Current Newsletter and Archives
Williamsburg Civil War
Roundtable
Meeting Place:
WILLIAMSBURG
Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre
Volume XLIII Number 1 September 25, 2018
John V. Quarstein
"Wake-Up Call - The Battle of Big Bethel"
Join us for the next meeting of the Williamsburg
Civil War Roundtable at the Williamsburg Public
Library Theatre at 7 PM on Tuesday, September 25, 2018.
On September 25, 2018 John Quarstein will present
“Wake-Up Call – The Battle of Big Bethel”. Noted as
the first land battle of the Civil War, Big Bethel
was a mere skirmish soon overlooked by bloodier
battles that would follow. Nevertheless, Big Bethel
was a baptism of fire for a nation newly involved in
civil war. The soldiers that served at Bethel would
never forget the rude awakening of shells bursting
among the smartly clad Federal Zouaves or how Henry
Lawson Wyatt's body of the 1st North Carolina laid
lifeless on the field. They all knew that the war
would not just be filled with parades, and it would
not be over by Christmas. Instead, the soldiers
realized that it would be a bloody desperate affair.
The Union defeat at Big Bethel would establish the
battle lines in Hampton Roads for the next 10 months
awaiting the grand events of Spring 1862.
John V. Quarstein is an award-winning historian,
preservationist, and author. He is director emeritus
of the USS Monitor Center at The Mariners’ Museum
and Park in Newport News, Virginia. The author of 17
books, his titles include HILTON VILLAGE: AMERICA’S
FIRST PUBLIC PLANNED COMMUNITY; A HISTORY OF
IRONCLADS: THE POWER OF IRON OVER WOOD; CSS
VIRGINIA: SINK BEFORE SURRENDER; and THE MONITOR
BOYS: THE CREW OF THE UNION’S FIRST IRONCLAD, winner
of the 2012 Henry Adams Prize for excellence in
historical literature. Quarstein has also produced,
narrated and written several PBS documentaries
including the film series, CIVIL WAR IN HAMPTON
ROADS, a Silver Telly Award winner. Mr. Quarstein
is the recipient of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation’s President’s Award for Historic
Preservation, the Civil War Society’s Preservation
Award, and the Daughters of the American Revolution
Gold Historians Medal.
Mr. Quarstein lives in the National Register of
Historic Places property known as the 1757 Herbert
House. This outstanding example of brick Georgian
architecture is located near Blackbeard’s Point on
the Hampton River in Hampton, Virginia.
John Quarstein in turret of USS Monitor
Courtesy of The Mariners'
Museum and Park
Last Meeting
On Tuesday, May 22, 2018, Dr. Bud Robertson will
present “The Four-Legged Soldiers”.
The Civil War could not have occurred without
horses. They were the primary means of
transportation for soldiers as well as all the
equipment needed to wage battle. More of these
animals would die than did humans in the
nation-making struggle. At the same time,
thousands of troops found solace in a wide variety
of animals who served as regimental mascots. They
played a vital role in sustaining morale in a time
of suffering and loneliness. Such "four-legged
soldiers" have a little-known but valuable story to
tell.
One of the most distinguished names in Civil War
history, Dr. Robertson served as Executive Director
of the U. S. Civil War Centennial Commission in the
1960’s and worked with Presidents Kennedy and
Johnson. He then taught 44 years at Virginia Tech,
where his upper division course on the Civil War era
attracted 300 or more students per semester and made
it the largest class of its kind in the nation. He
received every teaching award given by Virginia
Tech. At his retirement in 2011, the University
named him Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus of
History.
The Danville Virginia native is the author or editor
of more than 40 books, including biographies of
Generals Robert E. Lee and A. P. Hill, several works
on the common soldiers, and three studies written
for young readers. His massive biography of General
“Stonewall” Jackson won eight national awards and
was used as the basis for the Ted Turner/Warner
Brothers mega-movie, “Gods and Generals”. Dr.
Robertson was the chief historical consultant for
the film.
The recipient of every major award given in Civil
War history, and a lecturer of national acclaim, Dr.
Robertson is probably more in demand as a speaker
than anyone else in the Civil War field.
He holds a Ph D degree from Emory University and
honorary doctorates from Randolph Macon College and
Shenandoah University.
Dr. Robertson is a charter member, by Senate
appointment, of Virginia’s Civil War
Sesquicentennial Commission, and was actively
engaged in the Commonwealth’s sesquicentennial
observances.
He is the Father of the new traditional state song,
“Our Great Virginia”, approved by the General
Assembly in March 2015.
Dr. Robertson’s recent publications include
“After The Civil War”, published by the National
Geographic Society, and his annotated edition of
John B. Jones’ “A Rebel War Clerk’s Diary”.
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
- October 23, 2018 - Dr. Curt Fields, a/k/a General Ulysses S. Grant: “The Battle of Shiloh”
- November 27, 2018 - Peggy Vogtsberger: “The Battle of Dam #1”
- December 18, 2018 - Dr. Charles Ross: “Creative Science and Technology in the Civil War”
- January 22, 2019 - TBA
- February 26, 2019 - TBA
- March 26, 2019 - Ryan Quint: “Determined to Stand and Fight – The Battle of Monocacy, July 9, 1864”
- April 23, 2019 - Edward Alexander: “Breaking Through to the Other Side – Petersburg, April 2, 1865”
- May 28, 2019 - Bert Dunkerly: “To the Bitter End: The Surrenders of the Confederacy”
Special Events
- September 6, 2018 - At Pamlin Park, Dr. Bud Robertson will present “How the Civil War Still Lives”. details
- September – October 2018 - Chambersburg civil war tours details
- September 2018 - January 5, 2019 - American Revolution Museum at Yorktown presents 'Artillery in the War of Independence' details
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.