January 19th’s meeting will feature Joshua Claybourn presenting on the 80th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment and its first commander, Colonel Thomas G. Allen. The regiment was composed of ten companies that drew primarily from eight southern Illinois counties. Over the course of the war the regiment traveled approximately 6,000 miles, and was in over 20 battles. This presentation will provide an interesting overview of how the regiment formed and background on its first commander. Col. Allen’s brief career leading the 80th Illinois provides a unique view of a commander who struggled to comprehend basic military command, frequently complaining and obsessing over political intrigue and perceived conspiracies against him.

Joshua Claybourn is an attorney and author. He is past chairman of the Southern Indiana Civil War Roundtable and serves in a number of leadership capacities with the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW). In 2014 he organized a local camp of the SUVCW, John W. Foster Camp No. 2, and is also the past National SUVCW Assistant Counselor and Signals Officer.

Joshua has served on the boards of several other historical groups and associations. He was previously on the board of directors for the Newburgh Museum, Vanderburgh County Historical Society, and is past president and trustee of the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library. A graduate of the Indiana University McKinney School of Law and Kelley School of Business, he was named by Indiana Lawyer as one of the state’s “Up and Coming Lawyers.”