Clark H. Lewis, President         Art & Carol Bergeron, Editors
P. O. Box 1122                    3901 Paces Ferry Road      
Richmond, VA 23218                 Chester, VA 23831-1239   

June 2002 PROGRAM

William A. Young, Jr.

"The Rev. Lt. George W. Finley,
56th Virginia Infantry Regiment,
Army of Northern Virginia"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 11, 2002, at the
Boulevard United Methodist Church, 321 N. Boulevard,
Richmond, VA (corner of Boulevard and Stuart Ave.)

Our speaker is William A.   Young,  Jr.   He  was  born  and
raised  in  Richmond  and is a graduate of the University of
Virginia and the University of Richmond Law  School.   Young
has recently retired from 35 years in the practice of law to
concentrate on making his  hobbies  into  a  vocation.   His
business  is  called  Talks  & Totems.  He is a professional
speaker, writer,  actor,  and  wood  carver.   Young  carves
miniature  totem poles and wooden soldiers of all historical
periods.  He presents first  person  impressions,  including
one of General Douglas MacArthur.                           

Young  has  written  and illustrated two Boy Scout books and
co-authored with his wife the history of the  56th  Virginia
Infantry  for  the Virginia Regimental Histories Series.  He
also writes and illustrates articles for every issue of  The
Confederate  Veteran,  the  Max  Gazette, and Crossfire, the
newsletter of the  American  Civil  War  Roundtable  of  the
United   Kingdom.    His  articles  have  appeared  in  such
magazines as America's Civil War, Blue and Gray,  and  North
South Trader.                                               

At  the  meeting,  Young  will  portray George W.  Finley, a
first lieutenant in the 56th Virginia who  was  captured  at
the  Battle  of  Gettysburg,  spent two years in six Federal
prisons, and became a Presbyterian minister after  the  war.
Young  will bring two photographs of George Finley with him.
One is a wedding portrait of Finley and his  wife,  and  the
other  is  of  Finley in his later years.  Young is the same
age today that Finley was in 1902, and he will be dressed as
Finley  actually  looked in 1902.  Young will speak to us in
the first person in the year 1902 as Finley  looks  back  38
years  to  his  participation in Pickett's Charge on July 3,
1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg.  The story is  all  true,
and much of it is in Finley's own words.                    


Review of the May Program


Frank A.  O'Reilly made an informative presentation on  "The
Last  Days  of  Stonewall  Jackson." He pointed out that the
general had died 139 years ago from the time of the meeting.
Thomas   Jonathan  "Stonewall"  Jackson  has  been  seen  as
something of a sphinx, an elusive man who was  difficult  to
fathom.   According  to O'Reilly, Jackson final days tell us
much about the man and the legacy he left behind.           

On the evening of May 2, 1863, while returning from a  scout
of the Union lines at Chancellorsville, Jackson was fired on
by his own men and received three wounds-one  in  his  right
hand  and  two  in  his left arm.  He was evacuated from the
battlefield and taken to a field hospital.   There  surgeons
extracted  the  ball  from  Jackson's hand and amputated his
left arm.  From the field hospital,  Jackson  was  taken  to
Guinea  Station,  a  trip  that  took  fifteen  hours.   His
ultimate destination was Richmond, but a Union cavalry  raid
had  cut  the  railroad  line  to  the  Confederate capital,
delaying the transfer.                                      

Dr.  Hunter H.  McGuire sent a rider from  the  hospital  to
arrange  accommodations  at  the  Chandler  house  near  the
station.  Because the home was infected with strep,  one  of
Chandler's  outbuildings  was  commandeered, and Jackson was
placed  in  Chandler's  office  in  that  cottage.   McGuire
remained  with Jackson, monitoring his condition closely and
changing his bandages constantly.   Jackson  seemed  relaxed
and became talkative.  He appeared healthy and on his way to
recovery.  Stonewall spoke  of  the  battle  and  about  the
operation.   He also mentioned having heard music during the
surgery.  This must have been the sound of the saw  removing
his arm.                                                    

With  all  of  these positive signs, McGuire finally went to
sleep on May 6.  Jackson  woke  up  that  day  in  a  fever.
McGuire  was  wakened,  and he saw the signs of pneumonia in
the general's condition.  O'Reilly pointed out that  Jackson
had  probably been ill before he was shot.  The shock of the
event masked the symptoms of  the  disease.   McGuire  tried
valiantly  to  save Jackson and recruited five other doctors
to assist him.                                              

Mrs.  Anna Jackson finally reached her husband's side.  When
she  arrived,  he  did not recognize her.  The pneumonia was
advancing rapidly.  Jackson's condition during his last days
was  erratic.  At times he was lucid, at others he was close
to a coma.  McGuire and the other surgeons could not tell if
he  was  getting better or sinking.  Reverend Beverly Tucker
Lacy had spent every day with Jackson.  On May 10, during  a
time of consciousness, Jackson ordered him to take a message
to General Robert E.  Lee.  Lacy told Lee that  Jackson  was
dying, and the general became openly agitated.  He sent Lacy
back to Jackson with a message of love, but Lacy arrived  45
minutes too late.                                           

During  his  last days, Jackson listed to his wife read from
the Bible and sang psalms with her.  She told  him  that  he
was  dying, and he said that he had accepted his fate.  Mrs.
Jackson  asked  where  he  wished  to  be   buried.    After
mentioning  Charlotte and Charlottesville, he said he wished
to be placed in his own plot in Lexington.  He  allowed  her
to  bring  in  their  child and place her on the bed next to
him.  He cooed at the baby.  Finally, Jackson began speaking
of  the battle and speaking about some of his generals.  His
last words, "Let us cross over the river and rest under  the
shade of the trees," were spoken sweetly.                   

O'Reilly pointed out that during these last days Jackson let
us know what made him Stonewall and what was most  important
to him as a man.                                            




 Announcements 

Richmond Battlefields Association Event

The Richmond  Battlefields  Association  is  sponsoring  its
first  annual tour on Thursday, June 27, at the Gaines' Mill
battlefield.  The tour will begin at 6:30 p.m.  at the  Watt
House  and  will  be led by Ed Bearss and R.  E.  L.  Krick.
This will be 140 years to  the  day_to  the  hour_after  the
battle.   No  reservations  or  fee required.  Check the Web
site, www.saverichmondbattlefields.org,  for further updates.


Museum of the Confederacy Seeks Volunteers

The Museum of the Confederacy  will  hold  its  annual  fund
raising  event weekend, Celebrate South, on April 4-6, 2003.
Each year the event recognizes a different  southern  state,
and  Florida will be the theme for 2003.  Guests from around
the country will enjoy  educational  events,  workshops,  an
auction,  and  the annual Civil War-themed ball, which comes
complete with period costumes and dancing.   Information  on
this  event  will  be  posted  as  it  become  available  at
www.moc.org.  Celebrate South is planned by a  committee  of
dedicated  and  interested  volunteers.   Several  committee
positions are currently open.  Those interested  in  finding
out  more  about  participating on the committee may contact
Larisa Morano at (804) 649-1861, ext. 44.                   


Round Table Makes Donations

President Clark Lewis announced at the May meeting that  the
Round   Table   will   make   donations   to  the  following
organizations-Museum of the Confederacy  ($1,000),  Richmond
Battlefields Association ($500), and Pamplin Historical Park
($500).                                                     


Pamplin Historical Park Programs

Pamplin Historical Park near Petersburg will hold two "Focus
Weekend"  special  programs  during  the month of June.  The
first will be on June 22-23-"With  Spade  and  Shovel."  The
focus  of  this  weekend  will  be  the Confederate Engineer
Corps.  Re-enactors will portray  soldiers,  civilians,  and
artificers  who constructed earthworks during the Civil War.
At  the  Fortifications   Exhibit,   soldiers   will   build
obstructions   (gabions  and  cheveux-de-frise),  will  have
entrenching tools and  other  items  on  display,  and  will
interpret  life  in a Civil War engineer company.  "Pastimes
and Playtimes" will be held on June 29-30.  Visitors will be
introduced  to  nineteenth  century children's games, parlor
games, and the games played by Civil War soldiers. Scheduled
activities  will offer competition between visitors and Park
staff.  Visitors will receive token  prizes  for  successful
participation.    For   more   information,   call   Pamplin
Historical Park at (804) 861-2408.                          


RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2002


Newsletter Deadlines

To facilitate the printing and timely  distribution  of  the
monthly  newsletter,  information for it should be submitted
to the editors no later than the following dates:           

June 21 for July;July 19 for August;August 23 for September;
September 20 for October; October 18 for November;          
and November 22 for December                                


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