CWRT-DC Zoom Meeting on Lincoln Conspirators

[wpbinzel]

The next Zoom "meeting" of the Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia will feature Gail Stephens and a discussion of the Lincoln assassination conspirators, focusing on Mary Surratt and Samuel Mudd.

The CWRT-DC meetings are open to the public (ie, you need not be a member), and all participants are welcomed. Details are below.

Please mark your calendar to join us for

CWRT-DC'S NEXT ZOOM MEETING

ALL ARE WELCOME!

GAIL STEPHENS

will present

"Conspiracy: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln"

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

6:00 pm ET: Social Zoom

6:30 pm ET: Business Agenda

6:45 pm ET: Presentation

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VIA ZOOM
Meeting URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82893048523

Meeting ID: 828 9304 8523

Passcode: Zoom1861

Or dial in by your location:
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 828 9304 8523
Passcode: 24641769

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcZG7EOkvV

About the Topic:

On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The usual focus of the story is on John Wilkes Booth, the prominent actor who shot the president. But Booth was aided by fellow conspirators--ten of them in all--who first planned to kidnap Lincoln and take him to Richmond. That plot ended in failure, though, and when Richmond fell, the conspirators’ goal turned to assassination.

Gail Stephens will discuss the conspirators and their participation in this drama, their trial and its outcome. Her particular focus will be on the roles of Mary Surratt, the only woman involved, and Samuel Mudd, a country doctor whose culpability has always been questioned.

About the Speaker:

Gail Stephens has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Politics from George Washington University and completed graduate work at Johns Hopkins and Harvard Universities. She worked for the Department of Defense for 26 years, retiring in 1994 as a member of the Department’s Senior Executive Service.

Upon retirement, Gail was able to indulge her lifelong interest in the history of the American Civil War. She volunteered at Monocacy National Battlefield for over fifteen years, lectured on the Civil War and the battle of Monocacy, gave battlefield tours, and wrote articles for numerous publications.

Her book on the Union commander at the battle of Monocacy, Shadow of Shiloh; Major General Lew Wallace in the Civil War, was published in 2010. In 2011, it won the New York City Civil War Forum’s William Henry Seward award for best Civil War biography.

Gail and her husband moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2016. She is currently a volunteer at Coronado Historic Site and has written a soon-to-be published monograph on the excavation of an ancient pueblo and the recovery of the 15th century murals found in the pueblo.

[TMRose]

Looking forward to it!

[wpbinzel]

Just a reminder that this is this evening. All are welcome to "Zoom" in.

[wpbinzel]

Good news! If you were unable to join the Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia for Gail Stephens' discussion of the Lincoln assassination conspirators in mid-April, her talk was recorded and is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nGyQU-rELA

[Steve]

Thanks for letting us know, Bill! I'll check it out when I have the time.

[wpbinzel]

(05-20-2021 05:10 PM)Steve Wrote:  Thanks for letting us know, Bill! I'll check it out when I have the time.

I thought Gail's presentation was well worthwhile (if I hadn't, I would not have posted it here), so I do recommend it to all interested in the subject. (The person introducing Gail is the CWRT-DC president, AND Surratt Society member, Dr. Jon Willen.)

[RJNorton]

Bill, many thanks for posting the link to Gail Stephens' presentation. I enjoyed it very much. I was more than a little surprised to see she left Mike Kauffman's book off her list of best Lincoln assassination books. I have always thought of Kauffman's book being almost universally accepted as one of the best. I was curious about Gail Stephens' pronunciation of George Atzerodt's last name. I have always pronounced the last 4 letters as "rod." But she pronounced it as "road." Have I been pronouncing it wrong all these years?

[wpbinzel]

(05-21-2021 05:03 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  I was curious about Gail Stephens' pronunciation of George Atzerodt's last name. I have always pronounced the last 4 letters as "rod." But she pronounced it as "road." Have I been pronouncing it wrong all these years?

That is probably a question best answered by Eva, but I have usually heard it pronounced as "at-zur-ott" with the "d" being largely silent. I am willing to be corrected as well.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Funnily I have always pronounced his name the "English" way - as I think an English speaker would say it. Why? Because the first name is spelled the English way. In German, it would be Georg, not Geroge, and the German "Georg" is pronounced very different from the English "George". Subsequently the family name flows better in English afterwards. I will try to record the German pronunciation respectively how I would say it (Atzerodt was from Thuringia, and there's a strong regional dialect...), maybe Roger can somehow make it accessible on the forum.
.

[wpbinzel]

(05-24-2021 04:47 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  In German, it would be Georg, not Geroge, and the German "Georg" is pronounced very different from the English "George".

As you Sound of Music aficionados will know, in German Georg is pronounced "gay-org".

[AussieMick]

(05-24-2021 04:47 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Funnily I have always pronounced his name the "English" way - as I think an English speaker would say it. Why? Because the first name is spelled the English way. In German, it would be Georg, not Geroge, and the German "Georg" is pronounced very different from the English "George". Subsequently the family name flows better in English afterwards. I will try to record the German pronunciation respectively how I would say it (Atzerodt was from Thuringia, and there's a strong regional dialect...), maybe Roger can somehow make it accessible on the forum.
.

I bow to Eva's expertise. Eva, you might like to try this and tell us (if it works) whether the pronunciation is any good ...

https://context.reverso.net/translation/...h/Atzerodt
you click on the "loudspeaker" icon under the word English

sounds to me like 'Atzey-rot' ... but strangely George in the example sounds like the English version of George
"Am 20. April 1865 wurde George Atzerodt, einer der Verschwörer bei der Ermordung von Abraham Lincoln, in Germantown festgenommen."

(I'm learning German at U3A ... "University for the 3rd Age"
https://u3ahawthorn.org.au/

[RJNorton]

(05-24-2021 04:47 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Funnily I have always pronounced his name the "English" way - as I think an English speaker would say it. Why? Because the first name is spelled the English way. In German, it would be Georg, not Geroge, and the German "Georg" is pronounced very different from the English "George". Subsequently the family name flows better in English afterwards. I will try to record the German pronunciation respectively how I would say it (Atzerodt was from Thuringia, and there's a strong regional dialect...), maybe Roger can somehow make it accessible on the forum.
.

Many thanks, Eva! Here is the recording Eva sent: CLICK HERE.

[Steve]

Thanks, Eva.

My opinion, since the Atzerodt family seems to have anglicized their first names after they immigrated, that should probably be reflected in how we write their names.

[Steve Whitlock]

(05-26-2021 02:43 AM)Steve Wrote:  Thanks, Eva.

My opinion, since the Atzerodt family seems to have anglicized their first names after they immigrated, that should probably be reflected in how we write their names.

I agree! We live in a country where so many immigrant names were changed from the original spelling and pronunciation. Somehow an Isiah can become eye-zay-uh, or Favre is inexplicably pronounced as Farve. The final correct determination appears to lie with he or she who bears the name as to how it is pronounced. There's always Jesus, Hay-soos, to consider.