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!
The Big Dogs Of Europe Watching Our American Civil War
Presented by Mike Rupert
Students of the Civil War we are usually hyper-focused on battles and personalities between the North and South. We know the Confederacy 
courted assistance and support from Europe, most especially England and France. We also know the Lincoln Administration worked feverishly, and in the end successfully, to keep the European powers on the far side of the Atlantic Ocean. But, what was actually going on in Europe, and how did their self-interests, both nationally and internationally, play a part in the bloody conflict "across the pond?" The "American Question" of lasting self-government is on trial, and the world powers are more than curious to see if this young “United States” can survive.
Michael Rupert has worked in automotive service and management for almost 40 years. The past had become the present while on a family tr
ip to the Gettysburg battlefield in 2001. Since then, countless seminars, lectures, conferences, and battle walks made “it as real as something that happened last week.” A self-taught student with an unending quest to keep the memory alive for future generations, Michael became a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park in 2018. Born and raised in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA, he is married with two grown children. In the colder months Michael lives in hometown Pittsburgh - and in Littlestown during the Guide season.
Lincoln Treasures at the Library of Congress
Presented by Michelle Krowl
Michelle Krowl is a Civil War and Reconstruction specialist in the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress who manages and highlights the extensive Lincoln collection.
Krowl highlights this 1864 document in which Lincoln, doubting his reelection, pledged to work with the Democratic president-elect to save the Union before inauguration. She has documented the items in Lincoln's pockets on the night of his assassination, which included eyeglasses, a pocketknife, and a handkerchief and discuss items such as a lock of Lincoln's hair and various, often deeply personal, documents from the The Library of Congress.
1913 Gettysburg Reunion
Presented by Michael Jesberger
The Battle of Gettysburg, July 1st to July 3rd, 1863, turned the tide of the American Civil War, but not before 50,000 Union and Confederate soldiers became casualties from the ferocious three days of fighting. 50 years later, from June 29-July 4, 1913, To commemorate the anniversary of The Battle of Gettysburg, more than 50,000 Civil War veterans ranging in age from 60 to 112 years old descended on the rolling hills and the town of Gettysburg. They traveled back to the site where half a century earlier they engaged in combat and would now host an occasion of healing that was known as the Grand Reunion. Abraham Lincoln had incorrectly stated in his endearing Gettysburg Address that "the world will little note nor long remember what we say here" in November of 1863, those same words could also be said about the Grand Reunion. Although the 1913 gathering was a widely anticipated, momentous event with over 50,000 spectators joining the 50,000 veterans, this largest of all reunions of Civil War veterans has been all but forgotten in the 100 years since that occasion. Join historical reenactor, lecturer and tour guide, Michael Jesberger for a discussion on this often overlooked story of the American Civil War.
TBA
Presented by Joe Schaeffer
Battle of Paoli
Presented by Michael Harris
The Battle of Paoli (September 1777). On the night of September 20th, 1777, one of the most infamous events of the American Revolution took place: the Battle of Paoli sometimes referred to as the Paoli Massacre. While only 53 Americans perished in the nighttime British surprise attack, Patriot propagandists were able to vilify the tactics employed by the British, who cut men down with bayonets.
After the American defeat on September 11th at Brandywine Creek, British General Sir William Howe’s forces occupied the American capital at Philadelphia. Washington needed to keep his army close to Philadelphia to monitor British activity. Because the Continental Army was chronically short on provisions and supplies, Washington also needed access to the supplies stored at Reading, Pennsylvania. Because of this, Washington positioned his army between Philadelphia and Reading, fifty miles to the Northwest, dividing his forces and posting units on both sides of the Schuylkill River just north of Philadelphia. He gave orders to General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, encamped near Chester, Pennsylvania, to keep pressure on the British by harassing them at every opportunity and to attempt to capture their supplies. Wayne made the mistake of believing his forces were undetected by the British, an oversight that would cost him dearly.
Michael C. Harris is a graduate of the University of Mary Washington and the American Military University. He worked for the National Park Service at Fredericksburg, Virginia, Fort Mott State Park in New Jersey, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission at Brandywine Battlefield.
| April |
Greg Mertz |
| May |
Dr. Peter Lubrecht |
| June |
Kevin Pawlak |
| July |
Chris Bryan |
| August |
James Hessler |
| September |
Cory Pfarr |
| October |
Lynn & Julianne Herman |
| November |
Jared Peatman |
| December |
Michael Harris |
