First Vice President:                   Rob Monroe, Editor       
Richard Forrester                     2416 Edenbrook Dr.     
Second Vice President:                  Richmond, VA 23228-3040  
Shep Parsons                          rmonroe@richmond.com   
February 2005 PROGRAM

Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. 
"Why the Civil War Still Lives"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 10, 2005, 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.  James I.  Robertson, Jr.  is the  Alumni  Distinguished
Professor in the Department of History at Virginia Tech.  He
teaches the largest Civil War history class in America, with
an  average  of 250 students per semester.  Dr.  Robetson is
the Executive Director of the Virginia Center for Civil  War
Studies.    The   Danville   native   earned  a  B.A.   from
Randolph-Macon College, an M.A.  and  a  Ph.D.   from  Emory
University and has three honorary degrees.                  

Dr.   Robertson  has been the recipient of every major award
given in the field of Civil War history.  His  award-winning
books  include  Soldiers  Blue  and  Gray,  The  Confederate
Spirit, General A.P.  Hill, Civil War!: America Becomes  One
Nation  and  the  950-page biography, Stonewall Jackson: The
Man, The Soldier, The Legend,  which  won  an  unprecedented
eight national awards.                                      

A  historical  consultant  for the film "Gods and Generals,"
Dr.  Robertson hosts a weekly Civil War program aired on  11
public  radio stations.  On television, he appears regularly
in Civil  War  programs  on  the  History  Channel,  Arts  &
Entertainment  network and C-Span.  His latest books include
Stonewall Jackson's Book of Maxims, and  (with  artist  Mort
Kunstler)  Gods  and  Generals: The Companion Volume for the
Movie.  He is editor of the recently  published  Soldier  of
Southwestern Virginia: The Civil War Letters of Captain John
Preston Sheffey.                                            

Dr.  Robertson will speak on "Why the Civil War Still Lives"
and  the  many  ways  the  conflict  still affects us today.
Because of the anticipated large turnout for Dr.  Robertson,
the meeting may be moved from the usual basement location to
the church's sanctuary upstairs.                            

Summary of January Meeting

Mike Gorman of the Richmond National Battlefield Park  spoke
to  the  Richmond  Civil  War  Round  Table  at  its January
meeting.  He impressed and entertained his audience  with  a
presentation  he called "Richmond Again Taken: Photographing
Richmond, 1858-1865." He displayed  and  interpreted  photos
from  his Civil War Richmond website, as well as rare images
only  recently  acquired  by  the   Park   Service.    These
remarkable photographs were further enhanced by Mr. Gorman's
great wit and humor.                                        

He began his presentation by  reminding  the  audience  that
photographs   of  Civil  War  Richmond  were  not  taken  by
journalists to document  historic  events.   Instead,  these
images  were  taken  with  one  objective  in mind - to make
money.  The photographers livelihood was dependent upon them
selling    images.    This   knowledge   is   important   in
understanding how photographers chose their subjects.       

Gorman also gave RCWRT members  a  greater  appreciation  of
what  a  time-consuming,  physical  process  it  was to take
photographs in the 19th century.  It took about ten  minutes
for photographers to set up for each image.  After a picture
was taken, the glass-plate negative had  to  be  wrapped  in
black  cloth to avoid exposure to outside light, then stored
with great care so as not to break on the carriage  or  boat
ride  back  to  the  photographer's  gallery  which might be
hundreds of miles away.                                     

While acknowledging Mathew  Brady,  Gorman  gave  credit  to
under-appreciated  photographers  such as Alexander Gardner,
Charles Rees and T.C.  Roche.  Photos from the 1860s  reveal
Richmond  as a bustling naval port.  Familiar photographs of
Richmond's  burned  warehouses  and  mills  have  mistakenly
identified  the  canal and turning basin as the James River.
Close examination of photos taken soon  after  the  fall  of
Richmond  reveal  such  `treasures"  as graffiti scrawled on
burned out buildings by occupying  Union  soldiers.   Images
taken before and after Lincoln's assassination show a marked
contrast in the intermingling of soldiers and civilians.    

Mr.  Gorman's  excellent  website,  www.mdgorman.com,  is  a
treasure   trove  of  information  on  Richmond  during  the
conflict.  The high-resolution photographs alone -  many  of
which  were  used  in  his presentation to the Round Table -
make it well worth a visit.                                 

Parole Pass Discovered
in Historic Old Town Petersburg Building

Workers cleaning  out  an  historic  building  in  Old  Town
Petersburg  recently  discovered a hidden vault containing a
parole pass that belonged to Confederate Lt.  Patrick Hoy of
Mississippi.   After the war, Hoy married a Petersburg woman
and went to  work  for  Seward  Luggage,  the  company  that
donated  the  historic  building  to  the city in the 1980s.
Employees  of  Seward  Luggage   tried   to   locate   Hoy's
descendents  in  order to offer them the document.  When the
search proved unsuccessful  the  pass  was  donated  to  the
National  Park  Service  where it will be kept at Petersburg
National  Battlefield  Park.   Hoy's  pass  was  issued   in
Lynchburg  on  April 13, 1865 where he was recuperating in a
hospital.                                                   

Museum to Feature Events and Exhibit
on Confederate Navy

Richmond's  Museum  of  the  Confederacy  will   honor   the
Confederate  Navy  as  part  of its annual "Celebrate South"
festivities on March  4  and  5.   Friday  evening's  events
include  the  eagerly anticipated opening of The Confederate
Navy  exhibit  along  with  self-guided  tours  through  the
first-ever   exhibit   of   the   museum's   extensive  navy
collection.  Civil War naval historians,  a  torpedo  expert
and  living  history reenactors will be on hand to talk with
guests.  Tours of the  Confederate  Executive  Mansion  will
also be offered.                                            

Saturday's  events  include  a  lecture  and walking tour of
Drewry's Bluff, often described as  the  "Gibraltar  of  the
Confederacy."  Museum  staff historian and author of Capital
Navy, Dr.  John Coski will present a lecture on the role  of
Drewry's  Bluff  during the war.  This will be followed by a
walking tour of Drewry's Bluff led by historian Robert  E.L.
Krick  and  historic  interpretations  by  the  James  River
Squadron  living  historians.   That  evening,  the   formal
Ironclad  Ball  will feature Southern cuisine, Civil War era
music and period dances led by a professional dance caller. 

Reservations for all events are required by February 21. For
more  information  see the museum's website, www.moc.org, or
call Amanda Featherstone at (804) 649-1861 ext.  44.        

University of Richmond Offers Civil War Course

The University of Richmond's School  of  Continuing  Studies
will  offer a course titled "At Gettysburg with Lee's Army,"
meeting from 7-9pm on five consecutive Monday  nights,  from
March 14 to April 11.                                       

Following  a  stunning victory over his Union adversaries at
Chancellorsville in May, 1863, General Robert  E.   Lee  led
his Confederates north, into Pennsylvania.  The Pennsylvania
campaign  continues  to  capture  the  interest   of   those
fascinated by America's history.                            

This  course explores the reasons behind Lee's campaign, the
circumstances that led to the bloody clash  near  the  small
town  of  Gettysburg,  the conduct of the battle and reasons
for its results, the Confederate retreat, and the impact  of
this three-day struggle on the outcome of the Civil War. The
instructor will publish a suggested reading  list  prior  to
this  course  and  will  also provide useful handouts during
class.                                                      

This noncredit course  will  be  led  by  retired  Brigadier
General  Jack  Mountcastle, the U.S.  Army's former Chief of
Military History and a RCWRT member.  Class discussions will
focus  on  the Confederate soldiers and the unit leaders who
followed their commanding general across the Potomac, fought
valiantly  at  Gettysburg,  and  then  conducted  a fighting
withdrawal after being defeated by the Army of the Potomac. 

The cost of the non-credit course is $119.  Registration  is
now  open.  For details call University of Richmond's School
of Continuing Studies at 289-8133 or visit their website  at
www.richmond.edu.   Click  on "Catalogs" and then select the
Think Again Noncredit course catalog for the Spring Term.   

A Message from Your Semi-Humble Newsletter Editor

In the last couple of years, several Civil  War  roundtables
across  the  country  have  begun  giving  their members the
option  of  receiving  their  newsletters  via  email.   The
Richmond  Civil  War  Round  Table is now glad to offer this
alternative to its members.                                 

So what's the advantage?

For starters, you would receive your newsletter several days
earlier.   When  I finish the newsletter and email it to the
printing company, it typically takes two or three  days  for
them  to print and fold our copies.  When I pick them up, it
takes another day or two to apply all the labels, stamps and
mailing  seals  to  the  roughly 250 newsletters we send out
each month.  And, of course, the postage takes  yet  another
day  or  two  --  even  longer  for those of you outside the
Richmond area.                                              

In addition to time, you would be helping  the  Round  Table
save  much-needed funds.  When the costs of paper, printing,
stamps, labels and mailing seals are added up, RCWRT  spends
well  over  $1,500  a  year on newsletters alone.  If only a
quarter of our members were to receive  the  newsletter  via
email,  the  Round Table could save hundreds of dollars each
year.                                                       

So how does it work?

If you'd like  to  receive  the  newsletter  electronically,
simply    send    an   email   to   me,   Rob   Monroe,   at
RMonroe500@comcast.net.  Unless you tell me otherwise,  I'll
assume  you  want  the  newsletter  mailed to the same email
address you used when contacting me.  Each month I'll  email
the  RCWRT  newsletter  to  you as a standard Microsoft Word
document attachment.                                        

I hate spam as much as anyone so I'll clearly  indicate  the
newsletter  in  the  subject line (i.e.  "Richmond Civil War
Round Table - March newsletter").  Rest assured  your  email
address  will not be shared with anyone outside of the Round
Table.                                                      

Thanks.  I hope to hear from you soon.

RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2005

Information may be emailed to rmonroe@richmond.com
or
Richmond Civil War Round Table Newsletter
Rob Monroe, Editor     
2416 Edenbrook Dr.     
Richmond, VA 23228-3040