Rowser's Ford: Where the South Lost Gettysburg

"Rowser's Ford: Where the South Lost Gettysburg" presentation by JIM JOHNSTON

Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at the Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office Museum 437 7th Street NW, Washington D.C.

Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office is a unique historical gem where Clara Barton and a small team of assistants corresponded with thousands of families and tracked down missing soldiers from 1865-1868 - with no internet or modern devices. The space was scheduled to be torn down for a new office building when a GSA employee discovered Barton's sign in the ceiling and saved it from demolition. You can feel her presence in these walls - we are fortunate to hold our meeting here!     

The museum is located in the thriving Penn Quarter neighborhood, a short walk from the Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter Metro (yellow/green line) or Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro (red/yellow/green line)

This is a hybrid program -- in person and via Zoom. 

In-Person Schedule: 

5:30 p.m. ET: Social Period in lobby with light refreshments

6:10 p.m. ET: Move Upstairs to 3rd Floor (elevator available)

6:30 p.m. ET: Meeting Starts (Announcements, Speaker Presentation, Q&A)

8:00/8:15 p.m. ET: Meeting concludes

Cost:  $10 members, $15 non-members, free for zoom attendees

TO MAKE AND PAY FOR RESERVATIONS: https://cwrtdc-meetings.blogspot.com/ 

If you have any problems making reservations online or would like to know about alternatives to making reservations or payments online, please email admin@cwrtdc.org. Non-CWRTDC members must make reservations and remit payment online

Unfortunately, cancellations after the due date are non-refundable, as the CWRTDC must pay for the number of dinners ordered regardless of the actual attendance)

OR JOIN US VIA ZOOM

Schedule for Zoom Attendees:

6 p.m. ET: Social Period (optional)

6:30 p.m. ET: Meeting Starts (Announcements, Speaker Presentation, Q&A)

8/8:15 p.m. ET: Meeting concludes

Any questions or problems, contact paul.mazzuca@gmail.com    

Zoom Meeting URL: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83412709960?pwd=Om8aL5ta4RZEwFgw3dgxAwXa3xSXQA.1

Or point your browser to the following link and use the Meeting ID and passcode shown below:

Zoom "Join A Meeting" Page: https://zoom.us/join

Zoom Meeting ID: 834 1270 9960

Zoom Passcode: Zoom1861

Or dial in by your location:

+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)

Phone Meeting ID: 834 1270 9960

Phone Passcode: 81302104

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdSroe6qvY

For a cheat sheet on how to use Zoom's control features click HERE

About the Topic:

Robert E. Lee could not believe it. As he led his army out of the Cashtown gap, there were Yankees in force in front of him at Gettysburg. How could this be?  He had specifically ordered cavalry commander J.E.B. Stuart to keep him informed of the Federals’ movements, but the last time Lee heard from Stuart was a week earlier on June 23. 

Lee had ordered Stuart to get to the head of General Ewell’s column at Frederick, Maryland, as soon as possible but allowed him to choose the route. The Confederate commander intended to avoid a major battle in Pennsylvania and, hearing nothing from Stuart, felt safe to rest his army in Chambersburg until June 28. But learning  the Federals had crossed the Potomac and were in Maryland, he immediately ordered his army, which was dispersed as far north as Carlisle and as far east as York, to concentrate at Gettysburg.

Stuart’s flamboyant “rides” around Union armies had earned him a fan club and the second star of a major general. He interpreted Lee’s order to permit another such ride. But first, he had to cross the Potomac River, and for this, he chose a ford too far. What he called “Rowsers Ford” was 22-miles upriver from Georgetown. As a result, Lee didn’t see or hear from his “eyes and ears” until late on the second day of the battle.

Stuart wrote such a self-aggrandizing after-action report that the historical markers of where he crossed the Potomac are miles away from where he actually crossed and historians have tended to consider his role in the Battle of Gettysburg quite differently from how the Confederate high command did.

About The Speaker:

Jim Johnston is a retired lawyer and a prolific writer with four books, including one on a woman in the Civil War, and more than 150 articles in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, White House History, and, importantly for this presentation, Gettysburg Magazine.