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Rob Monroe, President Gary Cowardin, Editor 9733 Fireside Drive 1404 Lorraine Ave. Glen Allen, VA 23060 Richmond, VA 23227-3735 rmonroe500@comcast.net cowardin@juno.com4602 Cary Street Road, 23226. A parking lot is available behind the church with an entrance off the parking lot to the right and up a few steps into the DINING HALL on the left.
"Brown's Island Explosion" by Bert Dunkerly 7:30pm, Tuesday, August 13, 2019, at the First Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA.,
Robert M. (Bert) Dunkerly is a historian, award-winning author, and
speaker who is actively involved in historic preservation and research.
He holds a degree in History from St. Vincent College and a Masters in
Historic Preservation from Middle Tennessee State University. He has
worked at fourteen historic sites, written twelve books and numerous
scholarly articles. His research includes archaeology, colonial life,
military history, and historic commemoration. He is a past President of
the Richmond Civil War Round Table, and serves on the Preservation
Commission for the American Revolution Round Table-Richmond. He has
taught courses at Central Virginia Community College, the University of
Richmond, and the Virginia Historical Society. Dunkerly is currently a
Park Ranger at Richmond National Battlefield Park. He has visited over
500 battlefields and over 1000 historic sites worldwide. He enjoys
exploring local bookstores, battlefields, and breweries, not necessarily
in that order.
The Brown's Island Explosion and the Search for the Victims" The 1863
explosion at the Confederate Laboratory in Richmond is one of the war's
most tragic events. This talk will not only review the facts of the
case, but discuss the biographies of the victims and track down their
burials.
Meeting Attendance for July: 58
NOTE: Please put on your NAME BADGE on when you arrive for the meeting.
(They will be on a table near the back or side of the room.)
Message from Our President About 20 years ago I had the good fortune to work on a project that required me to interview veterans of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCCs were a focal point of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and helped America shake off the blues of the Great Depression. Almost every one of these men--who were in their 80s at the time--made it a point of telling me that joining the CCCs was the best decision they ever made. They made lifelong friends. Some of the "CCC Boys", as they were affectionately called, met their future wives while in the Corps. Many more learned skills they would use in their future careers. When our July speaker, Steve Phan, mentioned the tremendous contribution the CCCs made in helping to restore many sites associated with the Civil War defenses of Washington, I was initially surprised. I shouldn't have been. Afterall, as a youth in western Virginia I spent countless summer hours enjoying Douthat State Park, another CCC creation. The CCCs in the Washington area accomplished much from 1933 to 1942. They reconstructed a parapet at Fort Stevens. Another lasting achievement is Fort Davis Drive which enhances accessibility to Park Service sites. The CCCs restored Fort Dupont and constructed the popular park there. The video I produced 20 years ago profiled the CCCs boys who built Shenandoah National Park: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmQzDrvWHA4 Two decades later I still remember the quotes from the veterans recalling their days in the Corps. "The best decision I ever made in my life." "Best thing I ever did." "My life started then." No doubt the CCC Boys got much out of their years in the Corps. But that can never equal the amazing legacy they left for later generations who continue to reap the benefits of their hard labor. Rob
A Message from our Secretary Andy Keller During the second half to the year, our dues are cut in half so if you have any friends you would like to invite to join bring them to the next meeting. Membership applications may be downloaded from our website. There will be several changes to the Round Table Constitution which will be voted on at our October meeting. They will be published as required in the September newsletter. Art Wingo, Gary Cowardin and I have been involved in an ongoing project with Hollywood Cemetery to place Veterans Administration headstones on previously unmarked Confederate graves in the Soldiers Sections along Confederate Avenue. So far, 143 graves in SS J, K, L & M have been marked. Approximately thirty of these will be dedicated on October 13 at 2:30 and you are invited to attend the public ceremony. This link will show and list these graves new markers. Andy Secretary.rcwrt@gmail.com
Upcoming Events/Links
National Park Service Richmond
Richmond Battlefields Association News & Events www.saverichmondbattlefields.org/events.htm
Visit the American Civil War Museum at Tredegar and the White House of the Confederacy www.acwm.org
Pamplin Historical Park and The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier www.pamplinpark.org
Chambersburg Civil War Seminars & Tours civilwarseminars.org
RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2019
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