June 2026 Meeting of the Chicago Civil War Round Table: Alex Rossino on “Before September: The Origin of the 1862 Maryland Campaign”

June 2026 Meeting of the Chicago Civil War Round Table: Alex Rossino on “Before September: The Origin of the 1862 Maryland Campaign”

June 26, 2026 · 1h 7m

About this episode

Dr. Alex Rossino discusses the origins and motivations behind the 1862 Maryland Campaign in the American Civil War.

Alex Rossino on "Before September: The Origin of the 1862 Maryland Campaign " For more info: www.chicagocwrt.org. History records the September 1862 Confederate operation in Maryland as a military campaign designed and initiated solely by General Robert E. Lee, but what if Lee's crossing of the Potomac River had been planned much further in advance? In addition, what if the motives for the invasion commonly ascribed to Lee are only partially correct? In this talk, Dr. Alex Rossino provides extensive evidence documenting the true origin of Lee's Maryland operation in the summer of 1861 and the role in its evolution played by other key individuals, such as Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Joe Johnston, and General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, played in its evolution. The result is a re-evaluation of the origin of the 1862 Maryland Campaign that reveals Lee's actual reasons for crossing the Potomac and clarifies the invasion's place in the development of Confederate grand strategy during the first year and a half of the American Civil War. A resident of historic Charles Town, West Virginia, Dr. Alex Rossino is an independent historian and author…

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Chicago Civil War Round Table Monthly Meetings podcast page.