On October 26 from 7-9:00pm I will be taking part in a forum sponsored by the Brunswick County Committee of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. The event will take place at the Southside Virginia Community College, Workforce Development Center in Alberta, Virginia and will be organized into two sections. A short segment will begin with a welcome from Marc Finney, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, followed by Cheryl Jackson will give a brief overview of the state commission and the commemoration. Senator Ruff and Delegate Tyler will make brief comments on the importance of the commemoration. Charlette T. Woolridge, County Administrator will then talk about the county committee. The second part of the evening will feature a roundtable that includes yours truly, Waite Rawls of the Museum of the Confederacy and Christie Coleman from the National Civil War Museum at Tredegar. Professor Stephen Walker will serve as moderator. A large crowd is expected and the entire program will be videotaped by the college.
On November 10 I will be speaking at the Harpers Ferry Civil War Roundtable on the subject of the Crater and historical memory. My talk will be based on my recent Civil War Times essay that appeared in the last issue as well as some reflections on the postwar evolution of accounts of how Confederate veterans of the battle and white Southerners generally remembered the presence of USCTs. I haven’t done a roundtable talk in a couple of years, but I couldn’t refuse an invitation from my friend, Mike Musick, who we all know from his work with the National Archives. In fact, you can’t pick up a Civil War book without finding his name somewhere in the acknowledgments section. Mike was extremely helpful to me throughout the research phase of my Crater study. The talk will take place in the annex to the Camp Hill – Wesley United Methodist Church, 601 West Washington St., Harpers Ferry, WV 25425. There is a meal at the site at 7 p.m., for which reservations should be made by calling (304) 535-2101 before Sunday, November 7. The talk is at 8 p.m., preceded by a book raffle and announcements. One does not need to partake of the meal in order to attend the talk, and no reservations are needed for the talk, but participation in the meal is encouraged, and all are welcome.
I look forward to meeting those of you in the area who can fit one or both of these talks into your calendars.