John Coski, President                  Rob Monroe, Editor       
5028 King William Road                 2416 Edenbrook Dr.       
Richmond, VA 23225                     Richmond, VA 23228-3040  
jmcoski@peoplepc.com                   RMonroe500@comcast.net   
 September 2008 PROGRAM

Edwin C. Bearss
"The Battle of Shiloh"

It has been said that "the South never  smiled  again  after
the  Battle  of  Shiloh."  The Civil War's first blood bath,
this two-day battle in April 1862 resulted  in  a  total  of
23,000  battle  casualties,  equal  to those at Waterloo and
more than those of  all  previous  American  wars  combined.
Before the Battle of Shiloh, considered opinion in the North
was that one decisive battle would bring a quick end to  the
Civil  War.  After the battle, it was clear that there would
be no easy victory over the South and that the war would  be
"a very bloody affair."                                     

At  our September meeting, renowned historian Ed Bearss will
present an overview of the Battle of Shiloh,  including  his
unique  perspectives  on the role of key commanders involved
in the campaign and the military tactics they implemented.  

Bearss is a veteran of 52 years of government service, 41 of
them  with  the  National  Park  Service.  He worked in both
Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Washington, D.C.,  before  being
named  the  National Park Service's Chief Historian in 1981.
Retired  since1995,  Bearss  has  continued   his   lifelong
association with our nation's military history by lecturing,
writing, and appearing as a commentator on Civil War-related
television  programs.   A  popular battlefield guide, Bearss
also has won any number of awards for his work in the  field
of  history  and  preservation,  including the Department of
Interior's highest award, the Distinguished Service Award.  


University of Richmond
Forum Examines Lincoln's Leadership

The canonization of Abraham Lincoln as the Great Emancipator
and  the Savior of the Union began as soon as he was shot on
Good Friday 1865.   In  celebrating  Lincoln  the  kind  and
sagacious  leader,  eulogists  drove  from view the guileful
politician and the man of human foibles.  An 1865  newspaper
described  what  was  at  work  in this way: "It has made it
impossible to speak the truth of Abraham Lincoln hereafter."

Time has passed, and the  bicentennial  of  Lincoln's  birth
approaches.   Scholars  are  more confident about reaching a
disinterested  judgment  on  key   features   of   Lincoln's
presidential  leadership:  his  vision,  strategic  command,
political management, and techniques as a communicator.     

Oxford  University  historian  Richard  Carwardine   relates
Lincoln's compelling personal and public story in Lincoln: A
Life of Purpose and Power.  The book traces  Lincoln's  rise
to  power  and  his  years  in the White House, paying close
attention to the evolution of his  political  agenda,  moral
principles,   religious   beliefs,  and  changing  views  on
slavery.  In presenting his more objective view of  Lincoln,
Carwardine suggests that Lincoln's "wonderful self-reliance"
was key to his executive achievements.  Carwardine shares  a
broad view of Lincoln the man, the politician, and the moral
leader.                                                     

Carwardine will speak at the University of Richmond's Jepson
Alumni  Center  on  Friday,  September  12 at 7 p.m.  A book
signing and reception will follow.                          

Abraham Lincoln's  leadership  can  only  be  understood  by
grasping the challenges he faced.  Those challenges included
not only the Confederacy and its army  but  also  a  starkly
divided Northern electorate and public opinion.  Lincoln had
to win a war at home as well as one against a  more  obvious
enemy.                                                      

Thought  to  be  the  first  modern  president for a host of
reasons, Lincoln faced conflicts, mistakes, miscalculations,
and  competing  values  everywhere he turned.  He invented a
concept of presidential war powers that  the  Supreme  Court
later rebuked.  Against a complicated political backdrop, he
issued  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  citing  it  as   a
military,  not a moral, necessity.  He conducted a balancing
act  between  abolitionists  and   border-state   moderates,
between  radicals  and  conservatives,  and struggled with a
parade of generals over military strategy.                  

As scholar James MacGregor Burns pointed out in his  seminal
book,  Leadership: "Wars, depression, domestic unrest, [and]
great moral issues... have posed the most urgent questions of
value  and  purpose  for pragmatic politicians, however much
they have sought to evade them." Lincoln could not evade the
realities  of  his time, and we understand his leadership by
examining how he faced them.                                

On Tuesday, October  7,  University  of  Richmond  President
Edward  L.   Ayers  will  speak  about  Lincoln's conflicts,
mistakes,  miscalculations,  and  competing   values.    The
lecture  will begin at 7 p.m.  in UR's Modlin Center for the
Arts.                                                       

Tickets may be reserved  two  weeks  before  each  event  by
calling the Modlin Center Box Office at (804) 289-8980.  For
more information online  jepson.richmond.edu/forum08/tickets


Trial of Jefferson Davis is
Topic of Bottimore Lecture

A panel of acclaimed historians will  discuss  "The  Treason
Trial  of  Jefferson  Davis"  at  the  13th annual Elizabeth
Roller Bottimore Lecture which will be held  from  7:30-9:00
p.m.   on  Thursday,  September  25th  at  the University of
Richmond's Keller Hall Reception Room.  Co-sponsored by  The
Museum  of  the  Confederacy  and the University of Richmond
History Department, the program is underwritten by  a  grant
from the Roller Bottimore Foundation.                       

In 1866, the U.S.  Government indicted Jefferson Davis, then
a state prisoner at Fort Monroe, of treason.  For  the  next
two  years,  as  Davis'  attorneys prepared his defense, the
government continued the case and was obviously in no  hurry
to  bring  it  to  trial.   Finally, early in 1869, the case
against the Confederate president was dropped.              

What was the case against  Jefferson  Davis?   Why  was  the
government  so  reluctant  to  press it?  Was the government
afraid that it would lose?  If the government did  prosecute
and  lose, would that mean that secession from the Union was
not  unconstitutional  and  that  600,000   men   had   died
needlessly?                                                 

"The  Treason  Trial  of Jefferson Davis" panel will feature
Kent Masterson Brown, Clint Johnson, and Cynthia  Nicoletti.
Brown  is  a  historian  best  known for his acclaimed book,
Retreat  From  Gettysburg,  and  is  also  an  attorney  and
constitutional  lawyer who practices in Lexington, Kentucky,
and Washington, DC.  Johnson, a historian and journalist, is
the  author  of the recent book Pursuit: The Chase, Capture,
Persecution and Surprising Release of Confederate  President
Jefferson  Davis.  Nicoletti holds a law degree from Harvard
University and is finishing her Ph.D.   in  history  at  the
University  of  Virginia;  her dissertation is on "The Great
Question of the War: The Legal Status of  Secession  in  the
Aftermath of the Civil War, 1865-1869."                     

The  program  is  free  and  open to the public, but advance
registration is strongly recommended.  Register  on-line  at
http://www.moc.org/ (click on "Special Davis Events" on home
page) or by contacting Linda  Lipscomb  at  (804)  649-1861,
ext.  32 or LLipscomb@moc.org                               


ACWC Board Votes to Accept Davis Statue

Christy S.  Coleman, President of  the  American  Civil  War
Center,  announced  last  month  that  the Center's Board of
Directors voted to accept the offer of a statue of Jefferson
Davis, commissioned by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.    

"The fundamental mission of The American Civil War Center is
to tell the whole story of our  nation's  greatest  conflict
from  three  perspectives:  Union,  Confederate  and African
American," said Coleman.  "We seek to involve our  visitors,
scholars  and  patrons  in  engaging,  thought-provoking and
academically sound considerations of the Civil War  and  its
legacies."                                                  

Before  making  a  decision the Board of Directors consulted
staff and received valuable input from the public,  scholars
and  historians  including  William  J.   Cooper Jr., former
President  of  Louisiana  State  University,  and  Elizabeth
Muhlenfeld, President of Sweet Briar College.               

John  Motley,  Chair  of  the  Board  of Directors said, "We
appreciate the offer of the statue of Jefferson  Davis  from
the   International   Sons  of  Confederate  Veterans.   The
Center's Board has decided the statue can  be  used  in  the
execution  of  our  mission - to tell the whole story of the
conflict  that  still   shapes   our   nation   from   three
perspectives.   We  recognize  this  decision may cause some
dissention; however, in  conformance  with  our  Collections
Policy,  the  Center  shall  have the right to determine the
statue's use and interpretation.  It should  be  noted  that
the  Abraham  Lincoln statue currently on this Tredegar site
was gifted to the National Park Service in 2003 by the  U.S.
Historical Society and is part of their collection."        


Annual Dinner Meeting Upcoming November 13

Fall is just around the corner and that means it's  time  to
start thinking about our annual dinner meeting.  This year's
event will be held at 6 p.m.  on Thursday, November  13,  at
the  Jepson Alumni Center on the campus of the University of
Richmond.   Our  speaker  will  be  University  of  Richmond
President Ed Ayers; and his topic will be "Aftermath."      

This promises to be an exciting event that you don't want to
miss so make plans, now, to  be  there.   The  cost  of  the
dinner  is  $40/person.  To reserve your spot(s), bring your
check payable to the RCWRT to the next meeting, or  mail  it
to Ed Wooldridge, 13700 Lintel Lane, Midlothian, VA 23113.  


Upcoming Events

Sunday, September 14
"Born To Command: The  Meteoric  Rise  of  Jefferson  Davis,
1824-1861."   The   American  Civil  War  Center  marks  the
bicentennial of the Confederate  president's  birth  with  a
program by Center educator Jimmy Price tracing Davis' career
from his education at West Point through  his  tenure  as  a
U.S.   Senator.   Event  begins  at 2 p.m., $10 or free with
paid admission or Center membership.                        

Saturday & Sunday, September 27-28
"The   Battles   for    Richmond."    Anniversary    program
commemorating  actions  at New Market Heights, Fort Harrison
and Fort Gilmer.  Special events include battlefield  tours,
living  history  encampments, weapons firing demonstrations,
exhibits  and  displays.   Free  event  at   Fort   Harrison
Battlefield,  10  a.m.   to  5 p.m.  Saturday, 10 a.m.  to 3
p.m.  Sunday.                                               

Saturday & Sunday, September 27-28
"Peebles' Farm Weekend." One of the lesser-known yet pivotal
battles of the Siege of Petersburg will be the focus of this
caravan tour beginning at Poplar  Grove  National  Cemetery.
Free.   For  times  and  further  information  contact Tracy
Chernault at (804) 265-8244.                                

Saturday & Sunday, October 4-5
"Encampment at Drewry's  Bluff."  Park  rangers  and  living
history  volunteers  representing  Confederate  sailors will
present  a  series  of  talks,  tours   and   demonstrations
depicting   garrison   life   inside   the   Drewry`s  Bluff
fortifications.  Free.  10 a.m.-5 p.m.  Saturday, 10  a.m.-3
p.m.  Sunday.                                               


RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2008


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