Davis Wrinkle, Pres.                   Gary Cowardin, Editor    
7741 Rockfalls Dr.                     1404 Lorraine Ave.       
Richmond, VA 23225                     Richmond, VA 23227-3735  
dpwrink@verizon.net                    cowardin@juno.com        
March 2010 Program

Frank A. O'Reilly

Chancellorsville

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 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.

"If the consensus of the intelligent opinion of the world was  taken  as
to  what  battle  gave  most  lustre  to  Southern generalship," mused a
Confederate captain, "it would surely designate  Chancellorsville."  The
battle  fought  in  the  forbidding  confines  of the Wilderness of 1863
pitted Robert E.  Lee and Stonewall Jackson against Joseph Hooker and  a
legion  of  Federals.   Outnumbered almost three to one, Lee and Jackson
did the unexpected.  Lee divided his forces and Jackson launched one  of
the  most  celebrated  attacks in American history.  Jackson secured his
place among the great captains of all time, but he also sealed his  doom
when  he  rode  in  front of his lines after dark on May 2, 1863.  Frank
O'Reilly will look at the battle that "gave  most  lustre"  to  Lee  and
Jackson,  and  has  modern  generals  emulating  the classic "Jacksonian
Movement" of 1863.                                                      

Vitae 
My  latest  book,  The  Fredericksburg  Campaign:  Winter  War  on   the
Rappahannock,  received  a  2003  nomination  for  the Pulitzer Prize in
Letters.  It was released by LSU Press in December, 2002,  and  has  won
the  2002  Capital  District  (Albany, NY) Book Award; the 2003 James I.
Robertson, Jr.  Book Award; the 2004 Daniel Laney Book  Award;  and  the
2004 Richard Barksdale Harwell Book Award.                              

I  graduated  from  Washington  & Lee University in 1987, and joined the
National Park Service at  the  Fredericksburg  &  Spotsylvania  National
Military  Park.   I worked briefly at Independence Hall in Philadelphia,
and then returned to Fredericksburg in 1990 as the  permanent  historian
for the "Stonewall" Jackson Shrine.  I have also served as an historical
consultant for the City of Fredericksburg.                              

I have written numerous articles on the Civil War and Mexican  War,  and
introductions  to  several  books,  including  Phil  Sheridan's memoirs,
William McCarter's My Life in the Irish Brigade, and the History of  the
1st  Massachusetts  Cavalry.   I  released  a book on the Fredericksburg
Campaign titled, Stonewall Jackson at Fredericksburg, in 1993.   I  have
appeared   in  quite  a  few  video  documentaries,  and  have  lectured
extensively in the U.S.  and abroad, on military history.               

I am currently researching a book on the Battle of Malvern Hill and  the
Seven Days' Campaign.                                                   
                         Frank A. O'Reilly, Historian


NOTE: Please put on a name badge when you arrive for the meeting.
(Materials will be at the raffle table.)


HOLD the DATE: Saturday, June 19, 2010, RCWRT Field Trip
8am-5pm From Campground to Battle Ground
Stafford County, Chatham Manor, Oak Civil War Museum,
Wilderness Battlefield, more info in the April RCWRT Newsletter


Reminder - Membership Dues for 2010 are Due by March 15th

Update: as of 2/15/10 we have 96 paid up plus 5 lifetime (=101) members.

Please select a membership category from the list below.  The Sustaining
Member category is an entirely voluntary option for  those  members  who
choose to increase their support of our organization.  As in years past,
the Ides of March (March 15) is the deadline for payment of dues.       

Select one category:                                                    

< >  $50 - Sustaining member (voluntary)                      
< >  $35 - Resident member                                    
< >  $45 - Resident couple                                    
< >  $20 - Non-resident member (50+ miles outside of Richmond)
< >  $25 - Non-resident couple                                
< >  $20 - Senior member (65 and older with at least 10 years 
                        of membership)                     
< >  $25 - Senior couple                                      
< >  $20 - Student member (age 13-17)                         

You may make your payment at the March meeting or mail your check to: 

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

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


From the Preservation Committee Report
Jack Ackerly, Chairman

Motions in the Wal-Mart/Wilderness Battlefield  case  have  been  argued
before  the  Orange  County  Circuit  Court on February 3 and were taken
under advisement.  There is no indication when the Court  will  reach  a
decision.                                                               

Also  reported, the  Civil  War  Preservation  Trust  (CWPT) has met the
two-for-one match of $5.2 million established by  the  General  Assembly
under Speaker William Howell's leadership.  The remarkable $10.4 million
raised by CWPT has  funded  the  acquisition  of  land  at  many  nearby
battlefields  including  Chancellorsville,  Glendale,  Malvern Hill, and
Trevilian  Station.   Ackerly wondered if the CWPT  success  in  funding
battlefields does not offset the hard times of several Civil War Museums
which are reducing hours/terminating employees  on  account  of  reduced
visitation and diminished fundraising.                                  


Survey Results

The following is a summary of the Club  survey.   Forty  (40)  responses
were received. (Editor's Note: It appears most members are happy with   
as is with less than a 50% response for any big changes.)               

o	Do you want to consider changing our meeting location?          
YES - 12                NO - 24

o	Do you want more dinner meetings?                               
YES - 6                 NO - 30

o	Should we meet with the Powhatan Round Table?                   
YES - 20                NO - 13

o	Do you have any suggestions for field trip destinations?        
Antietam, Lexington, Gettysburg, an overnight, Trevilian, Kernstown,
White Oak, Shenandoah, Belmead, Bermuda100, South Mt.,Yorktown

o	Do you want more than 1/year?                                   
YES - 13                NO - 15

o	Please give ideas for fund raisers such as book donations,      
	artifacts, % take of items sold.                                
Charge to attend our meetings, dues, book donations,
field trip cost, T-shirts, hats, cash  raffle,
silent auctions, artifacts

o	Where would you like our annual meeting to be held?             
Most said U of R, Willow Oaks CC, Va Historical Society,
and Richmond Masonic Lodge
o	Is the price too high?  YES - 2                                 

o	Do you want book reviews?   YES - 21                NO - 10     

o	Would you like 2 or 3 pearls about the night's talk be written  
	and handed out?    YES - 17                NO - 19              

o	Should we market more so as to recruit more members?            
YES - 20                NO - 9

o	What would you like to see in the newsletter or internet?       
Photos, press release, dull as is, need more in depth,
speaker photos, include previous meeting news, bio of members

o	Are you ok with changing the time of our meeting to 7:30pm?     
YES - 12                NO - 17
Other times: 7:00 - 3, 6:30 - 1

o	What do you like most about the RCWRT?  Least?                  
Most - Speakers-29, Coski letters, great members              
Least - min social time, hard chairs, no personal interface,  
too long speaker intro, parking bad, club too big, poor dress,
location bad ,too much business, too long presentation,
need younger members

o	Any Other Suggestions?                                          
Have books audited, more audio visual, put in local newspaper,  
invite history teachers, list Richmond Battlefields Association 
annual meeting, leave earlier, senior dues to $25 "Boomer Life",
higher member dues, have at 1st Presb. St. Stephens, have summer
picnic, eliminate July & August meetings to save money


Virginia Takes the Lead in
Commemorating the War Between the States!

If you would like to learn more about the very impressive efforts of the
Virginia  Civil  War  Sesquicentennial  Commission,  take  a look at the
Commission's excellent website.                                         


www.virginiacivilwar.org

The Commonwealth's 8-year program is being ably led by  Speaker  of  the
House  of  Delegates  William  J.   Howell.   When asked why Virginia is
making such an effort, he responded by saying, in  part:  "No  event  in
this  nation's  history has had as much impact as the Civil War, and the
goal  of  Virginia's  Sesquicentennial  commemoration   is   to   better
understand our past by examining multiple facets of the Civil War ..."  

In  addition  to  many  and  varied  local events, there will be a major
(Signature) event each year through 2016.  The  first  annual  Signature
Event  was  hosted  by University of Richmond President Dr.  Ed Ayers in
April 2009.  It was a huge success!                                     


Some Upcoming Events


U of R Trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania!
April 18-19, 2010 (Sun-Mon)
Join Retired Brigadier General Jack Mountcastle as he  leads  us  on  an
all-inclusive trip to Gettysburg!  This is a great way to experience and
learn about this famous Civil War battle.                               

Trip includes deluxe transportation, videos and presentations on the bus
from  General  Mountcastle,  your  ticket  to  the  brand-new Gettysburg
Visitor Center, and guided tours of the battlefield.  Also  included  is
your  room  at  the  Historic  Gettysburg  Hotel,  right in the heart of
historic downtown Gettysburg.  You will be treated to a wonderful dinner
on  Sunday  night, breakfast buffet Monday morning, lunch on Monday, and
snacks on the bus.  Bus will depart University of Richmond campus at  12
noon on Sunday, April 18 and return by 7:30 pm on Monday, April 19.     

Contact  Stephanie  Bowlin  (sbowlin@richmond.edu  or  287-6331)  for  a
detailed itinerary.  The course number of this 2-day mini-course is CRN:
HIS210.99  Fee:  $279  per person based on double occupancy.  Additional
$65    fee    for    single    occupancy.     Register     online     at
activenet.active.com/thinkagain  or  call  289-8133 to request a copy of
the Think Again registration form!                                      


Now - at the Virginia Historical Society
A New Exhibition on John Brown's Raid 
October 10, 2009 through April 11, 2010
www.vahistorical.org/news/pr_johnbrown.htm

Visit The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar
www.tredegar.org
and their
Events Calendar

Visit the The Museum of the Confederacy Online
www.moc.org
and their
Events Calendar for MOC Events Calendar
The Museum of the Confederacy will sponsor a seminar:
Healing Wounded Warriors, March 27, 2010, in the Egyptian Building

Pamplin Historical Park and
The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier
www.pamplinpark.org
and their
Special Events Calendar

RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2010


We Need Your Help to Save Money

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receiving your newsletter notification via E-mail please let me have   
your E-mail address.                                                   

My E-mail address is:  cowardin@juno.com
(Just click my E-mail address above)

Richmond Civil War Round Table Newsletter
Gary Cowardin, Editor  
1404 Lorraine Ave.     
Richmond, VA 23227-3735
cowardin@juno.com