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rcwrt.org

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Bill Welsch, President               Gary Cowardin, Editor    
10708 Rocket Dr.                     1404 Lorraine Ave.       
Glen Allen, VA 23060                 Richmond, VA 23227-3735  
wmwelsch@comcast.net                 cowardin@juno.com        
"We Scared Abe Lincoln Like Hell"
Early's 1864 Summer Campaign
by
Eric Campbell
7:30pm, Tuesday, March 8, 2016, at the 
First Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA.,
4602 Cary Street Road, 23226. A parking lot is available behind
the church with an entrance off the parking lot to the right
and up a few steps into the DINING HALL on the left.


Eric Campbell is the Chief of Interpretation at Cedar  Creek  and  Belle
Grove  National Historical Park.  He has worked as a Park Ranger for the
National Park Service for over 30  years,  23  of  those  at  Gettysburg
National  Military  Park.   He has also authored over two dozen articles
and essays for scholarly publications.                                  

Eric's responsibilities at Cedar  Creek  and  Belle  Grove  NHP  include
overseeing the planning for future interpretation at the park, including
the development of  ranger-lead  programs,  the  opening  of  a  Visitor
Contact  Station  (including interpretive exhibits and a fiber optic map
of the  Battle  of  Cedar  Creek),  developing  interpretive  brochures,
exhibits,   podcasts,   trails   and   other   interpretive   media  and
infrastructure.                                                         

Lt.  Gen.  Jubal Early's campaign in the summer of 1864 was one  of  the
most  brilliantly  conducted  operations  during  the  war.  Using rapid
marching and deception, along with hard-hitting attacks, Early took  his
small  independent  command from Richmond, through the Shenandoah Valley
and to the very gates  of  Washington,  DC.   Early's  campaign  covered
hundreds  of  miles  and  involved no less than five battles, along with
numerous skirmishes.  Early's cartographer, Jedidiah Hotchkiss  went  so
far  as  to  claim,  that  Early's  campaign  was  "by all odds the most
successful expedition we have ever made into the enemy's country."      

This program will provide an overview of the entirety of Early's  summer
operations;  from  his  detachment from the Army of Northern Virginia in
mid-June,  through  his  invasion  of  Maryland  to  the  outskirts   of
Washington,  DC and his final operations in the Lower Valley in July and
August  (including  the  Burning  of  Chambersburg).   Although   mostly
relegated  to  secondary importance in the history books, Early's summer
campaign not only accomplished all of his objectives, but  also  greatly
influenced events on a strategic level that fall.                       

Meeting Attendance for February: 72

NOTE: Please put on your NAME BADGE on when you arrive for the meeting.
(They will be on a table near the back or side of the room.)
Message from Our President
Dues are due!  Probably not the most stirring way to  start  this  note,
but certainly of critical importance.  If the membership of the Richmond
Civil War Round Table is the heart of the organization,  it's  the  dues
that  keeps that heart healthy.  We cannot continue our wonderful yearly
programs without support from all of us.   We  each  have  an  important
stake  in  the RCWRT.  For those who have reenlisted for 2016, thank you
very much.  If you have yet to do so, please see Sandy Parker  in  March
to  show  your support for the round table.  As an offshoot of this, the
Executive Committee has been reviewing the state of our finances, to  be
sure  that  we can effectively continue our history mission.  We will be
reporting back to the membership in the next month or so  with  detailed
updates and recommendations.                                            

Thanks  to  our pal Bruce Venter for his great presentation on "Custer's
Side Show" last month.  His Kill Jeff Davis is a very  well  done  story
that  I  highly recommend to you.  Last month, we had Civil War veterans
in Brazil.  This month, we head across the pond to the London Branch  of
Civil War Veterans.  The Civil War Veterans of London  (from the NYT)   

Be sure to join us on March 8.                               Bill
Final Notice for 2016 DUES
Using the link below open the .pdf file  print  and  fill  it  out  then
either bring it to the meeting along with payment or mail it to Sandy @:

Sandy Parker, RCWRT Secretary
2425 Falkirk Drive           
North Chesterfield, VA 23236 

2016 Membership and Members Contact Information .pdf Form

Save the date for our Annual Field Trip:
Stuart's Ride around the Union Army! 
Saturday, June 18th, 9:00-4:00
Historian John Fox, author of Stuart's Finest  Hour,  will  narrate  the
tour  using  Union,  Confederate  and civilian accounts as we follow the
route of Stuart and his Federal pursuers.  Stops will  be  made  at  key
points,  beginning  at  Hanover  Tavern  where  blue and gray cavalrymen
exchanged gunfire in the first encounter of the expedition.  We'll  then
continue  southeast  to Taliaferro's Mills, Haws Shop, Totopotomoy Creek
Bridge, Linney's Corner, and Old Church before crossing  into  New  Kent
County  where  we'll  pass Tunstalls Station and Baltimore Store.  We'll
head south to the famous  Chickahominy  River  crossing  site  at  Forge
Bridge,  then  cross  into Charles City County.  Then we'll head west on
the old James River Road (Rte.  5) where we'll pass  the  Rowland  house
before turning back to Richmond.                                        

We'll be meeting at the same parking lot as last year's departure: North
Park Shopping Center at Parham and Brook Roads (8001 Brook Road). Please
plan  on  packing  a  lunch.  We'll be stopping at New Kent Winery for a
picnic lunch.  Water bottles will be provided.                          

Don't miss this one, folks!  John Mosby, one  of  Stuart's  lead  scouts
observed,  "Richmond  is  in  fine  spirits...everybody  says  it is the
greatest feat of the war." Look for sign-up sheets at the March,  April,
and May meetings.  The price hasn't been set yet but should be set soon.
There will be price and mailing info in the next news letter.           
Help Us Save Postage Costs    
If you have an E-mail address and internet access and are not currently
receiving your newsletter notification via E-mail please let me have   
your NAME and E-mail address. My E-mail address is:  cowardin@juno.com 
(You can also use this link to change E-mail addressess  just  click  my
E-mail address above.  If you are changing an E-mail address be sure to
include the old address.)                                              

Civil War Trust
For the latest CWT news visit: www.civilwar.org
Upcoming Events/Links

25th annual VA Tech Civil War Weekend
March 18-20 2016
www.cpe.vt.edu/cww

National Park Service Richmond

Richmond Battlefields Association News & Events
www.saverichmondbattlefields.org/events.htm


Visit The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar
www.tredegar.org

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

Chambersburg Civil War Seminars & Tours
civilwarseminars.org

RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2016