Wayne County Civil War Roundtable Program
Wayne County Civil War Roundtable Program, free and open to the public in the Wooster Branch of the Wayne County Public Libraries; continuing with quality programs! Thank you to our CWRT members, the Wayne County Libraries, R.W. Gasbarre & Assoc. Surveyors, Ed & Penny Gasbarre, and John Spaziani for being sponsors of our WC CWRT!!
We are pleased to have Eric Ebinger from Fitchville, OH speak on “Where the Fire is Hottest- Rutherford Hayes in the Civil War.” Ebinger weaves a compelling portrait of a little-known figure in the Civil War, Rutherford Hayes. Wounded four times and having five horses shot from under him, Hayes showed remarkable courage under fire and bravery in the heat of battle. Join Ebinger as he explores the service of Hayes, from April of 1861 until mustered out in June of 1865.
Ebinger is the author of the 2016 biography, 100 Days in the Life of Rutherford Hayes, published by Orange Frazer Press. He is a Human Resources Manager in north central Ohio and has presented scholarly but endearing programs on Hayes, Lincoln and Kennedy all over Ohio.
Bio: In 1988, Ebinger had just completed the fourth grade at New London Elementary in north central Ohio. His first order of business on that scorching hot June; he wanted to write a series of reports about presidents from Ohio who had died in office. His Mother heard this and suggested he talk to his Great Grandmother. She could tell him all he wanted to know about presidents. She did, and it sparked a passion for presidents that is just as red hot today as it was then.
A graduate of New London High School and Penn State University, Ebinger continued his pursuit of history with a love of writing, making up for an admitted lack of scholarship for other subjects. Since graduating, Ebinger has established a career as a Human Resources Manager, but has also published six books, notably the Hayes Biography.
Ebinger has translated his love of presidents in many unique ways. In 2009, he ran across Ohio on the Lincoln Highway, making a stop in Wooster where he was joined by “Abraham Lincoln” himself. In 2015, he attended the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln Funeral in Springfield, which sparked two years of traveling to little known Lincoln sites across the Eastern United States.
His next book is due in June and will focus on an aspect of Lincoln’s political career that is largely unnoticed.
He still lives near the place he grew up in Fitchville, Ohio with his wife, Misty, his Boxer dog Dulles, nine chickens, and five skittish woodpeckers.
Below is photo of Eric with the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, VA in the background.
