Presented by Dr. Richard “Rick” Selcer – Historian
Dinner: 6:00 PM Menu: Italian Sausage and Beef Lasagna, Beans with Almonds and Shallots, Bread Sticks, Caesar Salad and Desserts – $20 per person – RSVP to jimrosenthal5757@aol.com or call or text 817-307-9263
Program: 7 PM
Location: UNT Health Science Center, MET Building, 1000 Montgomery, Fort Worth 76109, Room 109-111
The story is about Gen. Seth Barton’s court of inquiry. He was part of George Pickett’s attack on New Bern in February 1864 (leading Armistead’s old brigade). The attack failed, Barton seemed to be dragging his feet, and Pickett filed charges against him for dereliction of duty afterwards. R.E. Lee endorsed the call for a court of inquiry, Richmond appointed officers, and Barton began defending his performance in correspondence. The court met and heard evidence, but it was called off before delivering a final report – no reason given. Possibly because the war was going badly, the Army of N VA. was fighting for its life in the Overland Campaign, and every officer was needed on the front lines.
Curiously, Barton started out in the Western Theater where he performed well enough (see Vicksburg) to be called to the East and join the Army of N. VA. He ended up commanding the troops posted in Richmond before surrendering at Appomattox Courthouse and being paroled on April 10. By the time he died in 1900 he was remembered aa a “brave and capable officer.”
The bigger story with Barton’s court of inquiry is how much time Confederate officers spent fighting each other (duel challenges, charges filed, etc.) and of how poor old George Pickett couldn’t get along with anyone! If it wasn’t REL he was quarreling with, it was Tom Rosser, Eppa Hunton, PGT Beauregard, et al. It would seem only Sallie Pickett and Jas. Longstreet were really fond of him. He came very close to being charged with war crimes (for the Kinston hangings) after the war, and it’s notable his brother officers didn’t spring to his defense like they did Jefferson Davis and R.E. Lee.
It’s a great story illustrating the lack of teamwork and internal conflict among Confederate Officers. Don’t miss it!
Dr. Selcer received his higher education at Austin College (Sherman, TX.) and Texas Christian University (Fort Worth), graduating from Austin College with a B.A. in history in 1972 and an M.A. in education in 1973, and from TCU with a Ph.D. in 1980. He has taught at Tarrant County College, Dallas County Community College, Jarvis Christian College (Hawkins, TX.), Cottey College (Nevada, MO.), and City University (Austria, Ukraine, Bulgaria). For 30 years he split time between teaching in the States and in Eastern Europe. Currently he teaches for TCU, the Extended Education Dept., and is a substitute teacher at Trinity Valley Prep School.
Dr. Selcer has authored fifteen books to date and more than fifty magazine, journal, and encyclopedia articles. Most of his writing is about the Civil War, Fort Worth history, and the West. His book titles include Hell’s Half-Acre: The Life and Legend of a Red-light District (TCU, 1991), Lee vs. Pickett: Two Divided by War (Thomas Pubs., 1995), Legendary Watering Holes: The Saloons That Made Texas Famous (TX. A&M, 1994), Written in Blood, Vols. 1 & 2 (UNT Press, 2010, 2011), Photographing Texas: The Swartz Brothers, 1880-1918 (TX. A&M University Press, 2019), and Fort Worth Stories (UNT Press, 2021). His latest book is Fort Worth Characters 2 (UNT Press 2025), a sequel to the 2009 book of the same name. Long term, he is working on a biography of Confederate General George E. Pickett and a history of Texas law enforcement in the bad old days, “Law & Disorder on the Trinity.”
Dr. Selcer was for 47 years a high-school basketball official, writes a regular column in the Star-Telegram, and leads walking tours of Fort Worth. His favorite themes on those tours are crime and vice, trail-driving days, and “Forgotten Fort Worth” (meaning the black community).