R.Danny Witt, President         Art & Carol Bergeron, Editors
5500 Ashton Park Way           3901 Paces Ferry Road     
Glen Allen, VA 23059              Chester, VA 23831-1239    

July 2000 PROGRAM

Thomas G. Clemens
"Will the Real Iron Brigade Please Stand Up!"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 11, 2000
Boulevard United Methodist Church, 321 N. Boulevard,
Richmond, VA (corner of Boulevard and Stuart Ave.)
Enter basement door from Boulevard side.

This talk will offer some  new  information  and  challenges
many  of  the  commonly held beliefs about the original Iron
Brigade.  Offering some insight  into  how  historians  have
overlooked  facts  or  accepted  unsubstantiated memoirs for
many years, some surprising conclusions will emerge from the
dissecting  of  the  story.   Please  keep  an open mind and
prepare to be surprised.                                    

Tom Clemens received his B.A.  (1972) and  M.A.   (1984)  in
history  from Salisbury State University in Maryland and his
C.A.A.   (1995)  from  George  Mason  University.    He   is
currently  working  on  his  doctoral  dissertation with Dr.
Joseph Harsh of  GMU.   Tom  has  been  on  the  faculty  of
Hagerstown  Community College in Hagerstown, Maryland, since
1986.  He has published numerous book reviews  and  articles
related  to  the  Civil  War;  most  recently  a book review
appeared on the Washington Times Civil War page.            

In 1985 Tom, along  with  Dennis  Frye,  John  Schildt,  and
several   other   people,  started  Save  Historic  Antietam
Foundation, Inc.,  a  non-profit  preservation  organization
dedicated  to preserving and interpreting the sites relating
to Lee's Maryland Campaign of 1862.   Since  1989,  Tom  has
served  as  the  president  of  SHAF.   In addition to these
activities, Tom has been  a  participant  in  the  volunteer
living  history  programs  with  several  national and state
Civil War parks for 22 years.                               

Tom and his wife, Mary Jo, are  long  time  members  of  the
Hagerstown  Civil  War Round Table.  Tom has served in every
office of the organization,  and  Mary  Jo  is  the  current
Treasurer.                                                  




 David Johnson


"The Lives of Douglas Southall Freeman"

Review of the June Program

David Johnson, who serves as counsel to the attorney general
of  Virginia,  presented  a fascinating look at the life and
writings of one of Richmond's most  famous  citizens-Douglas
Southall  Freeman.  The presentation came from material that
Johnson has been collecting for a full  biography  which  he
plans to complete in June of next year.                     

As  a  youngster,  Freeman  attended  a  re-enactment of the
Battle of the Crater on the 30th anniversary of that  bloody
engagement.   The old veterans impressed him so much that he
vowed to write the history of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Freeman's  father  was  a  veteran of the 4th Virginia Heavy
Artillery, and his stories also had an impact on the  future
newspaperman,  historian, and Pulitzer Prize winning author.
A second major influence on Freeman and his writing was  the
very  Southern education he received in Richmond, the former
capital of the Confederate States of America.   Finally,  he
was   influenced  by  the  older  "scientific"  approach  to
history.  Freeman actually despised the new "psycho-history"
that  was  becoming  prominent  at the end of the nineteenth
century.                                                    

Freeman's first  foray  into  the  publishing  world  was  A
Calendar  of  Confederate  Papers,  which  appeared in 1908.
Seven years later, he edited Lee's  Dispatches:  Unpublished
Letters  of  General Robert E.  Lee, CSA, to Jefferson Davis
and the War Department of the Confederate States of America,
1862  to  1865.  In 1915, Charles Scribner's Sons contracted
with Freeman to produce a biography of Robert E.   Lee.   He
and  the editors there sparred over the project for nineteen
years, as he expanded it from one to four volumes.  When the
biography   came  out  in  1934  and  1935,  it  was  hugely
successful and won a Pulitzer Prize for its author.  Although
the  study  has been the subject of criticism by a number of
Civil War historians in the past forty years, it remains the
starting  place  for anyone who wishes to come to grips with
the general's life.                                         

Between 1942 and 1944, Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command
was published by Scribner's.  This epic study of Lee and his
generals quickly became as popular as  the  biography.   One
thing  that  the two works shared was Freeman's "fog of war"
technique of writing.   He  presented  his  story  from  the
prospective  of  what  the commander of the Army of Northern
Virginia and his subordinates knew at the  time.   The  next
project  Freeman began was a biography of the nation's first
president, George Washington.  This work  appeared  in  1948
and received a Pulitzer Prize in 1958.                      

Johnson  pointed out that Freeman set up and largely adhered
to an extremely rigid schedule so that he could balance  his
obligations  to  his  family,  the Richmond News Leader, his
radio broadcasts, and his research.  Freeman's day began  at
2 a.m.  and usually ended before 9 p.m.  His wife, Inez, and
children  were  very  supportive.   A  strong  conservative,
Freeman frequently found fault with Franklin D.  Roosevelt's
New Deal programs and did not hesitate to criticize them. He
was  pivotal  in  the  development  of  Virginia's  roadside
historical marker program and wrote the text for many of the
first  signs.   Freeman also played an important role in the
establishment of the Battle Abbey in Richmond.  He  died  at
his  home,  "Westbourne,"  in  1953 at the age of 67 and was
buried in Hollywood Cemetery.                               

    
Richmond Civil  War  Visitor  Center
Opens  at  Tredegar  
On Saturday, June  17,  the  Richmond  National  Battlefield
Park's  new Visitor Center opened in buildings of the former
Tredegar Iron Works next to the James River.  Superintendent
Cynthia  MacLeod  welcomed those who attended the ceremonies
and introduced the guest speakers for the event.  The latter
included  U.   S.   Senator  Charles  S.   Robb;  Brenton S.
Halsey, Chairman of the Riverfront  Management  Corporation;
James   E.   Rogers,  President  of  the  Richmond  Historic
Riverfront Foundation; Timothy M.  Kaine, Mayor of the  City
of  Richmond;  and  Marie  Rust,  Regional  Director for the
Northeast Region, NPS.  Robert G.  Stanton, Director of  the
National  Park  Service  made the keynote address.  The Fort
Lee Military Band  provided  music  for  the  occasion,  and
members  of  Boy  Scout  Troops 815 of Chester served as the
color guard.                                                
       
The Visitor Center is located in the former Woolen  Factory,
which  burned  in  1863  and  was  rebuilt  as  the  Pattern
Building, and the exhibits  are  found  on  three  different
floors  of  the  structure.   Visitors  will  see  a  mix of
artifacts, maps, dioramas, audio-visual programs,  graphics,
and  text  that explain Richmond's pivotal role in the Civil
War.  The story told is not just that of the military events
of that turbulent four-year period but includes the lives of
the citizens of the city, both black  and  white,  free  and
slave.   Many  of  the artifacts on display are on loan from
other museums  in  the  city.   A  self-guided  tour  allows
visitors  to walk the grounds of the Iron Works and see some
of  the  cannon  made  there,  as  well  as  some  surviving
machinery.   Eastern  National Park and Monument Association
operates a book and gift shop next to the Visitor Center.   

Announcements

Under New Management.  Effective this issue, Art  and  Carol
Bergeron  have become editors of the Newsletter.  We welcome
submissions from the membership relative to special  events,
tours, seminars, etc., and will consider placing them in the
Newsletter.  All submissions should be sent to us  at  least
two  weeks  prior to a regular meeting.  Members can use the
U.  S.  Postal Service or e-mail.  Our home address  appears
twice   in  this  issue.   For  e-mail,  send  material  to:
bergero1@ix.netcom.com


Performing Arts Program.   Pamplin  Historical  Park  &  The
National  Museum  of the Civil War Soldier, near Petersburg,
will hold a "Civil War Performing Arts  Fair"  on  Saturday,
September  16, 2000.  This day of fun and music will feature
a  brass  ensemble,  a  fife  and  drum  band,  singers  and
instrumentalists,  and first person impressions of Jefferson
Davis and Frederick Douglass.  For  more  information,  call
Pamplin Historical Park at 861-2408.                        


*Important Notice* December Meeting

The December meeting will  be  December  12,  2000,  at  the
Holiday Inn-Crossroads, 2000 Staples Mill Road.  Social hour
will begin at 6 p.m., with dinner following at 7  p.m.   The
speaker  is  Ed Bearss who will speak on "The Raising of the
Cairo," which will include information about the history  of
the Union ironclad.  The cost for this program is $25.50 per
person.  Seating is limited, so please get your reservations
in early.                                                   

Send  your  name,  address, and phone number, along with the
number of persons for whom you are  making  reservations  to
Sam Craghead.  Make your check out to the Richmond Civil War
Round Table.                                                

       Sam Craghead                                           
       4361D Lakefield Mews                                   
       Richmond, VA 23231                                     

If you have any questions, call Sam at 222-0503.              


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