At the end of our last meeting one of our members posed a question about the motivations of General Robert E. Lee that led him to choose his state over the nation he had served for so long. Why did Lee fight for the Confederacy? Why did George Thomas choose the opposite course? What about the millions of soldiers who fought and died for four years? Why did they fight?
We need not confine our discussion to the combatants. Politicians and civilians from all walks of life were a part of this tragic chapter in the American story. Why did they support, or oppose, the drive to war?
While we cannot hope to definitively answer such a broad and somewhat loaded question, we will surely enjoy an evening of trying to understand the hearts and minds of the men and women who wrote the story of one of the most significant events in our history.
The Middle Tennessee Civil War Round Table meets every third Tuesday of the month at Bradley Academy, located on Academy Street in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Membership applications are available at each meeting. Membership costs $10 per year for individuals and $15 for families. All meetings are open to the public regardless of membership status. Each meeting will include time for interested parties to share stories and memorabilia from the Civil War era with the membership.
For more information, visit our web site at http://www.mtcwrt.org or contact Jim Lewis at 615-243-6830 (before 8 PM) or by e-mail at mtcwrt@comcast.net.