Williamsburg Civil War Roundtable

Williamsburg Civil War

Roundtable

 

  Meeting Place:

WILLIAMSBURG

Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre

 

Volume XLIV Number 8                April 23, 2019

Edward Alexander
“Breaking Through to the Other Side - Petersburg, April 2, 1865”

Join us for the next meeting of the Williamsburg Civil War Roundtable at the Williamsburg Public Library Theatre at 7 PM on Tuesday, April 23, 2019.

On Tuesday April 23, 2019, Edward Alexander will present “Breaking Through to the Other Side – Petersburg, April 2, 1865”. ‘The breaking of Robert E. Lee's army at Petersburg was achieved through a bayonet charge by the Union VI Corps on the morning of April 2, 1865. Failed assaults at Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, and Franklin seemed to prove the futility of frontal attacks, but this particular Union corps demonstrated a recurring ability to punch through fortified positions during the Civil War. This presentation discusses the criteria necessary for their string of successful attacks, the context of the final offensive at Petersburg, and the dramatic story of the very first Union soldiers to reach the top of the Confederate fortifications on the last day of the Petersburg campaign. This decisive day of the American Civil War is brought to life using modern and historic images of the battlefield landscape, compelling primary source material from its participants, and animated topographic maps of the campaign.
 
Edward Alexander is author of Dawn of Victory: Breakthrough at Petersburg. He has previously worked as a park ranger and historian at Pamplin Historical Park and Richmond National Battlefield Park. He is currently in civil engineering & construction but continues his public history work as a freelance mapmaker and a contributing member of the Emerging Civil War organization. Edward is a graduate of the University of Illinois and currently resides in Chesterfield County, Virginia.

Last Month
On Tuesday March 26, Ryan Quint presented “Determined to Stand and Fight – The Battle of Monocacy on July 9, 1864”. In early July 1864, a quickly patched together force of outnumbered Union soldiers under the command of Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace prepared for a last-ditch defense along the banks of the Monocacy River. Behind them, barely fifty miles away, lay the capital of the United States, open to attack. Facing Wallace’s men were Lt. Gen. Jubal Early’s Confederates. In just under a month, they had cleared the Shenandoah Valley of Union soldiers and crossed the Potomac River, invading the north for the third time in the war. The veterans in Early’s force could almost imagine their flags flying above the White House. A Confederate victory near Washington could be all the pro-peace platforms in the north needed to defeat Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming election.
 
What followed, the Battle of Monocacy, came to be known as “The Battle that Saved Washington.” Ryan Quint will tell the story of the fight through the words of those who lived it, using contemporary accounts and photographs to reveal the determined fighting that took place through the hot hours of July 9, 1864.
 
Ryan Quint graduated from the University of Mary Washington with a degree in history. He worked as a seasonal park guide at the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park before moving to work at as an interpreter for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. His first book Determined to Stand and Fight: The Battle of Monocacy, July 9, 1864, was published in 2017 by Savas Beatie as part of their award-winning Emerging Civil War Series. He is currently at work on a second book about the Battle of Dranesville.

2018-2019 Officers of WCWRT:
President: Bill Miller               Vice-President: Lee Underwood
Secretary: Gene Danko         Treasurer:  George Callis

The Executive Committee consists of the elected officers, the immediate past president and other members appointed by the incoming president. Those members include Debbie Bedosti,.Tom Lamb, and Terri Teopke.

Upcoming Meetings and Speakers

• May 28, 2019 - Bert Dunkerly: “To the Bitter End: The Surrenders of the Confederacy”

Special Events

• February 11 - May 24, 2019 - American Civil War Museum calendar of events details
• February 15 - April 18, 2019 - UVA Nau Center for Civil War History events calendar details
• March-April, 2019 - Mosby Association Bus Tours details
• April 8, 2019 - April 14, 2019 - 154th Anniversary of the Surrender at Appomattox details

• June 14 - 19, 2019 - Civil War Institute summer conference at Gettysburg College details schedule

Visit the Williamsburg Battlefield Association
(http://www.williamsburgbattlefieldassociation.org/) (https://www.facebook.com/WilliamsburgBattlefieldAssociation)
 
WEBSITE: Be sure to frequently visit the site for newsletter info, announcements, future and past speakers, and an up to date calendar of events in the Civil War world.  It’s available anytime you need the info. http://www.wcwrt.org.

The purpose of this organization shall be to promote discussion and study of the Civil War and to further stimulate interest in all aspects and phases of the Civil War period.