July 29 The B.&O. During the Civil War

On Tuesday, July 29 at noon at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library, Dan Toomey, author of The War Came by Train, The B. & O. Railroad During the Civil War, will explore the concept that the “first front” of the war was neither a political nor a geographical boundary, but the main line of the B.&O. When the Civil War began, railroads in the North were poised to support the Union war effort by moving men and material in volumes and speed never before seen in the history of warfare. One of the leading railroads in the nation, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was located in the South, but economically tied to the North and West. Immediately after the firing on Fort Sumter, the Baltimore and Ohio became the first military objective of the war. Union soldiers arrived at Camden Station on April 19, 1861, following the first land battle of the war that was fought on the streets of Baltimore. The same day Virginia state troops occupied Harpers Ferry where a 1000-foot bridge carried trains over the Potomac River. A month later, a Union regiment commanded by a former B&O employee left the western terminus at Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), to drive off Confederate forces near Grafton. Thus, it can be stated that that the first front of the war was neither a political nor a geographical boundary, but the main line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Dan Toomey will explore this first front concept in depth.

Author Daniel Carroll Toomey is a seventh generation Marylander whose first American ancestor
taught school for John Carroll of Carrollton. His a graduate of the University of Maryland and the author of several books including The Civil War in Maryland, Marylanders at Gettysburg, and The Maryland Line Confederate Soldiers’ Home. He is also co-author of Baltimore During the Civil War and Marylanders in Blue, all of which were published by Toomey Press. Mr. Toomey has lectured for a number of historical organizations as well as the National Park Service and the Smithsonian Institution. He course “The Civil War in Maryland” has been offered at a number of local colleges. He has also contributed to radio and television programs and two Civil War battle videos. He is a member of the Surratt Society, and the Maryland Arms Collectors Association, and the Company of Military Historians. He serves on the Maryland Military Monuments Commission and was project historian for the Maryland Memorial erected at Gettysburg in 1994. Dan Toomey has won numerous awards for his historical research and exhibits including the Gettysburg National Battlefield Award in 1985 and was the 2001 recipient of the Peterkin Award given by the National Park Service at Fort McHenry for his many contributions in the field of research and preservation. Toomey is currently the Guest Curator at the B&O Railroad Museum for the five year exhibit, The War Came By Train, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American railroading and its impact on American society, culture, and economy. The Museum is home to the oldest, most important and comprehensive collection of American railroad artifacts in the world including an unparalleled roster of 19th and 20th century railroad equipment. The 40-acre historic site is regarded as the birthplace of American railroading and includes the 1851 Mt. Clare Station, the 1884 Baldwin Roundhouse.

Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

AND on July 29 at 7 PM: People's University, American History III, The Jazz Age, part 1.

In a nation weary of war, women exercised their newly found freedom (having won the right to vote in 1920) and Harlem nightclubs thrived, featuring jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.
Instructor: Dr. Joe Laker. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.