Edward J. Wooldridge, Pres.            Gary Cowardin, Editor    
13700 Lintel Lane                      1404 Lorraine Ave.       
Midlothian, VA 23113                   Richmond, VA 23227-3735  
edwool@verizon.net                     cowardin@juno.com        
 August 2009 Program

Betsy Estilow
"The Legacy of Civil War Medicine"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 11, 2009, 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.

Our scheduled speaker for August, George Wunderlich, will not be with us
due  to  personal  reasons.  In his place we are delighted to have Betsy
Estilow, President of the Board of Directors of the National  Museum  of
Civil War Medicine.                                                     

Ms.   Estilow  currently  serves  as  Professor  Emeritus of Biology and
adjunct instructor in Civil War history at Hood  College  in  Frederick,
Maryland.   She is also co-founder of the Society of Women and the Civil
War.                                                                    

Ms.  Estilow received a BS degree  in  biology  from  Albright  College,
Reading, Pa., a certificate in medical technology from the University of
Pennsylvania  Medical  Center,  Philadelphia,  and  a  MS  in   clinical
microbiology  from  West  Virginia  University.  In 1975, she joined the
faculty at Hood College and taught courses as varied as biology of aging
to  mechanisms of infectious disease.  She also taught a course on Civil
War history for Hood Elderhostel entitled "In the Footsteps of the  Blue
and  Gray."  She  has  researched,  written  and lectured on the role of
women, especially in medicine, during the 19th century.                 

Few  aspects  of  Civil  War  history  remain  as  mired  in  myths  and
misinformation  as  the  medical practices.  Just as the governments and
armies of  both  sides  had  to  evolve  to  deal  with  the  challenges
confronting  them so did the medical departments.  At our August meeting
Ms.  Estilow will discuss the technological and procedural changes  that
occurred  during  the Civil war that revolutionized medical care in both
the military and  civilian  life.   Additionally,  the  stories  of  the
caregivers  who  made  these  changes  and  met these challenges will be
discussed.                                                              
www.civilwarmed.org


A Note from Our July Speaker, Bevin Alexander

My appearance before the Richmond Civil War Round Table last  night  was
most  stimulating  to me.  Please convey to the membership my thanks for
their inviting me and for their patience in sitting through my talk.    

I am distressed, however, because  I  do  not  believe  I  expressed  my
thoughts adequately to the gentleman who referred to Lee as the "King of
Spades" and who raised the question about fortifications.  I would  very
much  appreciate your conveying to him my apologies, and sending him the
following explanation, which I hope is more coherent than the one I made
from the lectern:                                                       

I did not make clear enough the distinction between field fortifications
and more stable defensive fortifications, such as those Lee  ordered  in
front  of  Richmond prior to the Seven Days.  Stable fortifications have
an ancient history---the walls of Greek city states were  fortifications
of   this   sort,   as   were  the  castles  of  medieval  Europe.   The
fortifications Lee built south of the Chickahominy had a similar aim: to
deter  the  Union  army  in  its  expected  assault  on the city.  Field
fortifications (which I was intending to be talking  about)  were  quite
different.   They  were defenses set up by troops on the march.  William
Tecumseh Sherman described how soldiers built  these  fortifications  as
soon  as  they  stopped for the night (see Battles and Leaders, vol.  4,
248).  Porter Alexander drew a cross section of such works  in  Fighting
for  the  Confederacy,  409.   Lee  was slow to accept the idea of field
fortifications while on the move.  For example, both Second Manassas and
Antietam  were fought without constructed field fortifications.  Jackson
employed the unfinished railway cut at Groveton as a defensive shield of
sorts,  and  D.H.   Hill's troops used the partial shelter of the Bloody
Lane at Antietam.  But in neither battle were field fortifications built
routinely.   This  changed,  as  I  mentioned  in  my  talk,  after  the
experience of the stone wall on the Sunken  Road  at  Fredericksburg  in
December 1862.  Thereafter, field fortifications were constructed almost
universally.  The significance  of  field  fortifications,  however,  is
their  combination  with  the  fire  power  of  the Mini‚-ball rifle and
12-pounder Napoleons in creating an almost impenetrable defense.  Jackson
recognized  that this "terrible trinity" made it virtually impossible to
attack a strongly held defensive position successfully, and therefore  a
new  system  had to be devised.  The system he came up with was "defend,
then attack"---that is, to go on the defensive,  stop  a  Union  attack,
then  swing around the flank of the demoralized Union soldiers and drive
them into retreat.  James Longstreet accepted this concept  of  Jackson,
as  did  a number of other officers, for example, Porter Alexander.  The
point I was trying to make in my talk was that Robert E.   Lee  did  not
accept the futility of frontal assaults against well-defended lines, and
continued to make them---not only at Gettysburg---but almost to the last
days  of  the war (he lost one-tenth of his remaining army in a hopeless
assault against Fort Stedman at Petersburg on March 25, 1865).   I  hope
this  explanation conveys my thinking a bit better than I was able to do
in my Q&A session.                                                      
                                  Again, many thanks for the invitation!
                                  Regards, Bevin                        
                  www.bevinalexander.com

Save the Date-Nov. 19, 2009

The RCWRT's 2009 annual dinner is scheduled for the evening of Thursday,
Nov.   19.   It  will  be  held  again  this  year  at the University of
Richmond's Jepson Alumni Center.  Our speaker  for  the  event  will  be
renowned historian James I.  "Bud" Robertson.  Please mark your calendar
and watch for more details in next month's newsletter.                  

We Need Your Help

If  you have an E-mail address and internet access and are not currently
E-mail receiving your newsletter notification please let me know ASAP.  

My E-mail address is:  cowardin@juno.com
(Just click my E-mail address above)

Looking for a Volunteer

We have a copy of The Rebel and the Rose by Wesley  Millett  and  Gerald
White,  a  nominee  for  the  Jefferson Davis Award at the Museum of the
Confederacy.  It  tells  the  true  story  of  a  dedicated  Confederate
Paymaster James Semple, who was entrusted with the Confederate Treasury.
We would like for a member to read and review this book for the website.
For more information contact:                                           
Sam Craghead, Public Relations Specialist, Museum of the Confederacy,
804-649-1861  Ext. 13

Some Upcoming Events


Wayside Theatre in Middletown VA will present the production
"Robert E. Lee and John Brown; Lighting the Fuse"
Beginning August 29 through September 26, 2009

The play is written by Warner Crocker and with music by Steve Przybylski.
The  production is one of the events of the Quad State 150th Anniversary
of John Brown's Raid at Harpers Ferry in 1859.  The play tells the story
of  John Brown's dramatic raid on Harper's Ferry and paints a picture of
that tumultuous time in our nation's history.  The play brings these two
important  historical figures face to face using many of their own words
to tell the story that concluded with Lee's refusal to accept command of
the Union army in 1861.                                                 

Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM and Wednesday,
Saturday  and Sunday matinees at 2:30 PM.  Except Sunday, August 30, the
official opening performance is at 6:30 PM.  Cost  $25-$30  for  adults,
Children 17 years and younger are $10.00 for any performance.           
Reserve seating.  Call (540) 869-1776 Box Office to reserve.
 www.waysidetheatre.org/2009-2010waysidetheatre.htm 
Also see:
 www.johnbrownraid.org/index.php 

University of Richmond offers course on Civil War in Virginia

The University of Richmond's School of Continuing Studies will  offer  a
course  titled "Civil War in Virginia - The War's Last Year, 1864-1865."
Meeting 7:00 - 9:00 PM on four Monday nights (Oct.   26-  November  16),
the  course  will  discuss the Siege of Petersburg, the 1864 campaign in
the Shenandoah Valley, the desperate fighting in Southside  Virginia  in
the spring of 1865 that lead to the evacuation of Richmond and, finally,
Lee's retreat and surrender at Appomattox.  Participants will also  take
a  Saturday  field  trip to Petersburg, Sailors Creek, and Appomattox on
November 21, 2009.                                                      

This course is led by Round Table  member  Jack  Mountcastle,  the  U.S.
Army's  former  Chief of Military History.  Class discussions will focus
on the soldiers and leaders who continued to fight on during  this  last
year  of the Civil War and on the effects the war had on Virginia and on
the families of the fighting men.  The instructor will supply additional
info  as take-home material.  The cost of the non-credit course is $169.
Registration begins in early August.                                    

Details: Call University of Richmond's School of Continuing  Studies  at
289-8133  or  visit their website at scs.richmond.edu Look for "Schedules
& Catalogs" and then select the Think Again Noncredit course catalog.    
The direct link (2nd item):                                             

deans.richmond.edu/scs/thinkagain/courses/list/?div=Personal%20Enrichment&cat=History


The North East Ohio Civil War Round Table
Will Return to Richmond Again This Year

This year's field  trip  will  be  October  3  and  4,  2009.   We  will
concentrate  on  the second half of Grant's Overland Campaign.  Sites of
visit and study will include North Anna, Hanover Junction, Cold  Harbor,
Haw's Shop, Totopotomoy Creek, Yellow Tavern and Drewery's Bluff.       

Our  leader this year will be R.  E.  L.  Krick.  We have a 47 passenger
bus each day.  The bus will leave the Wyndham Virginia Crossings  Resort
promptly at 8:30 AM each morning.                                       

We  have  a  limited number of openings available to members and friends
of the Richmond Civil War Round Table who would care to join us.        

We anticipate that the total cost of the two day trip  will  be  $100  -
$125.  Folks can reserve their spot by forwarding a $100 trip deposit to
me.  The fee includes daily box lunches and the Saturday night dinner.  

Brent Morgan
Richmond Coordinator, NEOCWRT Field Trip
9091 Pantego Ln
Mechanicsville, VA 23116-5837
804-550-3039

Visit the The Museum of the Confederacy Online Events Calendar
for MOC Events Calendar:

http://www.moc.org/site/PageServer?pagename=visit_cal


Pamplin Historical Park
and
The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier
Special Events Calendar:

http://www.pamplinpark.org/events.html


RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2009


Richmond Civil War Round Table Newsletter
Gary Cowardin, Editor  
1404 Lorraine Ave.     
Richmond, VA 23227-3735

cowardin@juno.com