present at the Battle of Chickamauga). Mike is himself a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War, and retired from the naval Reserve in 1989 as a First Class Petty Officer with 27 years of service.

Come join us as we hear Mike tell about this pivotal battle of the Civil War.

Janet Whaley
Program Chair

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