Robert E.L.Krick, President         John M.Coski, editor
10407 Leander Dr.                     1201 E.Clay St.
Glen Allen, VA 23060                  Richmond, VA 23219

NOVEMBER 1999 PROGRAM
CHRIS FONVIELLE

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LT. CDR. WILLIAM B. CUSHING USN

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 12, 1999
Boulevard United Methodist Church
321 N. Boulevard (Corner of Boulevard and Stuart Ave.)
Enter basement door from Boulevard side.

William Barker Cushing was bonn on November 4,1842 near  The
present-day  town  of  Delafield,  Wisconsin.   The untimely
death of his father at age 4 moved the family  to  Fredonia,
Ne%v  York.   A  rambunctious,  hot-headed young man who was
fond of pranks  grew  into  a  natural  born  leader.   Upon
entering   the  U.   S.   Naval  Academy  at  age  fourteen,
Cushing's attitude put him  at  odds  with  faculty  members
which  brought  on  his resignation on March 23, 186 1.  But
not a week had passed before young Cushing found himself  in
the  U.   S.  Navy as an acting master's mate after a friend
spoke on his behalf.  Mr.   Fonvielle  will  share  wine  us
Cushing's   daring   escapades   behind  Confederate  lines,
including the mission that made him a national hero.

Chris E.  Fonvielle, Jr.  holds degrees from the  University
of North Carolina, East Carolina University, and his Ph.  D.
in American history with emphasis in Civil War Studies  from
the  University of South Carolina.  He has been a curatorial
consultant for the  Cape  Fear  Museum  as  well  as  Museum
Curator  for the Blockade Runners of the Confederacy Museum.
Twice he has written the feature  article  in  Blue  &  Grey
Magazine,  and  his  first book was the Wilmington Campaign:
"Last Rays of Departing Hope" This is his second  appearance
for the Richmond Civil War Round Table.


Important notice for those going on the Fall Field Trip:

The  bus will leave Saturday, November 6, at 7:30 a.m.  from
the Brook Run shopping center, located on the west  side  of
Brook  Rd.   (US  1)  north of Azalea Rd.  and just north of
I-95  interchange  with  US  1.   Meet  the  bus  near   the
earthworks  located  at the northeast corner of the shopping
center.


Review of October Program
by R. Danny Witt

Richmond Civil War Round Table member Scott Mauger delivered
a  lively  talk  on  the  men  who  composed  the cabinet of
Jefferson Davis.  Of the 18 men who served  in  the  cabinet
between  February 1861 and May 1865, three each were born in
Virginia  and  Alabama,  and  two  each  in  Georgia,  North
Carolina,  and  Kentucky.   Four of the cabinet members were
foreign born.  The average age in 1861 was 42.  All but  two
members  of  the  cabinet  were lawyers by profession.  Vice
President Alexander 11.  Stephens served the  longest,  from
February  1861  until  he was arrested at home the day after
Davis was captured.  General Gustavus Woodson Smith had  the
shortest  tenure  -  three days as interim secretary of war.
Judah P.  Benjamin, of Louisiana, was the only man to  serve
in  three  different  posts:  attorney general, secretary of
war, and secretary of state.

While none of the secretaries  died  in  office,  the  first
cabinet  member  to  die  after  the war was the grandson of
Thomas Jefferson, George Wythe Randolph.  The only member of
the  cabinet  to  be  captured  with Davis was also the last
survivor, the only postmaster general, Texan John H.  Regan.
Needless to say, Scott knew where all of the cabinet members
are buried and has been to all of  the  graves,  except  for
Benjamin's in Paris...  but he has a photograph.

Secretary  of  state  was  a  prestigious  job for prominent
statesmen.  The ambitious Georgian Robert A.  Toombs  served
until he resigned to become a general late in 186 1, and was
followed by another man with his eyes  on  the  r)residencv,
Virginia's  Robert  Mercer  Taliaferro  Hunter.   After  the
Irish-born editor William M.  Browne's brief  interim  term,
the   office   fell  to  Judah  P.   Benjamin.   Serving  as
secretaries of the War Department were (in succession) Leroy
Pope  Walker,  of  Alabama, Judah P.  Benjamin, George Wythe
Randolph, of Virginia, Gustavus  Smith,  Virginian  James  A
Seddon and General (and former United States vice president)
John C.  Breckinridge, of  Kentucky.   In  contrast  to  the
revolving  door  at  the  State  and War departments was the
Treasury Department which was held by two South Carolinians,
the   Swiss-born   Christopher   G.    Memminger   and   the
Confederacy's financier, George A.  Trenholm.

Along with the well known Southern statesmen who  served  in
the  cabinet  were  a  number  of  lesser  known names.  The
brother of Braxton Bragg,  North  Carolinian  Thomas  Bragg,
served  as attorney general for only for four months, but he
left one of the few wartime  diaries  describing  the  inner
workings  of  the cabinet.  He was followed in the office by
Thomas Hill Watts, of Alabama, Wade Keyes, Jr., of  Alabama,
and  North Carolinian George Davis who served until the fall
of the Confederate government.

Last but not  least  was  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Stephen
Russell  Mallory, or Florida.  Considered by many historians
as  one  of  the  best  Confederate  cabinet  members,   the
Caribbean-born  Mallory  was  not  only  responsible for the
building of several powerful ironclads, but also  played  an
active  role  in  the  development  and use of torpedoes and
mines.


Membership Dues for 2000

Now is the time to write your dues checks for 2000.  If  you
have not paid by February 1, 2000, your name will be removed
from the membership rolls and you will not be able to rejoin
(with  the  payment  of  the  additional $15 initiation fee)
until 2001.