Brag Bowling, President         Art Bergeron, Editor       
3019 Kensington Ave             3901 Paces Ferry Road   
Richmond, VA 23221              Chester, VA 23831-1239

January 2003 PROGRAM

Dr. Nelson D. Lankford
 "Richmond Burning"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 14, 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.

Dr.  Nelson D.  Lankford is a native of  Hampton,  Virginia.
He  received his undergraduate degree from the University of
Richmond and his Ph.D.  and  MBA  from  Indiana  University,
Bloomington.  For the past eighteen years Nelson D. Lankford
has been the editor of the Virginia Magazine of History  and
Biography,  the quarterly journal of the Virginia Historical
Society.   He  is  also   director   of   publications   and
scholarship at the VHS.                                     

With Charles F.  Bryan, Jr., Lankford is co-editor of Eye of
the Storm, which features the memoir, maps, and water colors
of Private Robert Knox Sneden.  It won the Founders Award of
the Museum of the Confederacy.  Lankford, Bryan,  and  James
C.   Kelly  co-edited a related book, Images from the Storm,
which presented 300 of Sneden's water colors with commentary
from his memoir.                                            

Lankford is the author of a biography of Ambassador David K.
E.  Bruce, entitled The  Last  American  Aristocrat  (1996).
Earlier  books  include  OSS Against the Reich (1991) and An
Irishman in  Dixie  (1988).   His  next  book,  also  to  be
published  by  Viking/Penguin, is provisionally entitled Cry
Havoc: Civil War Comes to America.  This book  will  examine
the   last   weeks   of  peace  in  1861  between  Lincoln's
inauguration and the beginning of the war.   Lankford  lives
in  Richmond with his wife Judy, who is the president of the
fund-raising consulting firm, Lankford & Associates, LLC. He
is  a  member of the vestry of Grace and Holy Trinity Church
and a former  president  of  the  Conference  of  Historical
Journals.                                                   

Lankford's  most recent book is an account of the end of the
Civil War in Virginia's capital city.  It is called Richmond
Burning: The Last Days of the Confederate Capital, published
by Viking in August.  A paperback edition will be  published
by  Penguin  in  2003.   His presentation will be based upon
this book.                                                  


Review of the December Program


Dr.   Gary  W.    Gallagher   gave   an   entertaining   and
thought-provoking   presentation   titled   "A   Civil   War
Watershed?: Assessing the Impact of Antietam  and  the  1862
Maryland Campaign." He urged those in the audience to try to
understand the reaction to the Battle of Antietam within the
context  of  the  Civil  War  itself  rather  than  to  read
backwards into history  and  looking  at  its  significance.
Gallagher  admitted  that  he  has  changed his views on the
battle in the past decade.  Turning points of  the  war  are
usually  seen from the perspective of Appomattox.  Gallagher
said that Confederate defeat  was  not  inevitable.   For  a
proper  view of Antietam, we need to recognize how Americans
at the time saw the battle.   Did  they  believe  it  was  a
watershed  event?   What  were its implications in the years
1863-1865?                                                  

In the North,  newspapers  did  not  paint  an  enthusiastic
portrait  of  Antietam.   The  battle  was seen as a partial
success  at  best.   Some  papers  referred  to  it  as   an
indecisive  engagement.   Most  saw it as a lost opportunity
with the escape of General Robert E.  Lee's  army.   In  his
diary,  Secretary  of the Navy Gideon Welles expressed great
disappointment, and Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Salmon  P.
Chase   held   similar  views.   President  Abraham  Lincoln
especially had  hoped  for  an  aggressive  pursuit  of  the
Confederates and a greater victory.  Soldiers of the Army of
the Potomac lamented Lee's  escape.   They  had  expected  a
rout.   All  were  proud  of  their  performance  during the
fighting but did not see it as a harbinger of success.  Most
Union  troops thought that the Emancipation Proclamation was
hollow because the army was already accomplishing  the  task
of  freeing  slaves in the Confederacy.  A large majority of
Federal soldiers opposed the Emancipation.                  

Confederates did not see Antietam as a major setback.   They
thought the battle itself was a tactical victory and focused
on the high points of the campaign  (the  surrender  of  the
Union  garrison  at  Harper's  Ferry  and the repulse of the
Federals at Shepherdstown).  Furthermore, Lee and  his  army
had  remained  on  the  frontier along the Potomac River for
months  after   Antietam.    Confederates   also   saw   the
Emancipation   Proclamation  as  a  reflection  of  Northern
desperation.  Most Confederates, in  fact,  were  cautiously
optimistic.   Lee  and  his army had become a rallying point
and a source of pride.  Newspapers stressed the  failure  of
the  Federals to crush Lee's army and the lack of a vigorous
pursuit.  The papers did lament the numerous stragglers from
the  army  and  expressed  the  belief  that they could have
helped Lee win the battle.  Most editors had a positive view
of  the  Emancipation.   They  saw growing opposition in the
North, particularly among Democrats, to the war effort.  The
proclamation would give Southerners more resolve.           

Most  Southern  civilians  had  a  positive viewpoint of the
campaign due to the series of victories  that  Lee  and  his
army  had  won  since  June.   They  put things in a broader
context, which Gallagher said we today should  do  as  well.
The people looked with confidence to the coming winter.  One
element of  the  campaign  that  did  not  spread  optimism,
however,  was  the  failure  of Marylanders to rise to Lee's
support.                                                    

Lee's men saw Antietam as a cataclysmic  battle.   They  all
maintained that they had held their ground against the enemy
and had withdrawn virtually unmolested.  This was  important
psychologically.  The soldiers were proud of having overcome
numerous disadvantages-position, numbers, and artillery.  As
with  many  civilians,  Lee's men looked back on a string of
spectacular  victories  since  June.   Their  retreat   from
Antietam  did  not  detract from these laurels they had won.
Most soldiers were optimistic of  eventual  success  in  the
conflict.  Few people on either side would have said in 1864
that Antietam had been a watershed.                         


 Announcements 

Membership Renewals

Sandy Parker will be sending out  membership  bills  at  the
beginning of January for payment by February 28.  Watch your
mailbox for your bill, and please send your  dues  to  Sandy
promptly.                                                   


Round Table Positions Open

Anyone interested in serving as Second Vice President  (Tour
Chairman)  for  2003  or  in  nominating  someone  for  that
position should  make  their  views  known  at  the  January
meeting.  There will be an election at that time.           

A  person  (or  persons)  is  needed  to  handle  the snacks
provided at the  end  of  each  meeting.   If  you  wish  to
participate  in  this important endeavor, please see Richard
Grosse on January 14.                                       


Museum of the Confederacy Programs

Lee-Jackson Day, January 17.  Join the Museum at its  honors
Robert  E.  Lee and Stonewall Jackson on this state holiday.
Enjoy  free  admission  to  the  Museum  all  day.   Regular
admission  will  be  charged for tours of the White House of
the Confederacy.                                            

Children's Activity Day: Winter Quarters, January 18.   Ever
wonder  how  soldiers  made  it  through those chilly winter
months outside or what they did in their camps to  pass  the
time?   Kids  and  their  parents are welcome to come by the
Education room anytime between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m.   Children
can  make  crafts related to the period and can speak to two
costumed historians who will portray  Confederate  soldiers.
The program is free with museum admission.                  

Research Your Confederate Ancestors Workshop, January 19 and
20.  Join the Museum library staff for  an  introduction  of
sources  and  techniques  to identify and locate Confederate
ancestors and trace their wartime experiences.  This special
program will run from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.  each day.  Admission
is free to Museum members and is $15 for the public.   Space
is  limited,  so  call  in  to  reserve your seat as soon as
possible.  Phone (804) 649-1861 extension 28.               



Civil War Seminars, Symposia, and Tours

The Civil War Education Association (CWEA) of Winchester has
announced  its  2003  calendar  of events.  It includes more
than thirty different programs.  They include a  field  tour
of  Stonewall  Jackson's  Winter  Campaign  of 1862; walking
tours of Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, Antietam,  and  sites  in
the  Richmond  area; and the 11th Annual Civil War Symposium
(January 29-February 1).  Full details are available on  the
CWEA Web site www.cwea.net or by calling (800) 298-1861.  If
you wish to write for a copy of the calendar the address  is
Civil  War  Education  Association,  Box  78, Winchester, VA
22604.                                                      



RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2003


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Richmond Civil War Round Table Newsletter
Art & Carol Bergeron, Editors
3901 Paces Ferry Road
Chester, VA 23831-1239