Brag Bowling, President         Rob Monroe, Editor     
3019 Kensington Ave             2416 Edenbrook Dr.     
Richmond, VA 23221              Richmond, VA 23228-3040

October 2003 PROGRAM

Dr. Lawrence L. Hewitt

"The Confederacy's Best Chance for Victory: 
Robert E. Lee and the Battle of Annihilation"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 14, 2003, 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.

A  native  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  Lawrence  Lee  Hewitt
received  his  B.A.  from the University of Kentucky.  After
attending graduate school  there,  where  he  studied  under
Charles  P.   Roland,  Hewitt transferred to Louisiana State
University.  Following the death of T.  Harry  Williams,  he
completed  his  dissertation  under William J.  Cooper, Jr.,
and received his Ph.D.  in 1984.                            

Hewitt was the manager of  the  Port  Hudson  Historic  Site
(1978-1982)  and  the  Camp  Moore  Confederate Cemetery and
Museum  (1982-1986);  in  1985  he  joined  the  faculty  of
Southeastern  Louisiana  University.  He served in a variety
of capacities in the Baton  Rouge  Civil  War  Round  Table,
including  that  of president.  He attained the rank of full
professor before resigning in 1996 to  marry  a  native  and
resident of Chicago.                                        

Hewitt's  presentation consists of a slide show dealing with
the book on which he currently is working.  It  consists  of
three parts: (1) The historiograpy of "The Lost Cause" since
1865-focuses on the arguments previously presented regarding
why  the  South  lost, or even if the Confederacy ever had a
chance to survive, much less win the war; (2) Lee, Davis and
Confederate  Strategy,  1861-1863-argues  that Lee and Davis
thought the Confederacy could win  and  describes  how  they
determined   to   achieve   that   goal;   and  (3)  Lee  at
Gettysburg-argues that the four Confederates who contributed
most  to  Lee's defeat at the battle did not include Stuart,
Ewell, or Longstreet.                                       

Though some of the second part agrees with the  writings  of
Joseph  Harsh  and much of part three was recently described
by Scott Bowden and Bill Ward, the overall  argument,  which
reflects  more  than forty years of study of the Lee and his
army by the speaker, runs counter to the current  trends  of
historical scholarship.                                     


Review of the September Program


Dr.  Stephen Davis spoke on the subject "Atlanta Will  Fall:
Sherman, Joe Johnston, and the Yankee Heavy Battalions." His
focus was on which Confederate general, Joseph E.   Johnston
or  John  Bell  Hood,  deserves  the  blame  for the fall of
Atlanta.  From the start, Davis made it clear that he faults
Johnston, who commanded the Army of Tennessee from early May
until  mid-July  1864.   Hood  did  his   best   under   bad
circumstances.   Not  until  the  early 1970s did historians
like  Thomas  Connelly  begin  taking  a  critical  look  at
Johnston's  leadership.  Richard McMurry's biography of Hood
presented a sympathetic view of that general's activities in
the  campaign.  Steven Woodworth, in Davis and His Generals,
said that Jefferson Davis should have fired Johnston earlier
than he did.                                                

Johnston  had  held command of the army since December 1863.
Davis  and  presidential  advisor,  General  Braxton  Bragg,
hounded  Johnston  about  how  he planned to drive Sherman's
forces from north Georgia.  Nevertheless, Johnston failed to
draw  up  such  a  plan.   Once  the  Union  campaign began,
Johnston failed to reconnoiter the  ground  and  left  Snake
Creek  Gap  wide  open.  As an engineer, this was a terrible
error.  Sherman seemed to know the terrain better  than  his
opponent.   The  Confederate  commander had a morbid fear of
being flanked.  He had his engineers preparing positions  in
the  rear,  and  the  soldiers  in  the  army  were becoming
demoralized.                                                

Steve Davis looked at  obscure  Confederate  newspapers  for
information about how the soldiers and the public viewed the
campaign.  He found an article written in early May 1864  in
which  the soldier (Henry Watterson) predicted "Atlanta will
fall."  This  shows  the  growing  lack  of  confidence   in
Johnston.                                                   

As  the  Confederate  army drew closer to Atlanta, President
Davis began asking about Hood as a replacement for Johnston.
There  was  a cabinet meeting in which there was a unanimous
vote for that general's removal.  How many men were  present
is  unclear.  Davis asked them who would be named to command
the army.  He received more information from Bragg about the
situation in Georgia than he had gotten from Johnston. Still
Davis hesitated to make the critical decision; he was giving
Johnston one last chance.                                   

Once he assumed command, what was Hood expected to do?  Davis
clearly wished him to strike "a manly blow." Hood  hoped  to
emulate  Robert  E.   Lee's and Stonewall Jackson's flanking
attacks.  On  all  three  occasions  when  he  attacked  the
Federals, Hood planned to hit the enemy's flanks.  According
to Steve Davis, the assault east of Atlanta on July  22  was
worthy of Jackson, though it fell short of its goal.        

Hood    tried    sending   his   cavalry   after   Sherman's
communications.  Johnston had been afraid to do so  and  had
begged  for  cavalry  forces to be sent from other theaters.
The raid had no strategic effect, but at least Hood had made
the effort.  By mid-August, Hood had only one railroad still
operating.  Sherman sent troops to cut this last link to the
city.   Steve Davis argued that Jonesboro was not a critical
battle, as some historians have written.  The last  railroad
had  already  been  cut  by  the  Federals.   Hood  had done
everything  he  could  to  save  Atlanta.   He  simply   had
inherited an untenable situation.                           


Upcomming Events

Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil
War  Soldier  will  hold  its  seventh  annual  symposium on
October 18  and  19.   "Corps  Commanders  of  the  Army  of
Northern Virginia" will feature Frank O'Reilly, Gordon Rhea,
Jeffrey Wert and other  nationally  respected  speakers,  as
well  as a group tour.  Reservations are required and may be
made  on  the  park's  website,  www.pamplinpark.org  or  by
calling toll-free 1-877-PAMPLIN.                            

The  annual reenactment of the Battle of Cedar Creek will be
held  October  18  and  19.   The  Cedar  Creek  Battlefield
Foundation  will  host  the  event  on  the actual Frederick
County   battlefield.     For    more    information    call
1-888-628-1864 or log on to www.cedarcreekbattlefield.org   

Campbell to Step Down as Executive Director
of Museum of the Confederacy

The Board of Trustees of The Confederate  Memorial  Literary
Society has announced the upcoming retirement of Col.  J. A.
Barton Campbell, executive director of The Museum and  White
House  of  the Confederacy.  Campbell, who left the Board of
Trustees to head the museum in 2002, will be  stepping  down
after  his replacement has been appointed, probably in early
2004.                                                       

Board  Chairman  J.E.B.   Stuart  IV  said   of   Campbell's
decision: "Although the Board and museum staff are extremely
sad at the  prospect  of  Col.   Campbell's  departure,  the
reality is that in 2002 the Board requested that he help out
for a specific short-term mission, which he has  fulfilled."
Campbell,  who  had  already  retired  from  careers  in the
military and corporate sectors when the board appointed  him
executive  director,  always  projected a finite term in the
position.  He will continue his service to the museum  as  a
volunteer  and  will  return  to  the Board of Trustees next
year.                                                       

"In addition to his outstanding  leadership  in  helping  to
strengthen  our  financial  position,  Campbell's  unbridled
enthusiasm for the museum has helped bolster the  confidence
of long-time supporters," Stuart said.  "He has also brought
many new fans and new members to the museum, so  our  future
looks very bright."                                         

The  Board  of  Trustees  is conducting a national search of
museum executives to fill the executive director role.      

In other Museum news, a massive horse chestnut tree  in  the
garden  of the White House of the Confederacy fell victim to
Hurricane Isabel.  The tree was probably planted by Dr.  John
Brockenbrough,  who  in 1818-19 created the garden and built
the Court End mansion which five decades later  would  serve
as  The White House of the Confederacy.  The fallen tree was
the last of the three or more historic chestnut  trees  that
once  shaded  the garden.  Only an oak tree remains from the
original early 19th-century garden.                         

The week the storm hit, The Museum and White  House  of  the
Confederacy  was  in  the  process  of documenting the horse
chestnut for nomination in The National Registry of Historic
Trees.   Now  it  simply  awaits  sectioning  and  disposal.
Anxious to retain some connection with  the  chestnut  tree,
the  museum staff is entertaining suggestions about possible
commemorative products that may  be  made  from  the  tree's
wood.    Anyone  interested  in  learning  about  the  final
disposition may inquire of the museum in mid-October.       

Annual Holiday Dinner

The Richmond Civil War Round Table's annual  holiday  dinner
will  be  held  on  Tuesday, November 11, at the Willow Oaks
Country Club.  Our speaker will be Robert K.  Krick, and his
topic will be "The Confederate Pattons." The cost per person
is $25.00.                                                  

	The meeting schedule will be as follows:            
		6:00-7:00 p.m. - Cash Bar                   
		7:00-7:45 p.m. - Dinner                     
		7:45 p.m. - Meeting begins                  
		8:00 p.m. - Speaker                         

All members are urged to attend this Holiday Dinner.  Please
fill  out  the  form  below, clip it out, and send it to Art
Bergeron, 3901 Paces Ferry  Road,  Chester,  VA  23831-1239.
Make  all  checks  payable  to  the Richmond Civil War Round
Table.  Let any interested friends know  about  the  meeting
and  tell them that they are welcome to attend.  If you have
special dietary needs or prefer a  vegetarian  meal,  please
indicate this on your form.
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Richmond Civil War Round Table
Annual Holiday Dinner Reservation Form

Name _______________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Number of persons attending _____________                   

Amount of check $ _______________                           


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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:           

November newsletter, October 24 
December newsletter, November 21

Information may be emailed to rmonroe@richmond.com

RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2003


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