The Tellico Military History Roundtable held its monthly meeting in the Yacht Club at Tellico Village on Wednesday, May 22.

During the meeting, retired U.S. Army Col. Mike Thornton — the Roundtable moderator — dove into the American Civil War’s Battle of Chickamauga and expanded on its importance … then and now.

“A lot of people in the Army … go to Chickamauga and they walk the battlefield,” Thornton said. “And what they’re trying to do is find lessons learned that (can help) today’s military.


“That’s one of the things that we’re going to be talking about today,” he said. “I’m going to explain that, ‘Hey, there’s some things that happened in 1863 that still apply today!’

‘LEADERSHIP LABORATORY’

“(The U.S. Armed Forces) still takes young officers out there and we show them the mistakes and the good things that happen on the battlefield … in hopes that when they’re a young lieutenant or a young captain, they’ll learn from those mistakes and can help and do a better job in the future.”

Describing the Battle of Chickamauga as “a leadership laboratory if you will,” Thornton pointed out that, among other things, the battle site lies close to us.

“It’s an hour and a half away, so it’s a fun place to go see,” he said. “When I was in the Army, I ended up going there, too, as a young captain studying the battle.

“And it’s just amazing the lessons we can learn from that.”

The presentation featured Thornton explaining the build-up to the battle — as well as a glimpse into some of the generals and tactics used during that time.

Thornton drew parallels between modern warfare and explained how lessons learned are still taught in our military today.

VARIOUS WARS, LESSONS

While May’s Roundtable topic revolved around the U.S. Civil War, all U.S. military history is discussed throughout the year.

“This is a fantastic group,” Thornton assured. “We get together on the fourth Wednesday of every month and we talk about different topics and military history.

“Sometimes it’s about World War II … sometimes it’s been naval battles like the Battle of Guadalcanal or maybe even the naval battle in the Pacific … (or we may discuss Fleet) Admiral Chester Nimitz.

“We talk about different topics, different things to keep it interesting and we have a pretty active group. Some of them, as I’ve said, are military veterans, but some are just people who are interested in American history.

“So it makes it fun for us to be able to present this in the Village and, of course, it’s always free of charge.”

The U.S History group is still relatively new and has continued to grow throughout from month to month. The group has resonated with Tellico Village residents and has had to expand to a larger meeting place to keep up with new members.

“Our second or third meeting was back in October when The Connection covered us and it (the size of the group) has doubled almost every month,” Thornton said. “We currently have about 120 to 130 people on our email list! Although they don’t all come to every meeting, we have about half that number usually show up (at any given time).”

MEMORIAL DAY

Given its proximity to Memorial Day, which was celebrated over the weekend in general and this Monday in particular, the group made sure to talk about the popular U.S. holiday’s importance and how it came about.

“After the Civil War, America lost about 700,000 killed on both sides,” Thornton said. “So some of the veterans decided, ‘Hey, let’s get together and honor those Americans who died fighting for their country’ — and that’s become the tradition every year on Memorial Day.

“So we don’t really say ‘Happy’ Memorial Day because it will be like saying ‘Happy Funeral,’” he said. “But we just want to remember those men and women who have gone before us and who paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives in all of America’s wars.

“And we’ve talked about that, as well as the different casualty counts that have occurred throughout all of country’s battles. …

“Memorial Day is a great time for us to pause and reflect on those men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice.”

MORE HISTORY TO COMEWhile some might have missed the opportunity to come out and learn about the importance of the Battle of Chickamauga, there are some equally interesting upcoming events on the horizon.

Next month, Amanda Klug — a Ph.D. candidate and a graduate of Hillsdale College — will present to the group. She has a background in the Revolutionary War and the U.S. Constitution.

According to Thornton, Klug will talk about the Constitution and the War Powers Act of 1973 — a federal law intended to check the U.S. president’s power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of the U.S. Congress.

June’s meeting is also expected to delve into how the U.S. became involved in the Revolutionary War … and how it fought the war, declared independence, and wrote a constitution several years later.

Then, in July, the group will engage in a roundtable discussion focusing on both the myths and the lessons learned from American battles. Thornton said there will be a mix of military representatives in attendance ranging from those in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army.

“We’ll ask things like, ‘Who is your favorite general?’ ‘Why was he your favorite?’” Thornton said.

“‘Who was your favorite admiral?’ ‘What did we do wrong in America’s war and what did we do right?’ … That’s what’s on the horizon for July’s meeting.”