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rcwrt.org
Bert Dunkerly, President               Gary Cowardin, Editor    
2814 E Franklin St.                    1404 Lorraine Ave.       
Richmond, VA 23223                     Richmond, VA 23227-3735  
bd1754@yahoo.com                       cowardin@juno.com        

Bill Chemerka "General Joseph Warren Revere: The Gothic Saga of Paul Revere's Grandson" 7:30pm, Tuesday, June 9, 2015, at the First Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA.,
4602 Cary Street Road, 23226. A parking lot is available behind the church with an entrance off the parking lot to the right and up a few steps into the DINING HALL on the left. Joseph Warren Revere, a grandson of the legendary Paul Revere, served in the United States Navy; circumnavigated the globe; raised the first American flag in Sonoma, California during the Mexican War; battled pirates, sharks, and Native American warriors; searched for gold; authored an important book about early California; had a scandalous affair; joined the Union Army and received a court-martial for his actions at the Battle of Chancellorsville during the Civil War in May 1863. And then he began the fight of his life. Bill Chemerka is an award-winning educator, lecturer and writer. From 1973 to 2002 he taught American history and economics at Madison High School (Madison, NJ) where he earned over 20 teaching awards including the Daughters of the American Revolution's "Outstanding Teacher of American History in the State of New Jersey," the "Governor's Teaching Award," and four "Barret-Caprio Teaching Awards," among others. Bill was a founding member of the North Jersey Civil War Roundtable and received the organization's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. He has also been a Civil War historical interpreter since 1985 (33rd New Jersey) and a Revolutionary War historical interpreter with Daniel Morgan's Rifle Company since 1980. He has been an on-camera commentator/consultant for the History Channel many times. A member of the Screen Actor's Guild, was also a co-writer for The History Channel's Emmy-nominated documentary First Invasion: The War of 1812. He is the writer and associate producer for the independent docu-drama film, The Battle of Bunker Hill, which was released in the fall of 2009. He was also a historical columnist for The Star-Ledger (New Jersey) in the 1990's. The author of a number of books including: Alamo Almanac and Book of Lists The Davy Crockett Almanac and Book of Lists Music of the Alamo: From 19th Century Ballads to Big-Screen Soundtracks Fess Parker: TV's Frontier Hero General Joseph Warren Revere: The Gothic Saga of Paul Revere's Grandson The Battle of Bunker Hill Rock and Roll Recollections: A Journalist's 50-Year Diary Meeting Attendance for: May 2015 = 70 NOTE: Please put on your NAME BADGE on when you arrive for the meeting. (They will be on a table near the back or side of the room.)
Message from Our President Like many of you, I suspect that at times you look around the room at our meetings and wish we had younger members. I think its not for lack of interest that we don't have more younger people attending. They have busy schedules, especially those in school. Which leads me to this. If you know someone who wants to get into the history field, or who is interested and not sure about what to do down the road, encourage them to look into internships or volunteering. This is a great way to get experience. Many of our local institutions, such as the Virginia Historical Society, American Civil War Museum, Valentine, Richmond National Battlefield Park, and others all offer internships to students. This is just one way that we can help younger people enter the field of historic preservation and Civil War scholarship. Bert
RCWRT Annual Field Trip: Appomattox Saturday June 20, 2015 8 AM - 5 PM $35 LAST CHANCE You may have visited Appomattox before but in all likelihood you haven't visited the Appomattox we will tour. Three conditions make this a special trip: (1) The Appomattox Station area (where a battle would have taken place) is open for the first time (2) We are encouraging children or grandchildren to attend (3) It is the sesquicentennial for this event with appropriate NPS attention The Court House or eastern area has been open for years but, until April of this year, the Appomattox Station area has been unavailable. With help from the Civil War Preservation Trust this western property has only recently been acquired, reworked and opened to the public in time for the sesquicentennial. It is scheduled for completion shortly before April 9, 2015, which means with the usual development delays we will be among the first to view it as completed. It was at this site that it became obvious even to diehards that hostilities needed to cease. Terrain features and what lay to the west and north, the proposed escape route for the remains of the Army of Northern Virginia, made the decision obvious. The date was April 7 and 8, 1865. On April 9, 1865, on the eastern grounds or Court House area Lee and Grant met and the actual paper signing took place. By also touring the Court House grounds we will connect the crucial three-day time period with Patrick Schroeder from the NPS as our guide. As a primer I urge you to read Chapter 6 Section 4 of Bruce Catton's A Stillness at Appomattox. You will experience an impressionable and poignant rendering of the last battle that occurred on the location we will visit. We will depart Richmond at 8 AM arriving about 10:00 at the Museum of the Confederacy. We'll be free to walk through the facility assisted by educators for questions and to point out items of interest. There will be a hands-on display consisting of soldiers' items, a home front display or toys and games of the period. We'll then leave for the western area tour returning to the Museum or to a commercial area to have lunch before leaving for the Court House field tour. On completion of the Court House tour we will depart for Richmond to arrive about 5 PM. The departure pick-up point has not been determined. We are searching for a suitable place somewhere in south Richmond. You may need to bring your own lunch . We are exploring convenient fast food outlets as we speak. We will have bottled drinking water available. This being one of the last sesquicentennial events planned makes this a fun and historically significant event to share with a special family member. Specifically, if you have a child or grandchild of appropriate age who can make the bus ride and needs a jump start on history (and what school child doesn't today?) this will be a wonderful way to get him or her going. Make it a super special trip by bringing a child or grandchild with you. A great opportunity to Train Up Your Replacement. Sign up sheets will be available at the April and May meetings. Please don't delay on this trip. I urge you to bring your check payable to the RCWRT with the notation "June Trip" to the meeting or mail it to: Troy Arnold 301 Hollyport Road Richmond, Virginia 23229 804-740-8718 go2troyrcwrt@gmail.com
A Note From Sandy Dues are still needed from non-paying "members." Please pay your dues in June in order for me to have an actual close out the 2015 membership.
Help Us Save Postage Costs If you have an E-mail address and internet access and are not currently receiving your newsletter notification via E-mail please let me have your NAME and E-mail address. My E-mail address is: cowardin@juno.com (You can also use this link to change E-mail addressess just click my E-mail address above. If you are changing an E-mail address be sure to include the old address.)
Civil War Trust For the latest CWT news visit: www.civilwar.org
Upcoming Events/Links
2015 CHAMBERSBURG CIVIL WAR SEMINARS & TOURS BASED IN CHAMBERSBURG, PA. "The End of the War: Richmond, Petersburg, and Appomattox" July 22-26 "Lincoln" Sept. 24-27 Based in Richmond, VA. More information can be found at: www.civilwarseminars.org
www.virginiacivilwar.org Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission
NPS Richmond - Sesquicentennial - 1865/2015
Chesterfield Historical Society Winter Lecture Series
Visit The Museum of the Confederacy Online www.moc.org and their Events Calendar for MOC Events Calendar
Richmond Battlefields Association News & Events www.saverichmondbattlefields.org/events.htm
Visit The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar www.tredegar.org and their Events Calendar
Pamplin Historical Park and The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier www.pamplinpark.org and their Special Events Calendar
RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2015


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