Brag Bowling, President         Rob Monroe, Editor     
3019 Kensington Ave             2416 Edenbrook Dr.     
Richmond, VA 23221              Richmond, VA 23228-3040


Monday, 12/8/03, IMPORTANT NOTICE:
We have been informed by the  Methodist  Church  that  their
furnace is down and won't be operating by tomorrow night. We
are forced to cancel the meeting.  I would appreciate it  if
you  all  could  help spread the word to our members so they
won't come out to the Church tomorrow.  Thanks, Brag Bowling
December 2003 PROGRAM

Dana B. Shoaf,

"The Odyssey of a Field Officer: John I. Nevin"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 9, 2003, at the
Boulevard United Methodist Church, 321 N. Boulevard,
Richmond, VA (corner of Boulevard and Stuart Ave.) Enter
the basement door on the right side under the front steps.

Interested in history and the  Civil  War  since  childhood,
Dana  B.   Shoaf  obtained a B.A.  and M.A.  in history from
Slippery Rock State University and is  currently  struggling
to complete his Ph.D.  program at Kent State University.  He
has persisted in his efforts to find work in the  low-paying
field  of  history  and is the editor of America's Civil War
Magazine.  A resident of Burkittsville, Maryland,  the  site
of an 1862 Sharpsburg Campaign fight, he serves on the board
of the Save Historic Antietam Foundation and was  chosen  to
serve  as  an  historian  for  the Maryland Civil War Trails
program.                                                    

The subject of Shoaf's topic is certainly  not  a  household
word.   Nevin  served  in  three  different  units: the 28th
Pennsylvania Infantry  Regiment,  an  artillery  battery  he
raised,  and  the 93rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, which
he led at Gettysburg as a Major.  It was in the  only  Sixth
Corps brigade to fight on July 2, 1863.  Nevin was captured,
paroled, and wounded out of the service at  the  Wilderness.
Looking  at  his military career provides a very interesting
snapshot of one man's efforts to serve  the  Union  and  the
internal   problems   of  a  volunteer  regiment,  the  93rd
Pennsylvania.  In addition, taking a look at  how  the  93rd
commemorated  its involvement in the Gettysburg campaign and
remembered Nevin's role in that campaign is  an  interesting
case  study  of  how  the  Keystone  State veterans chose to
interpret their service.                                    



Review of the November Program



On  September  26,  1918,  Colonel  George  S.   Patton  III
engineered a breakthrough in the German lines at St.  Mihiel
leading the 304th Tank Brigade.  He recognized the value  of
following  through  an assault and led a small number of men
saying, "It is time for another Patton to be killed." Robert
K.   Krick  explained  in this introduction to his Christmas
Dinner presentation that Patton drew upon the experiences of
his Civil War ancestors.                                    

Patton's  forebears  had come from Scotland and brought with
them a military tradition.  Hugh Mercer fought  with  George
Washington  during  the  American  Revolution.  His daughter
married Robert Patton.  Robert's  eldest  son,  John  Mercer
Patton,  married  Peggy  "French"  Williams.   This marriage
produced twelve children, seven of them boys who fought  for
the   Confederacy.    Krick   presented  brief  biographical
sketches of five of the brothers and  then  went  into  more
detail about two of them.                                   

Hugh  Mercer  Patton  served  in  the artillery and infantry
before becoming  a  member  of  Brigadier  General  John  R.
Cooke's  staff.  William McFarland Patton was a cadet at the
Virginia Military Institute and fought with  the  cadets  in
the  Battle  of  New  Market;  after  the  war  he became an
engineer and taught at VMI.  James French Patton  served  as
brigade  inspector  of his brother's (George Smith Patton I)
brigade and received several wounds.  Isaac Williams  Patton
moved  to  New  Orleans before the war and became colonel of
the 22nd Louisiana Infantry Regiment.  Isaac became mayor of
New  Orleans  after  the  war.   John  Mercer  Patton,  Jr.,
graduated from VMI and practiced law in Richmond.  He became
lieutenant   colonel   and  colonel  of  the  21st  Virginia
Infantry.  Poor health led him to resign this post,  but  he
later served as Judge Advocate for the Second Corps, Army of
Northern Virginia.                                          

The two most "noted"  of  the  seven  brothers  were  Walter
Tazewell  Patton  and  George Smith Patton I.  Known as Taz,
Walter graduated second in his class at VMI and was a member
of  the  faculty  there  during the 1850s.  He commanded the
Culpeper Minutemen in 1859 and became Captain of Company  B,
13th  Virginia  Infantry,  when  the  war began.  In a short
time, Taz received  an  appointment  as  major  of  the  7th
Virginia  Infantry,  and rose to the rank of colonel in June
1862.  He was ill during the early months  of  the  conflict
but  served  notably  in  the Seven Days Battles.  At Second
Manassas, he received a serious wound in the hand.  Taz  led
his  regiment  during  Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863, and
was badly wounded and captured  at  the  stone  wall.   Shot
through the jaw, he died nine days later.                   

George S.  Patton I had been a teacher and lawyer before the
Civil War and was briefly on the faculty at his alma matter,
VMI.   He  moved  to  western  Virginia and married there in
1855.  George organized the Kanawha Riflemen  and  commanded
the company from 1856-1861.  His unit became Company H, 22nd
Virginia  Infantry,  and  he  soon  became  the   regiment's
lieutenant  colonel.  George and his men fought primarily in
western and southwestern Virginia, where they  did  not  get
much  recognition.   The regiment was a part of John Echols'
brigade, and Patton sometimes commanded it when the  general
was absent.  Several generals praised him for his conduct in
battle  and  recommended  him  for  promotion  to  brigadier
general.   After  fighting at New Market, Patton and his men
joined the Army of Northern Virginia for the Battle of  Cold
Harbor.   They  returned to the Shenandoah Valley with Jubal
Early's army.  On September 19, 1864, at the Third Battle of
Winchester, Patton was mortally wounded by a shell fragment.
He died ten days later.  Georg th buried  in  the  Stonewall
Cemetery in Winchester.                                     

Krick   concluded  his  talk  by  explaining  that  George's
grandson grew up in California  and  heard  stories  of  the
bravery  of  his Confederate ancestors.  Given the World War
II hero's mystic side, it was not unusual for  him  to  have
thought  of  them  and his place in the family as he led his
tanks at the Battle of St.  Mihiel.                         


Upcomming Events

December 14

"Court  End  Christmas",  noon-5  pm.   The  Museum  of  the
Confederacy   along   with  Historic  Richmond  Foundation's
Monumental  Church,  John  Marshall  House   and   Valentine
Richmond  History  Center  will offer free admission for the
day.  Costumed interpreters, children's activities and  live
music  will be featured as well as special house tours.  The
White House of the Confederacy will be decorated as  it  was
when Jefferson Davis and his family lived there.            

December 20-21

Sailor's  Creek  Battlefield  State  Park  presents   living
history  and  a  19th-century  Christmas party complete with
Santa Claus.  Admission is $2 or  $5  per  family.   Contact
Dave  Born  for  more  information, dborn@dcr.state.va.us or
434-392-3435                                                

December 26-31

"Christmas at Home and on  the  Front",  living  history  at
Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil
War Soldier near Petersburg.   Free  with  admission.   More
information at 1-877-PAMPLIN or www.pamplinpark.org         



Fredericksburg Events Mark Anniversary of Battle

The 141st anniversary of the Battle of  Fredericksburg  will
be  commemorated with several events in that city during the
weekend of December 12-14.  On Friday night from 6-8:30  the
National  Park Service will host "Privation and Joy: Wartime
Christmas at Chatham" featuring refreshments, living history
and a Civil War-era Santa.                                  

Reenactments will take place throughout the day on Saturday:
the Battle of Prospect Hill at Ferry Farm at 10 am, Exchange
Across  the  Rappahannock at the city dock and Ferry Farm at
12:30 pm and Street Fighting Along Lewis Street at 3 pm.    

On Sunday, a church service will take place at 11:00 am  and
historian  Frank  O'Reilly  will lead a walk along the route
the  Union  Irish  Brigade  took  during  the  1862  battle.
Beginning  at noon, the tour will depart on the south end of
Sophia St.  at the city dock.  The walk will conclude at the
Richard Kirkland Memorial where the Park Service will host a
program at 2:00 featuring period music, the playing of  taps
and  flag  and  wreath presentations.  If there is inclement
weather, the program will take place at  the  Fredericksburg
Battlefield Visitor Center, 1013 Lafayette Blvd.            

The  Friday and Sunday events (excluding the church service)
are sponsored by the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National
Military Park, 540-373-6122 or www.nps.gov/frsp             

The Saturday reenactments and the Sunday church service  are
sponsored   by   the   47th  Virginia  Infantry,  Company  I
(fredericksburg.47thvirginia.com) in  partnership  with  the
28th  Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, Company B, the Irish
Brigade (www.28thmasscob.org).                              


Newsletter Deadlines

To facilitate the printing and timely  distribution  of  the
monthly  newsletter,  information for it should be submitted
to the editors no later than the following dates:           

January newsletter			January 2  
February newsletter			January 30 
March newsletter			February 27
April newsletter			April 2    
May newsletter				April 30   
June newsletter				May 28     
July newsletter				July 2     
August newsletter			July 30    
September newsletter			September 3
October newsletter			October 1  
November newsletter			October 29 
December newsletter			December 3 

Information may be emailed to rmonroe@richmond.com

RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2003


Richmond Civil War Round Table Newsletter
Rob Monroe, Editor     
2416 Edenbrook Dr.     
Richmond, VA 23228-3040