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Civil War Navy—The Magazine Supports Old Baldy Civil War Round Table (Philadelphia) Civil War Navy Symposium, October 20, 2018

Camden, NJ—On Saturday, October 20, 2018, the Old Baldy Civil War Round Table of Philadelphia (oldbaldycwrt.org) held a ‘Civil War Navy Symposium’ with noted expert speakers onboard the Battleship USS New Jersey, berthed on the Delaware River at Camden, NJ. Civil War Navy—The Magazine supported the symposium by providing all attendees with several issues of the magazine and a door prize consisting of two framed prints of artist Conrad Wise Chapman’s Charleston paintings, a replica coal torpedo, and 6 back issues of the magazine. After the conclusion of the symposium, Publisher & Editor, Charles Williams, was presented with a certificate of gratitude from Old Baldy’s President, Rich Jankowski.

The symposium featured several well-known experts in the history of the Civil War navies. Dr. William M. Fowler, Distinguished Professor of History, Emeritus at Northeastern University and author of a number of books, including Under Two Flags, gave his presentation on the US Navy before and beyond the Civil War. Dr. Timothy B. Smith, Lecturer at the University of Tennessee, Martin and award-winning author of several Civil War books, including Grant Invades Tennessee: The 1862 Battles for Forts Henry and Donelson, discussed some of the history of building ironclad gunboats and their important role in the capture of Fort Henry, which proved to have a significant impact on the strategic direction of the war. Dr. Gary D. Joiner, Chair of the History and Social Science Department and Director, Red River Regional Studies Center, LSU-Shreveport and author of numerous books including Mr. Lincoln’s Brown Water Navy: The Mississippi Squadron, discussed the history of individual gunboats and their roles in naval activities on the Western rivers. Also included in the symposium was a presentation by Living Historian and history educator, Bruce Tucker, acting as Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, gave the audience a first-hand account of Farragut’s famous role in the Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864.

During the lunch break, the attendees were entertained by The Jolly Tars (Jake Laubach and Ken Purcell) accompanied by popular singer Charlie Zahm, as they performed and sang a set of rousing period songs. In addition, sixteen exhibitors, including Civil War Navy—The Magazine (whose exhibit included several replica torpedoes, including the Rains/Singer keg torpedo, the plank torpedo, a spar torpedo, and a coal torpedo), had exhibits that received great attention from the attendees.