Richard Forrester, President           Rob Monroe, Editor       
8008 Spottswood Road                   2416 Edenbrook Dr.       
Richmond, VA 23229                     Richmond, VA 23228-3040  
dforrester@verizon.net                 RMonroe500@comcast.net   
June 2005 PROGRAM

Mr. William W. Bergen
"Two Commanders, Two Armies, Two Objectives:  
The Overland Campaign of 1864"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 10, 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.

William W.  "Bill" Bergen has been obsessed with  the  Civil
War  for  nearly  as  long as he can remember.  He holds the
distinction of nearly  flunking  fourth  grade  because  his
teacher said his only talking about the Civil War was a sign
of a problem.  Notwithstanding that near-setback, he went on
to  become  apparently the only Civil War military historian
Vassar College has ever produced.                           

In addition to leading battlefield tours for  more  than  30
years, Bergen has lectured widely on the Civil War, and is a
regular instructor at the University  of  Virginia's  annual
Civil  War conference where he is the resident expert on the
Army of the Potomac.  He is the author of "The Other Hero of
Cedar  Creek:  The  'Not  Specially  Ambitious'  Horatio  G.
Wright," a lengthy biographical essay that will be published
later  this  year by University of North Carolina Press.  He
is engaged in a long-term study of how politics affected the
designation of general officers in the Army of the Potomac. 

Bergen  holds a masters degree in public administration from
UVa, and is an assistant dean of the university's law school
where  he  handles  a  variety  of assignments for the Dean,
including facilities planning and admissions.  He will speak
to  the  Round  Table on what Lee and Grant faced before the
Overland Campaign.                                          



Summary of May Meeting

It  would  be  almost  impossible  to  find   someone   more
knowledgeable  about the Battle of Fredericksburg than Frank
O'Reilly.  An author of acclaimed books on the subject and a
Park Service historian, O'Reilly decided to take a different
approach when he spoke at the May meeting of Richmond  Civil
War  Round  Table.   Rather than give a standard overview of
the December 1862 clash  along  the  Rappahannock,  O'Reilly
focused  instead  on the more obscure details and overlooked
facts about the battle and the events leading up to it.     

Who  planned  the   Fredericksburg   Campaign?    McClellan?
Burnside?   O'Reilly said there was no correct answer.  Soon
after replacing McClellan in  November  1862,  Burnside  met
with  Henry Halleck to discuss what direction the Union army
should take next.  Halleck attempted to persuade Burnside to
go  through  Culpeper  where  he  could  be supplied via the
Orange and Alexandria Railroad.  Also, argued  Halleck,  the
streams  and rivers would not be as wide there as they would
be closer to the Chesapeake Bay.                            

Burnside could not be convinced.  He believed  supply  lines
would not be as threatened in Fredericksburg.  The Richmond,
Fredericksburg  and  Potomac  Railroad  could  be   defended
easier,   Burnside  countered,  and  pontoon  bridges  would
alleviate the  problem  of  crossing  a  wide  river.   This
illustrated   a   basic  difference  between  McClellan  and
Burnside, O'Reilly observed.  Burnside dug in his  heels  to
do  something  while  his  predecessor  dug  in  not  to  do
something.  No doubt Lincoln liked this change  of  attitude
and agreed with Burnside.                                   

Ulric  Dahlgren  was  sent  to  Fredericksburg  and found it
undefended but Union delays allowed Lee  time  to  mass  his
troops  there.   By the time of the battle, Lee's 78,000 men
met Burnside's 135,000.  The two armies would never be  this
large again.                                                

The  south  side  of  the  battlefield  was  more important,
O'Reilly stated, but Burnside never recognized it  as  such.
The  general's  crisis  at  Marye's  Heights made him forget
about the south battlefield.  He attacked the north side  of
the  battlefield  seven  times  but  made only one offensive
action to the south.  At  Prospect  Hill,  Jackson's  35,000
Confederates  easily repulsed the 8,000 federals.  Attacking
Stonewall, O'Reilly noted, was usually a "career-ender"  for
Union generals.                                             

On  December  11,  1862,  Fredericksburg  became  the  first
American city to be bombarded (by Union forces).   The  city
was  also  the  unwilling  site of urban conflict, the first
street fighting in American history.  It was also the  first
American  city  to  be  looted  since  British forces sacked
Washington in 1814.                                         

Pamplin Park Hosts Old Time Fair

Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil
War  Soldier  will  host its Fifth Annual "Old Time Fair" on
Saturday and Sunday, June 25 and 26.  The park will  combine
Civil  War  era  living  history with the fun of a mid-1800s
county fair.  The 19th century entertainment includes music,
dancing,  food  and  activities for the entire family at the
park near Petersburg in Dinwiddie County.                   

Special Programs Planned
at Gaines Mill and Malvern Hill

The Richmond National  Battlefield  Park  will  be  offering
special  programs  at the sites of two famous clashes of the
Seven Days Battles of 1862.  On Saturday and Sunday, June 25
and  26,  the Gaines Mill anniversary program will include a
living history encampment, park ranger guided tours,  musket
firing demonstrations and historical talks.  Events will run
from 10am to 5pm Saturday and 10am to 4pm Sunday.           

On the  first  two  Friday  nights  in  July,  the  Richmond
National  Battlefield  Park  will  host  special  History at
Sunset programs, "King of Battle: Artillery at Malvern Hill"
on  July 1, and "Behind the Lines: Gaines's Mill" on July 8.
Both events are free and begin at 7pm on the battlefields.  

On Saturday and Sunday, July 9 and 10, the Richmond National
Battlefield  Park  will  present  a Malvern Hill anniversary
program.  Special activities  include  Union  artillery  and
Confederate  infantry  demonstrations,  park  ranger  guided
tours, musket firing  demonstrations  and  historical  talks
throughout  the  weekend.   Events will run from 10am to 5pm
Saturday and 10am to 4pm Sunday.  An added bonus  on  Sunday
will be a special walking tour exploring the eastern half of
the Malvern Hill battlefield on lands recently added to  the
park.                                                       

Lunchtime Lectures Offered in June

The Virginia Historical Society and the Library of  Virginia
will  be  hosting  lectures  in  June  that  are  of special
interest to Civil War enthusiasts.   At  noon  on  Thursday,
June  16,  at  the  Virginia  Historical  Society, Donald M.
Wilkinson will present a talk on  "The  Most  Good  for  the
Confederacy:   Capt.    John  Wilkinson  CSN."  Capt.   John
Wilkinson was the foremost blockade runner of the Civil  War
but  also  engaged  in  commerce  raiding,  construction  of
ironclads,  covert  operations,  and  purchasing  ships  and
supplies  abroad.   He was the only naval officer to command
every type of vessel operated by  the  Confederacy.   Donald
Wilkinson  is  writing  a  biography of this prominent naval
figure and will speak on  his  wartime  career  and  on  the
Confederate government's overall naval strategy.            

At  noon  on Thursday, June 30, The Library of Virginia will
host Peter S.  Carmichael speaking on "The Last  Generation:
Young  Virginians  in  Peace,  War  and  Reunion." Assistant
professor of history at the University of North Carolina  at
Greensboro,  Carmichael  will  discuss  his  new  book  that
challenges the popular conception of Southern youth  on  the
eve  of  the  Civil  War as intellectually lazy, violent and
dissipated.  Carmichael examines the lives of more than  100
young  white  men from Virginia's last generation to grow up
with the institution  of  slavery.   He  finds  them  deeply
engaged  in  the  political, economic and cultural forces of
their time.  By examining  the  lives  of  members  of  this
generation  on personal as well as generational and cultural
levels, Carmichael sheds new  light  on  the  formation  and
reformation  of  Southern identity during the turbulent last
half of the nineteenth century.  A book signing will  follow
the free talk.                                              

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