Musters – Events
The First Defenders meet at 6:30 PM on the second Tuesday of each month from April through December. Meetings include dinner and a speaker who may be a guest or a member. Meetings are held at Giannotti’s Country Restaurant on Pricetown Road in Alsace Manor.
A book raffle is held each month with all proceeds donated to battlefield preservation, and members who attend virtually will have the opportunity to participate even if they cannot attend a program.
Guests and new members are welcome. Space is limited in the restaurant, so please contact a board member or the First Defenders by email (see the Regimental Staff page).
MEMBERS ONLY! Sign up to attend the upcoming event!
Targeted Tracks: the Cumberland Valley Railroad in the Civil War
presented by Scott Mingus
The 19th Century witnessed the birth of railroads around the world, but nowhere more than in the United States. Bands of iron began to extend for 
miles and miles, bringing once distant communities into easy reach. People and products were connected by rail, and Pennsylvania’s bountiful Cumberland Valley was no exception. By the time the Civil War broke out, the line linked Harrisburg with Hagerstown playing an important logistical role immediately following the Battle of Antietam. But, the CVRR tracks would be a target for Confederate raiders in 1862 and 1864, and for the Army of Northern Virginia itself during the Gettysburg Campaign in 1863. The railroad would pick itself up, repair the extensive damage to its infrastructure and resume serving the Cumberland Valley until well into the next century. This program tells the story of the CVRR in the Civil War.
Scott Mingus is a retired scientist and executive in the global specialty paper 
industry and an award-winning author. The Ohio native graduated from Miami University, and was part of the research team that developed the first commercially successful self-adhesive U.S. postage stamps. Scott has written more than 30 Civil War and Underground Railroad books and numerous articles for Gettysburg Magazine and other historical journals. He writes a blog on the Civil War history of York County, PA, where he and his wife Debi live. Scott has received lifetime achievement awards from the York County History Center and the Camp Curtin Historical Society for his many contributions to local history.
Colonel Edward Cross & the "Fighting 5th"
presented by Wally Heimbach
Edward Cross did not aspire to be a soldier, but at the outset of the Civil War he would receive a commission as colonel of the Fifth New Hampshire volunteers which, under two years of his leadership, would see action on the
Peninsula, at Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. The "Fighting 5th" was considered one of the best regiments in the Army of the Potomac, and Cross would become one of the best colonels who never wore a general's star. Twice wounded, Cross was known to wear a red bandana on his head when going into battle so his men could recognize him. With a premonition of his own death, he would sport a black bandana on July 2, 1863 while on his way to the Wheatfield at Gettysburg where he would be mortally wounded early in the fight and die the next day in a field hospital. This program traces the recruitment and reputation of the 5th New Hampshire and the leadership of Edward Cross.
Wally Heimbach is a long-time Round Table member who seems to know almost 
everyone who is anyone in modern-day Civil War touring, research and writing. Once the youngest Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide, Wally has previously presented to the First Defenders on Generals Winfield Scott Hancock and Philip Kearny.
Robert Todd Lincoln
presented by Jason Elmerson
Five Women in the Civil War
presented by Daminish Miller
David Farragut & Chester Nimitz
presented by Dr. Craig Symonds
David Farragut and Chester Nimitz served their country in the United States Navy 
nearly a century apart. The former would become the very first U.S. admiral while the latter would be one of only five who would achieve five-star rank. Farragut would win the Civil War on the water from the deck of a ship while Nimitz would direct his armada from shore to defeat Japan in World War II. Different men who approached their duties from different perspectives, both facing leadership challenges that had commonalities and disparities. Possibly no historian is better versed or positioned to provide an in-depth analysis of these two naval legends than Craig Symonds.
Dr. Craig Symonds is a professor emeritus of history at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. Upon his retirement from the academ
y, he accepted a professorship at the Naval War College from where he has also retired. A prolific author, Dr. Symonds has specialized in both the Civil War and World War II, and has hosted The Great Courses+ video series on both the War in the Pacific and the United States Navy.
The Philadelphia Campaign of the Revolutionary War
presented by Michael Harris
