Bernard Fisher, President              Rob Monroe, Editor       
7300 Ann Cabell Lane                   2416 Edenbrook Dr.       
Mechanicsville, VA 23111               Richmond, VA 23228-3040  
bernard.fisher@comcast.net             RMonroe500@comcast.net   
 May 2007 PROGRAM

William W. Freehling

"The Road to Disunion"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 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.

Dr.  William Freehling is one of the leading authorities  on
antebellum  American  politics.   His first book, Prelude to
Civil War: The Nullification Crisis in South  Carolina,  was
published in 1966 and won the Nevins and Bancroft prizes. He
has  edited  books  on  the  Nullification  Crisis  and  the
secession debate in Georgia.  Another book, The South versus
the  South:  How  Anti-Confederate  Southerners  Shaped  the
Course  of  the  Civil  War,  received  The  Museum  of  the
Confederacy's 2001  Jefferson  Davis  Award.   The  Road  to
Disunion,   Volume   I:   Disunionists  at  Bay,  1776-1854,
published in 1990, was a History Book Club  main  selection.
The  long-awaited  second volume of this landmark study, The
Road to Disunion: Secessionists Triumphant,  1854-1861,  was
published  on  April  15  and  is  the main selection of the
History Book Club.  His talk will be an overview of his work
on the coming of the Civil War.                             

Bill  Freehling  is a native of Chicago.  He graduated magna
cum laude from Harvard and earned his M.A.   and  Ph.D.   at
University  of California at Berkeley.  After short teaching
stints at the University of South Carolina, Harvard, and the
University  of  Michigan,  he  taught  for 19 years at Johns
Hopkins University and held the Otis A.  Singletary  Endowed
Chair  in  the Humanities at the University of Kentucky from
1994-2005 and won teaching awards at both  schools.   He  is
married  to Dr.  Alison Goodyear Freehling, who is author of
Drift Toward Dissolution: The  Virginia  Slavery  Debate  of
1831-2.  Fortunately for the RCWRT, the Freehlings "retired"
to Charlottesville (where he  is  a  Senior  Fellow  at  the
Virginia  Foundation for the Humanities) to be closer to two
of their children who are journalists in Fredericksburg  and
Newport  News.   Copies  of Freehling's newly-published book
will be available for sale at the meeting.                  


Pamplin Park's
Spring Tour Examines Overland Campaign

On May 10-13, Pamplin  Historical  Park  will  present  "The
Wilderness  to  North  Anna," a guided tour highlighting the
Civil War's 1864 Overland Campaign.  Based in Fredericksburg
and  led  by  Pamplin  Park's  President  &  CEO, A.  Wilson
Greene, the tour will visit sites,  prominent  and  obscure.
John   Hennessy,   Chief   Historian   of  Fredericksburg  &
Spotsylvania  National  Military  Park,  will  deliver   the
introductory lecture Thursday evening.                      

The  tour  itinerary includes a series of easy to moderately
difficult walks exploring the important  landscapes  of  the
critical battles of The Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House
and North Anna.   A  modern  motor  coach  will  carry  tour
participants  along routes following the historical paths of
the armies.  The tour costs $299 (includes  lectures,  tours
and  most  meals) and reservations are required.  Discounted
rates are available for Pamplin Historical Park Members.    


Two Lectures Scheduled for May 24

We've all heard the old saying, "You can't be in two  places
at  the  same  time."  The  truth  of this statement will be
evident  to  Richmond  Civil  War  enthusiasts  at  noon  on
Thursday,  May  24.   They'll  have  to  choose  between two
thought provoking lectures occurring at the same time.      

At the Virginia Historical Society, Elizabeth Pryor,  author
of Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E.  Lee Through His
Private  Letters,  will   examine   previously   unpublished
correspondence  of  the  Confederate general.  These letters
paint what is perhaps the most intimate picture to  date  of
Lee,  one  that  deftly  analyzes the meaning of his actions
within the context of his  personality,  his  relationships,
and the social tenor of his times.                          

At  the  Library  of  Virginia,  Chandra  Manning, assistant
professor of history at Georgetown University, will offer an
unprecedented  account of why Union and Confederate soldiers
identified slavery as the root cause of the Civil  War,  how
the  conflict  changed troops' ideas about slavery, and what
those changing ideas meant for the war and the nation. Using
soldiers'   letters,  diaries,  and  regimental  newspapers,
Manning's research permits a  better  understanding  of  the
thinking of black and white, northern and southern soldiers.


ACWC Announces Book Signing

In May 1864, Union  and  Confederate  forces  clashed  in  a
densely wooded area of Central Virginia in what became known
as "the Wilderness." In his  1999  book,  Bloody  Promenade:
Reflections   on   a   Civil  War  Battle,  Stephen  Cushman
brilliantly intertwines  eyewitness  accounts,  contemporary
newspapers  and  magazines, memoirs by participants, studies
by historians,  and  even  today's  re-enactors.   The  book
addresses  the legacy of a battle and a war that has left an
indelible memory on the American psyche.                    

Cushman will be at the American Civil War Center at Historic
Tredegar  on Saturday, May 26.  The author will be available
to sign copies of his book which can  be  purchased  in  the
museum's   store.   The  book  signing  is  free  with  paid
admission to the ACWC.  There is  no  admission  charge  for
ACWC members.                                               



Civil War on the Silver Screen

Few events have shaped the  course  of  U.S.   history  more
significantly  than  the  Civil  War.   On  five consecutive
Thursday evenings,  the  Virginia  Historical  Society  will
screen  and  discuss  seminal  Civil War films in the Robins
Family Forum.  The discussions will be led by Dr.   Paul  A.
Levengood,  managing  editor  of  the  Virginia  Magazine of
History  and  Biography  and  program  coordinator  for  the
Reynolds Business History Center.  The films will be:       

May 31  "The General" (1927)              
June 7   "The Red Badge of Courage" (1951)
June 14  "Shenandoah" (1965)              
June 21  "Glory" (1989)                   
June 28  "Pharaoh's Army" (1995)          

The films begin at  5:30  and  are  free  with  regular  VHS
admission.  No reservations are necessary.                  


Walking Tours to Focus on Jefferson Davis

Ever wonder what Richmond was like  during  the  Civil  War?
Wished to walk the streets of the capital of the Confederacy
as the leaders and thinkers of the  South  would  have  seen
them?   The  Museum of the Confederacy will bring history to
life  this  summer  and  fall  in  a  walking  tour   titled
"Jefferson  Davis's  Richmond."  Walk  in  the  shoes of the
embattled leader of the  Confederacy  and  see  Richmond  as
you've never seen it before.                                

The museum will host two walking tours on June 3 at 1:00 and
3:00 as part of a series of activities recognizing Jefferson
Davis's   birthday.    The  tour  will  incorporate  various
anecdotes about Davis and stories of life in Richmond during
the  Civil  War.   Highlights  of  the  tour include Capitol
Square, St.   Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  Davis's  executive
office  building  and  the  sites  of the homes of Alexander
Stephens, Mary Chesnut, Matthew Maury and more.   Space  for
these tours is limited and reservations are required. Please
contact Dean Knight at  dknight@moc.org  or  (804)  649-1861
ext.  37 to reserve a spot.                                 


RBA Announces Annual Tour and Meeting

The Richmond Battlefields Association will hold  its  annual
meeting  on  Saturday,  June  9,  at  Drewry's  Bluff  (Fort
Darling), eight miles  south  of  Richmond  in  Chesterfield
County.   National Park Service historian Robert E.L.  Krick
will lead a walking tour of the site giving special emphasis
to  subjects  and  locations  not  commonly addressed by the
onsite interpretation.                                      

The RBA's annual meeting will follow the  tour.   The  event
will  begin at 10am and last approximately two hours.  It is
free to everyone, including non-members.  Onsite parking  is
available  but not abundant.  Please carpool with friends if
possible.  Direct any questions to the  RBA's  webmaster at:
admin@saverichmondbattlefields.org


Last Chance to
Reserve a Seat for Fredericksburg Field Trip

Only four spots remain for our June  2  field  trip  to  the
Fredericksburg  battlefield.   We  will  visit  the Southern
section  of  the  battlefield  where  some   of   the   most
significant  fighting  took place on Dec.13, 1862.  Together
with our tour leader, Frank O'Reilly, we will follow Meade's
advance  against  Jackson's  line on Prospect Hill.  We also
will tour  Slaughter  Pen  Farm,  which  has  recently  been
preserved  by  the  Civil War Preservation Trust.  This is a
trip you don't want to miss!                                

As a reminder, the bus  will  leave  at  8am  sharp-rain  or
shine-from  the  James  River  Bus  Lines terminal at 915 N.
Allen Street (between Leigh and Broad streets) and return to
that  location  around  5pm.   Please plan to be at there by
7:45am so we  can  get  the  bus  loaded  and  on  the  road
promptly.   Remember to bring your lunch and be prepared for
a lot of walking.                                           

Cost of the trip is $25.   Make  your  reservation  now  and
don't  miss out on this opportunity.  Either mail your check
to Ed Wooldridge or bring it to the  May  meeting;  however,
contact  Ed  ahead  of  time  to  make  sure seats are still
available.                                                  

Make check (payable to RCWRT) to:                      


Ed Wooldridge       
13700 Lintel Lane   
Midlothian, VA 23113

Name _______________________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________________

City _________________________________ State ______ Zip ____________

Phone number and/or email address __________________________________

Number of seats requested ___  X $25 each = $ ________ Total payment

If you have any questions, please contact Ed Wooldridge via phone at
804-897-9840, or e-mail: edwool@comcast.net



RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2007


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