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   
November 2006 PROGRAM

Michael D. Gorman
"Civil War Richmond Revisited"

8:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 8, 2006, at the
24th floor of the SunTrust Building
919 E. Main St., Downtown Richmond

Free parking is available in  the  SunTrust  parking  garage
under  the  building.  Use the Cary Street entrance, between
9th & 10th Streets.  Come to the lobby and take the elevator
to the 24th floor.

6:00 - Social (cash bar)
7:00 - Dinner
8:00 - Featured Program


Michael D.  Gorman is a park historian at Richmond  National
Battlefield  Park.   He is the creator of Civil War Richmond
(www.mdgorman.com), an online research project  designed  to
collect  documents,  photographs,  and  maps  pertaining  to
Richmond during the Civil War.  The website is his labor  of
love  and  consists of primary and a smattering of secondary
accounts related to the Capital City.                       

This ever-growing website has received well over  1  million
visitors  since  its  inception.   Mr.   Gorman  is  also  a
contributing author to 99 Historic Images of Richmond  Civil
War Sites published by the Center for Civil War Photography.
The featured  program  will  be  a  multimedia  presentation
examining,  locating  and  interpreting newly researched and
rare images of Richmond during the Civil War.               


Poplar Grove National Cemetery's
140th Anniversary to be Commemorated

In 1866 Congress  approved  the  establishment  of  national
cemeteries  so  that  the resting places of the honored dead
may be  kept  sacred  forever.   On  Saturday,  November  11
Petersburg  National  Battlefield will commemorate the 140th
anniversary of the establishment of  Poplar  Grove  National
Cemetery  with a special event from 5pm to 9pm.  Each of the
6,000 graves will be marked with a luminary candle. Visitors
are invited to walk the grounds of the cemetery, learn about
some of the men who are buried  there  and  reflect  on  the
history of one of our national cemeteries.                  

Due  to  limited  space  there  will  be  no  parking at the
cemetery.  Parking for the event will be  at  Richard  Bland
College  in the parking lot off Johnson Road.  Shuttle buses
will transport visitors to and from the cemetery.  The  last
shuttle  bus  will  depart  at 8:15pm.  For more information
call Elizabeth Dinger-Glisan at (804) 732-3531 ext.  200.   


Upcoming Events

Tuesday, November 14: "Ballots Are  Stronger  Than  Bullets:
Election  Records  at  the Library of Virginia." Ginny Dunn,
archives  research  services  manager  at  the  Library   of
Virginia, will give a brief history of elections in Virginia
and discuss Confederate elections and post-Civil War records
while  Virginia  was  under  military rule.  This free event
begins at noon in the conference rooms  at  the  Library  of
Virginia, 800 E.  Broad Street.                             

Saturday  and  Sunday,  November  18  &  19:  Capital of the
Confederacy Civil War Show at Richmond Raceway Complex,  600
E.   Laburnum  Avenue.   Thousands  of  Civil War artifacts,
images,  books,  art,  documents,  weapons,  uniforms,   and
accouterments,  from  more  than  400  exhibitors,  will  be
available  for  purchase.   This  show   has   the   largest
attendance of Civil War-related non-profit organizations and
museums in the nation.  Saturday, 9am-5pm; Sunday,  9am-3pm.
Cost:  $6;  under  12  free  with adult.  For more info call
(804) 737-5827 or (804) 928-1006.                           

Tuesday, November 21: Robert Hicks, author of The  Widow  of
the  South,  the best selling and critically acclaimed novel
based on the life of Carrie McGavock of Franklin,  TN,  will
talk  about and sign copies of his book at the Museum of the
Confederacy.  Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss
the  book  with the author.  Begins at 1pm, free with Museum
admission.                                                  

Saturday, December 2: A Victorian Christmas program  at  the
Museum  of  the  Confederacy.   An  in-depth presentation on
Victorian Christmas  traditions.   10am-12:30pm.   Space  is
limited   and  reservations  are  required.   Contact  Linda
Lipscomb, llipscomb@moc.org or (804) 649-1861 ext.  32.  $12
for Museum members and $15 for non-members.                 

Sunday, December 10: Court End Christmas.  The Museum of the
Confederacy joins other Court End sites for a day of  period
festivities,  music  and living history in one of Richmond's
oldest neighborhoods.  Visitors will see the White House  of
the  Confederacy  in  Christmas dress and get a real look at
the holidays Civil War-style.  Free.  For  more  information
call (804) 649-1861.                                        


Speakers Announced for 2007

For many years now Richmond Civil War  Round  Table  members
have   enjoyed   an  impressive  lineup  of  nationally  and
internationally-renown  historians  speaking  on  a  diverse
range  of  subjects.  We're proud to announce that tradition
will continue in the coming  year  with  another  impressive
list  of  guests  and subjects.  Here's what we have to look
forward to in 2007:                                         

January: Mark K.   Greenough  on  "A  State  House  Divided:
Virginia's Capitol and the Civil War."

February:  John  Hennessey  on  the  evolution  and state of
battlefield  interpretation  (featuring  case   studies   of
Manassas and Fredericksburg).

March: Rick Hatcher on either Fort Sumter and the Defense of
Charleston or the Battle of Wilson's Creek.

April: Bill Marvel on "The  Road  to  Appomattox  and  Other
Adventures in Iconoclasm."

May: William W.  Freehling on "The Road to Disunion."       

June: David Coles on Florida in the Civil War.

July:  Kevin  Levin on General William Mahone and the Battle
of the Crater.

August: Art Bergeron on the life and career of  a  Louisiana
Unionist, Capt.  Dennis Haynes.

September: Joseph T.  Glatthaar on a collective biography of
Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

October: James Morgan on the Battle of Ball's Bluff.        

November: Thomas P.  Lowry on "Confederate Heroines."       

December: John F.  Burgwyn on Col.  Henry  K.   Burgwyn  and
"Kinchen."


American Revolution Round Table
Forming in Richmond

Under the mentorship  of  Dr.   Harry  M.   Ward,  Professor
Emeritus  of  History  at  the  University of Richmond and a
noted scholar of the revolutionary period, a small group  of
interested persons are in the beginning stages of forming an
American Revolution Round Table in the Richmond  area.   The
initial  meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 17, 2007
at the University of Richmond, beginning  with  an  optional
dinner  at  6:30pm  in  the  Westhampton Room of the Heilman
Dining Center.  An organizational meeting  and  presentation
by Dr.  Ward will follow at 7:30.                           

If  interested,  please  contact  RCWRT  member  Bill Welsch
(wmwelsch@comcast.net  or  804-755-1809)   or   Jerry   Rudd
(804-323-1759)   for   specifics.    Anyone   interested  in
exploring this critical and exciting period of  our  history
is encouraged to attend.                                    


Thanks John!

The  Richmond Civil War Round Table would like to thank John
Coski for planning and organizing an exceptional fall  field
trip  to  Civil  War  sites in Virginia's Historic Triangle.
John skillfully marshaled three independent tours  at  three
separate  locations.   He  even  managed to chase the clouds
away.  Well done, John!                                     


Museum of the Confederacy Announces
Results of Independent Study

The panel of independent consultants,  brought  together  in
spring  2006  to  study  The  Museum of the Confederacy, has
finished its analysis.  The peer  review  team  was  charged
with  studying strategic options available to the museum and
recommending a course of action  to  assure  its  successful
future.                                                     

The  peer  review  committee  stressed  in their report that
keeping the collection together  and  intact  is  of  utmost
importance.   According  to  Nicholas  Muller, leader of the
peer review committee, "Based  on  both  their  quality  and
their historical significance, The Museum of the Confederacy
collections have irreplaceable value in our understanding of
the  Civil  War and its aftermath." The leaders of the study
determined that  Richmond  is  the  best  location  for  the
collection  because  of  its  historical significance in the
Civil War, but the  collection  remaining  together  in  its
entirety was seen as more important than the location of it.
The report recommended  the  adjacent  White  House  of  the
Confederacy should not be relocated.                        

Based on the findings and recommendations of the peer review
committee, the museum's board of trustees has  already  made
two major decisions regarding the future of the institution.
First, the White House of the Confederacy will not move from
its  historical  location.  Second, the museum's collections
must relocate in order to  survive.   Museum  leadership  is
currently   exploring   strategic  partnerships  with  other
locations in order to accomplish this task.                 

This report from the  peer  review  study  group  gives  the
museum  a strong external analysis that objectively assesses
the institution's situation and best course of action for  a
successful future.  According to Executive Director S.  Waite
Rawls, "The Board of Trustees and myself are very  satisfied
with  the  peer  review process and its results.  The report
validates much of our own analysis, confirms The  Museum  of
the Confederacy's dire financial situation, and points us in
the right direction for the  future.   We  look  forward  to
using  these  recommendations  as  guidelines  for strategic
decisions regarding the Museum."                            


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RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2006


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