Please join us for a Chambersburg Civil War Seminars & Tours Lecture Series! Our next lecture will be:  In Defense of Captain Samuel Johnston by Allen Thompson. Cost is $6 per person. Zoom Login details will be sent with your email registration confirmation.

Synopsis: Captain Samuel Johnston’s reconnaissance on the morning of July 2, 1863 has become one of the most enduring enigmas of the Battle of Gettysburg.  Where did he go?  What did he see?  What did he report?  Did he get to Little Round Top?  How did he miss two, or even three, Federal infantry corps?  How did he manage to avoid Federal cavalry stationed in the area he set to reconnoiter?  Why didn’t he run into the troops stationed on Little Round Top?  What effect did his report have on the battle?  Allen R. Thompson discusses these questions (and more), exploring how the actual events of July 1863 evolved into the traditional narrative of Johnston’s reconnaissance.

Bio: Allen Thompson is a practicing attorney in New Jersey, where he lives with his wife and three kids. His writing focuses on reevaluating primary source materials to examine the standard interpretations of historical subjects, from legal doctrines to historical events. His articles have appeared in the St. Thomas Law Review and Gettysburg Magazine. His first book, In the Shadow of the Round Tops, is scheduled for release June 27, 2023.