Richard Forrester, President           Rob Monroe, Editor       
8008 Spottswood Road                   2416 Edenbrook Dr.       
Richmond, VA 23229                     Richmond, VA 23228-3040  
dforrester@verizon.net                 RMonroe500@comcast.net   
October 2005 PROGRAM

Gordon C. Rhea
"Yellow Tavern, Stuart and Sheridan"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 11, 2005, 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 Arlington, Gordon C.   Rhea  now  lives  in  Mt.
Pleasant,  South Carolina and St.  Croix in the U.S.  Virgin
Islands.  He holds  a  bachelor's  degree  in  history  from
Indiana  University,  a  master's  degree  in  history  from
Harvard  University,  and  a  J.D.   degree  from   Stanford
University Law School.  Rhea is a partner in the law firm of
Alkon and Rhea, where he has  worked  since  1982.   He  was
Special  Assistant  to  the  Chief  Counsel,  Senate  Select
Committee on Intelligence Activities, in  Washington,  D.C.,
1975-1976;  Assistant  United  States  Attorney, Washington,
D.C.,  1976-1981;  and  Assistant  United  States  Attorney,
Virgin  Islands,  1981-1982.   He  is  married  and  has two
children.                                                   

Rhea is the  author  of  four  award-winning  books  on  the
Overland  Campaign:  The  Battle of the Wilderness, May 5-6,
1864 (1994); The Battles for Spotsylvania  Court  House  and
the  Road  to  Yellow  Tavern: May 7-12, 1864 (1997); To the
North Anna River: Grant and Lee, May 13-25, 1864 (2000); and
Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26-June 3, 1964 (2002).  His
most recent book is Carrying the Flag: The Story of  Private
Charles  Whilden,  the  Confederacy's  Most  Unlikely  Hero,
published last year by  Basic  Books.   He  has  contributed
essays  to  magazines  and  publications  such  as  Gary  W.
Gallagher (comp.) The Wilderness Campaign  (1997);  Gary  W.
Gallagher (comp.), The Spotsylvania Campaign (1998); and The
Oxford Companion to American Military History (1999).   Rhea
also  penned  the  forward  to  Eric  J.  Wittenberg's Glory
Enough for All: Sheridan's Second Raid  and  the  Battle  of
Trevilian Station (2001).                                   

Summary of September Meeting

At the Richmond Civil War Round Table's  September  meeting,
members had the privilege of hearing "one of our own." RCWRT
member Robert E.L.  Krick spoke to the Round  Table  on  the
Terrill brothers of Warm Springs.  Krick, who spends much of
his time traveling across the country speaking to groups  at
various Civil War events, remarked that he was happy to have
a "home game" here in Richmond.                             

There are many reasons why  the  Civil  War  has  fascinated
millions  of  people  throughout  the  generations that have
passed in the last 140 years.  One of the major  attractions
is  the  way  the  war  pitted family against family, cousin
against  cousin,  and  sometimes  brother  against  brother.
Perhaps there is no more compelling story of two siblings on
opposite sides of the conflict than the Terrill brothers  of
Bath County.                                                

James  Barbour  Terrill was born in 1838, the sixth of eight
children.  Though he was far from an  excellent  pupil,  his
father  wrote a recommendation letter for him to be accepted
at VMI - a common practice at that time.   It  would  be  an
understatement  to  say  James  struggled  at  the Lexington
school.   Pleading  letters  from  his  father  to   a   VMI
administrator  may  have  been the only reason James was not
dismissed.  Eventually he  persevered  and  was  one  of  19
graduates  in  1858.   He returned to Warm Springs and began
practicing law.                                             

William Rufus Terrill was four years older than his  brother
James.   William  went  to  West  Point  and became an above
average student.  He graduated 16th in his class of  52  but
accumulated  several  demerits.   Often  these offences were
tobacco related and it is said that he kept cigars under his
bed.   A  much-publicized  fight  with  Phil  Sheridan marks
William's West Point record.  The fracas netted  Sheridan  a
one-year  suspension  from  school.   William stayed at West
Point  after  graduation  and   became   a   math   teacher.
Ironically,  this  was  his younger brother's worst subject.
William's marriage to a Philadelphia woman may have  been  a
significant  factor  in  his  decision  to  stay north after
school.                                                     

Back in Bath County, James had become a major in the  prewar
militia.   April  1861  found  him  drilling  new  cadets at
Harper's Ferry.  He married a girl from King William County,
became  a  lieutenant  colonel in the 13th Virginia Infantry
and learned under then-Col.   A.P.   Hill.   James  was  not
popular  with  his men - one soldier's diary referred to him
as "Major Terrible." This animosity may have been fueled  by
James's refusal to endorse a petition drafted by some of his
junior officers.  Without his endorsement, their petition to
become  a  cavalry  unit  was  effectively killed.  The move
alienated his men  and  there  was  speculation  that  James
shunned the endorsement because he knew he could be promoted
easier in the infantry.                                     

At the beginning of the war, William was sent to the Western
Theater.   There  is  evidence  that he requested to be sent
west, away from his family.  He was a captain  of  artillery
at  Shiloh and had risen to brigadier general by the time of
Perryville.  It was at this Kentucky battle that William was
badly  wounded  in  the  chest  when a Confederate artillery
barrage decimated his unit.  He died the following day.     

In the Eastern Theater, James  reached  the  zenith  of  his
career  under  John  Pegram at the battles of Wilderness and
Spotsylvania.  James was probably witness to the famous "Lee
to  the  rear"  incident.   On May 30, 1864, days before the
Battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  he  was  shot  and  killed  while
commanding  a  "forlorn  charge" at Bethesda Church.  He was
only two days away from being promoted to brigadier  general
by  Lee  and  Davis.  James was later eulogized by his men -
even his former critics.  After the battle about  seven  men
went  to  retrieve  his  body  but  all were captured.  Days
later, after the Union army had left the field, James's body
was  found in a shallow grave and moved, however there seems
to be no record of his final resting place.  With the spread
of  residential  homes  in  that  section of Hanover County,
Krick lamented that there is  a  strong  possibility  a  new
house now sets on his remains.                              

In  Bath  County,  a  story  has  long  circulated  that the
Terrill's father, in honor of his  fallen  sons,  erected  a
stone  with  the  inscription  "God  alone  knows  which was
right." The story was circulated to the extent that  it  was
published  in  a  Richmond  newspaper  in 1886.  Despite the
efforts of many a determined searcher combing the  hills  of
Bath County, the stone has never been found.                

A Look Ahead to 2006

The following officers are up for election for the  Richmond
Civil War Round Table in 2006:                              
President:  Shep Parsons
Vice-President:  Bernie Fisher
Second Vice-President:  John Coski

Treasurer Richard Grosse, Secretary Sandy Parker,  Webmaster
Gary Cowardin and newsletter editor Rob Monroe will continue
in their posts.   The  following  speakers  are  tentatively
scheduled to visit the Round Table next year:               

January   10:   James   Blankenship,   Petersburg   National
Battlefield (US Military Railroad)

February 14: A.  Wilson Greene,  Pamplin  Park  (Petersburg,
Va: Confederate City in the Crucible of War)

March  14:  Stephen  Cushman, University of Virginia (Bloody
Promenade: Reflections on a Civil War Battle)

April   11:   Peter   Carmichael,   University   of    North
Carolina-Greensboro  (Last  Generation:  Young Virginians in
Peace, War, and Reunion)

May 9: Jay  Jorgensen,  R.E.   Lee  Civil  War  Round  Table
(Gettysburg's Bloody Wheatfield)

June 13: Gary Gallagher, University of Virginia (topic to be
announced)

July 11: John J.  Fox III (The Brutal Realities of War)     

August 8: Noah Andre Trudeau  (Black  Soldiers'  Experience:
History of the 4th Division, 9th Corps)

September 12: Chris Kolakowski (topic to be announced)      

October  10:  James M.  Perry, Wall Street Journal - retired
(Touched with  Fire:  Five  Presidents  and  the  Civil  War
Battles That Made Them)

November 14: speaker to be announced                        

December  12:  Mike  Gorman,  Richmond  National Battlefield
(topic to be announced)

RCWRT's Annual Dinner is Next Month

Richmond's daytime high temperatures continue to  exceed  80
degrees,  but  don't  be  fooled.   It really is October, it
truly is autumn and our annual holiday dinner is only  weeks
away!                                                       

On  Tuesday  evening,  November  8,  we'll  meet  high above
downtown Richmond on the 24th floor of the SunTrust Bank  at
919 East Main Street.  There is no charge for parking in the
bank's Cary Street entrance.                                

In addition to the fine  food  and  spectacular  view,  Jeff
Johnston,  a  marine  biologist  with  the  Monitor National
Marine Sanctuary, will present a discussion and  slide  show
on  the remarkable recovery and restoration of the legendary
ironclad.                                                   

The cost for this special dinner and  presentation  is  $35.
Don't  let  time  sneak  up on you.  Bring your check to the
RCWRT's October 11 meeting or mail to:                      


Shep Parsons      
107 Rose Hill Dr. 
Richmond, VA 23229


The Richmond Civil War  Round  Table  would  like  to  thank
Bernie   Fisher  for  planning  and  organizing  our  highly
successful  fall   field   trip   to   the   site   of   the
Monitor-Merrimac clash on Hampton Roads.  Great job, Bernie!

RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2005

You can receive your newsletter sooner and help the Richmond
Civil  War  Round  Table save money by signing up to receive
your newsletter via email.  To add your name  to  the  list,
simply email the editor at RMonroe500@comcast.net Thanks!   

To facilitate the printing and timely  distribution  of  the
monthly  newsletter,  information for it should be submitted
to the editor no later than the following dates:            

	November newsletter, October 29  
	December newsletter, December 3  

Information may be emailed to RMonroe500@comcast.net   
or
Richmond Civil War Round Table Newsletter
Rob Monroe, Editor     
2416 Edenbrook Dr.     
Richmond, VA 23228-3040