John Coski, President                  Rob Monroe, Editor       
5028 King William Road                 2416 Edenbrook Dr.       
Richmond, VA 23225                     Richmond, VA 23228-3040  
jmcoski@peoplepc.com                   RMonroe500@comcast.net   
 June 2008 PROGRAM

Craig L. Symonds
"Lincoln and his Admirals"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 10, 2008, 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.

President Abraham Lincoln  had  barely  taken  the  oath  of
office  when  the  Civil  War  broke  out.  Though he lacked
technical military knowledge, Lincoln grew quickly into  the
job as Commander in Chief.                                  

Our  June  speaker Dr.  Craig L.  Symonds will share with us
what he believes were the keys to Lincoln's emergence  as  a
wartime  commander.   Using  examples  from  the president's
management of the U.S.  Navy, including his handling of  the
Trent  Affair,  Dr.  Symonds will suggest that Lincoln often
employed a management strategy of avoiding  decision  making
until circumstances dictated a solution.                    

The  presentation  also  will  focus on Lincoln's supporting
cast in the area of naval  operations:  Gideon  Welles,  Gus
Fox,  David  Farragut,  David  Dixon  Porter, Samuel Francis
DuPont and Charles Wilkes.                                  

According to Dr.  Symonds,  Lincoln  preferred  a  hands-off
management  role.   Once he found a command team he trusted,
he backed off and let that team run the war.  However, there
were  times when he got deeply involved in planning combined
operations.                                                 

"Lincoln and his Admirals" is the subject  of  research  Dr.
Symonds  did  for  a new book on the subject that is due out
this fall.  He is the author of ten other  books,  including
prize-winning  biographies  of  Joseph E.  Johnston, Patrick
Cleburne, and Franklin Buchanan.  He is  Professor  Emeritus
at the United States Naval Academy, from which he retired in
2005.                                                       


RBA Announcements

The Richmond Battlefields Association (RBA)  will  hold  its
annual meeting and tour on Saturday, June 14 from 10 a.m.  to
2 p.m.  This year's events will take place  at  White  House
Landing,  an  almost  forgotten  place of supreme historical
importance.  Used by Native Americans  for  centuries,  this
site  on  the  Pamunkey River now sits across the shore from
today's Pamunkey Indian reservation.                        

It was settled and farmed by colonist John Custis.  He  left
a   wealthy   widow,  Martha,  who  here  met,  married  and
honeymooned with an up-and-coming Virginia  Militia  officer
named  George  Washington.   White House Farm passed through
the Custis family to Robert E.  Lee's son,  Rooney.   Father
and  son  both  toiled  here  to  restore  the plantation to
profitability.  Mrs.  R.E.  Lee spent much of the early days
of  the  war here until it was occupied by the Union Army of
the Potomac.  It was a key  component  of  McClellan's  1862
Peninsula Campaign to take Richmond.  The home "White House"
was burned by Federal troops during the "Change of Base."   

The home that Rooney Lee rebuilt on the foundation was  also
lost  to  fire  in  the  late  19th century.  Today only the
foundation  and  a  springhouse  remain.   This  is  a  rare
opportunity to soak up centuries of American history at this
privately-held site.   Speakers  will  include  Jim  Harris,
Robert K. Krick, and Robert E. Lee Krick.                   

This  event  is  open  to  the  general  public  and the RBA
recommends bringing a lawn chair and picnic lunch.  So  they
may  plan  appropriately,  the  RBA asks attendees to please
RSVP  at  this   link:   admin@saverichmondbattlefields.org.
Directions  to  9980  Rockahock  Bar Road in New Kent can be
found on the RBA website:  www.saverichmondbattlefields.org 

The RBA is aggressively collecting the Ukrop's  Golden  Gift
certificates  again  this  year.   The  RBA  kindly requests
anyone looking for a deserving home for  their  certificates
to bring them to the June 10 meeting where Dave West will be
collecting them.  The deadline for the RBA to turn  them  in
for  cash  is June 14, so this is the last opportunity.  You
may also mail your certificates to:                         

Dave West           
88 West Square Drive
Richmond, VA  23238 


Library of Virginia to Host Lectures

Caroline E.  Janney will be at the Library  of  Virginia  on
Thursday,  June  12 to discuss and sign Burying the Dead but
Not the Past.  Her new book restores the place  of  southern
white  women  as  central  to the Lost Cause Movement as the
creators and purveyors of Confederate tradition between 1865
and   1915.   In  Virginia  alone,  these  Ladies'  Memorial
Associations relocated and reinterred the  remains  of  more
than  72,000 soldiers, nearly 28% of the 260,000 Confederate
soldiers who perished in the war.   Janney  argues  that  in
identifying themselves as mothers and daughters in mourning,
LMA members crafted a sympathetic Confederate position  that
Republicans,  northerners,  and,  in  some  cases,  southern
African Americans, could find palatable.  This free  lecture
begins at noon in the Library's conference rooms.           

On  Saturday  evening, June 28, two-time Oscar-winning actor
Gene Hackman and  leading  underwater  archaeologist  Daniel
Lenihan  will  discuss Escape from Andersonville: A Novel of
the  Civil  War.   Their  third  co-authored   book   is   a
meticulously  researched  and  explosive  story of one man's
escape from the notorious Confederate  prison  camp-and  his
dramatic  return  to  save  his  men.  The event is free but
reservations are required by calling (804)692-3813 by June 24


New Exhibition Takes a Look at the Common Soldier

The average Confederate soldier  spent  more  time  fighting
disease  than  fighting  the  enemy.   Of  the approximately
260,000 Confederate soldiers who died-166,000 of those  died
from disease.  The Museum of the Confederacy recently opened
"Between the Battles,"  a  new  exhibit  that  explores  the
personal  items  of  the common soldier and the hard life of
"Johnny Reb." The uniforms, flags, personal possessions  and
letters of common Confederate soldiers will be on display to
bring light to what soldier life was like in camp, away from
battle.                                                     

The Museum of the Confederacy was founded to preserve all of
the icons of the Confederacy, not just those of  the  famous
generals.   Robert  Hancock, Director of Collections and the
curator for the  exhibition,  stated,  "It  affords  us  the
opportunity  to  talk  about  the  Confederate  soldier as a
person, with all the attendant hopes, fears and desires, and
not just another nameless statistic on a casualty list.  And
you'll hear their stories from the soldiers  themselves,  as
much  of  the  label  copy consists of quotes taken directly
from soldiers' letters and diaries."                        

Some of the artifacts on display will tell  the  stories  of
the  individual men who fought for the freedom of the South.
These stories tell the  personal  side  of  the  Civil  War.
Private  Thomas  Parks Gooch was 19 when he joined Co.  C of
the 20th Mississippi Infantry in June 1861.  He was captured
twice-at   Fort  Donelson,  Tennessee,  and  Edwards  Ferry,
Mississippi-and spent more than two years  in  U.S.   prison
camps.   Gooch  survived  the  war and was paroled from Fort
Delaware in June 1865.                                      

The exhibit will also display items from daily life in camp,
including  playing  cards and games, items from a haversack,
letters between soldiers and  their  families,  and  musical
instruments  such  as  the  violin and case that belonged to
Pvt.  Joseph Long Harris of Co.  I, 32nd  Georgia  Infantry.
Hancock  explained that "This exhibit gives us the chance to
display items from the Museum's rich collection of artifacts
that  do  not  always  fit well into our battles and leaders
style exhibit, 'The Confederate Years.'"                    

Hancock hopes that museum patrons  will  identify  with  the
common  soldiers  and  "come  away  from  the exhibit with a
better understanding of (as one Confederate soldier put  it)
'what a soldier has to encounter with.'"                    


Pamplin Park Hosts Civil War Weekend

Pamplin Historical Park and The National Museum of the Civil
War  Soldier  are  inviting history enthusiasts and families
alike to the 12th annual Civil War Weekend on Saturday, June
21  and  Sunday,  June  22.   This  year's event will enable
visitors to experience tactical, artillery, and  small  arms
demonstrations.  Guests may participate in an 1860s baseball
game, and learn how the rules have changed.  Attendees  will
have  an  opportunity  to see how communication and medicine
have  drastically  changed  by  exploring   telegraphs   and
19th-century medical procedures.                            

There will be blacksmith demonstrations, Civil War-era music
by The 97th Regimental  String  Band,  and  a  mortar-firing
competition between Union and Confederate re-enactors. David
Jones, author of Two Brothers, will discuss his  book  about
the  Prentiss  brothers  who fought on opposite sides during
the breakthrough battle of April 2, 1865.                   

The Park's daily general admission prices, $15  for  adults,
$13.50  for  military  with  ID  and seniors 62+, and $9 for
children ages 6-12, include admission to Civil War  Weekend.
The  Park  is open from 9 a.m.  to 6 p.m.  on Saturday, June
21 and  9  a.m.   to  5  p.m.   on  Sunday,  June  22.   All
activities associated with the two-day event will take place
at the Park's Hart Farm events area off Duncan  Road,  Route
670.                                                        


UR Course to Study Gordon and Chamberlain

This  summer,  the  University  of  Richmond's   School   of
Continuing  Studies  will  offer  a course that explores the
lives of Generals Joshua L.  Chamberlain and John B. Gordon.
"Two  American Civil War Heroes: Lives That Counted" will be
taught by current Richmond Civil War Round Table member  and
former  Chief  of Military History, U.S.  Army BG (Ret) John
W.  Mountcastle.                                            

Many fascinating personal stories came out of the Civil War,
but perhaps none more interesting than the saga of two young
men; one from Maine, the other from Georgia.  While  neither
had  been  trained  as  a  soldier, they both volunteered to
serve.  Each  was  a  heroic  battlefield  leader,  suffered
serious wounds, and survived to rise to great heights during
and after the war.                                          

This  short  course  (2  lectures)  will  focus   upon   the
extraordinary   accomplishments   of   Generals   Joshua  L.
Chamberlain of Maine, and John B.  Gordon of Georgia.  Their
stories  are  amazing  not only because of who they were and
what  they  accomplished,  but  by  their  almost   mystical
connections as 19th century American heroes.                

Classes  will  meet  from 7 to 9 p.m.  on consecutive Monday
nights, July 14 and July 21.  Fee for this  course  is  $79.
Call  the  School of Continuing Studies at (804) 289-8133 to
request a copy of the  Think  Again  catalog  for  the  2008
summer  session  or  register  online  by  visiting  the SCS
website at    http://deans.richmond.edu/SCS/thinkagain


RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2008


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