War & Environment

Brunswick Civil War Round Table Meets

STORY CONTRIBUTED

Union General George B. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign of 1862 was meant to put an early end to the Civil War by capturing the Confederate capital of Richmond. It was the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater, but resulted in a humiliating defeat. Why? Perhaps it was the environment! Sharing this interesting concept are two noted authors and educators: Judkin Browning and Timothy Silver. Their presentation is entitled “Slogging to Richmond: Environmental Influences on the Union Failed Peninsula Campaign, 1862.” This Tuesday, Feb. 7 meeting will again be held at Generations Church on Rt. 211, near the St. James main gate, and everyone is welcome.

Most historians attribute this failure to a number of reasons: McClellan’s lack of a results-oriented battle plan, his inability to effectively use the U.S. Navy to keep his troops supplied by way of the James River, his lack of reliable intelligence, coupled with his dreadfully inaccurate Coastal Survey maps. Or, perhaps it was troop numbers. McClellan was always convinced that Confederate forces outnumbered his own, when in fact Confederate defenders initially numbered only 13,000 to McClellan’s 100,000 soldiers.

According to our guest speakers, what many Civil War historians have essentially ignored was the complex natural world in which McClellan made his critical decisions; i.e., through an environmental lens. Weather, geology, disease, animals, terrain, and nutrition all played significant roles. The environment he encountered brought out the worst in him, magnifying the personal traits and quirks that led to some of his most baffling command decisions. Simultaneously, Confederate forces used nature to their advantage, employing strategies that allowed their armies to stave off a potentially devastating conquest of Richmond. In essence, the environment during the Peninsula Campaign helped illuminate the many ways that natural forces shaped the war, well beyond military tactics, weaponry, and manpower.

Speaker Judkin Browning is Professor of Military History and Director of the History Graduate Program at Appalachian State Uni- versity, in Boone, NC. He is co-author with guest speaker Timothy Silver of “An Environmental History of the Civil War” (2020), and author of “The Seven Days’ Battles: The War Begins Anew” (2012), and “Shifting Loyalties: The Union Occupation of Eastern North Carolina” (2011).

Timothy Silver is a recently retired Professor of Environmental History at Appalachian State University. He

History of the Highest Peaks in Eastern America” (2007), and “A New Face on the Countryside: Indians, Colonists, and Slaves in South Atlantic Forests,” 1500 – 1800 (1990).

Registration for the meeting begins at 6:15 pm and the presentation starts at 7 pm. The visitor fee is $10, which can be applied toward the $25 annual membership dues. For more information about the Round Table, options for attending the Feb. 7 meeting, becoming a member, or if you wish to volunteer for this non-profit organization, please email president John Butler at Brunswickcwrt@gmail.com, or call him at (404) 229-9425. You can also find them on Facebook or visit the