First Vice President:                   Rob Monroe, Editor       
Richard Forrester                     2416 Edenbrook Dr.     
Second Vice President:                  Richmond, VA 23228-3040  
Shep Parsons                          rmonroe@richmond.com   
December 2004 PROGRAM

Craig L. Symonds, Craig L. Symonds,

"Confederate General Patrick Cleburne"


8:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 14, 2004, 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.

Craig L.  Symonds is Professor  of  History  at  the  United
States  Naval  Academy  in Annapolis, Maryland, where he has
taught Civil War history and American  naval  history  since
1976.   Winner  of  both  the Naval Academy's "Excellence in
Teaching" award (1988)  and  its  "Excellence  in  Research"
award  (1998),  he  also  served as History Department chair
from 1988 to 1992.  He served as Professor  of  Strategy  at
the  U.S.   Naval  War  College  in  Newport,  Rhode  Island
(1971-74) and  at  the  Britannia  Royal  Naval  College  in
Dartmouth, England (1994-95).                               

Symonds  is  the  author  of  ten books, including Joseph E.
Johnston: a Civil War Biography  (1992),  Stonewall  of  the
West:  Patrick  Cleburne  and  the  Civil  War  (1997),  and
Confederate Admiral: The Life and Wars of Franklin  Buchanan
(1999)  as  well  as  The  American  Heritage History of the
Battle of Gettysburg (2001).  He is the editor of nine other
books including Charleston Blockade (1976), Recollections of
a Naval Officer (1985), and A Year on a Monitor (1987).   He
has  published  more  than  fifty  articles  in a variety of
academic and popular journals, and he has won  a  number  of
literary  prizes including the John Lyman Award (twice: 1995
and 1999), and the S.A.  Cunningham  Award  (1997);  he  was
twice  nominated  for the Pulitzer Prize, and was a finalist
for the Lincoln Prize in  1993.   He  has  delivered  public
addresses  at  all of the nation's service academies and war
colleges,  and  at  a  variety  of  American  and   European
universities and historical societies.                      

Pat  Cleburne  may  have  been  the  most effective division
commander in the Confederate Army.  He was almost  certainly
the  best  division commander in the Army of Tennessee.  His
successes at Tunnel Hill near Chattanooga, at Ringgold  Gap,
at  Kennesaw  Mountain  and elsewhere marked him as a rising
star.  But  Cleburne  was  never  promoted  beyond  division
command, and part of the reason was his other claim to fame,
which was his sponsorship of a  plan  to  free  the  South's
slaves  and  put  them  in the Confederate army.  Cleburne's
proposal -- his "Memorial" as it was called at the  time  --
had  the  potential to transform the war.  But that proposal
collided with the assumptions and  cultural  values  of  the
society  he  defended.   The  story  of  his  proposal,  the
reaction it elicited, and its consequences, are the  subject
of this month's talk.                                       


Ancestor of Maine Veteran Makes Donation
to Petersburg Battlefield

Clarence L.  Woodcock, the great grandson of Stillman  Smith
Woodcock  of  the First Maine Heavy Artillery Unit, recently
visited Petersburg National Battlefield so he could see  the
site  where his great grandfather's regiment lost almost 75%
of its soldiers during its fateful charge on June 18,  1864.
As  he  stood  by the monument, which lists the names of the
over 600 men killed or mortally wounded, he stopped  to  pay
honor  to  those  who made the charge and those who made the
ultimate sacrifice.  He  realized  the  monument's  location
could be improved by the presence of a bench.               

Understanding   the  number  of  monuments  located  at  the
Battlefield and how difficult it would be for  the  National
Park  Service  to  afford  a  bench  by  every monument, Mr.
Woodcock took matters into his  own  hands.   He  set  up  a
fundraiser  to  raise  the  $350  necessary  to purchase the
bench.  Within months, through many generous  donations,  he
had what he needed.                                         

On  November  24, the bench was erected by maintenance staff
at Petersburg National Battlefield  and  now  visitors  will
have  a  comfortable spot in which to reflect on the actions
and sacrifices made by the 900 members of  the  First  Maine
Heavy  Artillery  Unit.  The National Park Service has plans
to rehabilitate and repair the First Maine  Heavy  Artillery
Monument.    As  Mr.   Woodcock  stated  on  his  web  site,
www.cwoodcock.com/firstmaine, "providing a bench is  just  a
nice  thing  to  do  for future visitors (who may be our own
grandchildren)."                                            

New Trail at Pamplin Park Combines History and Nature

Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil
War  Soldier  has  opened  a new 1.2 mile self-guided hiking
trail that combines history and nature.  A peaceful journey,
the  Headwaters Trail affords hikers a unique opportunity to
see native flora and fauna in this  forest  landscape  while
learning  a  bit  about  Confederate fortifications.  Wooden
posts mark ten trail stops and indicate the route to hikers.

In 1864, the trail  crossed  the  property  of  three  local
farmers.   By the fall of that year, Confederate troops from
North and South Carolina occupied all three of  these  farms
as part of the Petersburg defenses.  Just 50 years ago, much
of this trail was used by loggers.  Today this land is  part
of the 422 acres Pamplin Historical Park occupies.          

"During  the  process  of  clearing  the  trail,"  said Andy
Talkov, Director  of  Programming  and  Cultural  Resources,
"many  park  staff  have  seen  deer, turkey, hawks, snakes,
frogs, ground hogs, rabbit,  bobcat  tracks  and  of  course
squirrels."   The   ten   numbered  stops  along  the  trail
correspond to interpreted narratives on the Headwaters Trail
map  to  ensure  visitors  will  understand the historic and
natural features the trail has to  offer.   A  walk  on  the
trail lasts approximately 45 minutes.                       

Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil
War  Soldier  offers  four  museums,  four  historic  homes,
earthworks, a battlefield tour and four miles of trails. The
park is open daily from  9am  to  5pm  and  is  located  off
Interstate 85 in Dinwiddie County near Petersburg.          


Upcoming Events

Sat. & Sun., December 18 & 19

Christmas traditions and  living  history  at  the  Hillsman
House  on the Sailor's Creek Battlefield Historic State Park
in  Amelia  County.   Decorations,   refreshments   and   an
appearance by Santa Claus.  Info: (434) 392-3435.           

"Merry  Christmas  from  Mulberry  Hill  Plantation"  at the
Staunton River Battlefield State  Park  in  Halifax  County.
Historic  plantation  celebrates Christmas antebellum style.
Special programs with  holiday  music,  refreshments  and  a
visit from a Civil War Santa Claus.  Info: (434) 454-4312.  

Sun., December 19

"Christmas at Chatham" at Chatham Manor  in  Fredericksburg.
Historian  Kevin  Rawlings  will  appear  as a Civil War-era
Santa Claus.  Programs at 2:00, 2:30, 3:00 and 3:30.   Info:
(540) 373- 6122.                                            

New Civil War Books

Just in time for the holidays, these new  books  may  be  of
interest  to  you and/or the Civil War buff on your shopping
list:                                                       

Chimborazo: The  Confederacy's  Largest  Hospital  by  Carol
Cranmer  Green.                                             

Soldier of Southwestern Virginia: The Civil War  Letters  of
Captain  John  Preston  Sheffey edited by James I Robertson,
Jr.                                                         

Leaders   of   the  Lost  Cause:  New  Perspectives  on  the
Confederate High Command edited by Gary Gallagher and Joseph
T.  Glatthaar.                                              

Great  Maps  of the Civil War: Pivotal Battles and Campaigns
Featuring 32 Removable Maps by William Miller.              

RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2004

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:           

January newsletter			January 1

Information may be emailed to rmonroe@richmond.com

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