Sam Craghead, President         Art & Carol Bergeron, Editors
4361F Lakefield Mews            3901 Paces Ferry Road      
Richmond, VA 23231              Chester, VA 23831-1239   

April 2001 PROGRAM

Ernest B. Furgurson

"The Battle of Cold Harbor, 1864"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 10, 2001, at the
Boulevard United Methodist Church, 321 N. Boulevard,
Richmond, VA (corner of Boulevard and Stuart Ave.)

Ernest B.  "Pat" Furgurson is a native of Virginia who lives
now in Washington, D.  C.  He is a descendant of Confederate
soldiers, one of whom was laying wounded in Jackson Hospital
when Richmond fell in 1865 and was captured by Union troops.
Furgurson was on the  staff  of  the  Richmond  News  Leader
before  he  began  a  long  career as Washington and foreign
correspondent for the Baltimore Sun.  He is  the  author  of
Chancellorsville  1863  and  Ashes of Glory.  He was written
biographies of two controversial Southerners-General William
C.   Westmoreland  and  Senator  Jesse  Helms.   Furgurson's
latest Civil War book is Not War  But  Murder:  Cold  Harbor
1864,  published  by  Alfred  A.  Knopf last year.  Edwin C.
Bearss has described this book as "a blockbuster" and  rates
it  as  "far  superior  to  previous books on this too often
ignored campaign."                                          

The Overland Campaign against Richmond came to a  climax  on
the morning of June 3, 1864, when Generals Ulysses S.  Grant
and George G.  Meade ordered Union troops to assault General
Robert  E.   Lee's entrenched army at Cold Harbor, less than
ten miles from the Confederate capital.  This tragic  battle
resulted  in  a  slaughter  for  the Federals and Lee's last
great victory.  Bruce Catton called the battle "one  of  the
hard  and  terrible names of the Civil War, perhaps the most
terrible one of all."                                       

Furgurson will tell the story of this  important  engagement
in his presentation.  He will focus not only on the generals
who led both armies but also on the men who  bled  and  died
that  day.  According to Furgurson, Cold Harbor was the most
uselessly bloody, one-sided battle of the war.  Its terrible
human  cost  is  captured  in  an entry in a Union soldier's
diary: "June 3, Cold Harbor.  I was killed."                


Review of the March Program



Dr.  Joseph L.  Harsh of George Mason  University  presented
an  informative  talk  on  Robert  E.   Lee and the Maryland
Campaign of 1862.  According to Harsh, Lee was a realist who
knew  that  chances  for Confederate success in the war were
very slender because of the imbalance of resources  and  the
unlikelihood of European intervention.  The one hope that he
saw was that the North might tire of the conflict and  quit.
His  strategy  from  the  first  was aimed at hastening that
outcome.  In Lee's mind, the Maryland Campaign was his  best
shot at winning the war.                                    

Historians  have  debated  whether  the  campaign  should be
called an invasion or a raid.  Harsh said  it  was  neither.
From  the  time  that  he  had  taken command of the Army of
Northern Virginia, Lee had conducted  turning  movements  to
force  the  Federals  to  give up their plans.  The Maryland
Campaign would be the fifth turning movement Lee  attempted.
His  goal was to make the Union army leave Washington before
it was ready and fight the Confederates on terms and  ground
favorable  to  them.   Harsh  then focused on four questions
relating to Lee's strategy.                                 

Why did Lee move  his  army  into  Maryland?   Lee  faced  a
dilemma  after  the  Battle  of Chantilly.  What could he do
next?  He rejected a move eastward toward Washington.  If he
marched  west  or  south, it would be an admission of defeat
and would surrender the initiative.  Lee at  first  actually
thought  his army was too weak to go northward, but that was
the direction he chose.  He decided on  a  turning  movement
into  Maryland.   The  goal was to force McClellan's army to
march out of Washington before it had recovered.  Lee  would
draw  it  west of the mountains where he could maneuver and,
hopefully, fight another Second Manassas.                   

Why did Lee remain in Frederick for four days?  The position
at  that town was intended to keep pressure on the Federals.
Once they advanced, Lee would fall back to the west.  He was
worried  about his line of communications and wanted to move
it to the Shenandoah Valley.  Lee then made two  mistakes-he
underestimated the strength of Union garrisons in the Valley
and thought the Army of the Potomac was moving  more  slowly
than was the case.  Everything began to go wrong.           

Harsh  argued that the Union discovery of Special Orders No.
191 was not a great intelligence coup.  It  contained  dated
information.  Of all of Lee's divisions, only McLaws' was in
any danger.  All of the rest  could  easily  have  retreated
into  Virginia  and avoided Union attack.  After the battles
at the gaps, Lee decided to retreat to Keedysville.  Then he
moved the army to the heights around Sharpsburg.            

Why  stay  for  nearly  four  days  at  Sharpsburg?  Lee had
several reasons to keep his army near the town.  The primary
reason  was  desperation.  He hoped that he would be able to
recommence the campaign.  That did not happen, and the  Army
of  Northern  Virginia was almost destroyed on September 17.
Lee did not order a retreat that afternoon  because  he  did
not  want  to  be chased from Maryland, and he knew that the
army could not completely cross  the  Potomac  River  before
morning.                                                    

What  was  Lee trying to accomplish once he began a retreat?
His  intent  was  to  recross   the   upper   Potomac   near
Williamsport  and  get  into McClellan's rear.  This changed
with the Battle of Shepherdstown.   Lee  ordered  the  whole
army  to  march  back  toward the battlefield to repulse the
Union attack.  Only Powell Hill's division  could  make  it.
The  army  was  simply  worn out.  Lee reluctantly ended the
campaign.   He  had  fought  almost  with  a  bloodlust   at
Sharpsburg hoping for a victory, but it had eluded him.     


Announcements


Confederate Heritage Day

On  Saturday,  April  28,  Pamplin  Historical  Park  &  The
National  Museum  of  the  Civil War Soldier near Petersburg
will sponsor Confederate Heritage Day.  Members of the  Sons
of   Confederate   Veterans  and  United  Daughters  of  the
Confederacy will memorialize and honor soldiers  who  served
in  the  Southern  armies  with  a  wreath  laying ceremony.
Professor Edward Smith of American University will speak  on
the role of blacks in the Confederacy and what the legacy of
the Confederacy means to African-Americans today.  Dr.  Brian
Steel  Wills  of  University  of  Virginia-Wise  will give a
presentation on Nathan Bedford  Forrest  in  which  he  will
discuss  the  evolving  image  of  that Confederate general.
Signature Theater of Arlington,  Virginia,  will  present  a
one-man play "The Road to Appomattox." In it, Robert E.  Lee
is seen on the eve of his surrender to Ulysses S.  Grant and
reflects   on  the  events  of  the  Civil  War.   For  more
information, call Pamplin Historical Park at 861-2408.      


Fredericksburg National Cemetery Program

On May 26, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania  County  National
Military Park will sponsor a luminaria at the Fredericksburg
National Cemetery.  Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will place  a
luminaria at each of the 15,300 graves.  The candles are lit
at sunset, and a military bugler plays "Taps"  every  thirty
minutes throughout the program, which runs from 8 p.  m.  to
11 p. m.                                                    

Throughout the night, visitors are encouraged to stop at six
different points of interest in the cemetery.  At each stop,
volunteers give a short,  two-minute  presentation  about  a
certain  aspect  of  the cemetery's history.  This year, for
the first time, Civil War Round Tables  from  the  area  are
being invited to take part in the program.  Participants, as
a group, will man one of the stops on the tour.             

To be a participant in the program, volunteers  must  be  at
least  16  years old, have strong voices, and be comfortable
talking to large groups.  Speakers  will  have  to  memorize
information that they will be presenting to the public.  The
National Park Service will provide a  short,  one-page  fact
sheet  to  each  group  for that purpose.  Volunteers should
memorize  the  content  of  the  sheet   and   present   the
information  in  their  own words.  They should not read the
information on the night of the event  except  in  instances
where  there  is  a  quote.   Anyone  interested  in being a
participant should contact Sam Craghead  at  or  before  the
April meeting and get full details.                         


Member Asks for Assistance

Bobby Krick is seeking a tape recording of the talk given to
the  Round  Table  by Andrew Lytle in November 1983.  Anyone
who has or knows of  such  a  recording  should  call  Bobby
during the day at 226-1981.                                 


Ukrop's Gift Certificates

Once again, Round Table members are encouraged to save  your
Ukrop's   Golden   Gift   Certificates  to  aid  battlefield
preservation.  This year your efforts will go  to  help  the
newly  formed  Richmond  Battlefields Association (RBA).  In
future newsletters, there will be additional information  on
this effort and on the RBA.                                 


Books We'd Like to See

The Civil War is  the  most  documented  and  written  about
period  of  American  history.  With that in mind, there are
still a few titles  remaining  to  be  written.   (Shameless
stolen   from   the   Cincinnati   Civil   War  Round  Table
Newsletter.)                                                

Joseph E. Johnston's Guide to Retreating                    
My Guide to the Best Bourbons (in two volumes),             
	by James Ledlie                                     
Stashing Your Headquarters in Your Hindquarters,            
	by John Pope                                        
Whipping Bobby Lee: A New Comedy in Three Acts,             
	by George B. McClellan                              
Sherman: A Passion for Pyro                                 
Joe Hooker's Guide to Washington Nightspots, in 3 volumes   
Albert S. Johnston's Guide to Simple First Aid              
Elephant Hunting in Virginia, by John Sedgwick              


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