Sheppard Parsons, President            Rob Monroe, Editor       
107 Rose Hill Road                     2416 Edenbrook Dr.       
Richmond, VA 23229                     Richmond, VA 23228-3040  
shep.parsons@suntrust.com              RMonroe500@comcast.net   
October 2006 PROGRAM

James M. Perry
"Touched With Fire: Five Union Presidents And 
The Civil War Battles That Made Them"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 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.

James M.  Perry is a journalist and  political  writer.   He
began  his  career  at Leatherneck Magazine, and then worked
for thirty-five years covering  politics  for  the  National
Observer  and  The Wall Street Journal.  He is the author of
six books, including "A  Bohemian  Brigade:  The  Civil  War
Correspondents   --   Mostly  Rough,  Sometimes  Ready"  and
"Arrogant Armies: Great Military Disasters and the  Generals
Behind Them." In 1997 Perry was awarded the  National  Press
Club's  Fourth  Estate  Award  for a distinguished career in
journalism.                                                 

Supreme Court justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., once said
about  his  fellow  Civil  War  veterans,  "In our youth our
hearts were touched with fire." This is the  origin  of  the
title  of  Mr.  Perry's most recent work.  In it he recounts
the Civil War experience of five men -- Ulysses  S.   Grant,
Rutherford B.  Hayes, James A.  Garfield, Benjamin Harrison,
and William McKinley -- who rose to the  presidency  of  the
United  States.   Though  their  political  careers  were  a
reflection of the Gilded Age, in their youth they  were  all
brave  and successful soldiers.  Nothing, not even the White
House, meant so much to these five  men  as  the  time  they
spent in uniform.                                           


Summary of September Meeting

Our featured speaker at  the  September  meeting  was  Chris
Kolakowski,  a  Fredericksburg  native  now  working  as the
executive   director   of   the    Perryville    Battlefield
Preservation  Association  and  the  Perryville  Enhancement
Project.  The largest battle ever fought in Kentucky was the
October  8, 1862 Battle of Perryville.  Kolakowski explained
how the fate of the Bluegrass State hung in the balance.    

In  the summer of 1862, Confederate Kentucky was cutting the
Union supply lines.   In  Tennessee,  CSA  Gen.   John  Hunt
Morgan  told Gen.  Braxton Bragg that if he went to Kentucky
25,000 men would volunteer for the rebel army.   Later  that
summer,   the   Confederates   forces  pulled  off  what  is
considered by many the most complete Southern victory -  The
Battle of Richmond, Kentucky.  The importance of this battle
has long been unfairly overlooked because it took  place  on
the same days Lee fought and won at Second Manassas.        

By  the  fall of 1862, rivers were drying up as Kentucky was
suffering through one of its worst droughts in history.  The
outlook for the Union army appeared bleak as well - Kentucky
was close to becoming a Confederate state.  At the beginning
of  October, U.S.  Gen.  Don Carlos Buell amassed a force of
55,000 troops in Louisville.  On the eve of  battle,  Bragg,
in  Harrodsburg,  estimated  he  was facing a Union force of
only 20,000.  The following day, Buell deployed  his  troops
to  fight  at  Perryville  beginning  noon, then delayed the
attack until dawn the next day.  In  the  Confederate  camp,
Leonidas Polk and William J.  Hardee tried unsuccessfully to
convince Bragg that they were  facing  a  large  army.   The
stubborn Confederate commander ordered an attack at 2pm.    

Things  went  well  initially  for  the  Southerners as they
captured  Union  guns  on  the  north   battlefield.    Soon
afterward,  on  the south battlefield, Mississippi regiments
under Thomas Jones were shattered.  Later in the day,  Union
Gen.   William  Terrill, a Bath County native and brother of
CSA Gen.  James B.  Terrill, was killed in battle.  The 21st
Wisconsin  was  involved  in  some of the fiercest fighting,
noted Kolakowski.  They fired upon  Tennesseans,  inflicting
many  casualties, until they found themselves in the axis of
a deadly crossfire.  Ultimately the 21st would suffer  about
25% casualties.                                             

Kolakowski pointed out that the first street fighting of the
war occurred in Perryville, predating Fredericksburg by  two
months.   Later  in  the  battle,  as  daylight  was quickly
fading, Polk found himself behind enemy lines.  The  Indiana
troops he rode into did not recognize him and he was able to
ride away.  Arkansas men under St.  John Liddell then  fired
into  the  fading  light,  killing  and  wounding 65% of the
Indianians.                                                 

After the intense five-hour battle, Bragg  finally  realized
the  full  strength  of  the  Union forces.  He retreated to
Harrodsburg and eventually to Tennessee.  Perryville is  the
battle  of  Kentucky, Kolakowski stated emphatically.  After
October 8, 1862  the  course  of  the  Western  Theater  was
irrevocably reversed.                                       

During  the question and answer period, Kolakowski was asked
if Bragg could have kept Kentucky had he been victorious  at
Perryville.   He  responded that he is not sure because it's
impossible  to  predict  Braxton  Bragg.   The   Confederate
commander  was  the  best  general the U.S.  Army had in the
field in the Western Theater, Kolakowski said with a grin.  

In addition to being a decisive win for the  Union  army  in
1862,   Perryville   is   a  great  victory  for  modern-day
preservationists, Kolakowski explained.   In  1992  only  98
acres  of  the  battlefield  had  been  preserved.  The land
protected at Perryville now totals over 500 acres.  Kentucky
is a leader in battlefield preservation, Kolakowsi noted. He
praised the state's general assembly  for  their  work  with
enhancement  grants.  Ed Bearrs has hailed Perryville as the
best interpreted battlefield and one of the best preserved. 

Kolakowski prompted great laughter from Round Table  members
when  he  announced that Perryville's population has doubled
since the Civil War - from 350 to 700.  The town is off  the
beaten  path and that can be both a blessing and a curse, he
observed.  Perryville's remoteness  helps  keep  development
and land prices down but also limits visitation.  Kolakowski
wrapped up by inviting everyone to come see  this  important
battlefield.                                                

"A Kentuckian is a Virginian who moved west," he quipped.


Last Chance to Reserve Your Seat for Field Trip

There's only a few days left to reserve your  seat  for  the
Richmond   Civil  War  Round  Table's  fall  field  trip  to
Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg.   Although  they  are
better  known  for  their Colonial history, all three places
played significant roles in the 19th century  as  well.   On
Saturday,  October  28,  expert guides will lead the RCWRT's
special bus  tour  of  the  earthworks,  fortifications  and
buildings of prominence during the Civil War.               

The  bus  departs  at  8am  from  the  James River Bus Lines
parking lot (on N.  Allen St.  between Leigh and Broad)  and
returns  at 6pm.  Our guides will be David Riggs (curator at
Colonial National Historical Park and  author  of  Embattled
Shrine:  Jamestown  in  the  Civil  War),  Dr.  Adrian Wheat
(author of guidebook to Civil War Yorktown) and  Robin  Reed
(Director of Historic Area Programs at Colonial Williamsburg
Foundation and formerly Executive Director of The Museum  of
the Confederacy).  Bring your own lunch.                    

The  trip  costs  just  $25.   Reserve  your  seat  today by
completing the form below and bringing it with your  payment
to  the  October  meeting.  You may also register by mailing
this form with your check (payable to RCWRT) to:            

Richard Grosse         
14187 Hickory Oaks Lane
Ashland, VA 23005      


Name____________________________________________________________

Address_________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip________________________________________________

Phone number and/or Email address: _____________________________

________________________________________________________________

Number of seats requested ____ x $25 = (total payment)$ ________


RCWRT Annual Dinner Is Next Month

The leaves haven't even changed color, let alone fallen, but
the Richmond Civil War Round Table's Annual Dinner is only a
month away!  The event will return to the 24th floor of  the
SunTrust   Bank,  919  E.   Main  in  downtown  Richmond  on
Wednesday, November 8th.  Note the special  night  for  this
event:  Wednesday,  not  Tuesday.   Parking  is  free in the
bank's Cary St.  entrance and the high-rise building  offers
a spectacular view of the Capital City at night.            

If  delicious  food and a breathtaking view aren't enough to
lure you downtown, we have an excellent speaker and  program
scheduled.   The  RCWRT's  own  Michael  D.  Gorman from the
Richmond National  Battlefield  Park  will  present  another
photographic  journey  through Civil War Richmond.  The cost
for this special  dinner  and  presentation  is  $35.   Make
checks  payable  to the Richmond Civil War Round Table.  You
may bring a check to the October meeting or mail payment to:

RCWRT c/o Bernie Fisher 
7300 Ann Cabell Lane    
Mechanicsville, VA 23111


Border States Examined at Pamplin Park Symposium

On October 20-22, Pamplin Historical  Park  &  the  National
Museum of the Civil War Soldier will host their tenth annual
symposium.  This year's program is titled "Civil War in  the
Borderland" and will feature nationally-renowned historians.

Featured   speakers   include   Professor   Tom  Clemens  of
Hagerstown Community College on  "Civil  War  in  Maryland";
archaeologist  and  preservationist  Hunter Lesser on "Civil
War in  West  Virginia";  Jeff  Patrick  of  Wilson's  Creek
National  Battlefield  on "Civil War in Missouri"; Professor
John Y.  Simon of Southern Illinois University on "Civil War
in the Lower Midwest"; author Kent Masterson Brown on "Civil
War in  Kentucky";  and  D.   Scott  Hartwig  of  Gettysburg
National Military Park on "Maryland Soldiers in the Antietam
& Gettysburg Campaigns."                                    

The registration price of $219 includes meals and  lectures.
You  may  register  online  at  www.pamplinpark.org  or call
1-877- PAMPLIN.                                             


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simply email the editor at RMonroe500@comcast.net   Thanks! 


RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2006


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