Everyone is welcome at our monthly meetings

NOTICE: Meetings for the 2023-24 Year will be in-person. but will also be simulcast on Zoom. Zoom details for each meeting will be emailed to members via the newsletter.


October 13th
Carleton Young on Two Vermont Brothers in the Army of the Potomac

In his new book Voices from the Attic: The Williamstown Boys in the Civil War, Dr. Carleton Young tells the story of two Vermont brothers who fought in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Mine Run, the Wilderness and more.

A few years ago, Pittsburgh resident Young began cleaning out the attic of his parents’ home after they died. He found an old wooden box filled with about 250 letters written by Henry and Francis Martin, both members of the Union Army of the Potomac’s Vermont Brigade. It turned out that the Martin brothers were distant relatives of Dr. Young, unknown to him until this discovery.

To write their story, Young spent more than a decade retracing the wartime steps of the Martin brothers, walking battlefields where they fought and visiting their home of Williamstown, Vermont. The result of his research is his 2015 book, “Voices from the Attic.”

Carleton Young earned an undergraduate degree is in economics from Westminster College. By his senior year, however, he become increasingly interested in history. He earned an MA in History from Ohio University, and then began teaching history at a Pittsburgh High School.

For our 2023-2024 program year, we proudly welcome these outstanding speakers:

Sept. 8th, 2023: Al Ovies on "The Boy Generals. George Custer, Wesley Merritt and the Cavalry of the Army of the Potomac"
Oct. 13th: Carleton Young on "Two Vermont Brothers in the Army of the Potomac"
Nov. 10th: Ernest Dollar on "Hearts Torn Asunder: Trauma in the Civil War"
Dec. 8th: Scott Mingus on "Texans at Chickamauga"
Jan. 12th, 2024: Pat and Dylan Brennan on "Gettysburg in Color"
Feb. 9th: Harold Knudsen on "James Longstreet and the American Civil War"
March 8th: Chris Bryan on "The Union XII Corps"
April 12th: Will Greene on "The Cracker Line in the Battle of Chattanooga"
May 10th: Lynn and Julianne Herman on "The Allegheny Arsenal Explosion"
June 14th: Tim Smith (Nevins-Freeman Award) on "Vicksburg"

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