Sam Craghead, President         Art & Carol Bergeron, Editors
4361F Lakefield Mews            3901 Paces Ferry Road      
Richmond, VA 23231              Chester, VA 23831-1239   

August 2001 PROGRAM

Christopher L. Kolakowski

"Stars and Stripes on Marye's Heights"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 14, 2001, at the
Boulevard United Methodist Church, 321 N. Boulevard,
Richmond, VA (corner of Boulevard and Stuart Ave.)

Christopher L.  Kolakowski will present an overview  of  the
fighting near Fredericksburg from April 29-May 5, 1863, with
emphasis on the assault and capture of  Marye's  Heights  on
the  morning  of May 3.  He will start by explaining who the
two principal  commanders  were  (John  Sedgwick  and  Jubal
Early), then relate the story up through the night of May 2.
A good bit  of  time  will  be  spent  on  Marye's  Heights,
including the two failed attacks, the flag of truce, and the
successful 11 a.  m.  assault (which  is  a  very  near  run
thing).   He  will  wrap  up  with  a brief account of Salem
Church and the May 4 fighting, plus a bit of analysis.      

Kolakowski is a graduate of Emory & Henry College with a  B.
A.  in History and Mass Communications.  A lifelong resident
of Fredericksburg, Virginia, he has worked  as  a  historian
with  Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
for four  years.   Kolakowski  has  recently  written  about
Thomas G.  Stevenson's Federal division in the Battle of the
Wilderness for Civil War Regiments and a comparison  of  the
Battles  of  Gettysburg  and  Waterloo  for  the  Napoleonic
Wargaming Club Newsletter.  Currently, he writes a  biweekly
column  for  the  Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star.  He has an
article  for  Civil  War  Regiments  on  the  14th  Brooklyn
scheduled  for  publication  in  2001  and  has submitted an
article  on  John  Sedgwick  at  Second  Fredericksburg   to
America's  Civil  War magazine.  He is researching a book on
the Battles of Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church.      


Review of the July Program



H.   Alexander  Wise,  Jr.,  presented  a  program  on  "The
Tredegar  National Civil War Center: A Vision Whose Time Has
Come." He is the President and Chief  Operating  Officer  of
the Tredegar National Civil War Center Foundation.  This new
facility will have several objectives-to deal constructively
with the central event of our nation's history, to honor the
Americans who died in that war, to tell the  untold  stories
of  the  conflict, to create an uplifting experience for the
visitor, and to educate ourselves and  our  children  to  be
better  citizens.   The museum will tell the entire story of
the Civil War at ground zero, Richmond, Virginia.           

As expressed by Wise, the Civil  War  redefined  the  United
States.   It  established  federal supremacy.  The ideals of
the  Declaration  of  Independence  were  written  onto  the
Constitution in blood.  Freedom and citizenship were granted
to black Americans.  Before 1861, people spoke in  terms  of
"the  United  States are," but after 1865 the phrase changed
to "the United States is." We truly became one nation.      

Richmond is the natural place for this national center.  The
city  was  the  epicenter  of the war and the capital of the
Confederacy.   The  Civil  War  Sites  Advisory   Commission
identified  384 major battlefields.  Of that number, 123 are
in Virginia, and 43 of those  are  within  thirty  miles  of
Richmond.   As  the  conflict  was ending, President Abraham
Lincoln visited Richmond to begin the healing process.   The
city  was  a  center  of  black  life, history, culture, and
achievement before, during, and after the war.  Richmond has
tangible,  authentic  physical  evidence  to  help  tell the
story,  not  just  interpreted  sites.   Tredegar   was   an
important landmark before and during the fighting.  Finally,
Virginia Civil War sites already get more than five  million
visits annually.  Richmond is the place to impress visitors,
to teach lessons, and to tell the  authentic  story  of  the
Civil War.                                                  

The  Tredegar  Center  will  seek  to  portray  why  the war
happened.  It will explain all of the causes,  showing  that
slavery  was  a  central  issue  in  the dispute between the
sections.  Exhibits will treat the conduct of  the  war  and
describe  the  consequences  of  it.   The  focus will be on
Union, Confederate, and black participants.   It  will  show
the  historical roles of all three groups in working out the
nation's destiny.                                           

It  is  anticipated  that  the  center  will  serve  as  the
country's  primary visitor center for Civil War sites.  Wise
and his staff are working closely with the Richmond National
Battlefield   Park,   Pamplin   Historical   Park,  and  the
Petersburg    National    Battlefield    to     make     the
Richmond-Petersburg  area  a  destination  for all Civil War
visitors.  Other partners are the Ethyl  Corporation,  which
owns  the  building  where  the museum's first phase will be
constructed; John Motley, who  has  donated  an  outstanding
collection  of black historical artifacts; the Museum of the
Confederacy, which will loan some of its holdings;  and  the
Civil  War  Library  and  Museum in Philadelphia, which will
loan parts of its impressive collection of Union items.  The
center already has broad community support.                 

Wise said that the 10-year project will occur in phases at a
total cost of $45 million.  He  hopes  the  Tredegar  Center
will  have the gravity of the Holocaust Museum, the sweep of
Ellis  Island,  and  the  mythic  American  quality  of  the
Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.                       


Announcements


Round Table Raffle

The item for this month's raffle is an 1864 Confederate  $50 
bill valued at $45. It is worth more now than it was in 1864.


Cold Harbor Tour

Richmond National Battlefield Park will  conduct  a  one-day
bus  tour  of  the Battle of Cold Harbor on Saturday, August
11.  The tour will run from 9 a.  m.  to 4 p.  m.  There  is
a  fee,  and  information  and signup can be accomplished by
calling the Tredegar Visitor Center bookstore at 771-2035.  


North Anna Campaign Reenactment

On August 17-19, a reenactment of the battles of  the  North
Anna  Campaign  will be held at Rock Castle Farm in historic
Hanover County.  The program will  feature  reenactments  of
the  battles of Jericho Mills and Chesterfield Bridge.  Rock
Castle Farm was the site of Union headquarters  on  May  24,
1864,  and was also used as a Federal field hospital.  These
events are a part of Hanover Civil War Heritage Weekend.  For
more  information,  call (804) 530-1597 or (804) 356-8868 or
see:                                                        
www.civilwarheritageweekend.com


Sharpsburg Heritage Festival

Each September on the weekend closest to the anniversary  of
the   Battle   of   Antietam,  the  Town  of  Sharpsburg  in
conjunction with the Antietam National Battlefield  presents
the  Annual  Sharpsburg  Heritage  Festival.   This year the
festival will be held  on  September  15-16.   The  Heritage
Festival  showcases  regional  and  international lecturers,
musicians and artists while telling the story of our history
beginning in colonial times.  The mission of the festival is
to make Sharpsburg a place "where history comes alive."     

As visitors stroll through town, they  can  speak  with  the
many  Confederates  and Federals who are camped in the yards
of  the  Colonial  and  Civil  War  homes.   There  will  be
continuous  concerts  of  Civil  War  music, starting Friday
night with an old fashioned Barn Dance and ending on  Sunday
afternoon  with  a  Grand  Patriotic  Concert  by the U.  S.
Marine Corps Band.  Visitors can attend one of the many free
historical  lectures or workshops or wander through our arts
area   featuring   folk   art,   Appalachian   crafts    and
demonstrations  of  the  lost  arts  of  the  18th  and 19th
centuries.  Homemade food produced by  the  town's  churches
and  service  clubs  will  be  available  for  the visitors'
enjoyment.  There is something for every one at  this  great
family event, and all activities, except the Barn Dance, are
free.                                                       

For    more    information,    see    the    website:

www.sharpsburgheritagefestival.org

or E-mail Paul Breitenbach at:

pbreiten@sharpsburgheritagefestival.org


Fall Field Trip
"Gettysburg, July 2, 1863: Longstreet's Assault"

Brag Bowling has announced that the Roundtable's Fall  field
trip  will  be  to  the  Gettysburg  National Battlefield on
October  20.   Wayne  Motts,  who  has   lectured   at   our
Roundtable,  will be the tour guide.  The focus of the field
trip will be July 2, 1863.  Wayne is an expert on the events
of that day.  Among the sites to be visited are Little Round
Top and Big Round Top, Devil's Den, the Wheatfield, and  the
Peach Orchard.                                              

We  are  tentatively  planning  to  eat  lunch and visit the
Daniel Lady Farm, which is featured in the current Civil War
News.  Dr.  Walter Powell, Historic Preservation Officer for
the Borough of Gettysburg, will discuss the events  at  this
historic site and the importance of its being preserved.    

Costs  for  the  tour  will  be $25 per person.  It would be
great if this were less, but rising gas costs  have  made  a
tour  of  this distance more expensive.  The bus will depart
from the shopping center parking lot at the corner of  Brook
Road  and  Parham at 6:30 a.  m.  Return will be around 6:30
p.  m.  that evening.  Please bring a lunch and drinks.     

Brag wishes to remind everyone that if you  want  to  go  on
this  trip, please get your money to him ASAP.  There were a
number of Roundtable members who missed out on our  trip  to
Manassas  with John Hennessy last spring because they waited
until the last minute to make their reservation.   Don't  do
it   again.    Please   make   your  reservation  with  Brag
personally, or mail it to him at his home-Brag Bowling, 3019
Kensington Avenue, Richmond, VA 23221.                      


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