First Vice President:                   Rob Monroe, Editor       
Richard Forrester                       2416 Edenbrook Dr.       
Second Vice President:                  Richmond, VA 23228-3040  
Shep Parsons                            RMonroe500@comcast.net   
April 2005 PROGRAM

Mr. Hunter Lesser
"Robert E. Lee's Forlorn Hope:
Western Virginia, 1861"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 12, 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.

Hunter Lesser has had a 20-year career as  an  archaeologist
and  historical interpreter.  His writings on America's past
have spanned topics from ancient Native  American  sites  to
Kentucky  moonshine stills.  A resident of Elkins, WV, and a
lifelong student of the Civil War, he served as a  technical
advisor   for   the   Conservation   Fund's  The  Civil  War
Battlefield Guide.  He is the author of Rebels at the  Gate:
Lee  and  McClellan  on  the  Front Line of a Nation Divided
(Sourcebooks 2004), a History Book Club main selection.     

Confederate General Robert  E.   Lee's  role  in  the  first
campaign of the Civil War is a neglected chapter in American
history.   Lee's  attempt  to  reclaim  mountainous  Western
Virginia  for  the  Confederacy  ended in failure.  Nebulous
orders, divided  loyalties,  and  bitter  weather  conspired
against Lee.  The general's aide-de-camp was killed, his son
nearly lost, and Lee himself dodged capture and  death.   He
left  the  region  with  a  diminished  reputation  and  the
unflattering nickname "Granny Lee." Yet this "forlorn  hope"
expedition  laid  the groundwork for Lee's legendary rapport
with the troops, secured a famous warhorse, and  shaped  his
stellar military career.                                    

Symposium Will Focus on War's End

The Museum of the Confederacy and the  Library  of  Virginia
are  combining  forces  again  to present a symposium titled
"Beyond April 1865." Taking place  on  Saturday,  April  23,
this   daylong   program  will  bring  together  four  noted
historians: Noah A.  "Andy" Trudeau, David  W.   Blight,  D.
Alan  Harris  and  Mark  L.  Bradley.  They will discuss the
diverse events, perspectives, and interpretations of the end
of the war.                                                 

Trudeau  is author of Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage; Like
Men of War: Black Troops in the Civil War 1862-1865,  and  a
trilogy  on  the  last year of the war, including Out of the
Storm: The End of the Civil War, April-June 1865.  Blight is
a  professor  of history at Yale University, director of the
Gilder-Lehrman Center, and author of Race and  Reunion:  The
Civil  War  in  American  Memory  1865-1915.   Harris  is  a
professor of history emeritus at Old Dominion University and
co-editor  of  The Voyage of the CSS Shenandoah: A Memorable
Cruise.  Bradley is author of Last Stand in  the  Carolinas:
The  Battle  of  Bentonville  and This Astounding Close: The
Road to Bennett Place.                                      

At the end of the program, the panelists will lead a general
discussion  about the war's end and the implications of 1865
for subsequent American history.  Did April 1865 really save
America and usher in an era of sectional reconciliation?    

The  symposium  will  be  held  in  the  lecture hall of the
Library of Virginia, 800 E.  Broad St.   in  Richmond.   The
cost  is  $15  for  Museum  of  the  Confederacy members and
Library of Virginia donors, $20  for  others.   Reservations
are  required  and  forms  may be found on the Museum of the
Confederacy's website, www.moc.org                          

Festival Celebrates
Hanover County's Civil War History

The Cold Harbor Guards, Sons of  Confederate  Veterans  Camp
#1764,  will  present  the  Second  Annual Dixie Days on the
weekend of May 6-8.  The three-day festival  will  celebrate
Hanover  County's  storied  involvement  in  the  Civil War.
Attractions  will   include   period   encampments,   music,
educational    exhibits,    military   demonstrations,   and
reenactments of the Battle of Bethesda Church on Saturday at
2pm and Sunday at noon.                                     

The  event will be held at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville
and is designed to  promote  and  preserve  the  history  of
Hanover County in the 1860's.  For more information, see the
Guard's  website,  www.ColdHarborGuards.com or  call  (804)
512-7210.                                                   

Upcoming Events

April 16-17                                          
"Last Capital of the Confederacy Anniversary Weekend" at the
Sutherlin  Mansion  in Danville.  Living history encampment,
demonstrations and van tours of Danville's Civil War  sites.
(434) 793-5644 or www.danvillemuseum.org

April 21                                          
Historian  Frank  O'Reilly  speaks   on   "The   Battle   of
Fredericksburg."  7-8:30pm  at  the Fredericksburg Campus on
Germanna Community College, Room 114.  Free.                


May 1                                            
Civil War Fashion Show and Tea at Mulberry Hill  Plantation,
Staunton River Battlefield State Park in Halifax Co.  2-5pm.
Free.  (434) 454-4312 or www.stauntonriverbattlefield.org

May 1                                            
"Civil War Encampment and Freedman's Farm," on  the  grounds
of  James  Madison's  home,  Montpelier in Orange Co.  2 pm.
(540) 672-2728 or www.montpelier.org

History Center Offers
Comprehensive Look at Civil War Richmond

On April  16,  the  Valentine  Richmond  History  Center  is
offering  visitors  a  comprehensive look at the city in the
1860s.  The "Civil War Sampler"  is  a  four-hour  bus  tour
exploring  the unique role Richmond played as the Capital of
the Confederacy.  Chimborazo,  Libby  Prison,  the  infamous
Belle Isle and the Evacuation Fire will all be covered.  The
tour begins in the city, then drives  through  Church  Hill,
Shockoe  Bottom,  the Court End and the canal area, stopping
at the Soldiers  and  Sailors  Monument  and  Tredegar  Iron
Works.   Participants  will be driven by Hollywood Cemetery,
Monument Avenue and out to the battlefields, with  stops  at
Gaines Mill and Cold Harbor.                                

Running  from  1-4pm,  the  tour  is $18 for adults, $15 for
History Center members, veterans and children 6 to 18  years
old.   The  price includes admission the History Center that
day, there is no charge for children under 6.               

Pamplin Park to Host
Special Events in April and May

Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil
War  Soldier will present the Ninth Annual Civil War Weekend
on April 16 and 17.  In addition to the park's daily  events
and  activities,  visitors  will  be  able to relive the war
through the sights, sounds and  smells  experienced  by  the
soldiers  themselves.   The  event also marks the opening of
the park's Civil War Adventure Camp,  billed  as  "America's
only  Civil  War immersion experience." Participants will be
"enlisted" as privates and travel back in time to experience
life as a Civil War soldier.                                

On May 6-8, Pamplin Park is hosting its Second Annual Spring
Tour, "1865: Petersburg to Appomattox."  A.   Wilson  Greene
and  other  noted  historians  will travel to well-known and
lesser-known sites associated with the  closing  battles  of
the  Civil  War  in  Virginia.  Stops include Hatcher's Run,
Lewis Farm, White Oak Road, Five  Forks,  Ft.   Gregg,  A.P.
Hill   death  site,  Sutherland  Station,  Namozine  Church,
Sailor's Creek and Appomattox Court House.  The program will
open  Friday evening, May 6 at 6pm with a reception followed
by dinner  and  a  presentation  by  noted  historian  Chris
Calkins  of  the  National  Park  Service.  An optional tour
covering the Wilson-Kautz Raid is available during  the  day
of May 6 and is limited to 40 participants.                 

The  $249  registration  fee  includes  tours,  lectures and
meals.  The Wilson-Kautz Tour is an additional $50.  A  copy
of the registration form may be found on the park's website,
www.pamplinpark.org   The park may be contacted  by  calling
toll-free 1-877-PAMPLIN.                                    

Roanoke Seminar Examines Civil War Navy

The  Roanoke  Civil  War  Round  Table,   Virginia   Western
Community  College and the Civil War Preservation Trust will
present a seminar focusing on naval efforts during the Civil
War.   "Smokestacks  &  Pivot  Guns" will be held Friday and
Saturday, May 20  and  21,  at  Virginia  Western  Community
College in Roanoke.                                         

Speakers  include  David  Duncan (Director of Membership and
Development,  Civil  War  Preservation  Trust),  William  C.
"Jack"  Davis  (Director  of  Programs,  Virginia Center for
Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech),  David  Coles  (history
professor,  Longwood),  Spencer C.  Tucker (retired chair of
military history, VMI), R.  Thomas Campbell  (author  of  14
books,  contributor  to Confederate Veteran), John Quarstein
(director, Virginia War Museum in Newport  News),  Craig  L.
Symonds (history professor, U.S.  Naval Academy) and Richard
Lewis (Virginia Tourism Corporation).                       

The  seminar's  topics  include   "Civil   War   Battlefield
Preservation"   (Duncan),   "Navy  Secretaries:  Welles  vs.
Mallory" (Davis), "East  Gulf  Blockade  Squadron"  (Coles),
"Andrew   Foote:   Civil  War  Admiral  on  Western  Waters"
(Tucker), "Confederate Commerce  Raiders"  (Campbell),  "CSS
Virginia:  Mistress of Hampton Roads" (Quarstein), "Building
the  Ironclads"  (Symonds)  and  "Battles  of  Mobile   Bay"
(Lewis).                                                    

Registration forms will be available at the April meeting of
the Richmond Civil War Round Table.   The  $95  seminar  fee
includes  all  lectures, materials, a box lunch and a ticket
for the drawing of a naval Civil War print.   Space  in  the
seminar  is  available  on  a  first  paid, first registered
basis.  Forms must be received by May 5,  no  refunds  after
that date.                                                  

RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2005

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