John Coski, President                  Rob Monroe, Editor       
5028 King William Road                 2416 Edenbrook Dr.       
Richmond, VA 23225                     Richmond, VA 23228-3040  
jmcoski@peoplepc.com                   RMonroe500@comcast.net   
 February 2008 PROGRAM

Robert K. Krick
"The Myths of the Won Causes"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 12, 2008, 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.

A  widespread  belief  among  modern  historians   is   that
post-Civil  War Southerners spent decades inventing history,
and accordingly what they said cannot be believed-especially
if they are talking about heroic figures such as R. E. Lee. 

Our   February   speaker   Robert   K.   Krick  sees  things
differently.  He doesn't  question  the  fact  that  old-age
memories  are  afflicted  by  wavering;  but he sees this as
entirely   predictable   and   common   to   the   late-life
recollections  of  soldiers from all wars-Won Causes as well
as Lost Causes.  In fact, says Krick,  the  insistence  that
Southerners engaged in a conscious conspiracy probably tells
us more about authors who espouse that point of view than it
does about the old vets themselves.                         

A  well-known  speaker and battlefield tour guide, Bob Krick
grew up in Northern California; however, he  has  lived  and
worked  on  east  coast  battlefields  for  more  than  four
decades.   For  30  years  he   was   Chief   Historian   of
Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park.       

Krick  is  the author of 16 books, among them Conquering the
Valley:  Stonewall  Jackson  at  Port   Republic   and   The
Smoothbore  Volley That Doomed the Confederacy: The Death of
Stonewall Jackson and Other Chapters on the Army of Northern
Virginia.   His book Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain won
three  national  awards,  including  the  Douglas   Southall
Freeman Prize for Best Book in Southern History.  His latest
book is Civil War Weather in Virginia, which  was  published
last  fall.   From 2003 to 2006, he worked under contract on
the National Museum of the Marine Corps, writing most of the
words on the walls of that new museum.                      


Sergeant's Identity to be Argued at "Trial"

Precisely who is buried in grave number 4824 at Poplar Grove
National  Cemetery  south  of  Petersburg?  Cemetery records
show a "Sgt.  J.  Richie, Company H, 14th New York Infantry,
killed  on April 9, 1865," and originally buried and exhumed
from Appomattox Station.  It is also known that a Sgt.   IVY
Ritchie  of  the 14th North Carolina was killed on April 9th
in the final battle at Appomattox Court House.  Are they one
and the same or is this just a coincidence?                 

In  2002,  members  of  the  Ivy  Ritchie Camp 1734, Sons of
Confederate Veterans, requested the National  Park  Service,
which  administers  the  cemetery,  allow them to exhume the
remains of  grave  #4824  and  remove  them  back  to  North
Carolina.  NPS policy would not permit this action.  However,
the park superintendent  decided  that  there  might  be  an
amenable  way through dialogue to address this controversial
issue to the satisfaction of both organizations.            

At 10 a.m.  on Wednesday, February 13, in the  courtroom  of
the  original  pre-Civil  War  Dinwiddie  courthouse, a mock
trial, open to the public, will be held.  Both sides will be
presenting  evidence  to  determine  whether  it is beyond a
"reasonable doubt" which Richie (or Ritchie) is actually  in
grave   #4824.    After  that  determination  is  made,  the
headstone will be appropriately  marked  when  Poplar  Grove
National Cemetery is rehabilitated in 2013.                 

Park  superintendent  Bob  Kirby will act as moderator while
Chief of Interpretation Chris Calkins will perform the  role
as  lawyer for the defense.  Anthony Way, of the Ivy Ritchie
Camp 1734, Sons of Confederate Veterans,  along  with  other
members of the camp, will represent that organization as the
plaintiffs.  The judges selected to preside over this unique
trial  are: A.  Wilson Greene, president, Pamplin Historical
Park & The National Museum of the Civil  War  Soldier;  John
Latschar, Superintendent, Gettysburg National Military Park;
and Patrick Schroeder,  Historian,  Appomattox  Court  House
National Historical Park.                                   


University of Richmond Offers
Course on the Civil War at Sea

The University of Richmond's School  of  Continuing  Studies
will offer a course titled "Battle Flags and Broadsides: The
Sailors' Civil War" that meets 7-9 p.m.  on four consecutive
Monday  nights,  beginning  on  March  31.   The course will
discuss major figures in the Confederate  and  Union  navies
and   key   battles.    It  will  highlight  the  widespread
introduction of new weapons  and  technical  innovations  by
naval  forces that were used in the war at sea, on America's
mighty rivers, and along the ocean coasts.  The course  will
examine the race to create and employ ironclad warships, the
struggle to control ports critical  for  commerce,  and  the
innovations  that  demonstrated the genius and dedication of
the warring nations.                                        

In addition to class meetings, on Saturday, April  26  there
will  be  a  bus  trip  to  the  scene  of the Battle of the
Ironclads at  Hampton  Roads,  the  Monitor  Center  at  the
Mariners'  Museum in Newport News, and to the Drewry's Bluff
battle site.  The cost of the course, led by Richmond  Civil
War  Round  Table  member Jack Mountcastle, the U.S.  Army's
former Chief of Military  History,  is  $169.   For  further
details  call  UR's School of Continuing Studies at 289-8133
or  visit  their  website  at  www.richmond.edu.   Click  on
"Continuing  Studies"  and  then  select  the  "Think Again"
noncredit course catalog's section  on  Personal  Enrichment
History Courses.                                            


Symposium to Focus on Davis

On Saturday, February 23, The Museum of the Confederacy  and
The Library of Virginia will co-sponsor an all-day symposium
featuring four lectures and a panel discussion examining the
life,  career, and legacy of Confederate President Jefferson
Davis.  This year's symposium represents an  opportunity  to
introduce Davis to the American public.                     

The  symposium offers an impressive line-up of distinguished
Davis scholars including: Joan E.  Cashin, author  of  First
Lady  of  the  South:  Varina  Davis's  Civil War; Donald E.
Collins, author of The Death and Resurrection  of  Jefferson
Davis;  William  J.   Cooper,  author  of  Jefferson  Davis,
American; and William C.  Davis, author of Jefferson  Davis,
The Man and His Hour: A Biography.                          

The Museum of the Confederacy is observing 2008 as the 200th
birthday of Jefferson Davis.  Many only know  Davis  as  the
political  leader  of  the  South during the Civil War.  His
appointment to West Point, his commission  to  the  Army  by
President  Andrew  Jackson,  and  his  time  spent  in  U.S.
politics all testify  to  the  depth  of  Davis's  life  and
patriotic career.                                           

The  symposium  will be held at the Library of Virginia, 800
E.  Broad St., Richmond, from 9:30 a.m.  to 4 p.m.  The cost
is  $35  for  members  of  the Museum of the Confederacy and
Library of Virginia donors, and $45 for others. Reservations
and advanced payment are required.  Please visit www.moc.org
or call (804) 649-1861 ext.  32 to register.                


Longwood to Host Seminar on Davis and Lincoln

Appomattox Court House  National  Historical  Park  and  the
Department  of  History  and  Political  Science at Longwood
University will present the Ninth Annual Civil War  Seminar,
Saturday, March 1.  Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis will
be the focus of this year's seminar.  The program begins  at
9:30  a.m.  on the campus of Longwood University in the Hull
Building, room 132.  The seminar is free  and  open  to  the
public,  no registration is necessary.  Signs will be posted
on the campus and lunch is  available  in  the  university's
dining  hall.   The  following is a list of times, speakers,
and topics:                                                 

9:00 a.m.  Doors open                                       

9:20 a.m.  Introduction by Dr. David Coles,                 
           History Professor, Longwood University           

9:30 a.m.  Waite Rawls III-"Jeff Davis and the White House  
                            of the Confederacy"             

10:30 a.m. Dan Storck as "Abraham Lincoln"                  

11:30 a.m. Robert Bosler-"Jeff Davis and the Secret History 
                          of the Confederacy"               

12:30 to 1:45 p.m.  Lunch                                   

1:45 p.m.  NPS Ranger Eric Martin-"The Assassination of     
                          Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater"

2:45 p.m.  Don Collins-                                     
             "The Resurrection and Death of Jefferson Davis"

3:45 p.m.  Question and Answer Session                      

For directions to the campus go to www.longwood.edu  .   For
more  information contact Dr.  David Coles at (434) 395-2220
or Patrick Schroeder at (434) 352-8987, ext.  32            


RCWRT Dues for 2008

It is time once  again  to  renew  your  membership  in  the
Richmond  Civil  War Round Table.  The 2008 dues reflect the
$5 across-the-board increase approved by  the  members  last
October.   Also,  please  note  the  introduction  of  a new
membership  category,  "Sustaining  Member."  This   is   an
entirely  voluntary  option  for those members who choose to
increase their support of our  organization.   The  Ides  of
March (March 15) is the deadline for payment of 2008 dues.  

Select one category:
o  $50 - Sustaining member (voluntary)                      
o  $35 - Resident member                                    
o  $45 - Resident couple                                    
o  $20 - Non-resident member (75 miles outside of Richmond) 
o  $25 - Non-resident couple                                
o  $20 - Senior member                                      
         (65 and older with at least 10 years of membership)
o  $25 - Senior couple                                      
o  $20 - Student member (age 13-17)                         
o  $35 - International member                               
o  $45 - International couple                               

You can make payment  at  the  January,  February  or  March
meetings or mail your check to:                             

Sandy Parker, RCWRT Secretary
P.O. Box 37052               
Richmond, VA 23234           

Thank you for your continued support for the Richmond  Civil
War Round Table!                                            


RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2008


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