Clark H. Lewis, President         Art & Carol Bergeron, Editors
P. O. Box 1122                    3901 Paces Ferry Road      
Richmond, VA 23218                 Chester, VA 23831-1239   

August 2002 PROGRAM

Scott Bowden

"Robert E. Lee and
the en échelon attack of July 2, 1863"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 13, 2002, at the
Boulevard United Methodist Church, 321 N. Boulevard,
Richmond, VA (corner of Boulevard and Stuart Ave.)

Scott Bowden is a graduate of Texas Christian University and
the  author  of 22 titles related to Napoleonic and American
military history.  His most recent  work,  Last  Chance  for
Victory: Robert E.  Lee and the Gettysburg Campaign, has won
the 2001 Douglas Southall Freeman History  Award,  the  2001
General  Nathan  Bedford Forrest Southern History Award, the
2001 Grady McWhiney Award of Merit, and has officially  been
named  as  part  of the curriculum at the School of Advanced
Military Studies (SAMS) at the  U.   S.   Army  Command  and
General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.            

By  late  afternoon on July 2, 1863, elements of the Army of
Northern Virginia have fiercely attacked, mauled and  driven
back  a  significant  portion  of  the  Federal  Army of the
Potomac.    As   a   result   of   this   attack,   numerous
"opportunities"  (to  use  Lee's description) have developed
along the Federal line, but none more important  than  those
along  Cemetery  Ridge north of the Copse of Trees.  On this
ground facing west towards the Confederates of  A. P. Hill's
Third  Corps  are  only  a  half-dozen brigades, and four of
these belong to the dubious Eleventh Corps.  The reason this
ground  is  so  thinly  held  is  because many other Federal
formations previously positioned on this  ground  have  long
since  been  moved  by Meade and Hancock to the left wing of
the embattled Federal  army  in  the  attempt  to  stem  the
Confederate tide.  Poised to strike the Federals that remain
on  this  crucial  ground  are  two  veteran   brigades   of
Anderson's  Division  as  well  as  the  four  hard-fighting
brigades of the famed Light Division  under  the  aggressive
leadership  of  Dorsey  Pender.   Lee's  modified  plan that
Thursday to attack "en échelon" has indeed delivered to  his
subordinates   what   is   arguably   the  most  significant
"opportunity"  ever  presented  to  the  Army  of   Northern
Virginia.   Robert  E.   Lee's  modified  plan to attack "en
échelon" at Gettysburg on  July  2  ranks  among  the  least
understood  events  in  American  military  history.  Proper
examination of the attack "en échelon" will help students of
the  War  Between the States comprehend and appreciate Lee's
unique genius.                                              



Review of the July Program


Cramer  Gallimore  gave  a   fascinating   and   informative
presentation   on   the   recovery  and  excavation  of  the
Confederate submarine  H.   L.   Hunley.   His  position  as
official photographer for the project gave him access to the
entire process, and he showed many of the images  that  have
been  released  to the public.  Gallimore stated that he had
always been interested in time travel and felt that the  six
months  he  spent  last  year  in  Charleston  gave  him  an
opportunity of sorts to go back in history.                 

Horace L.  Hunley was a  businessman  whose  interests  were
hurt  by the Union blockade of the Southern coast.  He began
designing a submarine in 1861 with the goal of breaking  the
blockade  so  that  the Confederacy could resume imports and
exports.  Hunley's vessel was the  first  true  submarine-it
could navigate, dive, and surface.  It became the first such
vessel in history to destroy an enemy warship.  On  February
17,  1864, the Hunley used a spar torpedo to sink the U.  S.
S.  Housatonic.  The latter sank in about 22 feet of  water,
but  most  of  her  crew  survived  the attack.  Even though
successful in its mission, the Hunley itself sank  with  all
of  its  crewmembers.   The  great  mystery  has  been  what
happened to the submarine.                                  

Gallimore pointed out that the Hunley was found  covered  by
sand  under  about 22 feet of water.  She lay at a 45-degree
angle.  On a good day, the divers had about  three  feet  of
visibility,  while  on bad days they had none.  The recovery
team consisted of both  military  and  civilian  divers  and
archaeologists.   Gallimore  began by shooting their efforts
from the air.  He had a great bird's-eye view from  a  small
airplane.                                                   

After  the submarine was uncovered, it was lifted by a crane
and placed on a large barge.  It was then  taken  past  Fort
Sumter and The Battery up the Cooper River to a conservation
laboratory that had been set up in a  navy  warehouse.   The
Hunley  remained submerged in a special tank for four months
before excavation began.  Gallimore was able to use  special
photography  to  obtain incredible views of this work, which
began in February 2001.                                     

Water was drained from the tank, and scaffolding was set  up
to give the team access to the submarine.  They were able to
remove the rivets  to  get  into  the  sub's  interior  with
virtually  no  damage  to  the vessel.  Geologists took core
samples of the sediment that filled the Hunley in an attempt
to  help  understand  why  it  sank.  Every bit of water and
sediment was strained as it was removed to find things  like
human hair and remains of maritime creatures that had gotten
into the hull.   The  excavation  team  used  wooden  tongue
depressors  because  they  are soft and would not hurt human
remains or  artifacts.   Everyone  wore  hairnets  and  full
surgical  outfits to prevent any modern contamination of the
Hunley.                                                     

The recovery revealed many things about the  submarine  that
no  one knew about before.  For example, the wooden bench on
which the sub's crew sat had been  whitewashed.   Everything
was  in  a  remarkable  state of preservation.  Workers even
found a candle that had been placed in a carved holder and a
small  piece  of paper with printing on it.  On the last day
of the  excavation,  Lieutenant  George  Dixon's  good  luck
piece,  a  gold coin that was hit by a Minie ball at Shiloh,
was found in the left pocket of his trousers just  where  it
was supposed to be.                                         

When  asked  his  opinion  of  what  happened to the Hunley,
Gallimore stated that the evidence showed that she had  gone
down  dry,  and  he believed Dixon took her to the bottom to
avoid all the Union  boats  in  the  area.   There  the  air
apparently  ran  out  unexpectedly,  and  the crew died from
asphyxiation.                                               




 Announcements 

Fall Tour

On October 5, our fall tour will take us to Brandy  Station.
Clark  B.   "Bud"  Hall,  who  was one of the driving forces
behind the preservation efforts at  that  battlefield,  will
serve  as  tour guide.  The cost is very reasonable-just $20
per person.  We will depart from the WalMart parking lot  at
Brooke  and Parham at 8 a.  m.  and return about 5:30 p.  m.
Everyone should bring a lunch and their own drinks.  We will
provide  pastries and fruit as breakfast, as well as cookies
for an afternoon snack.  This promises to be one of the best
trips  the  Round  Table  has  been  on because we will have
access to some areas not normally open to the public.       


Museum of the Confederacy Seeks Volunteers

The Museum of the Confederacy  will  hold  its  annual  fund
raising  event weekend, Celebrate South, on April 4-6, 2003.
Each year the event recognizes a different  southern  state,
and  Florida will be the theme for 2003.  Guests from around
the country will enjoy  educational  events,  workshops,  an
auction,  and  the annual Civil War-themed ball, which comes
complete with period costumes and dancing.   Information  on
this  event  will  be  posted  as  it  become  available  at
www.moc.org.  Celebrate South is planned by a  committee  of
dedicated  and  interested  volunteers.  There is particular
need  for  volunteers   with   fund-raising   or   marketing
experience.  If interested, please see Carol Bergeron at the
next meeting.                                               


Book Signing Scheduled

Pamplin Historical Park near Petersburg  will  host  a  book
signing  on  Saturday, August 17.  Art Bergeron and Lawrence
L.  Hewitt will available to autograph copies of  their  new
book  Louisianians  in  the  Civil  War,  published  by  the
University of Missouri Press.  The  signings  will  be  held
from  1-2  p.m.  and again from 4-6 p.m.  Copies of the book
will be available for sale in the park's Museum Store. There
is  no  admission  charge  for this special event.  For more
information, call Pamplin Historical Park at (804) 861-2408.


New Online Newsletter Feature

The  online  edition  of  our  newsletter  now  features  an
articles section.  They are under the link:                 

RCWRT Members' & Speakers' Articles & Speeches

on our home page.  Dr.  Edward Smith  has  sent  an  article
that  is  an  800  line copy of his 1992 speech.  The latest
article, by our November speaker, is just a link to  another
web  site.   Members  should  submit  to  Gary  Cowardin any
published articles and permission to reproduce them  on  the
web  site.   Gary will put them in the appropriate location.
He will need to  receive  the  articles  in  e-mail  format,
attachment,  FAX, or paper with the preference in that order
(e-mail preferred).  We can also link to another web site if
necessary.   Each  article  will  need  to  be  approved  as
submitted  to  avoid  any  negative  situations   (language,
continent, etc.).                                           


RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2002


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 23 for September
September 20 for October
October 18 for November
November 22 for December


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