Meeting Dates
The organization meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month September
through May. Meetings are held in the Williamsburg Regional Library
Theatre located at 515 Scotland St in Williamsburg, VA, unless otherwise
posted. The meetings begin at 6:30 PM. Membership is open to the
general public.
Note change in meeting time to 6:30 PM. The Library has changed its
closing time to 8 PM requiring the change in meeting time.
October's Speaker
MONTHLY MEETING NOTICE
Wednesday, October 26, 2021 at 6:30 PM
Doug Crenshaw
"Fort Harrison and The Battle of Chaffin's Farm"
Join us for the next meeting of the Williamsburg Civil War Roundtable at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, October 26, 2021, at the Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre. The presentation will also be carried via Zoom. Details will follow in the meeting announcement later this month.
From mid-July of 1864 until April 1865, Union and Confederate Armies
in Virginia were locked down in static siege-like actions which were
primarily focused upon the areas around Petersburg.
The Confederate defenses that extended north of the James River and east
of Richmond, the so-called “Henrico Front”, seems to have been unfairly
relegated as a “backwater” to the actions that were taking place south
of the Appomattox River. However, the soldiers, both Rebel and Yank, who
were hunkered down and fighting and dying in those defenses may have
taken exception to that characterization.
In late September 1864, Ben Butler took his Army of the James across
that river to launch a surprise attack and capture Richmond. The attack
came close to success... but why did it fail?
Please join us in person or via Zoom as Doug Crenshaw will look at the
events and reasons for the failed attack at Chaffin's Farm, and its
long-term consequences.
Doug Crenshaw studied history at Randolph-Macon College and the
University of Richmond. A volunteer for the Richmond National
Battlefield Park, he is a Board member of the Richmond Battlefield
Association, president of the Richmond Civil War Roundtable, and is a
speaker, presenter and tour leader. His book, Fort Harrison and The
Battle of Chaffin’s Farm, was nominated in the nonfiction category for a
Library of Virginia Literary award. Doug has also written The Battle of
Glendale: Robert E. Lee’s Lost Opportunity, and Richmond Shall not be
Given Up! a survey and tour of the Seven Days campaign, which was a
finalist for the Army Historical Foundation Distinguished writing
award. Doug has just completed a guidebook on Civil War Richmond with
Bert Dunkerly, a book on the Peninsula Campaign with Drew Gruber, and is
also working on a book about the Seven Days.
Previous Zoom Meeting Presentations
September 21, 2020 - Kevin Pawlak presented "Robert E. Lee Defends the Confederate High Water
Mark at Sharpsburg" (view presentation -
73 minutes)
Kevin can be reached at
https://antietamguides.com/antietam-guides/antietam-battlefield-guides/kevin-pawlak/
November 24, 2020 - Scott Mingus presented "Flames
Beyond Gettysburg - The Confederate Expedition to the Susquehanna
River - June 1863
(View
presentation - 85 minutes)
December 8, 2020 - Ken Rutherford presented "America's
Buried History - Landmines in The Civil War".
View
presentation - 66 minutes
January 26, 2021 - Steve Phan presented "The Capital
Can't Be Taken! The Civil War Defense of Washington"
View presentation
February 16, 2021 - Dr. Thomas G. Clemens presented
“Special Orders 191 - Myths, Misconceptions and Facts Related to Lee's
Lost Orders”.
A map of the Antietam campaign and special orders 191 are on our website
at http://www.wcwrt.org/so191.jpg
and
www.wcwrt.org/Antietam-Campaign-3-to-17-1862-June.jpg. Please
download both. Video link is
wcwrt.org/zoom/feb21-clemens.mp4
-For best viewing of entire presentation, fast forward video to 5:24
minutes
March 16, 2021 - Michael Block presented the battle of
Cedar Mountan, August 9, 1862. Video link of presentation is
wcwrt.org/zoom/mar21-Block.mp4
- 93 minutes
April 27,2021 - Chris Kolakowski presented
"Perspectives of The 1862 Virginia Campaigns".
view
presentation - 63 minutes
September 28, 2021 - Chris Mackowski's
“The Battle of
Spotsylvania’s Bloody Angle”. https://youtu.be/qQ5FmlS6LNM
Visit the American Battlefield Trust site to view animated Peninsula Campaign map
Visit the Williamsburg Battlefield Association (view
newsletter)
(http://www.williamsburgbattlefieldassociation.org/)
(https://www.facebook.com/WilliamsburgBattlefieldAssociation)