First Vice President:                   Rob Monroe, Editor       
Richard Forrester                     2416 Edenbrook Dr.     
Second Vice President:                  Richmond, VA 23228-3040  
Shep Parsons                          rmonroe@richmond.com   
July 2004 PROGRAM

Robert Jay Trout,

"Stuart's Horse Artillery"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 13, 2004, 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.

A native of Lebanon, PA,  Robert  Jay  Trout  is  a  retired
schoolteacher  who  has  been  active  as a living historian
since 1980.  After years of research, he assembled a  living
history  unit  based  on Gen.  J.E.B.  Stuart and his staff.
Trout's  first  book,  They  Followed  the  Plume,  was  the
culmination of this research.  He edited Riding with Stuart:
Reminiscences  of  an  Aide-de-Camp  (by  Lt.   Theodore  S.
Garnett)  and  wrote  With  Pen  and  Saber: The Letters and
Diaries of J.E.B.  Stuart's Staff Officers,  In  the  Saddle
with  Stuart:  The  Story  of  Frank  Smith Robertson of Jeb
Stuart's Staff  and  Galloping  Thunder:  The  Stuart  Horse
Artillery  Battalion.   Last  year, Trout self-published The
Hoss: Officer Biographies and Rosters of  the  Stuart  Horse
Artillery Battalion.                                        

Lt.   Garnett,  aide-de-camp  to  Stuart,  once stated, "The
honor of firing the first gun at Fort Sumter is no longer in
doubt.   The  proud  distinction  of  firing the last gun at
Appomattox is claimed by many, but the  command  that  fired
the  most  shot and shell, first, last, and all the time, is
perhaps, without doubt, the ever-glorious and gallant Stuart
Horse  Artillery."  Historians  have long treated the Stuart
Horse Artillery Battalion as just an extension  of  Stuart's
vaunted   cavalry,   but   the   Battalion  was  a  separate
organization built to serve with the  cavalry,  to  give  it
offensive   punch.    The   Battalion's   story  encompasses
virtually every battlefield in the Eastern  Theater  of  the
war  as well as scores of lonely picket posts on dark stormy
nights.  Over 2,200  men  served  in  the  Battalion,  which
eventually  comprised  ten batteries.  John Esten Cooke said
that they had something of the tiger in them.   Indeed,  the
record  of  the  men of the Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion
can stand with  any  artillery  organization  in  any  army,
Northern or Southern.                                       

Review of the June Program


Gary Ecelbarger was the featured speaker at the June meeting
of  the  Richmond  Civil  War  Round Table.  Speaking on the
142nd anniversary of the Battle of Port Republic, Ecelbarger
gave  an  insightful  -- and often humorous -- look into the
Union leadership that opposed Stonewall Jackson at this last
battle of his famed Valley Campaign.                        

After  escaping  a  pincer  movement at Strasburg on June 1,
1862, Jackson retreated up the  Shenandoah  Valley  and  was
pursued  by  Union  generals  John  C.   Fremont  and  James
Shields.  In  the  1840s,  Shields  had  challenged  Abraham
Lincoln  to  a  duel.   Ecelbarger described Shields as "the
quintessential political general." In May,  Shields'  poorly
supplied  troops  marched  a  grueling 380 miles - even more
than Jackson's lauded foot soldiers.  Ecelbarger noted  that
troop movements in the Valley were often impeded by weather,
as the spring of 1862 was  the  wettest  on  record  in  the
1800s.                                                      

Jackson   halted  his  retreat  and  turned  to  engage  the
disorganized Federals  at  Cross  Keys  and  Port  Republic.
Despite  their  lack  of  coordination,  Union forces almost
succeeded in capturing Jackson on the  morning  of  June  8.
Cavalry  forces  under Col.  Samuel Sprigg Carroll surprised
the Rebels, stormed into Port Republic and captured three of
Jackson's  staff  officers  (two later escaped).  Ecelbarger
blamed Confederate cavalry for  this  mishap,  stating  that
they  had  "failed  Jackson"  following  the death of Turner
Ashby a few days earlier at nearby Harrisonburg.            

After their loss  at  Port  Republic,  Shields  and  Carroll
placed  blame  on one another.  Ecelbarger does not hesitate
to point fingers at both.  Shields wanted  Carroll  to  burn
Conrad's  Bridge  and  the  Union colonel failed to burn the
bridge at Port Republic.   Ecelbarger  stated  that  Carroll
used an old dispatch in a weak effort to defend himself.  For
his  part,  Shields  repeatedly   squandered   opportunities
through  the  poor  coordination  of  his troops.  The Union
commander was  further  slowed  by  rumors  of  Longstreet's
troops coming to the Valley.  Ecelbarger stated that Shields
probably doctored a June 4 dispatch he would  later  use  to
defend  himself.   In  going through various accounts of the
action, Ecelbarger has found at least seven instances  where
Shields' troops refer to the battle as a "blunder."         

New Book by Richmond Native
Examines Georgia Regiment

Even though Georgia supplied the  third  highest  number  of
soldiers  for  the  Confederate  cause,  only  a  handful of
Georgia unit histories have been recorded.  Richmond  native
John J.  Fox III has discovered many unpublished letters and
diaries written by Georgians during the war and tells  their
story  in  Red  Clay  to Richmond: Trail of the 35th Georgia
Infantry Regiment, C.S.A.  The unit  came  to  Virginia  and
fought   at   Manassas,   Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville,
Petersburg, the Wilderness, in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  and
elsewhere.   Fox  follows the 35th through all four years of
the war.  The 496-page hardback is complete  with  soldiers'
roster,  22  maps  and  74  photos.  Red Clay to Richmond is
available locally at the Museum of the  Confederacy  and  at
Book People, 536 Granite Avenue.                            

Delinquent Memberships

There are still a number of delinquent memberships  for  the
2004  Richmond  Civil War Round Table.  If you have not paid
your dues for this year, please do so at this time or at the
July  meeting.   Please  check  the  mailing  label  of this
newsletter.  If there is a red dot on your address label  we
may  not  have  received  your payment.  If your payment has
been mailed recently, please disregard this.   If  you  have
any  questions,  please  see RCWRT secretary Sandy Parker at
the next meeting or contact her at 804-276-7867.            

JULY EVENTS

July 18 Richmond City Walking  Tour.   A  Richmond  National
Battlefield   Park   historian   will   conduct  a  tour  of
lesser-known sites including the Castle  Thunder  and  Libby
Prison sites, surviving hospital buildings and the Elizabeth
Van Lew home site.  The free 90-minute, 1«  mile  walk  will
begin  at  2pm  at  the  corner of 21st and Cary in downtown
Richmond.  Info: www.nps.gov/rich or 804-226-1981.          

July 30-31 Battle of the Crater 140th  Anniversary  Weekend.
Living  historians  and Petersburg National Battlefield Park
historians present the story of the "horrid pit." Free  with
park admission.  Info: www.nps.gov/pete or 804-732-3531.    

August  3  Gen.   McClellan's 1862 Civil War Headquarters at
Harrison's Landing.  Special  tour  at  Berkeley  Plantation
recreates  the  James  River  encampment  of  the Union army
following  the  Seven  Days'  Battles.    Reservations   are
required for this 9am-11am tour.  Info: 1-888-466-6018.     

August  7  Walking  Tour  of  Civil War Petersburg, Old Town
Area.  Begins at 10am and 2pm at City's Visitor  Center  and
takes  approximately  two  hours.  Info: www.nps.gov/pete or
804-732-3531.                                               

August 7  Ft.   Harrison  Interpretive  Bike  Tour.   Casual
seven-mile  bike ride led by a Richmond National Battlefield
Park ranger.  Begins at  10am  at  Ft.   Harrison  Visitor's
Center  and  includes important sites from the 1864 campaign
for Richmond.  Tour includes visits to sites associated with
the United States Colored Troops.  Info: www.nps.gov/rich or
804-226-1981.                                               

August 7-8 Living History at City Point (Hopewell), part  of
Petersburg  National  Battlefield Park.  Ranger programs and
demonstrations offer a glimpse of what life was like  during
the siege.  This is where Gen.  Ulysses S.  Grant set up his
headquarters and the Union armies established  their  supply
base   and   main  hospital.   The  event  is  free.   Info:
www.nps.gov/pete or 804-732-3531.                           

RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2004

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:           

August newsletter			July 30    
September newsletter			September 3
October newsletter			October 1  
November newsletter			October 29 
December newsletter			December 3 

Information may be emailed to rmonroe@richmond.com

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