Clark H. Lewis, President         Art & Carol Bergeron, Editors
P. O. Box 1122                    3901 Paces Ferry Road      
Richmond, VA 23218                 Chester, VA 23831-1239   

February 2002 PROGRAM

John V. Quarstein

"C. S. S. Virginia: Sink Before You Surrender"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 12, 2002, at the
Boulevard United Methodist Church, 321 N. Boulevard,
Richmond, VA (corner of Boulevard and Stuart Ave.)

For those who do not know John Quarstein, get  ready  for  a
huge  treat.   John is really a younger version of Ed Bearss
with  the  same  type  of  inclusive   knowledge,   effusive
personality  and  great  sense  of humor.  His topic for our
February meeting  will  be  the  C.S.S.   Virginia  and  her
monumental  battle  with  the  Monitor.  His lecture will be
based on his book, C.S.S.   Virginia:  Mistress  of  Hampton
Roads.                                                      

John   V.    Quarstein   is   an   award-winning  historian,
preservationist and author.  John has served as Director  of
the  Virginia  War Museum in Newport News since 1978 and, in
addition to his duties, oversees the management of the  City
of  Newport  News'  historic  properties  including  Endview
Plantation, Lee Hall Mansion, Young's Mill, and  the  Newsom
House.   He  has  also served as an adjunct professor at the
College of William and Mary, the University of Virginia, and
Virginia  Commonwealth  University.   John  is the author of
seven books including Newport News:  A  Centennial  History,
and Fort Monroe: The Key to the South.                      

John  is  the  recipient  of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation's   1993   President's   Award   for   Historic
Preservation,  the  Civil War Society's 1996 Anne D.  Snyder
Preservation  Award,  and  the  United  Daughters   of   the
Confederacy's Jefferson Davis Gold Medal in 1999.  Presently,
he serves on the board  of  several  national  organizations
including  Virginia  Civil War Trails and the John Singleton
Mosby Foundation.  John lives in Hampton, Virginia,  and  on
his  Eastern  Shore  farm  with his wife Martha and son John
Moran.                                                      



Review of the January Program


John C.  Waugh's presentation was based upon  his  book  The
Class of 1846.  He described the men who graduated from West
Point in that year as natural friends  made  into  unnatural
enemies  by the American Civil War.  Waugh began his talk by
discussing two men who dropped out of the class-John  Gibbon
and  Birkett  D.   Fry.   A native of Pennsylvania raised in
North Carolina, Gibbon was held back  a  year  and  did  not
graduate until 1847.  During the Civil War, Gibbon commanded
a division in the Second Corps at the Battle of  Gettysburg.
Fry was a native of Virginia and spent only one year at West
Point before returning to  the  Old  Dominion  to  become  a
lawyer.   At  Gettysburg, he was a colonel and led a brigade
in the division of Major General George E.  Pickett.   Fry's
brigade  was  in  the  center  of  the line during the famed
attack on July 3.  He received two wounds and fell into  the
hands of men of Gibbon's division.  Fry became a prisoner of
war at Fort McHenry.  Gibbon was also wounded  and  went  to
Baltimore to recuperate.  There he learned that Fry had been
accused of ordering  the  murder  of  Union  troops  in  the
Western Theater.  Gibbon went to the prison, talked with his
old classmate, and was  successful  in  having  the  charges
against Fry dropped.                                        

The  men  who started out as plebes in 1842 and graduated in
1846 made up one of the most  star-studded  classes  at  the
Military  Academy.  Future Civil War generals were George B.
McClellan, John G.  Foster, Jesse L.  Reno, Darius N.  Couch,
Thomas  J.   Jackson,  Truman  Seymour,  Samuel D.  Sturgis,
George Stoneman, Dabney H.  Maury, David R.   Jones,  George
H.   Gordon,  Cadmus M.  Wilcox, William M.  Gardner, Samuel
B.  Maxey, and George E.  Pickett.  McClellan was second  in
the class, while Pickett was last.  Two men who entered West
Point in 1842 but did not graduate until 1847  were  Ambrose
P.  Hill and John Gibbon.  Hill and McClellan were roommates
and  best  friends.   They  became  rivals  for   the   same
woman-Nellie Marcy-with McClellan eventually marrying her.  

One  of  the  little-known but interesting characters in the
Class  of  1846  was  George  Horatio  Derby.   An  odd  and
eccentric  young  man,  Derby  became  the Academy's leading
prankster.  After  graduation,  he  became  a  humorist  and
published two books.  Secretary of War Jefferson Davis asked
for suggestions for a new army uniform  in  the  1850s,  and
Derby  responded with a recommendation for a fancy suit that
included a hook on the pants.  The hook could hold  the  man
in a saddle, hang him on a fence rail to rest, or be grabbed
by an officer to keep the soldier in line.   Davis  was  not
amused   and   wanted   to  court  martial  Derby.   Another
suggestion made by Derby in the years prior to the Civil War
was  for  a mule-howitzer.  The animal would have a howitzer
attached to his back and belly, and when one gun  fired,  it
would  flip  him  around so that the other gun was ready for
action.                                                     

Members of the class met on opposite sides of  a  number  of
battlefields  during  the conflict.  Foster and Seymour were
members  of  the  garrison  at  Fort   Sumter   during   its
bombardment  in  April 1861.  As major and chief of staff to
General Gustave T.  Beauregard,  David  Jones  accepted  the
surrender  of the fort on April 14.  George Gordon commanded
the rear guard of Major General Nathaniel P.  Banks' army in
the  Shenandoah Valley in May 1862 as Thomas J.  "Stonewall"
Jackson pushed his army northward against  Gordon  at  Front
Royal.   The Battle of Antietam was a virtual class reunion,
with McClellan, Gordon, Couch,  Gibbon,  Jackson,  and  Hill
participating  in  the fighting.  Some of the classmates met
and talked  briefly  at  Appomattox  Court  House  prior  to
General Robert E.  Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865.        



 Announcements 

Round Table Web Site

For those members who have Internet access, the Round  Table
has  a  Web  site that features the monthly newsletter, past
newsletters, book reviews, and much more.   The  address  is
www.rcwrt.org
or just
rcwrt.org


New Officers

The following slate of officers was elected at the  December
meeting - Clark Lewis, President;  Brag Bowling,  First Vice
President; and Art Bergeron, Second  Vice  President.   Jack
Ackerly,  Bob Krick,  and  Scott Mauger  were  named  to the
Executive Board.                                            


Membership Renewal

This year, membership renewal is being handled by a separate
mailing  from Sandy Parker.  Everyone should try to renew as
promptly as possible so that Sandy can compile a  membership
list  and  so that the newsletter mailing list will be up to
date.                                                       


Civil War Field University

The Blue and Gray Education Society of Danville is  offering
a  variety  of  tours  and symposia this year.  Included are
staff rides and  tours  of  several  Virginia  battlefields.
Guides  include  Ed  Bearss, Greg Mertz, and Perry Jamieson.
Fall events planned by B&GES include a staff  ride  of  Port
Hudson, Louisiana, led by Art Bergeron, and a symposium/tour
focusing on New Orleans in the Civil War.  Programs  of  the
Blue  and  Gray Education Society have benefited battlefield
preservation efforts at places like the Wilderness and Cedar
Creek.  Flyers with more information on this year's programs
will be available at the February meeting.                  


Sons of Confederate Veterans Tour

The Sons of Confederate Veterans Spring tour will be held on
April 20 and will visit Peninsula Campaign sites.  Guide for
the tour is John V.  Quarstein, Director of the Virginia War
Museum and author of Civil War on the Virginia Peninsula and
several other books on this area.   Quarstein,  who  is  the
Round Table's February speaker, is an expert on this theater
and a dynamic tour guide.  The tour will depart  at  7  a.m.
from  the  James  River bus lot at 915 North Allen.  Cost is
$20.00  per  person.   For  reservations,  contact  Reginald
Roberts,  2239  Burroughs  St.,  Bon  Air,  VA  23235, phone
272-3041.                                                   


Richmond Civil War Round Table Speakers for the Rest of 2002

March - William J. Cooper, Jr.    
April - Edward Smith              
May - Frank O'Reilly              
June - Gordon Rhea                
July - Cramer Gallimore           
August - not determined           
September - not determined        
October - Gabor Boritt            
November - Jay Winick             
December - William C. "Jack" Davis


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:           

for March; March 22 for April; April 19 for May; May 24     
for June; June 21 for July; July 19 for August; August 23   
for September; September 20 for October; October 18         
for November; and November 22 for December                  


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