Sheppard Parsons, President            Rob Monroe, Editor       
107 Rose Hill Road                     2416 Edenbrook Dr.       
Richmond, VA 23229                     Richmond, VA 23228-3040  
shep.parsons@suntrust.com              RMonroe500@comcast.net   
July 2006 PROGRAM
John J. Fox III
"Brutal Realities of War"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 11, 2006, 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.

John J.  Fox III, a Richmond native, is a 1977  graduate  of
Collegiate School.  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in
U.S.  History from Washington  &  Lee  University  in  1981.
After  graduation he served on active duty in the U.S.  Army
for seven years as an  armor  officer  and  aviator.   While
living  in  the Atlanta, Georgia area for thirteen years, he
was a member of the Atlanta Civil War Roundtable.           

Mr.  Fox is  the  author  of  the  well-received  regimental
history  Red  Clay  to  Richmond:  Trail of the 35th Georgia
Infantry Regiment, CSA.  For this  work,  he  won  the  2005
James  I.   Robertson  Jr.   Literary  Prize for Confederate
History awarded by the R.E.  Lee Civil War  Round  Table  of
Central New Jersey.                                         

Mr.   Fox  resides  with  his family in Winchester and is an
advisory board member of Shenandoah  University's  McCormick
Civil  War  Institute.   When  he is not researching Georgia
Civil War information he  works  as  a  pilot  for  American
Airlines based in Washington, D.C..  His father, John J. Fox
Jr., is a long time member of the Richmond Civil  War  Round
Table.                                                      

Mr.   Fox's  book,  Red  Clay to Richmond: Trail of the 35th
Georgia Infantry  Regiment,  CSA  will  be  available  at  a
discounted price to RCWRT members.                          


Items for the RCWRT's August newsletter should be submitted
no later than July 28.                           Thank you.


New Film Tells Story of
Fredericksburg Area Civilians

In  June  the  National  Park   Service   and   Friends   of
Fredericksburg   Area  Battlefields  premiered  a  new  film
chronicling the struggles of civilians in the Fredericksburg
region  during  the  Civil  War.   Two  years in the making,
"Virginians Desolate, Virginians Free" is the work  of  more
than 350 professionals and local residents.                 

Using  largely  the words of the people who lived there, the
new film tells the story of a community faced  with  tragedy
and  change  amidst  war.   The project called on actors and
volunteers-many of them from  the  Fredericksburg  region-to
portray  the  struggles  (and  occasional triumphs) of local
civilians.                                                  

"Before these were battlefields, they were farms and homes,"
said   Russ  Smith,  Superintendent  of  Fredericksburg  and
Spotsylvania National Military Park.  "War transformed  both
the  places  and  the  people  who  lived  here.   That's an
important story for us to tell.  We're so pleased to be able
to  bring  the  story  of  this  community onto the national
stage, and to do it in such vivid form."                    

The film was shot entirely in the Fredericksburg  area.   In
2004,  George  Street  was transformed for a day back to the
1850s.  Last year, the outbuildings and  ruins  at  Idlewild
offered  a  perfect backdrop for a massive scene showing the
exodus of refugees.  Half  a  dozen  local  homeowners  made
available historic homes and back yards as sets.            

"This has truly been a community project," said Smith.  "More
than 100 local residents put on costumes and joined  in  the
filming.   Antique shops loaned us props.  Local restaurants
helped feed a  huge  cast  and  crew.   It  was  an  immense
undertaking-one  that  I hope the community at large will be
proud of."                                                  

Chief Historian John Hennessy, who wrote the  film's  script
and  coordinated  production,  noted that for the park, this
film represents an important step in the development of  its
public programs.                                            

"Most  importantly,  the new film tells a story that's never
been told," said Hennessy, "and it does it  in  a  way  that
recognizes  that  not  everyone  saw every event in the same
way.  For example, for slaves here, about half of the area's
population,  war  meant  more  than  just anguish-it meant a
chance  for  freedom.   White  residents,  though,  saw  the
arrival  of  the  Union  army as a disaster, and for them it
indeed was."                                                

Actors and volunteers came from as far away as Wisconsin and
Indiana to participate in the film.  Groups of students from
both Parkside Elementary School in Spotsylvania and Hartwood
Elementary   in  Stafford  appear.   Local  actresses  Laura
Wandres, Shannon Howell, and Sue Henderson played key roles,
as  did Connie Watkins-Spotsylvania born, but now an actress
in New York City.                                           

The 30-minute film is being shown three times daily at  both
Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville Visitor Centers-at 9:25,
12:25, and 3:25.                                            

"We're excited that we can  add  this  to  the  choices  our
visitors have," said Smith.                                 

The  film was produced by Historical Films Group of Lansing,
Michigan, under the direction of Brad Graham.               


Pamplin Historical Park Offers Tour of
South Carolina and Georgia Sites

Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil
War  Soldier has announced its inaugural summer tour, "Civil
War in the South Atlantic."  Led  by  the  park's  executive
director  A.  Wilson Greene, the tour features the Civil War
history of the legendary Low Country of  Georgia  and  South
Carolina.                                                   

The  August 1-5 tour will follow the course of the Civil War
from the dramatic opening shots at Fort Sumter, through  the
heroic  charge  of the 54th Massachusetts at Battery Wagner,
to General Sherman's infamous march through  the  Carolinas.
Accommodations  are  in  the  Mills  House  in  Charleston's
Historic District and the Mulberry  Inn  near  the  Savannah
Riverfront.   Reservations  are now being accepted and space
is limited.                                                 

On August 1 there will be a welcome reception, introductions
and  an  opening  briefing  in  Charleston.  August 2 events
include tours of Charleston Museum, the C.S.S.   Hunley  and
Fort  Sumter  with  a  visit to the exhibits at the National
Park Service Visitor Center.  On August 3 there  will  be  a
morning  boat  tour  of Fort Moultrie, Morris Island, Castle
Pinkney and Fort Johnson.  Afternoon tours of Secessionville
and  Fort Lamar will be followed by check-in and an informal
reception in Savannah.  August 4  events  include  tours  of
Fort  McAllister  and  Fort Pulaski and a dinner program and
tour of Old Fort Jackson.  August 5 will  feature  tours  of
Honey  Hill  Battlefield,  Old  Sheldon  Church,  and Rivers
Bridge State Historic Site.                                 

Single  occupancy  price  of   Pamplin   Historical   Park's
Inaugural  Summer tour is $2,095.  Cost for double occupancy
is $1,795 per person.  Price includes all  lectures,  tours,
lodging,  lunch and dinner, and transportation.  For further
details about the tour, contact a reservation specialist  at
(804) 861-2408 or toll free at 1-877-PAMPLIN.               


Summer Tours Offered in Petersburg

Petersburg's Blandford Church has evolved, from its colonial
beginnings,  throughout  the  Victorian  era and into modern
times.  On July 22 a walking tour will explore the evolution
of  the  cemetery  by visiting one of the lesser-known areas
near Memorial Hill.  The tour begins at the Blandford Church
Cemetery Bandstand at 7pm.                                  

The  Civil  War  meant different things to different people.
Some saw the conflict as a fight for  preservation  of  self
and society while others saw it as a chance for freedom.  On
August 5, a one-hour program will feature guest speakers and
living historians as they bring to light points of view that
don't always fit  the  stereotypes  you  might  be  used  to
seeing.   This  program  begins at 2pm in the Old Petersburg
Courthouse Building on Sycamore Street.                     

Old cemeteries are full of soaring  obelisks,  covered  urns
and  reverent  angels.   What you may not be aware of is the
meaning behind the  symbols.   On  August  7,  a  Powerpoint
presentation  will  explore  the influence the Victorian era
had on some of the monuments in Petersburg's  largest  local
cemetery.  The program begins at 7pm at the Blandford Church
Reception Area.                                             

For more information  on  any  of  these  tours  call  (804)
732-3531 extension 202.                                     


State Grant for Museum of the Confederacy
Much Smaller Than Expected

There's good news and bad news for the Richmond's Museum  of
the Confederacy.  Mostly the latter.                        

The  good  news  is  that  the institution will be receiving
$50,000 from the state.  The bad news is that figure is only
a  small  fraction  of  the  $700,000  a  House subcommittee
recommended granting the museum.                            

The $50,000 is part of the General  Assembly's  long-delayed
two-year  state  budget.   The  museum  had hoped to use the
one-time $700,000 grant to sustain operations and for future
planning.   The  institution has been operating at a deficit
for  a  number  of  years  due  in  part  to  a  decline  in
visitation.                                                 

The  museum  expects  about 55,000 visitors this year.  That
figure is down from a high of  92,000  a  decade  ago.   The
House  subcommittee  reported  that  the  museum's dwindling
visitation numbers are due in large part to the expansion of
the  neighboring  Virginia  Commonwealth  University medical
campus.  In the past few years,  construction  zones  around
the  museum  have  impeded traffic flow in the area creating
severe accessibility difficulties for the Museum  and  White
House of the Confederacy.                                   


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RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2006

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