VMHC Lectures

Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 18:33:39 +0000

On March 7, 2024, biographer Rebecca Boggs Roberts provided an unflinching look at First Lady Edith Bolling Galt Wilson. While this nation has yet to elect its first female president—and though history has downplayed her role—just over a century ago a woman became the nation’s first acting president. In fact, she was born in 1872, and her name was Edith Bolling Galt Wilson. She climbed her way out of Appalachian poverty and into the highest echelons of American power and in 1919 effectively acted as the first female president of the United States when her husband, Woodrow Wilson, was incapacitated. Beautiful, brilliant, charismatic, catty, and calculating, she was a complicated figure whose personal quest for influence reshaped the position of First Lady into one of political prominence forever. Rebecca Boggs Roberts offered an unflinching look at the woman whose ascent mirrors that of many powerful American women before and since, one full of the compromises and complicities women have undertaken throughout time in order to find security for themselves and make their mark on history. Rebecca Boggs Roberts is an award-winning educator, author, and speaker, and a leading historian of American women’s suffrage and civic participation. She is currently deputy director of events at the Library of Congress and serves on the board of the National Archives Foundation, on the Council of Advisors of the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation, and on the Editorial Advisory Committee of the White House Historical Association. Her books include the award-winning The Suffragist Playbook: Your Guide to Changing the World; Suffragists in Washington, D.C.: The 1913 Parade and the Fight for the Vote; and Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

First Family: George Washington's Heirs and the Making of America

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 17:23:09 +0000

On February 22, 2024, historians Cassandra Good and Carolyn Eastman presented a lecture on the Washington family, celebrity, and the development of the new United States. While it’s widely known that George and Martha Washington never had children of their own, few are aware that they raised children together. In Good's book First Family, we see Washington as a father figure and are introduced to the children he helped raise, tracing their complicated roles in American history. The children of Martha Washington’s son by her first marriage—Eliza, Patty, Nelly and Wash Custis—were born into life in the public eye, well-known as George Washington’s family and keepers of his legacy. By turns petty and powerful, glamorous and cruel, the Custises used Washington as a means to enhance their own power and status. As enslavers committed to the American empire, the Custis family embodied the failures of the American experiment that finally exploded into civil war—all the while being celebrities in a soap opera of their own making. Cassandra Good is a writer and historian focused on gender and politics in early America who currently serves as Associate Professor of History at Marymount University. She is the author of the prize-winning Founding Friendships: Friendships between Men and Women in the Early American Republic and her newest book, First Family: George Washington's Heirs and the Making of America. Carolyn Eastman is an historian of early America with special interest in eighteenth and nineteenth-century histories of political culture, the media, and gender. She is Professor of History at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author most recently of the award-winning The Strange Genius of Mr. O: The United States’ First Forgotten Celebrity. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Racial Reconciliation In Modern Richmond

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 15:25:06 +0000

On February 8, 2024, historian Marvin T. Chiles discussed the subject of his new book The Struggle to Change: Race and the Politics of Reconciliation in Modern Richmond. Much is known about the City of Richmond’s troubled past with race and race relations. Richmond was one of the largest entrepot for the transatlantic slave trade, the capital of the Confederacy, a foundational city for Jim Crow segregation, the sacred home of Confederate memorialization, and the hotbed of Massive Resistance to school desegregation. Less talked about, however, is that Richmond was a national leader in racial reconciliation efforts after the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Residents, business leaders, and public history organizations spent the last three decades of the twentieth century seeking to fix Richmond’s economy and public history scene to overcome its reputation and reality of racial strife, a conundrum created by the city’s troubled history. Yet, Richmond’s reconciliation movement unintendedly exacerbated the vestiges of past discrimination, that being racial gaps in wealth building, housing stability, and educational achievement. This lecture, based on The Struggle for Change, implores Richmonders and those interested in urban affairs, race relations, and southern history to not see current racial disparities as a continuum of past discrimination. Rather, Richmond’s recent history shows that progressive actions and actors exacerbated systemic issues through making positive changes in their city, the South, and nation. Dr. Marvin T. Chiles is the Assistant Professor of African American History at Old Dominion University. The Struggle for Change is his first book. He has also published several articles, including “A Period of Misunderstanding: Reforming Jim Crow in Richmond, Virginia, 1930–1954,” which won the William M. E. Rachal Award from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in 2021.

Soldier of Destiny: Slavery, Secession, and the Redemption of Ulysses S. Grant

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 20:18:50 +0000

On January 11, 2024, historian John Reeves gave a lecture on the rise of Ulysses S. Grant during an extraordinary decade. Captain Ulysses S. Grant, an obscure army officer who resigned his commission in 1854, rose to become general-in-chief of the United States Army in 1864. What accounts for this astonishing turn-around? Was it destiny? Or was he just an ordinary man, opportunistically benefiting from the turmoil of the Civil War to advance to the highest military rank? Grant’s life story is an almost inconceivable tale of redemption within the context of his fraught relationships with his antislavery father and his slaveholding wife. His connection to the institution of slavery, before and during the war, will be reconsidered in this talk. John Reeves has been a teacher, editor, and writer for more than thirty years. The Civil War, in particular, has been his passion since he first read Bruce Catton’s The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War as an elementary school student in the 1960s. He is the author of The Lost Indictment of Robert E. Lee: The Forgotten Case against an American Icon, A Fire in the Wilderness: The First Battle Between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, and Soldier of Destiny: Slavery, Secession, and the Redemption of Ulysses S. Grant. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

"In a Constitutional Way": Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and the Meaning of a Loyal Opposition

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 15:33:07 +0000

On December 14, 2023, historian John Ragosta gave a lecture on Patrick Henry’s final political battles. In a democracy, how do you disagree with government policy? What is a loyal opposition? In the 1790s, hyper-partisan political battles threatened to tear the new nation apart. Under the Sedition Act, a person criticizing the government could be jailed; opposition newspaper editors were targeted. In response, the Kentucky Resolutions, drafted by Thomas Jefferson, declared that Kentucky could proclaim federal laws unconstitutional and “nullify” them—secession, state versus state, and against the federal government, loomed. Newspapers warned of “Civil War!” George Washington begged Patrick Henry to come out of retirement, oppose these dangerous policies, and save the union. Though Henry had been the leading antifederalist, arguing against ratification of the Constitution, in 1799, he rebuked Jefferson and insisted that since “we the people” adopted the Constitution—even though Henry had opposed it—anyone contesting federal policy must seek reform “in a constitutional way.” Henry helped to define a loyal opposition. Unfortunately, that story was suppressed by Jeffersonians throughout the 19th century. John Ragosta discussed this story—recounted in For the People, For the Country: Patrick Henry’s Final Political Battle—a story of how a democracy must work if it is to survive. John A. Ragosta is a historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. He is the author of Religious Freedom: Jefferson’s Legacy, America’s Creed and For the People, For the Country: Patrick Henry’s Final Political Battle. This program, part of the VMHC's multi-year initiative to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the U.S., is presented by the John Marshall Center for Constitutional History & Civics. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Navigating Native Land and Water in the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 19:16:10 +0000

On November 30, 2023, historian Jessica Taylor discussed the subject of her new book, Plain Paths and Dividing Lines: Navigating Native Land and Water in the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake. It is one thing to draw a line in the sand but another to enforce it. This talk follows the Native peoples and the newcomers who, in pursuit of freedom or profit, crossed emerging boundaries—fortifications, law, property lines—surrounding developing English plantations in the seventeenth-century Chesapeake Bay. Algonquians had cultivated ties to one another and others beyond the region by canoe and road for centuries. Their networks continued to define the watery Chesapeake landscape, even as Virginia and Maryland planters erected fences, policed unfree laborers and Native neighbors, and dispatched land surveyors. Using Native trade routes and places, and sometimes with the help of Native people themselves, escaping indentured and enslaved people absconded fueled by their own developing, alternate ideas about freedom and connection. Taylor talks about how Native land provided the perfect setting for early resistance to colonialism, and about exciting new efforts to document their escapades. Dr. Jessica Taylor is an assistant professor in the history department at Virginia Tech. As a public historian, she collaborates on projects across the Southeast as diverse as oral histories with boatbuilders, augmented reality tours of historic sites, and reconstructed maps of precolonial landscapes. Her current work connects graduate and undergraduate students to history firsthand through fieldwork experiences in oral history, and an ongoing project documenting escape attempts of indentured servants and enslaved people in the seventeenth-century Chesapeake. She is the author of Plain Paths and Dividing Lines: Navigating Native Land and Water in the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Washington’s Marines: The Origins of the Corps and the American Revolution

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 16:39:40 +0000

On October 24, 2023, Maj. Gen. Jason Q. Bohm, USMC, gave a lecture on the formation of the Marine Corps and its role in the American Revolution. The fighting prowess of united states marines is second to none, but few know of the Corps’ humble beginnings and what it achieved during the early years of the American Revolution. Jason Bohm rectifies this oversight with his eye-opening Washington’s Marines: The Origins of the Corps and the American Revolution, 1775–1777. Bohm artfully tells the story of the creation of the Continental Marines and the men who led them during the parallel paths followed by the Army and Marines in the opening years of the war and through the early successes and failures at Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Canada, Boston, Charleston, and more. Washington’s Marines is the first complete study of its kind to weave the men, strategy, performance, and personalities of the Corps’ formative early years into a single compelling account. Maj. Gen. Jason Q. Bohm is a Marine with more than 30 years of service. An infantryman by trade, he has commanded at every level from platoon commander to commanding general in peacetime and war. Bohm also served in several key staff positions, including as a strategic planner with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Director of the Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School, House Director, Marine Corps Office of Legislative Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, and Chief of Staff of U.S. Naval Striking and Support Forces, NATO. Bohm has a bachelor’s degree in marketing, a master’s degree in military studies, and a master’s degree in national security studies. Jason has written several articles for the Marine Corps Gazette and won various writing awards from the Marine Corps Association. He is the author of From the Cold War to ISIL: One Marine’s Journey and Washington’s Marines: The Origins of the Corps and the American Revolution, 1775–1777. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

American Visions: The United States, 1800–1860

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 21:13:06 +0000

On November 8, 2023, award-winning author Edward Ayers delivered a lecture about his book, "American Visions: The United States, 1800–1860." The early decades of the nineteenth century saw the expansion of slavery, Native dispossession, and wars with Canada and Mexico. Mass immigration and powerful religious movements sent tremors through American society. But even as the powerful defended the status quo, others defied it: voices from the margins moved the center; eccentric visions altered the accepted wisdom, and acts of empathy questioned self-interest. Edward L. Ayers’s rich history examines the visions that moved Frederick Douglass, Margaret Fuller, the Native American activist William Apess, and others to challenge entrenched practices and beliefs. Lydia Maria Child condemned the racism of her fellow northerners at great personal cost. Melville and Thoreau, Joseph Smith and Samuel Morse all charted new paths for America in the realms of art, nature, belief, and technology. Ayers turns his distinctive historical sensibility to a period when bold visionaries and critics built vigorous traditions of dissent and innovation into the foundation of the nation. Those traditions remain alive for us today. Edward Ayers is university professor of the humanities and president emeritus at the University of Richmond. He has received the Bancroft and Lincoln Prizes for his scholarship, been named National Professor of the Year, received the National Humanities Medal from President Obama at the White House, served as president of the Organization of American Historians, and was the founding board chair of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond. He is executive director of New American History and Bunk, dedicated to making the nation’s history more visible and useful for a broad range of audiences. This lecture was co-hosted by American Civil War Museum, Black HIstory Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia, and The Valentine. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

VIRTUAL LECTURE - Escape to the City: Fugitive Slaves in Antebellum Richmond

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 15:06:01 +0000

On September 21, 2023, Viola Franziska Müller gave a virtual-only lecture about her book, Escape to the City: Fugitive Slaves in the Antebellum Urban South. Viola Franziska Müller examines runaways who camouflaged themselves among the free Black populations in Baltimore, Charleston, New Orleans, and, particularly discussed in this lecture, Richmond. In the urban South, they found shelter, work, and other survival networks that enabled them to live in slaveholding territory, shielded and supported by their host communities in an act of collective resistance to slavery. Though all fugitives risked their lives to escape slavery, those who fled to southern cities were perhaps the most vulnerable of all. Not dissimilar to modern-day refugees and illegal migrants, runaway slaves who sought refuge in the urban South were antebellum America's undocumented people, forging lives free from bondage but without the legal status of freedpeople. Spanning from the 1810s to the start of the Civil War, Müller reveals how urbanization, work opportunities, and the interconnectedness of free and enslaved Black people in each city determined how successfully runaways could remain invisible to authorities. Viola Franziska Müller is a historian at the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies at University of Bonn, Germany. She received her PhD from Leiden University, the Netherlands, in 2020. Studying the history of U.S. slavery and free people of African descent in Europe, she is particularly interested in the legacies of slavery and the trajectories of racism. She is the author of Escape to the City: Fugitive Slaves in the Antebellum Urban South. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

A Madman’s Will: John Randolph, Four Hundred Slaves, and the Mirage of Freedom

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 14:23:59 +0000

On September 14, 2023, Greg May discussed his eye-opening new book, A Madman's Will: John Randolph, Four Hundred Slaves, and the Mirage of Freedom, about a sensational antebellum Virginia will that freed almost 400 people from slavery. John Randolph of Roanoke—one of Virginia’s best-known statesmen—was a relentless defender of the slave states’ rights, so his deathbed declaration that he wanted to free the people he enslaved took nearly everyone by surprise. But it soon emerged that Randolph had left inconsistently written wills. His lifetime of eccentric behavior gave his heirs ample room to claim that none of Randolph’s wills was valid because he had been mad. The resulting litigation took twelve years. It gives us vivid insights into the intimate lives of antebellum Virginians and a wholly unexpected look at how Virginia’s courts dealt with questions concerning slavery. Although the courts ultimately upheld the will that freed Randolph’s slaves, the story does not have a happy ending. Virginia law required the new freedmen to leave the state, and before they could settle 3000 acres purchased for them in western Ohio, a mob of angry white farmers drove them away. Gregory May is a historian who writes about the early American republic. He graduated from William and Mary and Harvard Law School, clerked for Justice Powell on the United States Supreme Court, and then practiced law for thirty years. He is the author of Jefferson’s Treasure, a political biography of Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 19:05:50 +0000

On September 7, 2023, historians Lindsay Chervinsky, Matthew Costello, and Jeffrey Engel gave a lecture about how different generations and communities have eulogized and remembered U.S. presidents since 1799. The death of a chief executive, regardless of the circumstances—sudden or expected, still in office or decades later—is always a moment of reckoning and reflection. Mourning the Presidents brings together renowned and emerging scholars to examine how different generations and communities of Americans have eulogized and remembered U.S. presidents since George Washington’s death in 1799. Over twelve individually illuminating chapters, this volume offers a unique approach to understanding American culture and politics by uncovering parallels between different generations of mourners, highlighting distinct experiences, and examining what presidential deaths can tell us about societal fissures at various critical points in the nation’s history, right up to the present moment. This moderated conversation will feature Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky, Senior Fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University; Dr. Matthew Costello, Vice President and Interim Director of the David M. Rubenstein Center at the White House Historical Association; and Dr. Jeffrey Engel, Professor and Director for the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Almost Dead: Slavery and Social Rebirth in the Black Urban Atlantic

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 18:54:51 +0000

On August 17, 2023, historian Dr. Michael Lawrence Dickinson discussed his book on the Atlantic slave trade and how the thousands of captives who lived, bled, and resisted in the Black Urban Atlantic survived to form dynamic communities. In Almost Dead: Slavery and Social Rebirth in the Black Urban Atlantic, Dr. Dickinson uses cities with close commercial ties to shed light on similarities, variations, and linkages between urban Atlantic slave communities in mainland America and the Caribbean. The study adopts the perspectives of those enslaved to reveal that, in the eyes of the enslaved, the distinctions were often of degree rather than kind as cities throughout the Black Urban Atlantic remained spaces for Black oppression and resilience. The tenets of subjugation remained all too similar, as did captives’ need to stave off social death and hold on to their humanity. Almost Dead argues that urban environments provided unique barriers to and avenues for social rebirth: the process by which African-descended peoples reconstructed their lives individually and collectively after forced exportation from West Africa. This was an active process of cultural remembrance, continued resistance, and communal survival. It was in these urban slave communities―within the connections between neighbors and kinfolk―that the enslaved found the physical and psychological resources necessary to endure the seemingly unendurable. Whether sites of first arrival, commodification, sale, short-term captivity, or lifetime enslavement, the urban Atlantic shaped and was shaped by Black lives. Dr. Michael Lawrence Dickinson is an associate professor of African American history at Virginia Commonwealth University. He was a 2019–20 Barra Sabbatical Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s McNeil Center for Early American Studies. His research interests include enslaved Black life, comparative slavery, Black Atlantic studies, and urban history. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Virginia’s Lost Appalachian Trail

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 03:02:27 +0000

On August 3, 2023, Mills Kelly gave a lecture about his book, Virginia’s Lost Appalachian Trail. For over two decades, hikers on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia walked through some of the most beautiful landscapes of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Then, in 1952, the Appalachian Trail Conference moved 300 miles of the trail more than 50 miles to the west. This change was the single largest rerouting of the AT in its long history. Lost in that move were opportunities for hikers to scramble over the Pinnacles of Dan, to sit on Fisher’s Peak and gaze out over the North Carolina Piedmont, or to cross the New River on a flat-bottomed boat called Redbud for a nickel. In his latest book, historian and lifelong AT section hiker Mills Kelly tells the story of a part of the history of the Appalachian Trail that is all but forgotten by hikers, but not by the residents of the southwestern Virginia counties that the trail used to cross. Virginia’s Lost Appalachian Trail is thus a history of the AT and a story of the power and persistence of historical memory in rural communities once traversed by the AT. Mills Kelly graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in history and George Washington University with a PhD in history. He is a professor of history at George Mason University where he is also the director of Mason’s award-winning Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. He is the author of Virginia’s Lost Appalachian Trail. You can learn more about Mills on his website, www.millskelly.net. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

At the Cannon’s Mouth: Battlefield Relics and the Making of Civil War Memory

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 14:48:14 +0000

On July 27, 2023, Dr. James Broomall gave a fascinating presentation on artifacts taken from the battlefields of the Civil War that helped shape the memory of the conflict. From Col. Elmer Ellsworth’s death coat to the shattered tree stump of Spotsylvania, Civil War Americans actively collected and displayed objects of war. These battle pieces appeared in small museums at the turn of the twentieth century to help visitors understand the blasted landscapes from which they came. This talk will explore the lives of artifacts after they were taken from the field of action in order to understand how they informed the construction of memory. Objects with violent histories both contested and confirmed the prevailing discourse of romanticism in the nineteenth century. On the one hand, Americans clung to things connected to death and violence. On the other, Americans projected violence as regenerative to justify bloodshed. Dr. James J. Broomall is an associate professor of history at Shepherd University and the director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War, which promotes a dialogue among popular and academic audiences by integrating scholarship, education, and engagement. He is a cultural historian of the Civil War era and has published many articles and essays in journals and magazines, including Common Place: The Journal of Early American Life, Civil War History, and The Journal of the Civil War Era. James is the author of Private Confederacies: The Emotional Worlds of Southern Men as Citizens and Soldiers (2019). He is currently working on a book project titled, “Battle Pieces: The Art and Artifacts of the American Civil War Era,” which explores how historical imagery and military artifacts were used to create representations of violence, war, and death. This lecture is presented in partnership with the Wilton House Museum. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Apollo to the Moon: A History in Objects

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 17:57:51 +0000

On July 20, 2023, historian and curator Teasel Muir-Harmony gave a lecture on the Apollo program, told through key objects of the Space Age. Project Apollo ranks among the most bold and challenging undertakings of the 20th century. Within less than a decade, the United States leapt from suborbital spaceflight to landing humans on the moon and returning them safely back to Earth. Hundreds of thousands of people helped make these missions possible, while billions more around the world followed the flights. The material legacy of these missions is immense—with thousands of artifacts from rocket engines to spacesuits to the ephemera of life aboard a spacecraft represented in the Smithsonian’s collections. Now, more than fifty years after the last lunar landing, Teasel Muir-Harmony, curator of Apollo collection at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, reassesses the history of Project Apollo through the most evocative objects of the Space Age. She examines artifacts that highlight how Project Apollo touched people’s lives, both within the space program and around the world. More than space hardware alone, the objects she features reflect the deep interconnection between Project Apollo and broader developments in American society and politics. Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony is a historian of spaceflight and the curator of the Apollo Collection at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Her research focuses on the exploration of the Moon, from debates about lunar governance to the use of spaceflight as soft power, the topic of her award-winning book, Operation Moonglow: A Political History of Project Apollo (2020). She is the author of Apollo to the Moon: A History in 50 Objects (2018) and an advisor to the television series Apollo’s Moon Shot. In addition, Muir-Harmony co-organizes the Space Policy & History Forum and teaches at Georgetown University. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

2023 Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture - The Jeffersonians

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 17:49:44 +0000

On July 19, 2023, historian and bestselling author, Kevin R. C. Gutzman, presented the 2023 Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture. Before the consecutive two-term administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, there had only been one other trio of its type: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Kevin R. C. Gutzman’s The Jeffersonians is a complete chronicle of the men, known as The Virginia Dynasty, who served as president from 1801 to 1825. The three close political allies were tightly related: Jefferson and Madison were the closest of friends, and Monroe was Jefferson’s former law student. Their achievements were many, including the founding of the opposition Republican Party in the 1790s, the Louisiana Purchase, and the call upon Congress in 1806 to use its constitutional power to ban the importation of enslaved people beginning on January 1, 1808. Gutzman’s new book details a time in America when three presidents worked toward common goals to face challenges and strengthen our republic in a way we rarely see in American politics today. Kevin R. C. Gutzman is Professor of History at Western Connecticut State University and a faculty member at LibertyClassroom.com. He has his law degree from the University of Texas Law School and his Ph.D. in American history from the University of Virginia. His books include Thomas Jefferson—Revolutionary; James Madison and the Making of America; Virginia’s American Revolution; Who Killed the Constitution? (with Thomas Woods); and The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

A Constitutional Commonwealth

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 17:09:41 +0000

On July 13, 2023, historian and author Brent Tarter lead a discussion of his new book, Constitutional History of Virginia, covering more than 300 years of Virginia’s legislative policy, from colony to statehood, revealing its political and legal backstory. In the only modern comprehensive constitutional history of any state, Brent Tarter traces Virginia history from the very beginning in 1606, when James I chartered the Virginia Company to establish a commercial outpost on the Atlantic coast of North America, through the first two decades of the twenty-first century, and the constitutions along the way that evolved and changed as the demographic, economic, political, and cultural characteristics of Virginia changed. Brent Tarter is a founding editor of the Library of Virginia’s Dictionary of Virginia Biography and a cofounder of the annual Virginia Forum. He is the author of numerous books, including The Grandees of Government: The Origins and Persistence of Undemocratic Politics in Virginia; Daydreams and Nightmares: A Virginia Family Faces Secession and War; Virginians and Their Histories; and Constitutional History of Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Gettysburg’s Southern Front: Opportunity and Failure at Richmond

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 17:38:13 +0000

On July 6, 2023, author Hampton Newsome delivered a lecture about the little-known United States offensive against Richmond during the Gettysburg Campaign in the summer of 1863. Sometimes referred to as the Blackberry Raid, the Union offensive was led by John Dix and provided a significant opportunity as 20,000 U.S. troops advanced on the Confederate capital and sought to cut the railroads supplying Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in Pennsylvania. To some, Dix’s campaign presented a tremendous chance for federal forces to strike hard at Richmond while Lee was in Pennsylvania. To others, it was an unnecessary lark that tied up units deployed more effectively in protecting Washington and confronting Lee’s men on Northern soil. Hampton Newsome is the author of several award-winning books on the Civil War, including Richmond Must Fall: The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, October 1864 (2012); The Fight for the Old North State: The Civil War in North Carolina, January–May 1864 (2019); and his most recent title, Gettysburg’s Southern Front: Opportunity and Failure at Richmond (2022). Gettysburg’s Southern Front received the Edwin C. Bearss Book Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Civil War History from the Chicago Civil War Roundtable and was named one of top 10 books of 2022 by Civil War Books and Authors. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Virginia Venture: American Colonization and English Society, 1580-1660

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 18:58:21 +0000

On June 22, 2023, Misha Ewen delivered a fascinating virtual discussion of her new book, “The Virginia Venture: American Colonization and English Society, 1580–1660.” Ordinary women, children, and men in England contributed to (and sometimes opposed) the colonization of the first permanent English colony in America: Jamestown. Across English society, from the streets of London to rural villages in Cornwall, people engaged with fundraising schemes and efforts to transport poor families, they grew and smoked tobacco, and they read literature and listened to sermons in church which promoted colonization in America. In ways that have largely gone unnoticed, they helped to support, or sometimes undermine, the efforts of colonizers. In this lecture, Misha Ewen will discuss her research in archives across England which help us to understand this chapter in United States history through a new lens: as history which intertwined with everyday life in towns and villages across England, with lasting consequences for society “at home” and in the “New World.” Misha Ewen is a Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Bristol. She has held fellowships at Yale University, the Huntington Library, and Folger Shakespeare Library, and has made several appearances on TV and radio, including “Inside the Tower of London.” The Virginia Venture, published by University of Pennsylvania Press in 2022, is her first book. This lecture is sponsored by The Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Religion and Race in the Story of Public Executions in the South

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 14:55:34 +0000

On June 8, 2023, Virginia-born historian Michael Trotti shared stories from his research on the movement from public legal executions in the South. Before 1850, all legal executions in the South were performed before crowds that could number in the thousands; the last legal public execution was in 1936. Intended to shame and intimidate, public executions after the Civil War had quite a different effect on southern Black communities. Crowds typically consisting of as many Black people as white behaved like congregations before a macabre pulpit, led in prayer and song by a Black minister on the scaffold. Black criminals often proclaimed their innocence and almost always their salvation. This turned the proceedings into public, mixed-race, and mixed-gender celebrations of Black religious authority and devotion. In response, southern states rewrote their laws to eliminate these crowds and this Black authority, ultimately turning to electrocutions in the bowels of state penitentiaries. As a wave of (extralegal) lynchings crested around the turn of the twentieth century, states also transformed the ways that the South's white-dominated governments controlled legal capital punishment, making executions into private affairs witnessed only by white people. Dr. Michael Ayers Trotti is Professor of History at Ithaca College in the Fingerlakes of New York. He was raised on the campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary in northside Richmond and attended Richmond’s public schools, graduating from Richmond Community High School and then Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in History before earning his masters and Ph.D. at UNC-Chapel Hill. He has written on sensationalism and murder in the Richmond press in his first book, The Body in the Reservoir, and on the history of lynching in the Journal of American History. His latest book is The End of Public Execution: Race, Religion, and Punishment in the American South. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Spitfire: An American WWII Fighter Pilot in the RAF

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 14:52:07 +0000

On May 25, 2023, author Preston Smith gave a fascinating lecture about his father’s service as the last U.S. pilot accepted into the ranks of the RAF during World War II. In a voice both timeless and distinctly greatest generational, Richmonder Parke F. Smith wrote about being the last U.S. pilot accepted into the ranks of the RAF through their training exchange program at War Eagle Field, Los Angeles. After completing their course, he sailed to England on board the HMS Queen Elizabeth, swore allegiance to the king, and was offered a coveted spot training as a fighter pilot. From 1942 to 1946, Smith flew 129 missions in North Africa, Italy, and over the North Sea, before returning home. Amazingly—blessedly—he made it home, unlike so many of his friends and comrades. It is to them he dedicated his writing. But war stories are only the half of it. Smith writes of human connection and camaraderie formed in war's trenches, revealing enduring truths through anecdotes made even more humorous from his perspective as a total outsider. Preston Smith offers an insider’s view into his father’s unique military service, telling a story about finding home—no matter how foreign—and fighting for it with all you've got. Parke’s son, Preston Smith, collected these writings, some discovered on old “floppy” disks, some in notebooks, and some in previously published volumes, bringing them to life as the 2020 book, Spitfire: An American WWII Fighter Pilot in the RAF. Virginians will remember the Smith family flying aerobatics for Barnstormers Airshows at King’s Dominion amusement park in Ashland, with Parke piloting a bi-plane, sons Jimmie and Preston manning the hot air balloon ascensions and assisting sky divers, and their mom knitting in the car. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Turning Fact into Fiction: Writing Fiction about the Richmond Theater Fire

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 14:46:22 +0000

On May 11, 2023, Rachel Beanland gave a lecture about the historical research behind her novel about the Richmond Theater Fire, The House is On Fire. Rachel Beanland’s latest novel, The House Is On Fire, is based on the true story of the 1811 Richmond Theater fire and is already being called “a stunning achievement” by Jeannette Walls and “a propulsive, pulse-pounding read” by Kathleen Grissom. The novel begins the night of the fire and follows four characters—white and Black, free and enslaved—who experience the incendiary event from very different perspectives. Beanland based all four characters on the lives of real people who lived through the fire and its aftermath, and in this talk, she’ll share how she used primary and secondary sources—including archival material belonging to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture—to bring these characters and others to life. Rachel Beanland’s first novel, Florence Adler Swims Forever, was selected as a book club pick by Barnes & Noble, a featured debut by Amazon, an Indie Next pick by the American Booksellers Association, and one of the best books of 2020 by USA Today. It was also named a New York Times Editors’ Choice and was recognized with the 2020 National Jewish Book Award for Debut Fiction. Beanland earned her MFA in creative writing from Virginia Commonwealth University and lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her family. Her newest book is The House is On Fire. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

“War is horrid, in fact”: Virginians in the West Indies Expedition, 1740–42

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 14:41:37 +0000

On May 5, 2023, author Craig S. Chapman spoke about the first overseas deployment of American troops, in which 4,000 colonists (including 400 from Virginia) served in the British Army on a disastrous expedition to the Caribbean. In 1740 Great Britain mounted the largest overseas expedition in its history to that time. The goal was to seize control of Spain’s West Indies possessions during the so-called War of Jenkins’ Ear. Because of the large number of sailors and soldiers required, Britain resorted to enlisting recruits from its North American colonies to serve in the king’s army. The British launched joint land-sea attacks on Cartagena de Indias (modern day Colombia), Santiago de Cuba, and Panama, but failed in all three missions. Thirteen to fifteen thousand Britons and Americans perished on the expedition, as many as would die in the entire French and Indian War. As Capt. Lawrence Washington remarked, “War is horrid, in fact.” Craig S. Chapman is the author of "Disaster on the Spanish Main: The Tragic British-American Expedition to the West Indies during the War of Jenkins’ Ear" and two other military histories, "Battle Hardened: An Infantry Officer’s Harrowing Journey from D-Day to VE Day" and "More Terrible Than Victory: North Carolina’s Bloody Bethel Regiment, 1861–65." This lecture was sponsored by the Society of Colonial Wars in Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

“War is horrid, in fact”: Virginians in the West Indies Expedition, 1740–42

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 18:08:47 +0000

On May 5, 2023, Craig S. Chapman spoke about the first overseas deployment of American troops, in which 4,000 colonists (including 400 from Virginia) served in the British Army on a disastrous expedition to the Caribbean. In 1740 Great Britain mounted the largest overseas expedition in its history to that time. The goal was to seize control of Spain’s West Indies possessions during the so-called War of Jenkins’ Ear. Because of the large number of sailors and soldiers required, Britain resorted to enlisting recruits from its North American colonies to serve in the king’s army. The British launched joint land-sea attacks on Cartagena de Indias (modern day Colombia), Santiago de Cuba, and Panama, but failed in all three missions. Thirteen to fifteen thousand Britons and Americans perished on the expedition, as many as would die in the entire French and Indian War. As Capt. Lawrence Washington remarked, “War is horrid, in fact.” Craig S. Chapman is the author of "Disaster on the Spanish Main: The Tragic British-American Expedition to the West Indies during the War of Jenkins’ Ear" and two other military histories, "Battle Hardened: An Infantry Officer’s Harrowing Journey from D-Day to VE Day" and "More Terrible Than Victory: North Carolina’s Bloody Bethel Regiment, 1861–65." This lecture was sponsored by the Society of Colonial Wars in Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Confessions of a Southern Church

Tue, 02 May 2023 19:57:05 +0000

On April 27, writer Christopher Graham, delivered a lecture about his book Faith, Race, and the Lost Cause: Confessions of a Southern Church. When a young man enamored with Confederate iconography murdered worshipers at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston in 2015, the rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond called his congregation to examine its own racial history and former identity as the “Church of the Confederacy.” St. Paul’s, in downtown Richmond, had been the home to wealthy and influential Virginians, and during the Civil War had hosted Confederate leaders, including Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. The people of St. Paul’s reveled in the notoriety and built its postwar identity around its Confederate connections. This book is a result of a congregational self-study, and chronicles how this church understood Christian teachings and practice regarding race relations from the 1840s to our present moment. Along the way, it reveals a few unexpected moments in the evolution of a Lost Cause institution, while contemplating the ways that people change over time and use historical imagination to manifest a present reality. In the end, we learn reasons for hope and sobering lessons for those who wish to do the right thing. Christopher Graham is a historian, museum curator, and member of St. Paul’s. He is the author of Faith, Race, and the Lost Cause: Confessions of a Southern Church. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Burning Land: When the Family Goes to War, and the War Comes Home

Thu, 06 Apr 2023 19:15:58 +0000

On April 6, 2023, historian David O. Stewart delivered a lecture on the history behind his novel, The Burning Land, the second volume of his Overstreet saga. Writing a Civil War novel inspired by an ancestor’s long and tragic service in the Twentieth Maine Infantry meant considering how war changes soldiers, those closest to them, and communities. The impact on soldiers in combat has been called “soldier’s heart” and “shell shock,” “battle fatigue” and “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.” Each term reflects an effort to understand the impacts of facing death, and of performing acts that most have been taught never to do, impacts that can echo through life. Sometimes fiction can bring those matters closer. David O. Stewart turned to writing after a career practicing law in Washington, D.C. He is a national bestselling and award-winning author of several previous nonfiction books on American history, including Madison’s Gift: Five Partnerships That Built America and George Washington: The Political Rise of America’s Founding Father. He has also written several works of historical fiction, including the Fraser and Cook mystery series (The Lincoln Deception, The Paris Deception, and The Babe Ruth Deception) and the Overstreet Saga (The New Land, The Burning Land, and The Resolution Land [forthcoming]). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Perspectives from the Congressional Naming Commission and the Army’s War on the Lost Cause

Thu, 06 Apr 2023 18:19:29 +0000

On March 16, 2023, historian Connor Williams discussed his role as lead historian for the U.S. Congress’ Naming Commission, with particular emphasis on the process of recommending new names for the three Virginia forts—Fort Lee, Fort A.P. Hill, and Fort Pickett. Though the Civil War’s battles were settled on the fields of our nation more than a century and half ago, the fields of our collective memories continue to be rife with conflict. This has especially proved the case over the last few years, as some Civil War monuments come down and other interpretations go up, sparking important questions. What stories should be commemorated? What features should be highlighted? What role should the Confederacy play in the history of the United States? Should we memorialize Confederates, and if so, how? How might these struggles play out on Virginia’s historic and contemporary landscape? Connor Williams will discuss how our society arrived at these questions, and where we might go from here, investigating all these issues from his recent experience, and especially through the stories of the three Virginia forts for which the commission recommended new names. Before serving with the Naming Commission, Connor pursued his doctorate in history and African American Studies at Yale University, and he maintains an affiliation with both departments. He is currently completing A Race on the Frontier: African American Lives, Labors and Communities in Northern California, 1850–1915, a book project that examines the political struggles, economic opportunities, labor strategies, and networks of organization and support Black Americans forged throughout the Golden State between the Gold Rush and the Great War. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Silent Spring Revolution: Kennedy, Carson, Johnson, Nixon, & the Great Environmental Awakening

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 18:19:11 +0000

On March 1, 2023, bestselling author Douglas Brinkley delivered a lecture about his newest book, "Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening". New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley chronicles the rise of environmental activism during the Long Sixties, telling a highly charged story of an indomitable generation that quite literally saved the natural world under the leadership of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon. JFK had been jolted by Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, published in 1962. Depicting the deathblow that could be dealt by artificial chemicals, specifically DDT, the book launched an eco-revolution among the American people, which went on to inspire landmark legislation during Lyndon Johnson’s and Richard Nixon’s presidencies. Brinkley records these milestones of the modern environmental movement through the first Earth Day in 1970, after which every American life would forever be touched by the environmental movement of the Long Sixties (1960–1973). "Silent Spring Revolution" is crucial to understanding the battle to protect America’s land, water, wildlife, and air. In a fast-evolving era when the nation is witnessing new types of environmental crises due to climate change and resource exhaustion, Douglas Brinkley’s meticulously researched and deftly written book is also a clarion call, reminding us of the passionate grassroots work that still needs to be done as the spirit of the Silent Spring Revolution continues well into the twenty-first century. Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, a CNN Presidential Historian, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. He works in many capacities in the world of public history, including for boards, museums, colleges, and historical societies. Six of his books were named New York Times “Notable Books of the Year” and seven became New York Times bestsellers. His books include, among many others, "The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast"; "The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America"; "Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America"; and "Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening". The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Dismal Freedom: A History of the Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 18:13:27 +0000

On February 16, 2023, historian Brent Morris gave a lecture examining the lives of the maroons living in the Great Dismal Swamp and their struggles for liberation. The massive and foreboding Great Dismal Swamp sprawls more than 2,000 square miles and spills over parts of Virginia and North Carolina. From the early seventeenth century, the nearly impassable Dismal frustrated settlement. However, what may have been an impediment to the expansion of slave society became an essential sanctuary for many of those who sought to escape it. In the depths of the Dismal, thousands of maroons—people who had emancipated themselves from enslavement and settled beyond the reach of enslavers—established new lives of freedom in a landscape deemed worthless and inaccessible by whites. J. Brent Morris, author of the new book Dismal Freedom: A History of the Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp, examines the lives of these maroons and their struggles for liberation, and tells one of the most exciting yet neglected stories of American history. This is the story of resilient, proud, and determined people who made the Great Dismal Swamp their free home and sanctuary and who played an outsized role in undermining slavery through the Civil War. Dr. J. Brent Morris is Professor of History and Humanities Department Chair at the University of South Carolina Beaufort and Director of the USCB Institute for the Study of the Reconstruction Era. He is the author of several books, including Oberlin, Hotbed of Abolitionism: College, Community, and the Fight for Freedom and Equality in Antebellum America; Yes Lord I Know the Road: A Documentary History of African Americans in South Carolina, 1526–2008; A South Carolina Chronology, 1497–2020 (with Walter Edgar and C. James Taylor); and Dismal Freedom: A History of the Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Hero from Hopewell: The Rev. Curtis W. Harris and the Civil Rights Movement

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 19:26:01 +0000

On February 2, 2023, writer William Paul Lazarus gave a virtual lecture about his book, Virginia’s Civil Rights Hero: The Rev. Curtis W. Harris Sr. Just three months before Curtis Harris was born, the Virginia State Legislature passed the Racial Integrity Act, which banned interracial marriage down to “a single drop” of African blood. Harris was the sixth child of an impoverished sharecropper and his wife, living in a desolate outpost of the commonwealth while the sweeping regulation was passed by the most prominent men in the state. In time, however, Harris would lead the fight against this law and many others designed to maintain the control of the white majority over minorities in Virginia and in the rest of the South. His inspirational story follows him from Dendron to Hopewell and then to the forefront of America’s civil rights battles, arm in arm with the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Arrested multiple times, beaten and discriminated against, Harris persevered to change entrenched racism and become the first Black mayor in his hometown. Admired and honored, he serves as a symbol of what be accomplished by a lone individual with the courage to demand justice. William Paul Lazarus hold an M.A. in communication from Kent State University and an ABD in American Studies from Case Western Reserve University. He has published a variety of books on Americana, including The Sands of Time: 100 Years of Racing in Daytona Beach; Guide to American Culture; and Virginia's Civil Rights Hero Curtis W. Harris, Sr. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Byrd Machine in Virginia: The Rise and Fall of a Conservative Political Organization

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 18:33:19 +0000

On January 19, 2023, author and journalist Michael Lee Pope traced the history of Harry Byrd’s conservative political organization, which ran Virginia politics for more than half a century. The story of the Byrd Machine is one that begins after the Civil War when Senator William Mahone created the first political machine with support from Black voters and Black elected officials. That was followed by a second political machine created by Senator Thomas Staples Martin to crush the progressive movement and implement Jim Crow racism. That was the environment when a young state senator named Harry Byrd campaigned for governor and launched his own machine, which would wield power and influence over everything from who got the nod to be governor to how the state maintained racial segregation. The Byrd organization operated with a pathological hatred of debt spending, crushing the power of labor unions, and forcing its will on Black school children protesting separate and unequal facilities. The turning point came during massive resistance, a move to close public schools rather than integrate them. Michael Lee Pope is an award-winning journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria. He has reported for NPR, the New York Daily News, Northern Virginia magazine, and the Alexandria Gazette Packet. He has a master's degree in American studies from Florida State University, and he is a former adjunct professor at Tallahassee Community College. He is the author of several books, including Hidden History of Alexandria, D.C.; Shotgun Justice: One Prosecutor's Crusade Against Crime & Corruption in Alexandria & Arlington; Wicked Northern Virginia; and, most recently, The Byrd Machine in Virginia: The Rise and Fall of a Conservative Political Organization. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Heart of Hell

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 20:51:25 +0000

On December 8, 2022, historian Jeffry D. Wert delivered a lecture on the bloody attack and defense of the “Mule Shoe” at Spotsylvania Court House on May 12, 1864. The Union assault on the Confederate Mule Shoe at Spotsylvania on May 12, 1864, ignited a struggle unlike any other during the four-year conflict. A Massachusetts soldier described the fighting as “the death-grapple of the war” as the foes killed and maimed each other often at the length of a rifle barrel for more than twenty hours. A Mississippi private said of the day, “I don't expect to go to hell, but if I do, I am sure Hell can't beat that terrible scene.” When the combat ended in the early morning darkness of May 13, roughly 17,500 men had been killed, wounded, or captured. Jeffry D. Wert is the author of many books on the Civil War, including The Sword of Lincoln: The Army of the Potomac; A Glorious Army: Robert E. Lee's Triumph, 1862–1863; Civil War Barons: The Tycoons, Entrepreneurs, Inventors, and Visionaries Who Forged Victory and Shaped a Nation; and, most recently, The Heart of Hell: The Soldier’s Struggle for Spotsylvania’s Bloody Angle. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Old Bay Line—1840 to 1962

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 20:49:49 +0000

On November 3, 2022, author Jack Shaum lectured on the subject of his newest book, 122 Years on the Old Bay Line. Old Bay Line is the name by which the Baltimore Steam Packet Company was best known over most of its 122-year history of nightly carrying passengers and freight on the Chesapeake Bay between Baltimore and Norfolk. These steamers are often mistakenly referred to as ferry boats, but they most certainly were not. They were large, sturdy vessels that operated year-round in all kinds of weather. They provided reliable on-time service for the traveling public and shippers alike, and were famed for their cuisine, impeccable service, and fine accommodation. By the 1950s and 1960s they were the last of their kind in the nation. When the company wrapped up operations in 1962, it was the oldest steamship company under the American flag. Jack Shaum is a retired award-winning print and broadcast journalist who spent nearly fifty years in the business. He is the former editor-in-chief of the quarterly journal of the Steamship Historical Society of America. Jack is the author and co-author of several books, including Lost Chester River Steamboats: From Chestertown to Baltimore; Majesty at Sea; Night Boat on the Potomac; and, most recently, 122 Years on the Old Bay Line. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The “Other” Valley Campaign

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 20:48:18 +0000

On October 19, 2022, award-winning Civil War historian Gary W. Gallagher delivered the 2022 Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture. Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early’s 1864 Valley Campaign in the summer and autumn of 1864 reached a decisive climax in the battle of Cedar Creek on October 19. Far less famous than "Stonewall" Jackson’s more limited operations in the Valley during May–June 1862, Early’s featured a series of significant battles against a powerful Union army under Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan. This lecture will examine Early and Sheridan as commanders, explore the military, economic, and political impact of the campaign, and assess why Jackson’s campaign looms much larger in historical memory. Gary W. Gallagher is John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War Emeritus Director, John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History. He is nationally renowned Civil War historian and the author and editor of numerous books and articles. His most recent book, a collection of essays on all aspects of the Civil War, is The Enduring Civil War: Reflections on the Great American Crisis. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

“The United States of Virginia”: Jefferson’s Invention of America through a Virginian Lens

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 20:46:34 +0000

On October 13, 2022, historian Robert Pierce Forbes took a fascinating look at Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia. When Thomas Jefferson used the term “my country,” he almost always meant Virginia. Nowhere is this truer than in his only published book, "Notes on the State of Virginia." Released while the United States was just taking shape, Notes profoundly influenced the perception of the infant republic by foreigners and countrymen alike. Through his subtle but powerful rhetoric, Jefferson made Virginia stand in for America as a whole, while revising the meaning of “all men are created equal,” thereby writing Americans of African descent out of the narrative of American liberty. Dr. Robert Pierce Forbes taught U.S. history at the University of Connecticut and was the founding associate director of Yale’s Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition. He is the author of "The Missouri Compromise and Its Aftermath: Slavery and the Meaning of America" and the editor of "Notes on the State of Virginia: An Annotated Edition." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Permanent Resident: Excavations and Explorations of George Washington’s Life

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 20:44:37 +0000

On October 13, 2022, Dr. Philip Levy gave a fascinating lecture on the principal archaeological sites associated with George Washington and what they say individually and collectively about his life and career. No figure in American history has generated more public interest or sustained more scholarly research around his various homes and habitations than has George Washington. The Permanent Resident is the first book to bring the principal archaeological sites of Washington’s life together under one cover, revealing what they say individually and collectively about Washington’s life and career and how Americans have continued to invest these places with meaning. Two hundred years after his death, at the sites of his many abodes, Washington remains an inescapable presence. The Permanent Resident guides readers through the places where Washington lived and in which Americans have memorialized him, speaking to issues that have defined and challenged America from his time to our own. Philip Levy is Professor of History at the University of South Florida and the author of "George Washington Written on the Land: Nature, Memory, Myth, and Landscape" and "The Permanent Resident: Excavations and Explorations of George Washington’s Life." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 20:24:22 +0000

On September 22, 2022, historian James Scott discussed his book about the controversial firebombing of Tokyo on March 9, 1945. Seven minutes past midnight on March 9, 1945, nearly 300 American B-29s thundered into the skies over Tokyo. Their payloads of incendiaries ignited a more than 1,800-degree firestorm that liquefied asphalt and vaporized thousands; sixteen square miles of the city were flattened and more than 100,000 men, women, and children were killed. Black Snow is the story of this devastating operation, orchestrated by Major General Curtis LeMay, who famously remarked: “If we lose, we’ll be tried as war criminals.” James M. Scott reconstructs in granular detail that horrific night, and describes the development of the B-29, the capture of the Marianas for use as airfields, and the change in strategy from high-altitude daylight “precision” bombing to low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing. Most importantly, the raid represented a significant moral shift for America, marking the first-time commanders deliberately targeted civilians―which helped pave the way for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki five months later. James M. Scott is the author of several books on World War II, including Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor, a Pulitzer Prize finalist; Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita; and, most recently, Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Devil’s Half Acre: Book Talk and Discussion with Kristen Green and Dr. Carolivia Herron

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 15:02:10 +0000

On September 15, 2022, best-selling author and journalist Kristen Green joined Dr. Carolivia Herron to discuss the subject of Green’s book and Herron’s ancestor, Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman who liberated an infamous slave jail and transformed it into one of the nation’s first HBCUs. "The Devil's Half Acre: The Untold Story of How One Woman Liberated the South's Most Notorious Slave Jail" draws on years of research to tell the extraordinary story of Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman who blazed a path of liberation for thousands. She was forced to have the children of a brutal slave trader and live on the premises of his slave jail, known as the “Devil’s Half Acre.” When she inherited the jail after the death of her slaveholder, she transformed it into “God’s Half Acre,” a school where Black men could fulfill their dreams. It still exists today as Virginia Union University, one of America’s first Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Presenter Biographies: Kristen Green is a reporter and the author of The Devil’s Half Acre and the New York Times bestseller Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County. She has worked as a journalist for two decades for newspapers including the Boston Globe, the San Diego Union-Tribune, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch. She holds a master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School and lives in Richmond with her husband and two daughters. Carolivia Herron is an African American Jewish author, educator and publisher living in Washington, DC. She received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, and has held multiple professorial appointments, including at Harvard University and the College of William and Mary. Currently she teaches Classics in the English Department of Howard University and has recently been commissioned to write a play about her ancestry. Two of her children's books, Nappy Hair and Always An Olivia, highlight her Virginia heritage. Carolivia Herron is a descendant of Mary Lumpkin.

The Lincolns, the Booths, and the Spirits: Two Families and the Otherworld in the Civil War

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 14:13:38 +0000

On September 8, 2022, historian Terry Alford delivered a fascinating lecture about his book, "In the Houses of Their Dead: The Lincolns, the Booths, and the Spirits." Two families, one at the nation’s political summit and one at its theatrical, were bound together in the Civil War period by their fascination with spiritualism. Abraham and Mary Lincoln turned to the seance table when their son Willie Lincoln died in 1862. Edwin Booth and his brother John Wilkes were similarly attracted to the otherworld by the death of Edwin’s wife Mary Devlin in 1863. Although there were many mediums in the country, the number of distinguished intermediaries to the other side was limited, and the two families shared several of the most gifted ones. No medium was more controversial than Charles J. Colchester, who astounded the Lincolns with his powers while being an intimate friend of John Wilkes Booth at the same time. Colchester repeatedly warned Lincoln to be careful. Would the president, who received many such warnings over the years, finally listen to the one that mattered? Terry L. Alford is Professor of History Emeritus at Northern Virginia Community College. He is the author of several books, including Prince among Slaves: The True Story of an African Prince Sold into Slavery in the American South, which was made into a PBS documentary in 2007; Fortune's Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth, a National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist; and In the Houses of Their Dead: The Lincolns, the Booths, and the Spirits. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

In Pursuit of Jefferson: Traveling through Europe with the Most Perplexing Founding Father

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 14:42:28 +0000

On August 25, 2022, writer Derek Baxter delivered a lecture about his book, "In Pursuit of Jefferson: Traveling through Europe with the Most Perplexing Founding Father." In 1788, when two young countrymen asked Thomas Jefferson for advice on where to go on their own journey, he wrote them a 5,000-word letter he entitled Hints to Americans Travelling in Europe, instructing them where to go, what to do, and how to bring knowledge from their travels back to newborn America. More than two hundred years later, Baxter used the miniguide to embark on a grand tour of his own, following Jefferson’s advice through six countries and absorbing countless lessons while recovering from his own personal crisis. Yet along the way, what Baxter learns isn’t always what Jefferson had in mind—including how Jefferson could never escape the fact that the work of enslaved people lay behind all his travels and projects. In Pursuit of Jefferson is at once a personal story of a life-changing trip across Europe and a profound personal journey as well as an unflinching look at one of America’s most controversial founding fathers. Written with immersive historical detail, a sense of humor, and a boundless heart, Baxter explores how we can be better at moving forward only by first looking back. Derek Baxter graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in history and is an attorney. After years of research, he made nine separate trips abroad on Jefferson’s trail. In Pursuit of Jefferson is his first book. You can follow his adventures with Thomas Jefferson at www.jeffersontravels.com. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Captivity and the British Subject in Colonial America

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 14:37:54 +0000

In this August 11, 2022 lecture, Catherine Ingrassia explores the fascinating research from her book, “Domestic Captivity and the British Subject, 1660–1750.” Indentured servitude was common in colonial America. When voluntary, it allegedly offered dispossessed British subjects the opportunity to improve their situation after their term. However, the practice of kidnapping or “spiriting away” people into involuntary indentured servitude occurred with great regularly. This talk discusses two fictional representations of the case of James Annesley (1715–1760). The heir to an Irish barony, Annesley’s uncle had him secretly kidnapped as a child and sold as an indentured servant in Virginia where he labored for fourteen years. When Annesley finally returned to England, he was the subject of more than sixty publications in London all of which emphasized his role as an “indentured slave.” These British narratives about colonial America give voice to persistent anxieties about the potential captivity of British subjects on colonial soil. More forcefully, they also reveal a concern about the potential erosion of male British identity within a corrosive climate where ignorant Americans masters hold them captive. The narratives strategically represent the American masters as particularly brutal to compensative for the vast British financial interests in the West Indies, the site of notoriously horrific conditions for enslaved people. In addition to discussing Annesley’s captivity, the talk will also consider other states of domestic captivity common within England and elaborate upon the especially threatening conditions for women held captive within a colonial, domestic space. Catherine E. Ingrassia is Professor and Chair in the Department of English at Virginia Commonwealth University. In addition to her most recent book Domestic Captivity and the British Subject, 1660–1750, she is the author or editor of six other books including Authorship, Commerce and Gender in Eighteenth-Century England: A Culture of Paper Credit and the Cambridge Companion to Eighteenth-Century Women Writers. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

An Evening with Joseph Ellis (J. Harvie Wilkinson, Jr. Lecture 2022)

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 14:30:44 +0000

Was the American Revolution really a revolution? Was George Washington a great general? Was the American victory a miracle or inevitable? Dr. Joseph Ellis explores these questions and more in his lecture on July 20, 2022, about "The Cause," complicating conventional narratives to present a richly nuanced vision of this foundational moment in American history. A landmark work of narrative history, "The Cause" challenges the story we have long told ourselves about our origins as a people, and as a nation. Joseph Ellis is one of the nation’s leading scholars of American history. A professor of history, he has taught in the Leadership Studies program at Williams College, the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts, Mount Holyoke College, and the United States Military Academy at West Point. Ellis’s commentaries have been featured on CSPAN, CNN, and PBS’s Lehrer News Hour, and he has appeared in several documentaries on early America. The author of twelve books, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" and won the National Book Award for "American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson." Joseph Ellis’s latest work is "The Cause: The American Revolution and its Discontents, 1773–1783." The content and opinions expressed in this presentation are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

In the True Blue’s Wake: Slavery and Freedom among the Families of Smithfield Plantation

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 14:24:46 +0000

On July 14, 2022, historian Daniel Thorp delivered a lecture about his book, "In The True Blue’s Wake: Slavery and Freedom among the Families of Smithfield Plantation." In 1759, William Preston purchased sixteen enslaved Africans brought to Maryland aboard the True Blue, an English slave ship. Over the next century, the Prestons enslaved more than 200 individuals and used their labor to establish and operate Smithfield, the family’s Virginia seat, and the plantations into which it was later divided. In the True Blue’s Wake tells the story of the men and women who were enslaved at Smithfield between its establishment in 1774 and the abolition of slavery there in 1865: who they were and how they and their families endured the experience of slavery. It then follows those families after their emancipation as they moved throughout the United States and explores how they and their descendants used their families’ new freedom to advance in the world. Dr. Daniel B. Thorp is an associate professor of history at Virginia Tech. He is the author of several books, including Facing Freedom: An African American Community in Virginia from Reconstruction to Jim Crow; and In the True Blue’s Wake: Slavery and Freedom among the Families of Smithfield Plantation. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Curators at Work: Paving the Way: Desegregating Transportation in Virginia

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 14:15:09 +0000

Transportation was not merely a way to move about the state or country. The ability to travel across the United States became highly restricted as early as the Scott v. Stanford (1857) case, which denied Dred Scott’s claim to freedom and citizenship after relocating from a free to a slave state. Nearly a century later, the Montgomery Bus Boycott helped spark what we now know as the classic phase of the civil rights movement, and bussing became paramount in the battle against massive resistance to school desegregation. In many ways, Virginia sits at the crossroads of these three distinct struggles, and Black Virginians helped to change the course of the country toward a more equal and accessible way of life. This talk from July 8, 2022, recalls the lives and experiences of John Mitchell, Jr., Irene Morgan, Pauli Murray, and Bruce Boynton as they challenged transportation segregation in Virginia while simultaneously dismantling anti-Blackness in America’s social landscape.

Curator Conversations: Folk Stories with William and Ann Oppenhimer

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 14:02:52 +0000

On July 4, 2022, curator Karen Sherry led a conversation with William and Ann Oppenhimer, long-time collectors and advocates of folk art, as they shared stories about their work in the field and about the objects on view in the VMHC exhibition, "Visionary Virginians: The Folk Art Collection of William and Ann Oppenhimer."

Living Queer History: Remembrance and Belonging in a Southern City

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 13:58:13 +0000

On June 23, 2022, historian Samantha Rosenthal delivered a lecture about an LGBTQ community in Roanoke, Virginia, and how queer people today think about the past and how history lives on in the present. Queer history is a living practice. Talk to any group of LGBTQ people today, and they will not agree on what story should be told. In her book "Living Queer History," Samantha Rosenthal tells the story of a small city on the edge of Appalachia. Interweaving historical analysis, theory, and memoir, Rosenthal tells the story of their own journey—coming out and transitioning as a transgender woman—in the midst of working on a community-based history project that documented a multigenerational southern LGBTQ community. Based on over forty interviews with LGBTQ elders, Living Queer History explores how queer people today think about the past and how history lives on in the present. Gregory Samantha Rosenthal (she/her or they/them) is associate professor of history and coordinator of the Public History Concentration at Roanoke College. She is co-founder of the Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project, a nationally recognized queer public history initiative. Her work has received recognition from the National Council on Public History, the Oral History Association, the Committee on LGBT History, the American Society for Environmental History, and the Working Class Studies Association. Samantha is the author of two books, Beyond Hawaiʻi: Native Labor in the Pacific World (2018) and Living Queer History: Remembrance and Belonging in a Southern City (2021). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Life and Legacy of Emily Winfree: From Enslavement to Carnegie Hall

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 15:49:34 +0000

On June 16, 2022, authors Jan Meck and Virginia Refo delivered a thoughtful talk and discussion about their new book, The Life and Legacy of Enslaved Virginian Emily Winfree. The Life and Legacy of Enslaved Virginian Emily Winfree tells the true story of an African American woman who was the embodiment of courage, love, and determination. Given a small cottage after the Civil War by her former master and father of her children, she raised her family through the hardest of times, always keeping them together. The author will be joined during the program by moderator Joseph Rogers, Manager of Partnerships & Community Engagement at the VMHC, Dr. Emily Jones, great-great-granddaughter of Emily Winfree, and Ana Edwards, Public Historian, Chair of the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project, information about which can be found at sacredgroundproject.net. Dr. Jan Meck is a retired NASA scientist, and Virginia Refo is a retired foster care and adoption social worker and an experienced genealogist. Since retiring both have been docents and researchers at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. Dr. Emily J. Jones is the great-great-granddaughter of Emily Winfree. She believes her ancestors have directly influenced her work. Currently, she serves as the Deputy Director of the Center on Culture, Race & Equity and Director of the New York State Education Department’s Technical Assistance Partnership for Equity (TAP Equity) at Bank Street College of Education in New York City. Dr. Jones holds a PhD in Education Policy from Rutgers University, an MS in Elementary Education from Mercy College, and a BA in Economics from Spelman College. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Great Chief Opechancanough and the War for America (Christian, Jr. Lecture 2022)

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 18:29:39 +0000

On April 20, 2022, historian James Horn delivered the 2022 Stuart G. Christian, Jr. Lecture about his book, A Brave and Cunning Prince: The Great Chief Opechancanough and the War for America. In 1561, an Indian youth was abducted from Virginia by Spanish explorers and taken to Spain. Called by the Spanish Paquiquineo and subsequently Don Luís, he was introduced to King Philip II in Madrid, as well as to influential Catholic prelates and courtiers, before being sent back to America to help with the conversion of Indian peoples. In Mexico City, he converted to Catholicism and after many years was eventually able to secure his return to his homeland on the York River as a guide to a small group of Jesuits. There, he quickly organized a war party to destroy the mission and everyone associated with it. During the remainder of the sixteenth century, he and his brother, Powhatan, built a massive chiefdom that stretched from the James River to the Potomac, and from the coast to the piedmont. When the English arrived in Virginia in 1607, he and his brother chief launched a series of attacks on the settlers in an attempt to drive them out. These wars, the first Anglo-Indian wars in North America, spanned the greater part of the next four decades. Known by the English as Opechancanough, he was ultimately unsuccessful but would come closer than any of his peers in early America to succeeding. He survived to be nearly 100 years old and died, as he lived, fighting European colonists. James Horn is the president of the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation at Historic Jamestowne, the original site of the first permanent English settlement in America. He is author and editor of eight books on early America, including 1619: Jamestown and the Forging of American Democracy and A Land as God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America. His most recent book, A Brave and Cunning Prince: The Great Chief Opechancanough and the War for America, was published last November. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 18:15:49 +0000

On December 9, 2021, historian Bruce A. Ragsdale presented a lecture about his book, Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery. For more than forty years, George Washington was dedicated to an innovative and experimental course of farming at Mount Vernon, where he sought to demonstrate the public benefits of recent advances in British agriculture. The methods of British agricultural improvement also shaped Washington’s management of enslaved labor, and he was at the forefront to efforts to adapt slavery to new kinds of farming. His ultimate inability to reconcile the ideals of enlightened farming with coerced labor and race-based slavery was critical to his decision to free the enslaved people under his control. Washington at the Plow significantly enriches the more familiar biography of the revolutionary general and first president and offers a new perspective on the founders’ response to abolitionist appeals. Bruce A. Ragsdale served for twenty years as director of the Federal Judicial History Office at the Federal Judicial Center. He has been a fellow at the Washington Library at Mount Vernon and the International Center for Jefferson Studies. He is the author of A Planters’ Republic: The Search for Economic Independence in Revolutionary Virginia and Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Lost Attractions: The Parks and Places That Built the Tidewater

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 17:20:29 +0000

For generations, many have flocked to the shores of southeastern Virginia for its beaches, resorts, and seasonal fun at its many destinations. In this lecture from June 2, 2022, award-nominated nonfiction author and historian Nancy E. Sheppard takes a trip down “Memory Lane” to visit some of the beloved but lost attractions of Hampton Roads, including Buckroe Beach and Ocean View amusement parks. Learn more about the places that brought so much joy to many but are no more. Nancy E. Sheppard, a writer and historian of her native Hampton Roads, Virginia, is the author of several books, including The Airship ROMA Disaster in Hampton Roads; Hampton Roads Murder & Mayhem; and Lost Attractions of Hampton Roads. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Against All Odds: A True Story of Ultimate Courage and Survival in World War II

Tue, 31 May 2022 17:42:30 +0000

In this lecture on May 24, 2022, historian Alex Kershaw spoke about his book, Against All Odds: A True Story of Ultimate Courage and Survival in World War II. As the Allies raced to defeat Hitler, four men, all in the same unit, earned medal after medal for battlefield heroism: Maurice “Footsie” Britt, Michael Daly, Keith Ware, and a baby-faced Texan named Audie Murphy. In the campaign to liberate Europe, each would gain the ultimate accolade, the Congressional Medal of Honor. Tapping into personal interviews and a wealth of primary source material, Alex Kershaw has delivered his most gripping account yet of American courage, spanning more than six hundred days of increasingly merciless combat, from the deserts of North Africa to the dark heart of Nazi Germany. Once the guns fell silent, these four exceptional warriors would discover just how heavy the Medal of Honor could be—and how great the expectations associated with it. Having survived against all odds, who among them would finally find peace? Alex Kershaw is a journalist and a New York Times bestselling author of books on World War II. Born in York, England, he is a graduate of Oxford University and has lived in the United States since 1994. His many books include The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-day Sacrifice; The Liberator: One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau; The First Wave: The D-Day Warriors Who Led the Way to Victory in World War II; and, most recently, Against All Odds: A True Story of Ultimate Courage and Survival in World War II. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Rarefied Life of George Washington Parke Custis

Tue, 31 May 2022 17:37:16 +0000

George Washington Parke Custis was raised at Mount Vernon by George and Martha Washington. Young “Wash” appears in Edward Savage's 1789 painting of the first presidential family, his small hand placed symbolically on a globe. He would later mark the national landscape by building Arlington House on the Potomac. A poor student, he emerged as an agricultural reformer and sought-after Federalist orator. He championed the plights of Irish Americans and war veterans. An important memoirist who knew the first fifteen presidents, he wrote well-received theatrical works and produced paintings rich in historical detail. In inheriting much of the vast Custis fortune, he also became the enslaver of more than 200 persons. The slow march toward their emancipation became a pivotal struggle of his life, particularly after his daughter's 1831 marriage to Robert E. Lee. Charles S. Clark’s first full-length biography of Custis offers a twenty-first-century reappraisal of a unique life that bridged the American Revolution and the Civil War. As part of this lecture on May 19, 2022, Clark presented portraits, documents, and photographs, including relevant images not in the book. Charles S. Clark, a retired journalist. A native of Arlington, Virginia, he continues to write the weekly “Our Man in Arlington” column for the Falls Church News-Press. In July 2019, he retired as senior correspondent for Government Executive Media Group, part of Atlantic Media. He previously has worked as an editor or writer for The Washington Post, Congressional Quarterly, National Journal, and Time-Life Books. He is the author of several books, including Arlington County Chronicles; Hidden History of Arlington County; Lost Arlington County; and, most recently, George Washington Parke Custis: A Rarefied Life in America's First Family. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Becoming An Author: Amelie Rives's Audacious Entrance Into Publishing

Tue, 17 May 2022 19:31:02 +0000

On April 28, 2022, historian Jane Turner Censer presented a lecture about the literary career of Amélie Rives. By 1890, Amélie Rives was well-known all over America, both as the author of a scandalous novel and as a beauty who had married a very wealthy heir of New York’s Astor family. Only five years earlier, Rives, then a twenty-two-year-old living in the family plantation outside Charlottesville, had burst upon the literary scene with a short story in the "Atlantic Monthly," arguably the nation’s most prestigious literary magazine, and a poem in the highly regarded Century Illustrated Monthly. Jane Turner Censer draws from her new biography, "The Princess of Albemarle: Amélie Rives, Author and Celebrity at the Fin de Siècle," to explain how Rives went from anonymity to a household name. In her quest to become a published author, Rives deployed charm, unconventional behavior, and family connections to bring her stories and poems to the notice of prominent publishers. Censer also indicates how Rives, while achieving celebrity and a literary career, struggled with the expectations of her society, her family, and her own notions about propriety. Jane Turner Censer, Professor Emerita of History at George Mason University, is a specialist on the nineteenth-century United States and southern women. Her essays and prize-winning articles have appeared in numerous journals including the Journal of Southern History, Comparative Studies in Society and History, American Journal of Legal History, Southern Cultures, and American Quarterly. In 2017–18 she served as president of the Southern Historical Association. She is the author of several books, including "North Carolina Planters and Their Children, 1800 1860"; "The Reconstruction of White Southern Womanhood, 1865–1895"; and, most recently, "The Princess of Albemarle: Amélie Rives, Author and Celebrity at the Fin de Siècle." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Material World of Eyre Hall: Four Centuries of Chesapeake History

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 16:44:17 +0000

On March 24, 2022, Carl R. Lounsbury discussed the four centuries of Chesapeake history as revealed through material world of Eyre Hall. Erected in 1759 on the Eastern Shore, Eyre Hall is still occupied by descendants of its builder, Littleton Eyre. Since construction, succeeding generations acquired and preserved a rich variety of documents and objects including furniture, books, silver, and paintings. Only a small handful of houses in Virginia can claim such continuity. The Material World of Eyre Hall examines the everchanging meanings of this place in Virginia history. Its origins reveal the cultural aspirations of a deferential society built on slavery that emerged in the colonial period. The plantation suffered the tribulations wrought by the Revolution, Civil War, Reconstruction, and several depressions, undermining its social and economic foundations. By the early twentieth century, the house was seen as a nostalgic exemplar of an earlier age, a storehouse of family legends and traditions. Preservation and survival rather than expansion and change became the dominate attitude toward the house and grounds. What does this inheritance mean today in the wake of transformative events that continue to reshape the interpretation of Virginia’s past? Carl R. Lounsbury retired as the Senior Architectural Historian at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 2016. Over a thirty-five-year career, he was involved in the research and restoration of many buildings in Williamsburg’s Historic Area. Since 2002, Lounsbury has taught architectural history at William and Mary. His many publications include An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape; The Courthouses of Early Virginia; An Architectural History of Bruton Parish Church; and, most recently, The Material World of Eyre Hall: Four Centuries of Chesapeake History. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Recovering History, Reclaiming The Present: The Apalachee Diaspora Since the 16th Century

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 16:35:25 +0000

On April 7, 2022, Kimberly C. Borchard presented a lecture about the 500-year-old myth of Appalachian gold and its catastrophic consequences for the Native Floridians that gave Appalachia its name. Growing up in rural Appalachia, Kim Borchard was well-acquainted with stereotypes of Appalachian poverty and backwardness. For that reason, she was struck by accounts of an opulent, gold-rich province by the name of Apalache in sixteenth-century Spanish, Portuguese, and Incan accounts of early European forays into Florida. What at first seemed an onomastic coincidence proved to be a pervasive and ultimately deadly myth: generation after generation of explorers and would-be conquistadors from Spain, Portugal, France, and finally England, marauded Apalachee territory and ravaged Native societies of the southeast in the attempt to seize the fabled gold and silver mines associated first with the Apalachee people, and later with the Appalachian Mountains. This lecture described the devastating power of sixteenth-century “fake news” over the course of two centuries while following the Apalachee diaspora out of the Florida panhandle and into central Louisiana, where the Talimali Band of Apalachee Indians continue to fight for their sovereignty to this day. Kim Borchard earned her B.A. and M.A. from Ohio University and her PhD from the University of Chicago. She teaches courses in Spanish, Latin American colonial literature, and Spanish for Social Justice at Randolph-Macon College. She is the author of Appalachia as Contested Borderland of the Early Modern Atlantic, 1528–1715. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

How Imperfect Is Our Past? A Conversation With Charles Bryan

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 18:23:57 +0000

On March 15, 2022, Dr. Charles Bryan and VMHC president and CEO Jamie Bosket had a conversation about some of the topics covered in Dr. Bryan’s latest book, "Imperfect Past Volume II: More History in a New Light." The late southern writer John Egerton observed that there are three kinds of history: what actually happened, what we are told happened, and what finally came to believe happened. It is that third type that author and former VMHC president and CEO Charles Bryan addresses in many of the essays in Volume 2 of "Imperfect Past." Bryan challenges many of the assumptions about the past his generation was taught in schools some sixty years ago. A once simplistic story has become more complex, but at the same time, more compelling and provocative. The lecture will consist of a conversation between Dr. Bryan and current VMHC president and CEO Jamie Bosket. Dr. Charles F. Bryan, Jr., is an American historian who spent most of his career in the museum field, including twenty years as president of the Virginia Historical Society. He is the author of several books, including "Imperfect Past: History in a New Light" and "Imperfect Past Volume II: More History in a New Light." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Activism from Home 101 (Commonwealth Classroom)

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 19:47:57 +0000

Interested in addressing a problem, making something better, or helping others in your community? Whether you are a veteran activist or a novice eager to get started, the global pandemic has impacted the ways in which we can advocate for change. Join a panel of today’s changemakers as they discuss how to tap into your passion, get involved in a cause, apply your unique skills, and take action in an age of working-from-home. Several expert panelists featured in the museum’s recent Today’s Agents of Change exhibition will offer insights from their experience and answer your questions about conducting advocacy work from home. In April 2021 we will continue this conversation with, Activism from Home: Spring into Action, a virtual workshop that will connect new and experienced advocates with others who share your interests. Visit VirginiaHistory.org/Events The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Hidden Figure of GPS (Commonwealth Classroom)

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 13:53:16 +0000

In this virtual event on February 19, 2021, VMHC Curator Karen Sherry led audiences in a conversation with Dr. Gladys West. This Dinwiddie County native helped develop GPS and other satellite mapping technology during her long career at the Naval Surface Weapons Center at Dahlgren, Virginia. Dr. West shared stories from her remarkable life, including rising from rural poverty to gain an education and facing racism and sexism as one of the first two black women to join Dahlgren in 1956. Since retiring, she has continued to value education: she earned a Ph.D. and established a scholarship fund for students seeking careers in STEM fields. Dr. West has also recently published an autobiography, It Began with a Dream (2020). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 14:40:57 +0000

On November 12 , 2018, Richard Brookhiser delivered the banner lecture, “John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court.” In 1801, a genial and brilliant Revolutionary War veteran and politician became the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. He would hold the post for thirty-four years (still a record), expounding the Constitution he loved. Before he joined the Court, it was the weakling of the federal government, lacking in dignity and clout. After he died, it could never be ignored again. Through three decades of dramatic cases involving businessmen, scoundrels, Native Americans, and slaves, Marshall defended the federal government against unruly states, established the Supreme Court’s right to rebuke Congress or the president, and unleashed the power of American commerce. For better and for worse, he made the Supreme Court a pillar of American life. In John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court, award-winning biographer Richard Brookhiser vividly chronicles America’s greatest judge and the world he made. In this lecture, he will discuss Marshall’s landmark court decisions and his legacy today. Richard Brookhiser is a senior editor of National Review and the author of twelve previous books, including Founder’s Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln; James Madison; and John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Roller-Bottimore Foundation and is cosponsored with Preservation Virginia’s John Marshall House and the John Marshall Foundation and is free to their members. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Confederate Citadel: Richmond and Its People at War

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 14:29:21 +0000

On January 13, 2022 Dr. Mary A. DeCredico had a discussion of Richmond and its people during the Civil War. Confederate Citadel: Richmond and its People at War offers a detailed portrait of life’s daily hardships in the rebel capital during the Civil War. Drawing on personal correspondence, private diaries, and newspapers, historian Mary A. DeCredico spotlights the human elements of Richmond’s economic rise and fall, uncovering its significance as the South’s industrial powerhouse throughout the Civil War. Dr. Mary A. DeCredico is professor of history at the United States Naval Academy and is author of numerous publications, including Mary Boykin Chesnut: A Confederate Woman’s Life and Confederate Citadel: Richmond and Its People at War. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Presidents vs. The Press

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 17:07:35 +0000

On October 28, 2020, Harold Holzer delivered a lecture titled "The Presidents vs. the Press" Since America’s first president began the very first presidential feud with the press, American chief executives have been engaged in an endless struggle with journalists for control of the reporting that constitutes the first draft of history. This presentation will focus on three exemplars of this tension: Virginians George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, whose relationships with the press were deeply intertwined, and Virginia-born Woodrow Wilson, who modernized the White House relationship with the media in several remarkable ways, both positive and negative. For better and worse, all three Virginia presidents defined and defended the still-manifest hostility between presidents and the leaders they cover. Harold Holzer, one of the country’s leading authorities on Abraham Lincoln and the political culture of the Civil War era, serves as The Jonathan F. Fanton Director of Hunter College’s Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, co-chairman of The Lincoln Forum, and chairman of the Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation. A prolific writer and lecturer, and frequent guest on television, Holzer has authored, co-authored, and edited forty-two books, including Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860–1861; Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Lincoln President; Lincoln and the Power of the Press: The War for Public Opinion; and, most recently, The Presidents vs. the Press: The Endless Battle between the White House and the Media—From the Founding Fathers to Fake News. His many awards include the Lincoln Prize and the National Humanities Medal. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Reclamation: How a Monticello Descendant Uncovered and Restored Her Family’s Heritage

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 14:44:34 +0000

On March 10, 2022 Gayle Jessup White, author of Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant’s a Search for Her Family’s Lasting Legacy, discussed her 50-year journey to confirm her family’s oral history that they are descended from the country’s third president. Growing up in Black middle-class Washington, DC, Jessup White was 13 when she first heard the family lore. Fueled by personal loss and professional angst, she devoted herself to uncovering the truth, a commitment that ultimately led her to Monticello, where she became the Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s first community engagement officer. Reclamation is an intimate exploration race, class, and redemption in a country that continues to struggle with its complicated and painful origins. Gayle Jessup White is Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the non-profit organization that owns and operates Monticello. She is the first descendant of Jefferson and the families he enslaved to be employed by the Foundation. She is the author of Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant’s Search for Her Family’s Lasting Legacy. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

A New Era In Building: Black Educational Activism In Goochland County

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 19:44:04 +0000

On February 24, 2022 historians Brian Daugherity and Alyce Miller delivered a lecture about Black educational activism in Goochland County in the early twentieth century. In this lecture, based on their award-winning article published in the Virginia Magazine of History & Biography in 2020, Brian Daugherity and Alyce Miller will analyze community efforts to increase educational access and opportunity for African Americans in Goochland County, Virginia, in the early twentieth century, as well as the connections between this advocacy and other communities across the state and throughout the South. The story, told using various archival records and oral history interviews, demonstrates the power and agency of rural Black southern communities during the Jim Crow era. Recognizing and analyzing this advocacy helps expand our understanding of Black activism during the Jim Crow era, educational philanthropy, and southern educational history, as well as how this era of Black activism was linked to subsequent civil rights achievements. Brian J. Daugherity is an associate professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author of several books on the civil rights era in Virginia. Alyce Miller is a professor of history at Valencia College. Their article in the Virginia Magazine of History & Biography (vol. 128, no. 1) was awarded the William M. E. Rachal Award for Best Overall Article in the journal in 2020. Learn more at https://secondunionrosenwaldschool.org and https://digital.library.vcu.edu/islandora/object/vcu%3Agoo. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Record of Murders and Outrages: Racial Violence and The Fight Over Truth During Reconstruction

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 17:56:40 +0000

On February 10, 2022 historian William Blair had a discussion of the early Reconstruction era effort by Freedmen’s Bureau officers to document that Black Americans faced little justice for atrocities committed against them. We tend to think our current situation unique in featuring partisan bubbles in which people mistrust information from the other side. But immediately after the Civil War, a toxic partisan climate caused information on racial violence to become politicized, with eyewitness and newspaper accounts dismissed by opponents as fictions created to mask a political agenda. Military officers led by Ulysses S. Grant and Oliver Otis Howard led an effort by Freedmen’s Bureau officers to document that Black Americans faced little justice for atrocities committed against them. In doing so, they leaked information to Congress that embarrassed the president, their commander, as a concern for civil rights overrode constitutional norms. The resulting Record of Murders and Outrages helped justify military occupation of the South, exposed the rise of the Klan, and shined a light on voter suppression through terrorism that otherwise may have gone unreported. Dr. William A. Blair is the Walter L. and Helen P. Ferree Professor Emeritus of Middle American History at Penn State University. He is the author of several books on the Civil War era, including Cities of the Dead: Contesting the Memory of the Civil War in the South, 1865–1914; With Malice toward Some: Treason and Loyalty in the Civil War Era; Virginia's Private War: Feeding Body and Soul in the Confederacy, 1861–1865; and The Record of Murders and Outrages: Racial Violence and the Fight over Truth at the Dawn of Reconstruction. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Ends Of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee's Army After Appomattox

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 18:20:43 +0000

On November 11, 2021 historian Caroline E. Janney had a discussion about her book on Lee’s army after Appomattox. In her dramatic new history of the weeks and months after Appomattox, Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army after Appomattox, Caroline E. Janney reveals that Lee’s surrender was less an ending than the start of an interregnum marked by military and political uncertainty, legal and logistical confusion, and continued outbursts of violence. Janney takes readers from the deliberations of government and military authorities to the ground-level experiences of common soldiers. Ultimately, what unfolds is the messy birth narrative of the Lost Cause, laying the groundwork for the defiant resilience of rebellion in the years that followed. Dr. Caroline E. Janney is the John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War and Director of the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia. She is the author and editor of several books, including Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation; Cold Harbor to the Crater: The End of the Overland Campaign (with Gary W. Gallagher); Petersburg to Appomattox: The End of the War in Virginia; and, most recently, Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army after Appomattox. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Edgar Allan Poe: Lessons for Creative Success from Literature’s Greatest Antihero

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 19:34:19 +0000

On October 20,2021 writer Catherine Baab-Muguira held a lively and informative lecture to look at Edgar Allan Poe and how his life can teach us counterintuitive lessons on achieving creative success. Edgar Allan Poe led one of the saddest lives ever. He lost virtually everyone he loved, and his grinding poverty meant that he and his family were sometimes starving in the literal sense. What’s more, Poe’s own impossible personality got him fired from job after job, drawing him into feuds that continued even after his death. Even so, the magnitude of Poe’s success strains credulity. His poetry and fiction have been translated into every major language, and rarer still, people the world over recognize his face. In fact, Poe’s feuds, mistakes, and missteps—the way he did everything “wrong”—worked for him. In that sense, his life is a refutation of traditional self-help and the supposed power of positive thinking. In this fun and accessible lecture, author Catherine Baab-Muguira will discuss how Poe’s life can teach us counterintuitive lessons on achieving creative success—despite the odds and no matter your “flaws.” Catherine Baab-Muguira is a writer and journalist who has contributed to, among others, Slate, Quartz, CNBC, and NBC News. A frequent podcast and radio guest, with appearances on NPR and Lifehacker’s Upgrade, she lives in Richmond. She is the author of Poe for Your Problems: Uncommon Advice from History's Least Likely Self-Help Guru. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Travels with George: In Search Of Washington and His Legacy (Wilkinson Lecture 2021)

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 14:45:08 +0000

Join bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick on October 20, 2021, who delivered the J. Harvie Wilkinson, Jr. Lecture based on his newest book, “Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy." When George Washington became president in 1789, he undertook a tour of the ex-colonies to talk to ordinary citizens about his new government, and to imbue in them the idea of being one thing—Americans. In the fall of 2018, Nathaniel Philbrick embarked on his own journey into what Washington called “the infant woody country” to see for himself what America had become in the 229 years since. Writing in a thoughtful first person about his own adventures with his wife Melissa and their dog Dora, Philbrick follows Washington's presidential excursions. The narrative moves smoothly between the eighteenth and twenty-first centuries as we see the country through both Washington’s and Philbrick’s eyes. Written at a moment when America’s founding figures are under increasing scrutiny, Travels with George grapples bluntly and honestly with Washington's legacy as a man of the people, a reluctant president, and a plantation owner who held people in slavery. Nathaniel Philbrick is the author of several bestselling books, including In the Heart of the Sea, winner of the National Book Award; Mayflower, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Valiant Ambition, winner of the George Washington Prize; Bunker Hill, winner of the New England Book Award; In the Hurricane's Eye; and Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Constitution of Virginia: Defining the Political Community

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 16:23:55 +0000

On October 7, 2021 A. E. Dick Howard held a discussion about the evolution of Virginia’s Constitution from 1776 to the present day. Virginia’s Declaration of Rights (1776) declares all men to be “equally free and independent.” But, as to the suffrage, the Declaration speaks in more qualified terms; there must be “sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community.” In the years since 1776, successive revisions of Virginia’s Constitution reflect sharp debate over how we should define the political community. Who belongs? Who doesn’t? In the nineteenth century, the idea of community became more inclusive—universal white male suffrage by 1851 and, during Reconstruction, inclusion of African Americans. In 1902, however, Virginians adopted a constitution that, steeped in notions of white supremacy, disenfranchised most black voters. In l971, Virginia renounced that racially tainted era with the adoption of a new constitution. What brought about that change? What work remains to be done? A. E. Dick Howard is the Warner-Booker Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia. He was Executive Director of the Commission on Constitutional Revision, served as counsel to the General Assembly when it received and acted on the commission’s recommendations, and directed the successful referendum campaign for the Constitution’s ratification. His books include the two-volume Commentaries on the Constitution of Virginia and The Road to Runnymede: Magna Carta and Constitutionalism in America. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

George Washington: The Making of a Leader

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 16:07:24 +0000

On September 15, 2021 historian David O. Stewart discussed on his book about George Washington and his rise as a leader Washington’s rise constitutes one of the great self-reinventions in history. In his mid-twenties, this third son of a modest Virginia planter had ruined his own military career in the French and Indian War through poor judgments and brash overreaching. By his mid-forties, that headstrong, unwise young man had evolved into an unassailable leader chosen as the commander in chief of the fledgling Continental Army. By his mid-fifties, he was unanimously elected the nation’s first president. How did Washington—with a scanty education and little inherited wealth—grow from his failures on the Virginia frontier to become the central founder of the United States of America? David O. Stewart turned to writing after a career practicing law in Washington, D.C. He is a national bestselling and award-winning author of several previous books on American history, including Madison’s Gift: Five Partnerships That Built America; American Emperor: Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson's America; The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution; and, most recently, George Washington: The Political Rise of America’s Founding Father. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Escape!: The Story of the Confederacy's Infamous Libby Prison and the Civil War's Largest Jail Break

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 16:03:52 +0000

On September 2, 2021 historian Robert P. Watson held a discussed his book about the Confederacy’s infamous Libby Prison and the Civil War’s largest jail break. Robert Watson provides the definitive account of the Confederacy’s infamous Libby Prison, site of the Civil War’s largest prison break. Libby Prison housed Union officers, high-profile foes of the Confederacy, and political prisoners. Watson captures the wretched conditions, cruel guards, and the story of the daring prison break, called “the most remarkable in American history.” Robert P. Watson, Distinguished Professor of American History at Lynn University in Boca Raton, is the author of many books on American history and politics, including The Ghost Ship of Brooklyn: The Untold Story of the American Revolution; George Washington's Final Battle: The Epic Struggle to Build a Capital City and a Nation; and Escape!: The Story of the Confederacy's Infamous Libby Prison and the Civil War's Largest Jail Break. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

A Fire in the Wilderness: The First Battle Between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 16:00:10 +0000

On August 19, 2021 historian John Reeves discussed the battle of the Wilderness, the first clash between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. John Reeves has been a teacher, editor, and writer for more than twenty-five years. The Civil War, in particular, has been his passion since he first read Bruce Catton’s The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War as an elementary school student in the 1960s. He is the author of The Lost Indictment of Robert E. Lee: The Forgotten Case against an American Icon and, most recently, A Fire in the Wilderness: The First Battle Between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Strange Genius of Mr. O: The World of the United States’ First Forgotten Celebrity

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 15:50:18 +0000

On July 15, 2021 historian Carolyn Eastman exanimated the career of James Ogilvie, a now-forgotten celebrity of the very early nineteenth century, and what it tells us about the intersection of political culture and celebrity—at a moment when the United States was in the midst of invention. Carolyn Eastman is an associate professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University and a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians. She specializes in early America with special interest in eighteenth and nineteenth-century political culture, the media, and gender. She is the author of the prizewinning A Nation of Speechifiers: Making an American Public after the Revolution and, most recently, The Strange Genius of Mr. O: The World of the United States’ First Forgotten Celebrity. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Surviving Southampton: Finding Women in Nat Turner’s Community

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 15:01:17 +0000

On June 24, 2021 historian Vanessa Holden had discussion of her book about how women contributed to America’s most famous slave rebellion, often called Nat Turner’s Rebellion. In this talk Dr. Holden will speak about material from her forthcoming book, "Surviving Southampton: African American Women and Resistance in Nat Turner’s Community." She will discuss her research process and the types of materials that reveal the Black women’s history of Southampton County, Virginia. She will cover how women contributed to America’s most famous slave rebellion, often called Nat Turner’s Rebellion. And she will talk about her present day public history work in Southampton County. Dr. Vanessa M. Holden is an assistant professor of History and African American and Africana Studies at the University of Kentucky. Her writing has been published in several academic publications as well as in "Process: A Blog for American History," and "The Rumpus." She also blogs for "Black Perspectives" and "The Junto: A Group Blog on Early American History." She co-organizes the Queering Slavery Working Group (#QSWG) with Jessica Marie Johnson (Johns Hopkins University). She is deeply committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity work and is the 2019–20 recipient of the UKY College of Arts and Sciences Promotion of Diversity and Inclusion Award. She is the author of the forthcoming book, "Surviving Southampton: Women and Resistance in Nat Turner’s Community." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

President without a Party

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 14:58:53 +0000

On May 20, 2021, Christopher Leahy delivered the banner lecture, “President without a Party” The first president to ascend to the office because of the incumbent’s death, John Tyler also remains the nation’s only chief executive to have been kicked out of his own political party. In September 1841, angry that Tyler’s use of the veto destroyed their legislative agenda, members of the Whig Party held a ceremony at the Capitol and formally banished him from their ranks. Tyler’s excommunication affected him personally, impacted his agenda, and destroyed his chances to win election in his own right in 1844. Portrayed by his contemporaries and by many historians as an ideologue whose rigid devotion to states’ rights and strict construction of the Constitution forestalled compromise and made him a failed president, Leahy instead argues that Tyler largely favored a middle-of-the road, bipartisan approach to the nation’s problems, and that it was his status as a president without a party and rejection by both the Whigs and opposition Democrats that doomed his presidency. Christopher Leahy is a professor of history at Keuka College in New York and the author of President without a Party: The Life of John Tyler as well as an article in the Virginia Magazine of History & Biography entitled “Playing Her Greatest Role: Priscilla Cooper Tyler and the Politics of the White House Social Scene, 1841–44” (2012). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 14:45:31 +0000

On May 5, 2021, Ty Seidule as he delivered a lecture about his book, "Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause" In a forceful but humane narrative, former soldier and head of the West Point history department Ty Seidule's Robert E. Lee and Me challenges the myths and lies of the Confederate legacy―and explores why some of this country’s oldest wounds have never healed. Ty Seidule grew up revering Robert E. Lee. From his southern childhood to his service in the U.S. Army, every part of his life reinforced the Lost Cause myth: that Lee was the greatest man who ever lived, and that the Confederates were underdogs who lost the Civil War with honor. Now, as a retired brigadier general and Professor Emeritus of History at West Point, Ty’s view has radically changed. From a soldier, a scholar, and a southerner, Ty Seidule believes that American history demands a reckoning. Ty Seidule is Professor Emeritus of History at West Point where he taught for two decades. He served in the U.S. Army for thirty-six years, retiring as a brigadier general. He is the Chamberlain Fellow at Hamilton College as well as a New America Fellow. He has published numerous books, articles, and videos on military history, including the award-winning West Point History of the Civil War. He graduated from Washington and Lee University and holds a PhD from the Ohio State University. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Death and Rebirth in a Southern City: Richmond's Historic Cemeteries

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 14:41:35 +0000

On April 8, 2021, Ryan K. Smith explored the history and recovery of the burial grounds of Richmond, Virginia, through the lens of race. Virginia's capital holds one of the most dramatic landscapes of death in the nation, with graveyards dating from the city's founding through the Civil War, emancipation, and the long road that followed. Yet too often they are treated in isolation. This lecture by historian Ryan Smith will compare these important sites in terms of their initial dynamics as well as in terms of their ongoing states of preservation and commemoration. Ryan K. Smith is a professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author several books, including Gothic Arches, Latin Crosses: Anti-Catholicism and American Church Designs in the Nineteenth Century and Death and Rebirth in a Southern City: Richmond's Historic Cemeteries. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Rebellious Passage: The Creole Revolt and America's Coastal Slave Trade

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 14:37:42 +0000

On March 18, 2021, Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie delivered the banner lecture, “Rebellious Passage: The Creole Revolt and America's Coastal Slave Trade” In late October 1841, the Creole left Richmond with 137 slaves bound for New Orleans. It arrived five weeks later minus the captain, one passenger, and most of the captives. Nineteen rebels had seized the U.S. slave ship en route and steered it to the British Bahamas where the slaves gained their liberty. Drawing upon a sweeping array of previously unexamined state, federal, and British colonial sources, Rebellious Passage examines the neglected maritime dimensions of the extensive US slave trade and slave revolt. The focus on south-to-south self-emancipators at sea differs from the familiar narrative of south-to-north fugitive slaves over land. Moreover, a broader hemispheric framework of clashing slavery and antislavery empires replaces an emphasis on U.S. antebellum sectional rivalry. Rebellious Passage chronicles the first comprehensive history of the ship revolt, its consequences, and its relevance to global modern slavery. Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie is Professor of History at Howard University and author of several books, including Freedpeople in the Tobacco South: Virginia, 1860–1900; Rites of August First: Emancipation Day in the Black Atlantic World; Freedom's Seekers: Essays on Comparative Emancipation; and Rebellious Passage: The Creole Revolt and America's Coastal Slave Trade. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Story of Virginia: The Arrival of the First Africans

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 14:31:44 +0000

On February 11, 2021 historian Ric Murphy told fascinating story of the arrival of the first Africans in Virginia in 1619. Based on his book, "Arrival of the First Africans in Virginia," author Ric Murphy will discuss how in 1619, a group of thirty-two African men, women, and children arrived on the shores of Virginia. He will explore how and why they had been kidnapped in the royal city of Kabasa, Angola, and forced aboard the Spanish slave ship San Juan Bautista. He will discuss how the ship was attacked by privateers and how the captives were taken by the English to their New World colony in Virginia. He will also share how this group of Angolans were shrouded in controversy because of colonialism, treason, piracy, kidnapping, enslavement, and English law, and their present-day legacy. Ric Murphy is a historian, scholar, lecturer, and award-winning author exploring the rich contributions made by African Americans in United States history. His latest book is "Arrival of the First Africans in Virginia." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Lost Colony Was Never Lost!

Mon, 13 Sep 2021 17:48:11 +0000

On January 14, 2021 author and historian Scott Dawson delivered the lecture "The Lost Colony was Never Lost!" Scott Dawson has participated in ten years of archaeological digs on Hatteras Island, where it was discovered that the infamous Lost Colony assimilated with the local Croatoan Indians. The true history has been buried under a mountain of mythology and lies. Learn the real story and what was discovered in the Croatoan Indian Village. Scott Dawson is an Outer Banks historian and serves on the board of the Outer Banks History Center. He is president of the Croatoan Archaeological Society and author of The Lost Colony and Hatteras Island. He is a ninth-generation Native of Hatteras Island and lives with his wife and two daughters in Kill Devil Hills. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Transforming the James River in Richmond

Fri, 08 Jan 2021 23:38:00 +0000

On December 10, 2020, Ralph Hambrick delivered the banner lecture, “Transforming the James River in Richmond” The James River has always been the centerpiece of Richmond, but by the mid-twentieth century it had been abused and neglected. Today, the river draws visitors to its wooded shorelines, restored canal, and feisty rapids. At the local level, this transformation was the result of citizen action, public-private partnerships, difficult decisions by governmental leaders, and the hard work of thousands of advocates and volunteers. In this Banner Lecture on December 10, 2020, local author Ralph Hambrick chronicles the events, projects, and controversies that brought about the dramatic change. Ralph Hambrick, professor emeritus in public policy and administration at Virginia Commonwealth University, is a member and former chair of the Falls of the James Scenic River Advisory Committee and a member and former co-chair of the James River Advisory Council. He is a former whitewater canoe instructor, raft guide and an all-around river enjoyer who does his writing from a home office overlooking the James River. He is the author of Transforming the James River in Richmond. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

What Made George Washington Tick

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 19:00:33 +0000

Nov 10, 2020, Dr. Peter R. Henriques delivered the banner lecture, “What Made George Washington Tick” George Washington very much wanted to be famous. Yet, he did not wish to be known, and there is a remoteness about him that will perhaps always remain. The fact that we cannot fully understand him, however, does not mean we cannot understand him better than we do. While recognizing the dangers involved, in this Banner Lecture on November 10, 2020, historian Peter Henriques utilizes the insights of psychoanalyst Carl Jung to better understand what made George Washington tick. Dr. Peter R. Henriques is Professor of History, Emeritus, from George Mason University. He taught American and Virginia history with a special emphasis on the Virginia Founding Fathers, especially George Washington. He is the author of The Death of George Washington: He Died as He Lived; Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington; and First and Always: A New Portrait of George Washington. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Great Partnership: Robert E. Lee & Stonewall Jackson

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 18:56:10 +0000

On Nov 4, 2020, Dr. Christian Kelle delivered the banner lecture, “The Great Partnership: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson” This Banner Lecture on November 4, 2020 by historian Christian Keller tells the story of the unique relationship between Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. Jackson. Why were Generals Lee and Jackson so successful in their partnership in trying to win the war for the South? In Keller’s book, The Great Partnership, he challenges how we think about Confederate strategic decision-making and the value of personal relationships among senior leaders responsible for organizational survival. Dr. Christian Keller is the Dwight D. Eisenhower Chair of National Security and Professor of History in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He is the author and coauthor of several books, including Chancellorsville and the Germans: Nativism, Ethnicity, and Civil War Memory; Damn Dutch: Pennsylvania Germans at Gettysburg; and, most recently, The Great Partnership: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and the Fate of the Confederacy. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Restoring America’s Most Significant Gardens

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 18:53:36 +0000

On September 16, 2020, delivered the banner lecture, “Restoring America’s Most Significant Gardens” The story of the Garden Club of Virginia is colorful, courageous, and impressive. It is not a coincidence that 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the women’s suffrage movement, heralding a new age of female participation in American civic life. Concern for the environment and efforts to preserve and restore Virginia’s significant public gardens were founding principles of the female-led organization and are more relevant today than ever before. In this Banner Lecture on September 16, 2020, Matt Peterschmidt, Director of Landscapes and Security at Stratford Hall, Dr. Eric Proebsting, Director of Archaeology at Poplar Forest, and Betsy Worthington, member of the Restoration Committee of the Garden Club of Virginia, discuss the legacy of the Garden Club of Virginia in the context of two current projects at Stratford Hall and Poplar Forest, and their unexpected connection to each other. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Confederate Exceptionalism: Civil War Myth & Memory in the 21st Century

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 18:51:46 +0000

On September 10,2020, Nicole Maurantonio delivered the banner lecture, “Confederate Exceptionalism: Civil War Myth and Memory in the Twenty-First Century” How do so-called neo-Confederates distance themselves from the actions and beliefs of white supremacists while clinging to the very symbols and narratives that tether the Confederacy to the history of racism and oppression in America? In this Banner Lecture on September 10, 2020, Nicole Maurantonio explores how the answer is bound up in the myth of Confederate exceptionalism—a myth whose components, proponents, and meaning she explores in her lecture. Nicole Maurantonio is associate professor of rhetoric and communication studies and American studies at the University of Richmond. She is the author of Confederate Exceptionalism: Civil War Myth and Memory in the Twenty-First Century and coeditor (with David W. Park) of Communicating Memory & History. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Soul Liberty: The Evolution of Black Religious Politics

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 18:49:51 +0000

On August 13, 2020, Nicole Myers Turner delivered the banner lecture, “Soul Liberty: The Evolution of Black Religious Politics in Postemancipation Virginia” That churches are one of the most important cornerstones of black political organization is a commonplace. In her new history of African American Protestantism and American politics at the end of the Civil War, "Soul Liberty: The Evolution of Black Religious Politics in Postemancipation Virginia," Nicole Myers Turner challenges the idea of black churches as having always been politically engaged. In this Banner Lecture on August 13, 2020, Turner uses a wide-variety of new sources to reveal how freedpeople in Virginia adapted strategies for pursuing the freedom of their souls to worship as they saw fit—and to participate in society completely in the evolving landscape of emancipation. Nicole Myers Turner is assistant professor of religious studies at Yale University. She is the author of Soul Liberty: The Evolution of Black Religious Politics in Postemancipation Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 18:46:46 +0000

On July 9, 2020, Lindsay M. Chervinsky delivered the banner lecture, “The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution” On November 26, 1791, after waiting two and a half years into his presidency, George Washington convened his department secretaries―Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Knox, and Edmund Randolph―for the first cabinet meeting. In a virtual Banner Lecture on July 9, 2020, historian Lindsay M. Chervinsky reveals the far-reaching consequences of Washington’s decision. The tensions in the cabinet between Hamilton and Jefferson heightened partisanship and contributed to the development of the first party system. And as Washington faced an increasingly recalcitrant congress, he came to treat the cabinet as a private advisory body to summon as needed, greatly expanding the role of the president and the executive branch. Lindsay M. Chervinsky is a Scholar-in-Residence at the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies and a Senior Fellow at the International Center for Jefferson Studies. She is the author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Freedom and Unfreedom in the Great Dismal Swamp

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 18:43:58 +0000

on June 4, 2020, Dr. Christian Keller delivered the banner lecture, “Freedom and Unfreedom in the Great Dismal Swamp” In his book, City of Refuge: Slavery and Petit Marronage in the Great Dismal Swamp, 1763–1856," Nevius examines petit marronage, an informal slave’s economy, and the construction of internal improvements in the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina. The vast wetland was tough terrain that most white Virginians and North Carolinians considered uninhabitable. Perceived desolation notwithstanding, black slaves fled into the swamp’s remote sectors and engaged in petit marronage, a type of escape and fugitivity prevalent throughout the Atlantic world. An alternative to the dangers of flight by way of the Underground Railroad, maroon communities often neighbored slave-labor camps, the latter located on the swamp’s periphery and operated by the Dismal Swamp Land Company and other companies that employed slave labor to facilitate the extraction of the Dismal’s natural resources. Often with the tacit acceptance of white company agents, company slaves engaged in various exchanges of goods and provisions with maroons―networks that padded company accounts even as they helped to sustain maroon colonies and communities. In his examination of life, commerce, and social activity in the Great Dismal Swamp, Nevius engages the historiographies of slave resistance and abolitionism in the early American republic. City of Refuge uses a wide variety of primary sources―including runaway advertisements; planters’ and merchants’ records, inventories, letterbooks, and correspondence; abolitionist pamphlets and broadsides; county free black registries; and the records and inventories of private companies―to examine how American maroons, enslaved canal laborers, white company agents, and commission merchants shaped, and were shaped by, race and slavery in an important region in the history of the late Atlantic world. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

A Fiendish Murder: The Sad Saga of Charles and Susan Watkins

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 18:40:15 +0000

On Apr 22, 2020, Historian John Long examined the trial of Charles Watkins for the murder of his wife, which was marked by threats of lynching, a fugitive manhunt, a disappearing witness, mistaken identities, claims of insanity, and a secret letter. A drama played out in the mountains of southwestern Virginia in 1891 that attracted nationwide attention and held the citizens of the Roanoke Valley spellbound. It was a story of violence, bigamy, race and a quest for justice. In its day, the story was as closely followed as a modern televised murder trial. Despite the rapt attention of the public then, it has entirely faded from the history books--until now. John Long resurrects the truth of who killed Susan Watkins. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Bound To The Fire

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 15:54:06 +0000

In grocery store aisles and kitchens across the country, smiling images of “Aunt Jemima” and other historical and fictional black cooks can be found on various food products and in advertising. Although these images are sanitized and romanticized in American popular culture, they represent the untold stories of enslaved men and women who had a significant impact on the nation's culinary and hospitality traditions even as they were forced to prepare food for their oppressors. On February 27, 2020, Kelley Fanto Deetz delievered a Banner Lecture that drew upon archaeological evidence, cookbooks, plantation records, and folklore to present a nuanced study of the lives of enslaved plantation cooks from colonial times through emancipation and beyond. She reveals how these men and women were literally “bound to the fire” as they lived and worked in the sweltering and often fetid conditions of plantation house kitchens. These highly skilled cooks drew upon skills and ingredients brought with them from their African homelands to create complex, labor-intensive dishes such as oyster stew, gumbo, jambaya, and fried fish. Deetz restores these forgotten figures to their rightful place in American and Southern history. Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz is the Director of Programming, Education, and Visitor Engagement at Stratford Hall and teaches part-time at the University of Virginia. She works as a historical consultant for several museum sites throughout the Mid-Atlantic, and has partnered with National Geographic to work on projects related to Nat Turner. Her work is highlighted in National Geographic’s documentary film, "Rise Up: The Legacy of Nat Turner." She is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Bound to the Fire: How Virginia’s Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Inventing Disaster

Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:44:40 +0000

On February 13, 2020, Cynthia A. Kierner delivered the Banner Lecture, "Inventing Disaster: The Culture of Calamity from the Jamestown Colony to the Johnstown Flood." When hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and other disasters strike, we count our losses, search for causes, commiserate with victims, and initiate relief efforts. Inventing Disaster explains the origins and development of this predictable, even ritualized, culture of calamity over three centuries, exploring its roots in the revolutions in science, information, and emotion that were part of the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and America. Beginning with the collapse of the early seventeenth-century Jamestown colony, Cynthia A. Kierner tells horrific stories of culturally significant calamities and their victims and charts efforts to explain, prevent, and relieve disaster-related losses. Although how we interpret and respond to disasters has changed in some ways since the nineteenth century, Kierner demonstrates that, for better or worse, the intellectual, economic, and political environments of earlier eras forged our own twenty-first-century approach to disaster, shaping the stories we tell, the precautions we ponder, and the remedies we prescribe for disaster-ravaged communities. Dr. Cynthia A. Kierner is professor of history at George Mason University. She is the author of numerous books, including Scandal at Bizarre: Rumor and Reputation in Jefferson’s America; Martha Jefferson Randolph: Daughter of Monticello; Changing History: Virginia Women Through Four Centuries (with Jennifer R. Loux and Megan Taylor Shockley); and, most recently, Inventing Disaster: The Culture of Calamity from the Jamestown Colony to the Johnstown Flood. This lecture is cosponsored by the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia and is free to its members. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Searching For Stonewall Jackson

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 18:53:04 +0000

On January 30, 2020, Ben Cleary delivered the Banner Lecture, "Searching for Stonewall Jackson: A Quest for Legacy in a Divided America." Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson was the embodiment of southern contradictions. He was a slaveowner who fought and died, at least in part, to perpetuate slavery, yet he founded an African American Sunday School and personally taught classes for almost a decade. For all his sternness and rigidity, Jackson was a deeply thoughtful and incredibly intelligent man. But his reputation and mythic status, then and now, was due to more than combat success. In a deeply religious age, he was revered for a piety that was far beyond the norm. How did one man meld his religion with the institution of slavery? How did he reconcile it with the business of killing, at which he so excelled? In Searching for Stonewall Jackson, historian Ben Cleary examines not only Jackson's life, but his own, contemplating what it means to be a white southerner in the twenty-first century. Now, as statues commemorating the Civil War are toppled and Confederate flags come down, Cleary walks the famous battlefields, following in the footsteps of his subject as he questions the legacy of Stonewall Jackson and the South's Lost Cause at a time when the contentions of politics, civil rights, and social justice are at a fever pitch. Ben Cleary is a writer and teacher who lives in Mechanicsville, Virginia. He is the author of Searching for Stonewall Jackson: A Quest for Legacy in a Divided America. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Lincoln's Spies

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 20:16:13 +0000

On January 23, 2020, Douglas Waller delivered the Banner Lecture, "Lincoln’s Spies: Their Secret War to Save a Nation." Lincoln’s Spies is a story about dangerous espionage and covert operations during the Civil War. It is told through the lives of four Union agents. Allan Pinkerton, whose detective agency had already brought him fame nationwide, was George McClellan’s failed spymaster, delivering inflated intelligence reports that made the Union general even more cautious. Lafayette Baker ran counter-espionage operations in Washington for the War Department, putting hundreds in jail and pocketing cash from graft he uncovered. George Sharpe, a New York lawyer, successfully ran spying for generals Joseph Hooker, George Meade, and Ulysses S. Grant, outpacing anything the Confederates could field. Elizabeth Van Lew, a Virginia heiress, ran a Union espionage ring in Richmond, providing Grant critical information as his army closed in on the Confederate capital. And behind these secret agents was Abraham Lincoln who became an avid consumer of intelligence and a ruthless aficionado of covert action. The phone tapping, human collection and aerial snooping you see today’s spies doing can be traced back to the Civil War. Douglas Waller is a former correspondent for Newsweek and TIME, where he covered the CIA, Pentagon, State Department, White House, and Congress. He is the author of several bestselling books, including Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage; The Commandos: The Inside Story of America's Secret Soldiers; and Disciples: The World War II Missions of the CIA Directors Who Fought for Wild Bill Donovan. His latest book is Lincoln’s Spies: Their Secret War to Save the Nation. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Gerrymanders

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 19:55:40 +0000

On January 9, 2020, Brent Tarter presented a Banner Lecture about his most recent book, Gerrymanders: How Redistricting Has Protected Slavery, White Supremacy, and Partisan Minorities in Virginia. Many are aware that gerrymandering exists and suspect it plays a role in our elections, but its history goes far deeper, and its impacts are far greater, than most realize. In his latest book, Brent Tarter focuses on Virginia’s long history of gerrymandering to uncover its immense influence on the state’s politics and to provide perspective on how the practice impacts politics nationally. Offering the first in-depth historical study of gerrymanders in Virginia, Tarter exposes practices going back to nineteenth century and colonial times and explains how they protected landowners’ and slaveowners’ interests. The consequences of redistricting and reapportionment in modern Virginia―in effect giving a partisan minority the upper hand in all public policy decisions―become much clearer in light of this history. Where the discussion of gerrymandering has typically emphasized political parties’ control of Congress, Tarter focuses on the state legislatures that determine congressional district lines and, in most states, even those of their own districts. On the eve of the 2021 session of the General Assembly, which will redraw district lines for Virginia’s state Senate and House of Delegates, as well as for the U.S. House of Representatives, Tarter provides an eye-opening investigation of gerrymandering and its pervasive effect on our local, state, and national politics and government. Brent Tarter is a founding editor of the Library of Virginia’s Dictionary of Virginia Biography and a cofounder of the annual Virginia Forum. He is the author of numerous books, including The Grandees of Government: The Origins and Persistence of Undemocratic Politics in Virginia; Daydreams and Nightmares: A Virginia Family Faces Secession and War; A Saga of the New South: Race, Law, and Public Debt in Virginia; and a forthcoming history of Virginia, Virginians and Their Histories (June 2020). His latest book is Gerrymanders: How Redistricting Has Protected Slavery, White Supremacy, and Partisan Minorities in Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Property of The Nation

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 20:49:24 +0000

On December 10, 2019, Matthew Costello delivered the Banner Lecture, “The Property of the Nation: George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President.” George Washington was an affluent slaveowner who believed that republicanism and social hierarchy were vital to the young country’s survival. And yet, he remains largely free of the “elitist” label affixed to his contemporaries, as Washington evolved in public memory during the nineteenth century into a man of the common people, the father of democracy. This memory, we learn in The Property of the Nation, was a deliberately constructed image, shaped and reshaped over time, generally in service of one cause or another. Matthew R. Costello traces this process through the story of Washington’s tomb, whose history and popularity reflect the building of a memory of America’s first president—of, by, and for the American people. Washington’s resting place at his beloved Mount Vernon estate was at times as contested as his iconic image; and in Costello’s telling, the many attempts to move the first president’s bodily remains offer greater insight to the issue of memory and hero worship in early America. Though describing the efforts of politicians, business owners, artists, and storytellers to define, influence, and profit from the memory of Washington at Mount Vernon, this book’s focus is the memory-making process that took place among American citizens. Dr. Matthew R. Costello is the Acting Director of the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History at the White House Historical Association. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. in American history at Marquette University, and his B.A. in history and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He previously worked on the George Washington Bibliography Project for the George Washington Papers at the University of Virginia. He is the author of The Property of the Nation: George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President. This lecture is cosponsored by The White House Historical Association. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

From Reel To Real Indians

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 18:03:18 +0000

On November 20, 2019, the VMHC presented a screening of the award-winning film Reel Injun (2009, 88 minutes) by Cree-Canadian filmmaker Neil Diamond. Reel Injun is an entertaining and provocative look at a century-worth of Hollywood depictions of Native Americans and the misconceptions and stereotypes that a century of filmmaking has fostered. The screening was preceded by a discussion among representatives of several Virginia Indian tribes, including Chief Lynette Allston (Nottoway Indian Tribe), Chief Anne Richardson (Rappahannock Tribe), First Assistant Chief Wayne Adkins (Chickahominy Tribe), and Dr. Ashley Atkins-Spivey (Director at Pamunkey Indian Tribal Resource Center). The panel explored how, as groups and individuals, Virginia Indians have been able to maintain their identity into the 21st century—despite numerous efforts to eradicate it—and the successes and challenges encountered by each generation of Virginia Indians to continue their cultural heritage. This program was presented in conjunction with the Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival. The program was cosponsored by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and the 2019 Commemoration, American Evolution. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Is Cancer Still the Emperor? How Innovative Research and Treatments Offer Hope for a Cure

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 17:30:12 +0000

In 2009, physician, researcher, and science writer, Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, published his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. In it, he describes the story of cancer as a human story marked by ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance, but also hubris, paternalism, and misperception. On November 13, 2019, a panel of physicians and researchers from the VCU Massey Cancer Center discussed the impact of Mukherjee’s book and the groundbreaking advances in cancer research, treatment, and prevention that has emerged during the past decade. A reception will follow the lecture. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: Ross Mackenzie — Retired Syndicated Columnist and Editor of the Editorial Pages of The Richmond News Leader and the Richmond Times-Dispatch MODERATOR: Peter F. Buckley, M.D. — Dean, VCU School of Medicine PANEL: Walter Lawrence, M.D. — Founding Director, VCU Massey Cancer Center Steven Grant, M.D. — Shirley Carter and Sture Gordon Olsson Chair in Cancer Research; Professor and Eminent Scholar, Internal Medicine, School of Medicine; Associate Director for Translational Research, VCU Massey Cancer Center; Program Co-Leader, Developmental Therapeutics John M McCarty, M.D. — Professor of Medicine, G. Watson James Endowed Professor of Hematology; Interim Chief, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology; Medical Director, Cellular Immunotherapies and Transplant Program; Medical Director, Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory; VCU Massey Cancer Center This was the third program in our Health in History Series, a partnership between the MCV Foundation and the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and sponsored by the Virginia Sargeant Reynolds Foundation. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Notorious History of The Virginia State Penitentiary

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 15:52:34 +0000

On November 6, 2019, Dale M. Brumfield delivered a Banner Lecture, “The Notorious History of the Virginia State Penitentiary.” In 1796, the Virginia General Assembly finally reformed Virginia’s penal laws and embraced Thomas Jefferson’s theory of “labor in confinement.” The Virginia State Penitentiary cornerstone was laid August 19, 1797, near the intersection of what is today Belvidere and Spring Streets, and the first prisoner, a man named Thomas Merryman, was admitted April 1, 1800. For the next 190 years, the penitentiary endured four fires, an earthquake, and numerous riots and escapes. In 1908, the electric chair was introduced, and 246 condemned men and one woman were executed there before the facility was demolished in 1991. Author, journalist, and cultural archaeologist Dale Brumfield will trace the sometimes cruel, sometimes uplifting history of the personalities within this former notorious Richmond landmark. As well as working as a local journalist, Dale Brumfield is the Field Director for Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and the author of ten books, including Virginia State Penitentiary: A Notorious History and Richmond Independent Press and Independent Press in DC and Virginia: An Underground History. His stories have appeared in Richmond Magazine, Style Weekly, the Staunton News Leader, Austin Chronicle, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and USA Today, among others. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The British Are Coming: The War for America, 1775–77 (Wilkinson Lecture 2019)

Fri, 13 Dec 2019 20:21:20 +0000

On October 23, 2019, Rick Atkinson delivered the J. Harvie Wilkinson, Jr. Lecture, “The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775–1777.” From the battles at Lexington and Concord in spring 1775 to those at Trenton and Princeton in winter 1777, American militiamen and then the ragged Continental Army took on the world’s most formidable fighting force. It is a gripping saga alive with astonishing characters: Henry Knox, the former bookseller with an uncanny understanding of artillery; Nathanael Greene, the blue-eyed bumpkin who became a brilliant battle captain; Benjamin Franklin, the self-made man who proved to be the wiliest of diplomats; George Washington, the commander in chief who learned the difficult art of leadership when the war seems all but lost. Full of riveting details and untold stories, The British Are Coming is a tale of heroes and knaves, of sacrifice and blunder, of redemption and profound suffering. Rick Atkinson has given stirring new life to the first act of our country’s creation drama. Rick Atkinson is the bestselling author of the Liberation Trilogy―An Army at Dawn (winner of the Pulitzer Prize for history), The Day of Battle, and The Guns at Last Light―as well as The Long Gray Line and, most recently, The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775–1777. His many additional awards include a Pulitzer Prize for journalism, the George Polk Award, and the Pritzker Military Library Literature Award. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Ghosts of Eden Park

Thu, 24 Oct 2019 15:07:36 +0000

On October 10, 2019, Karen Abbott delivered a Banner Lecture entitled, “The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz-Age America.” In the early days of Prohibition, a German immigrant named George Remus quit practicing law and started trafficking whiskey. Within two years he was a multi-millionaire. The press called him “King of the Bootleggers,” writing breathless stories about the Gatsby-esque events he and his glamorous second wife, Imogene, host at their Cincinnati mansion. By the summer of 1921, Remus owns 35 percent of all the liquor in the United States. Pioneering prosecutor Mabel Walker Willebrandt was determined to bring him down. Willebrandt’s bosses at the U.S. Attorney’s office hired her right out of law school, assuming she’d pose no real threat to the cozy relationship they maintain with Remus. Eager to prove them wrong, she dispatched her best investigator, Franklin Dodge, to look into Remus’s empire. It’s a decision with deadly consequences. Combining deep historical research with novelistic flair, "The Ghosts of Eden Park" is the unforgettable, stranger-than-fiction story of a rags-to-riches entrepreneur and a long-forgotten heroine, of the excesses and absurdities of the Jazz Age, and of the infinite human capacity to deceive. Karen Abbott is the New York Times bestselling author of "Sin in the Second City"; "American Rose"; "Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy," named one of the best books of the year by Library Journal and the Christian Science Monitor; and, most recently, "The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz- Age America." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Searching For Black Confederates: The Civil War's Most Persistent Myth

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 19:49:45 +0000

On October 1, 2019, Kevin M. Levin delivered a Banner Lecture entitled, “Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth.” More than 150 years after the end of the Civil War, scores of websites, articles, and organizations repeat claims that anywhere between 500 and 100,000 free and enslaved African Americans fought willingly as soldiers in the Confederate army. But as Kevin M. Levin argues, such claims would have shocked anyone who served in the army during the war itself. Levin explains that imprecise contemporary accounts, poorly understood primary-source material, and other misrepresentations helped fuel the rise of the black Confederate myth. Moreover, Levin shows that belief in the existence of black Confederate soldiers largely originated in the 1970s, a period that witnessed both a significant shift in how Americans remembered the Civil War and a rising backlash against African Americans’ gains in civil rights and other realms. Kevin M. Levin is an award-winning educator and historian based in Boston, Massachusetts. He has written extensively about the American Civil War and has spoken across the country on the current controversy surrounding Confederate monuments. Levin is the author several books, including Remembering The Battle of the Crater: War as Murder; Interpreting the Civil War at Museums and Historic Sites; and Searching For Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth. This presentation was presented in partnership with the American Civil War Museum. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Keep on Keeping On

Mon, 16 Sep 2019 17:56:56 +0000

On September 12, 2019, Brian J. Daugherity delivered the Banner Lecture, “Keep on Keeping On: The NAACP and the Implementation of Brown v. Board of Education in Virginia.” The lecture coincided with the museum’s exhibition, "Determined: The 400-Year Struggle for Black Equality." Virginia played a central role in the process of school desegregation. The state was home to one of the five cases decided in Brown v. Board of Education—Davis v. Prince Edward County, filed after a student strike against inferior school facilities in Farmville. After the Brown decision was handed down in 1954, Virginia helped to launch and guide the movement against school desegregation, known as massive resistance. Despite this, proponents of change sought the implementation of Brown v. Board of Education in the commonwealth, and in the 1960s their efforts led to additional legal victories that sped up the process of school desegregation nationwide. Brian Daugherity’s latest book, "Keep On Keeping On," tells the story of the implementation of Brown v. Board of Education in Virginia. It examines the official reaction to Brown and the massive resistance movement but focuses on the overlooked strategies and efforts of the proponents of school desegregation. The story highlights the role of the Virginia State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Dr. Brian J. Daugherity, associate professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University, is an expert on the civil rights era in the commonwealth. He is the coeditor with Charles C. Bolton of "With All Deliberate Speed: Implementing Brown v. Board of Education" and with Brian Grogin of "A Little Child Shall Lead Them: A Documentary Account of the Struggle for School Desegregation in Prince Edward County, Virginia," and the author of "Keep On Keeping On: The NAACP and the Implementation of Brown v. Board of Education in Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Play Ball! America's Doughboys and the National Pastime in the Great War

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 15:19:40 +0000

On August 29, 2019, Alexander F. Barnes delivered the Banner Lecture, “Play ball! America's Doughboys and the National Pastime in the Great War.” In 1917, there were two kinds of men in America: professional baseball players, and men who wanted to be professional ball players. With America’s entry into the Great War, these two groups merged as the United States built a mighty force to fight in Europe. "Play Ball!" recounts the story of how baseball played an important role in entertaining the troops while contributing to their physical fitness. It also tells the story of the many major and minor league ballplayers who traded their team uniforms for Army khaki and Navy blue. For some, this trade would cause them to make the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country. Playing wherever they could find enough room to throw a ball, the Doughboys brought the game with them into the front lines and then into the occupation of Germany. Sharing their military service, in combat and on the baseball diamond, were several famous professional ball players, managers, lawyers, politicians, and even an umpire. Alexander F. Barnes served in the Marine Corps and Army National Guard. He retired in 2015 after thirty years of service. He is currently the Virginia National Guard Command historian. Al is the author and coauthor of several books, including Let's Go!: The History of the 29th Infantry Division 1917–2001; To Hell with the Kaiser, Vol. I: America Prepares for War, 1916–1918 (2 volumes); Forgotten Soldiers of World War I: America's Immigrant Doughboys (with Peter L. Belmonte); and Play Ball!: Doughboys and Baseball during the Great War (with Peter L. Belmonte). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Thurgood Marshall: A Life in American History

Mon, 26 Aug 2019 20:32:51 +0000

On August 22, 2019, Dr. Spencer Crew delivered the banner lecture, "Thurgood Marshall: A Life in American History." Thurgood Marshall is best remembered as the first African American Supreme Court Justice. But to only remember him in that way is to do him an injustice. He had a remarkable and significant career before his appointment to the Supreme Court. He worked as a lawyer for the NAACP for several decades. During that time, he acquired the title of “Mr. Civil Rights” for his efforts combating laws and litigating court cases detrimental to African Americans. Why Marshall decided to take on this task and the impact he had on American society during the course of his career is important for every American to know and appreciate. Dr. Spencer R. Crew is Interim Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. He has worked in public history institutions for more than twenty-five years, having served as president of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center for six years and worked at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution for twenty years. Dr. Crew is the author of several books, including "Field to Factory: Afro-American Migration 1915–1940"; "Black Life in Secondary Cities: A Comparative Analysis of the Black Communities of Camden and Elizabeth, N.J., 1860–1920"; and "Thurgood Marshall: A Life in American History." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Virginia Waterways and The Underground Railroad

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 16:32:46 +0000

Enslaved Virginians sought freedom from the time they were first brought to the Jamestown colony in 1619. Acts of self-emancipation were aided by Virginian’s waterways, which became part of the network of the Underground Railroad in the years before the Civil War. Watermen willing to help escaped slaves made eighteenth-century Norfolk a haven for freedom seekers. Famous nineteenth-century escapees like Shadrach Minkins and Henry “Box” Brown were helped by the Underground Railroad. Enslaved men like Henry Lewey, known as “Bluebeard,” aided freedom seekers as conductors, and black and white sympathizers acted as station masters. In this banner lecture on July 25, 2019, historian Cassandra Newby-Alexander narrates the ways that enslaved Virginians used Virginian’s waterways to achieve humanity’s dream of freedom. Cassandra L. Newby-Alexander serves as a professor of history and the director of the Joseph Jenkins Roberts Center for the African Diaspora at Norfolk State University. She has spearheaded the 1619 Making of America conference, which seeks to transform the narrative about the role of early Africans in the evolution of America. She is a member of the advisory committee for the VMHC’s exhibition, "Determined: The 400-Year Struggle for Black Equality" and is the author of several books, including "An African American History of the Civil War in Hampton Roads"; "Voices from within the Veil: African Americans and the Experience of Democracy"; and, most recently, "Virginia Waterways and the Underground Railroad." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Life and Times of Henry Stuart Foote (Chauncey Lecture 2019)

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 16:31:33 +0000

On July 1, 2019, Ben Wynne delivered the 2019 Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture, "The Life and Times of Henry Stuart Foote, Southern Unionist and 'The Man Who Punched Jefferson Davis.'" This lecture presents the life of antebellum politician Henry Stuart Foote (1804–1880), one of the most vocal, volatile, and well-traveled politicians of the nineteenth century, and “The Man Who Punched Jefferson Davis.” Born in Virginia, Foote moved to Alabama and then Mississippi during the 1830s and made a name for himself as a gifted and zealously aggressive lawyer and political personality. He was an eyewitness to most of the great historical events of his lifetime and he opined on everything. He helped raise money for the Texas Revolution, represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and as governor, played an important role in negotiation over the Compromise of 1850, served as a Confederate congressman from Tennessee and also affected politics in California and Louisiana. He wrote numerous books and until his death remained one of Jefferson Davis’s most caustic critics. A native of Florence, Mississippi, Ben Wynne earned an undergraduate degree at Millsaps College, a master’s degree in history at Mississippi College, and a doctorate in history from the University of Mississippi. He has taught at the University of Mississippi, Valdosta State University, and Florida State University, and is currently in his thirteenth year as professor of history at the University of North Georgia in Gainesville, Georgia, where he specializes in antebellum American studies, the American South, and the Civil War era. He has written numerous books and other material related to the South and southern culture, including "A Hard Trip: A History of the 15th Mississippi Infantry, CSA"; "Mississippi’s Civil War: A Narrative History"; "In Tune: Charley Patton, Jimmie Rodgers and the Roots of American Music"; and "The Man Who Punched Jefferson Davis: The Political Life of Henry Stuart Foote, Southern Unionist." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Jamestown Brides

Fri, 28 Jun 2019 17:01:38 +0000

On June 25, 2019, Jennifer Potter delivered the Banner Lecture, “The Jamestown Brides: The Story of the Virginia Company's Trade in Young English Wives.” In 1621, fifty-six English women from good families crossed the Atlantic in response to the Virginia Company of London's call for maids “young and uncorrupt” to make wives for the planters of its new colony in Virginia. One in six of the maids could even claim gentry status. Although promised a free choice of husband, they were in effect being traded into marriage for a bride price of 150 pounds of best leaf tobacco, the profits to flow to individual investors. How did the company justify such a trade, and why did the women submit to such a risky enterprise? Delving into company and court records, ballads, pamphlets, sermons, letters, and original sources on both sides of the Atlantic, Potter turns detective as she tracks the women from their communities in England to their new homes in Virginia, illuminating women's lives in early modern England and in the New World. The Jamestown Brides is Jennifer Potter's tenth book. Appointed as one of the first Royal Literary Fund Fellows at the British Library, she first came to Virginia to research Strange Blooms, The Curious Lives and Adventures of the John Tradescants, her celebrated biography of the early seventeenth-century plantsmen, collectors of curiosities, and gardeners to King Charles I. She has also written novels, works about gardens and landscapes, and two cultural histories of flowers: The Rose, A True History and Seven Flowers and How They Shaped Our World. A long-time reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement, Potter has enjoyed writing fellowships at leading British universities and at Hawthornden Castle in Scotland. She is currently a Royal Literary Fund Consultant Fellow and an Archaeology Ambassador for the Museum of London Archaeology. This lecture was cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Scottish Stone Masons and Virginia Stone

Wed, 05 Jun 2019 17:52:49 +0000

On June 5, 2019, Stewart McLaurin delivered the Banner Lecture, “Scottish Stone Masons and Virginia Stone.” In the 1790s, the stone harvested from Government Island in Stafford, Virginia, was used to construct the White House and the Capitol. Today, the remaining outcroppings of rock still stand on the island and the Aquia stone walls are all that is left of the original White House, witnesses to White House history. This lecture will consider the stones of the White House and the stonemasons from Scotland who created the finest stone carving in eighteenth-century America. Stewart McLaurin is the president of the White House Historical Association. His career spans the non-profit, education, and public policy fields. Over the past thirty years, he has held senior positions with George Washington’s Mount Vernon, The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the Motion Picture Association, Georgetown University, American Red Cross, and the Federal Government. This lecture is cosponsored with the White House Historical Association. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Daniel Morgan, Virginian

Fri, 24 May 2019 20:06:45 +0000

On May 23, 2019, Albert Louis Zambone delivered the Banner Lecture, “Daniel Morgan, Virginian.” By the end of his life, Daniel Morgan had variously been brigadier general of the Continental Army, major general of the Virginia Militia, a winner of the Congressional Gold Medal, a congressman, and architect of the “American Cannae,” the battle of Cowpens. But the status for which he seems to have worked his entire life, from the moment he walked into the Shenandoah Valley as a homeless boy, was to be a Virginian and a member of the Virginia gentry. In this lecture, Albert Louis Zambone will focus on Morgan’s life of striving to get ahead in colonial and revolutionary Virginia. Dr. Albert Louis Zambone earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Oxford and has received a number of scholarships and awards in the field of early American history, including a Mellon Fellowship at the Virginia Historical Society. He hosts and produces the popular audience-format podcast, Historically Thinking. Zambone is the author of Daniel Morgan: A Revolutionary Life. This lecture was cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

FDR and Marshall: The Men Who Saved D-Day (George C. Marshall Foundation Lecture)

Fri, 24 May 2019 20:05:59 +0000

On May 14, 2019, author Nigel Hamilton delivered the George C. Marshall Foundation Lecture. In honor of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, it is fitting we remember the men who ensured the great invasion took place: the U.S. commander in chief, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and his chief of staff of the U.S. Army, General George C. Marshall. Based on his new book, War and Peace, Nigel Hamilton tells how the two leaders overcame bitter British reluctance to bring an end to Europe’s long nightmare. Nigel Hamilton is a best-selling and award-winning biographer of President John F. Kennedy, General Bernard “Monty” Montgomery, and President Bill Clinton, among other subjects. He is a senior fellow at the McCormack Graduate School, University of Massachusetts, Boston. Hamilton's most recent book, War and Peace: FDR’s Final Odyssey: D-Day to Yalta, 1943–1945, is the final volume of his trilogy on how Franklin Roosevelt won World War II as U.S. commander in chief. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Native Southerners: The Indigenous People Who Made and Remade the South

Fri, 24 May 2019 20:01:28 +0000

On May 9, 2019, Gregory D. Smithers delivered the Banner Lecture, “Native Southerners: The Indigenous People Who Made and Remade the South.” Long before the indigenous people of southeastern North America encountered Europeans and Africans, they established communities with clear social and political hierarchies and rich cultural traditions. Historian Gregory D. Smithers brings the world of Native southerners to life in this sweeping narrative of American Indian history in the Southeast from the time before European colonialism to the Trail of Tears and beyond. Spanning territory reaching from modern-day Louisiana and Arkansas to the Atlantic coast, Native Southerners focuses on the stories of the Cherokees, Creeks, Seminoles, Creeks, Chickasaws, and Choctaws, as well as smaller Native communities like the Nottoways, Occaneechis, Haliwa-Saponis, Catawbas, and Caddos. In Native Southerners, Smithers constructs a vibrant history of the societies, cultures, and people that made and remade the Native South. Dr. Gregory D. Smithers, an associate professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University, specializes in Native American history. He is the author of The Cherokee Diaspora: An Indigenous History of Migration, Resettlement, and Identity and Native Southerners: Indigenous History from Origins to Removal. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

American Moonshot: JFK & the Great Space Race(Christian Lecture 2019)

Fri, 24 May 2019 19:47:28 +0000

On April 17, 2019, Douglas Brinkley delivered the 2019 Stuart G. Christian, Jr. Lecture, “American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race.” On May 25, 1961, John F. Kennedy made an astonishing announcement: his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. In American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race, Douglas Brinkley returns to the 1960s to recreate one of the most exciting and ambitious achievements in the history of humankind. American Moonshot brings together the extraordinary political, cultural, and scientific factors that fueled the birth and development of NASA and the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects, which shot the United States to victory in the space race against the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. Drawing on new primary source material and major interviews with many of the surviving figures who were key to America’s success, Brinkley brings this fascinating history to life as never before. A vivid and enthralling chronicle of one of the most thrilling, hopeful, and turbulent eras in the nation’s history, American Moonshot is an homage to scientific ingenuity, human curiosity, and the boundless American spirit. Douglas Brinkley is a professor of history at Rice University, the CNN Presidential Historian, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Audubon. His book Cronkite won the Sperber Prize for Best Book in Journalism and was a Washington Post Notable Book of the Year. The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. He is the author of numerous books, including The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America; Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America; and American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Calculus Of Violence: How Americans Fought the Civil War

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 15:13:31 +0000

On April 25, 2019, Aaron Sheehan-Dean delivered the Banner Lecture,“The Calculus of Violence: How Americans Fought the Civil War.” At least three-quarters of a million lives were lost during the American Civil War. Given its seemingly indiscriminate mass destruction, this conflict is often thought of as the first “total war.” Aaron Sheehan-Dean's latest books, The Calculus of Violence, demonstrates that this notoriously bloody war could have been much worse. Military forces on both sides sought to contain casualties inflicted on soldiers and civilians. In congress, in church pews, and in letters home, Americans debated the conditions under which lethal violence was legitimate, and their arguments differentiated carefully among victims—women and men, black and white, enslaved and free. Sometimes, these well-meaning restraints led to more carnage by implicitly justifying the killing of people who were not protected by the laws of war. As the Civil War raged on, the Union’s confrontations with guerrillas and the Confederacy’s confrontations with black soldiers forced a new reckoning with traditional categories of lawful combatants and raised legal disputes that still hang over military operations around the world today. Aaron Sheehan-Dean is the Fred C. Frey Professor of Southern Studies at Louisiana State University and the chairman of the History Department. He teaches courses on nineteenth-century U.S. history, the Civil War and Reconstruction, and southern history. He is the author of Why Confederates Fought: Family and Nation in Civil War Virginia and Concise Historical Atlas of the U.S. Civil War and the editor of several books. His latest book is The Calculus of Violence: How Americans Fought the Civil War. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The League Of Wives

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 14:59:21 +0000

On April 5, 2019, Heath Hardage Lee delivered the Banner Lecture, “The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home from Vietnam.” On February 12, 1973, one hundred and fifteen men who, just six years earlier, had been high flying Navy and Air Force pilots, shuffled, limped, or were carried off a huge military transport plane at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. These American servicemen had endured years of brutal torture, shackled and starved in solitary confinement, in rat-infested, mosquito-laden prisons, the worst of which was The Hanoi Hilton. Months later, this first group of Vietnam POWs to return home would learn that their rescuers were their wives, a group of women led by Sybil Stockdale and including Jane Denton, Louise Mulligan, Andrea Rander, Phyllis Galanti, and Helene Knapp. The POW-MIA advocacy group Sybil and her “League of Wives” created, The National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, went to extraordinary lengths to facilitate their husbands’ freedom—and to account for missing military men. The women relentlessly lobbied government leaders, conducted savvy media campaigns, met reluctantly with antiwar activists, and attempted to negotiate with the North Vietnamese. Most astonishingly, many of these women helped to code secret letters to their imprisoned husbands. Heath Hardage Lee tells the story of these remarkable women for the first time in The League of Wives, drawing on first person interviews, diaries, letters, oral histories, and government and archival records to tell this story of courage, resilience, and rescue. Heath Hardage Lee comes from a museum education and curatorial background, and she has worked at history museums across the country. She holds a B.A. in history with honors from Davidson College, and an M.A. in French Language and Literature from the University of Virginia. Heath served as the 2017 Robert J. Dole Curatorial Fellow. Her exhibition, The League of Wives: Vietnam POW/MIA Advocates & Allies, premiered at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics in May of 2017 and will be on display at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in March of 2019. She is the author of Winnie Davis: Daughter of the Lost Cause, winner of the 2015 Colonial Dames of America Annual Book Award as well as a 2015 Gold Medal for Nonfiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home from Vietnam. This lecture is cosponsored by The Virginia Antiquarian Book Fair and the Virginia Antiquarian Booksellers Association (VABA). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Jefferson’s Treasure: How Albert Gallatin Saved the New Nation from Debt

Fri, 22 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000

On March 26, 2019, Gregory May delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Jefferson’s Treasure: How Albert Gallatin Saved the New Nation from Debt.” The fight over how to pay for government has always been at the heart of American politics. Thomas Jefferson’s champion in that fight was Albert Gallatin. And in the great struggle against Alexander Hamilton’s financial policies, Gallatin won. Gregory May’s new biography of Gallatin explains why he, more than Hamilton, was America’s financial founder. Gallatin first came to national attention as a rebel spokesman in the Whiskey Rebellion. Despite Hamilton’s attempts to destroy him, Gallatin soon became the leader of the Republican opposition in Congress. And once the Republicans elected Jefferson as president, Gallatin took charge of the Treasury—the largest and most powerful department of government. By the time Gallatin left office, he had abolished internal revenue taxes, slashed federal spending, and repaid half of the national debt. The Jefferson administration’s enduring achievement was to constrain the federal government by restraining its fiscal power. That was Gallatin’s work. His Treasury system lasted until the Civil War, and his culture of fiscal responsibility survived well into the twentieth century. Gregory May is an internationally known tax expert who brings a fresh perspective to American financial history. He graduated from William & Mary with highest honors in history and from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. After clerking for Justice Powell on the Supreme Court, he practiced law in Washington, D.C., and New York for more than thirty years. He is the author of "Jefferson’s Treasure: How Albert Gallatin Saved the New Nation from Debt." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Hampton Roads Murder and Mayhem: The Darker Side of the Tidewater

Thu, 14 Mar 2019 17:46:54 +0000

On March 14, 2019, Nancy E. Sheppard delivered the Banner Lecture, “Hampton Roads Murder and Mayhem: The Darker Side of the Tidewater.” Join two-time, award-nominated author and historian, Nancy Sheppard, as she discusses some of the darker tales from southeastern Virginia. Dive into true stories of: survival cannibalism at Jamestowne the bravery of Grace Sherwood, known as “The Witch of Pungo” stories of riots, murders, lynchings, and Charles Lindbergh’s visit to Hampton Roads to find his son. Come and experience some of the more nefarious moments in the vibrant history of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Nancy E. Sheppard, a writer and historian of her native Hampton Roads, Virginia, is the author of The Airship ROMA Disaster in Hampton Roads and Hampton Roads Murder: & Mayhem. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Breaking The Silence: League Of Wives Panel Discussion

Thu, 07 Mar 2019 21:34:16 +0000

The formation of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia is a national story with strong ties to Virginia. Fueled by their shared frustration about the United States government’s silence regarding prisoners of war held by the North Vietnamese, Phyllis Galanti, Louise Mulligan, and Jane Denton—all wives of American POWs living in Virginia—began organizing under the auspices of the National League and its founder, Sybil Stockdale. They joined the efforts of other POW wives from other states-like Andrea Rander in Maryland and Marty Halyburton in Georgia, to break the silence and demand that the government account for their husbands and secure their return. In conjunction with the opening of the exhibition, "The League of Wives: Vietnam’s POW/MIA Advocates & Allies," this panel discussion held on March 1, 2019 features a rare opportunity to understand the efforts of the National League by women who led it and how they, and their allies, captured national attention and united a deeply divided country behind bringing our prisoners home and by demanding an accounting for American servicemen missing in action. Moderator: Audrey McKanna Coleman, Senior Archivist and Assistant Director of the Dole Institute of Politics Panelists: Heath Hardage Lee, exhibit curator and author of The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home from Vietnam Andrea Rander, founding board member of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia Marty Halyburton, Southeast Regional Coordinator and National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia board member Learn more about the exhibition, "The League of Wives: Vietnam’s POW/MIA Advocates & Allies," at VirginiaHistory.org/LeagueofWives. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Across Time: Robinson House, Its Land and People

Thu, 07 Mar 2019 21:21:34 +0000

On February 28, 2019, Elizabeth L. O’Leary delivered the Banner Lecture, “Across Time: Robinson House, Its Land and People.” What is that building? Just a short stroll from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture stands a tall antebellum structure with a soaring pyramidal belvedere. Robinson House, built about 1828 and expanded in the nineteenth century (and again just last year), is scheduled to open to the public in late January 2019. Owned by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, this intriguing structure was recently renovated and expanded to house a new regional tourism center and an exhibition about its rich and complex history. Project curator and author, Elizabeth O’Leary, will share the multilayered story of Robinson House, its land and inhabitants—including native peoples and English colonists; an elite antebellum family and the enslaved people who labored for and sometimes escaped them; the nation’s best-known Confederate veterans’ home, formed from a spirit of reconciliation between North and South; the establishment of “Battle Abbey” and other significant institutions; an innovative scientific research institute; and the commonwealth’s flagship art museum. An art historian who resides in Richmond, Dr. O’Leary is a former associate curator of American art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. She was lead author of American Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, written with curatorial colleagues. Her other books include From Morning to Night: Domestic Service in Maymont House and the Gilded Age South; At Beck and Call: The Representation of Domestic Servants in Nineteenth-Century American Painting; and the companion to the Robinson house exhibition, opening in late January 2019, Across Time: The History of the Grounds of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. This program is presented in partnership with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Tracking Down a Confederate Deserter after Gettysburg

Wed, 06 Mar 2019 19:32:35 +0000

On February 21, 2019, Peter S. Carmichael delivered the Banner Lecture, “Tracking Down a Confederate Deserter after Gettysburg.” On August 20, 1863, thirteen veteran soldiers from the 3rd North Carolina Infantry decided that they'd had enough of war. That evening, in the blackness of night, they picked up their rifles, slung on their cartridge belts, and escaped into the woods. From that point on there was no turning back. Our guest speaker, Professor Peter S. Carmichael, will focus on the words of John Futch, one of the thirteen deserters. Though he was illiterate, Futch left a remarkable set of letters that he dictated to his comrades. Futch’s powerful story puts us in the shoes of a deserter, enabling us to see his world after the devastating defeat in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Dr. Carmichael, one of the nation’s foremost authorities on the American Civil War, is the Robert C. Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies and the director of the Civil War Institute, Gettysburg College. He is the author of numerous scholarly and popular articles and several books, including Lee's Young Artillerist: William R. J. Pegram; The Last Generation: Young Virginians in Peace, War, and Reunion; and The War for the Common Soldier: How Men Thought, Fought, and Survived in Civil War Armies. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Murals Of Richmond Artist Panel

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 21:13:17 +0000

Over the past decade, Richmond has seen an explosion of public artwork. Artist, muralist, and writer Mickael Broth has documented this phenomenon in his new book, Murals of Richmond. In this special edition banner lecture, held on January 10, 2019, Broth moderates a lively panel discussion about the transformative power of public art with Christina Wing Chow, Hamilton Glass, Andre Shank, and Ed Trask, who are among Richmond’s most talented mural artists. Mickael Broth, also known as The Night Owl, has painted over two hundred public murals throughout Richmond, the United States and Europe since 2012. He was awarded a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Professional Fellowship in 2008 for his gallery work and has shown widely around the United States. Broth serves on the board of directors for the RVA Street Art Festival and has been instrumental in the curatorial direction of the organization since its formation in 2012. In 2013, he published Gated Community: Graffiti and Incarceration, a memoir detailing his experiences with vandalism and jail. In 2017, he was awarded a commission by the City of Richmond for the creation of an 18-foot tall welded aluminum sculpture that will be installed in front of the Hull Street Library in Richmond’s Manchester neighborhood. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Pocahontas Symposium: Session 3

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 21:12:09 +0000

Few figures from the American past are better known than the young Powhatan woman who has come down to us as “Pocahontas.” Her fame began in her own lifetime and has endured for more than 400 years. Pocahontas: Her Life, Legend, and Legacy was a half-day symposium held at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on November 14, 2018 with the intention of telling the story of Pocahontas from the English and Native American perspectives. Distinguished national and international speakers led discussions on what Pocahontas has come to represent as a cross-cultural ambassador, the role of religion and faith in her story, and the myths and realities that surround her. Shown here is Session 3: Pocahontas – Legacy, Myths, Realities and Relevance. Moderator Chief Emeritus Kenneth Adams led the discussion with panelists Chief Stephen Adkins, Rt. Rev. Carol Gallagher, Chief Robert Gray, John Pagano, Dr. William M. S. Rasmussen, Chief Anne Richardson, Dr. Helen C. Rountree, and Rev. Canon Chris Stone. This groundbreaking program not only honors the Indian Tribes in Virginia who were responsible through peaceful treaties and collaboration with the early settlers to establish the foundation of our country, but it also acknowledges the heritage and identity of indigenous peoples who have often been overlooked in history. The symposium was cosponsored by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and the 2019 Commemoration, America Evolution. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Pocahontas Symposium: Session 2

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 21:11:14 +0000

Few figures from the American past are better known than the young Powhatan woman who has come down to us as “Pocahontas.” Her fame began in her own lifetime and has endured for more than 400 years. Pocahontas: Her Life, Legend, and Legacy was a half-day symposium held at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on November 14, 2018 with the intention of telling the story of Pocahontas from the English and Native American perspectives. Distinguished national and international speakers led discussions on what Pocahontas has come to represent as a cross-cultural ambassador, the role of religion and faith in her story, and the myths and realities that surround her. Shown here is Session 2: Pocahontas – Religion and Faith. Moderator Chief Anne Richardson led the discussion with panelists Rt. Rev. Carol Gallagher and Rev. Canon Chris Stone. This groundbreaking program not only honors the Indian Tribes in Virginia who were responsible through peaceful treaties and collaboration with the early settlers to establish the foundation of our country, but it also acknowledges the heritage and identity of indigenous peoples who have often been overlooked in history. The symposium was cosponsored by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and the 2019 Commemoration, America Evolution. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Pocahontas Symposium: Session 1

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 21:10:19 +0000

Few figures from the American past are better known than the young Powhatan woman who has come down to us as “Pocahontas.” Her fame began in her own lifetime and has endured for more than 400 years. Pocahontas: Her Life, Legend, and Legacy was a half-day symposium held at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on November 14, 2018 with the intention of telling the story of Pocahontas from the English and Native American perspectives. Distinguished national and international speakers led discussions on what Pocahontas has come to represent as a cross-cultural ambassador, the role of religion and faith in her story, and the myths and realities that surround her. Shown here is Session 1: Pocahontas – Ambassador of Cross Culture Understanding. Moderator Chief Stephen Adkins led the discussion with panelists Chief Robert Gray, John Pagano, Dr. William M. S. Rasmussen, and Dr. Helen C. Rountree. This groundbreaking program not only honors the Indian Tribes in Virginia who were responsible through peaceful treaties and collaboration with the early settlers to establish the foundation of our country, but it also acknowledges the heritage and identity of indigenous peoples who have often been overlooked in history. The symposium was cosponsored by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and the 2019 Commemoration, America Evolution. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle Of Manila

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 21:03:12 +0000

On October 30, 2018, James M. Scott delivered the banner lecture, “Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila.” General Douglas MacArthur, driven from the Philippines under the cover of darkness at the beginning of World War II, famously vowed to return. This is the untold story of his homecoming. The twenty-nine-day battle to retake Manila resulted in the catastrophic destruction of the city and a rampage by Japanese soldiers and marines that terrorized the civilian population. Landmarks were demolished, houses torched, suspected resistance fighters were tortured and killed, countless women raped, and their husbands and children murdered in a massacre as heinous as “The Rape of Nanking.” Based on extensive research, war crimes testimony, after action reports, and survivor interviews, Rampage recounts one of the most heartbreaking chapters of the Pacific war. A former Nieman Fellow at Harvard, James M. Scott is the author of Target Tokyo, which was a 2016 Pulitzer Prize finalist and was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus, The Christian Science Monitor and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. His other works include The War Below and The Attack on the Liberty, which won the Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison Award. His newest book is entitled Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

1619: Jamestown and the Forging Of American Democracy

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 21:02:19 +0000

On October 17, 2018, James Horn delivered the J. Harvie Wilkinson, Jr. Lecture, “1619: Jamestown and the Forging of American Democracy.” Along the banks of the James River, Virginia, during an oppressively hot spell in the middle of summer 1619, two events occurred within a month of each other that would profoundly shape the course of history. In the newly built church at Jamestown, the General Assembly—the first gathering of a representative governing body in America—came together at the end of July. Several weeks later, a battered privateer entered the Chesapeake Bay carrying the first African slaves to land on mainland English America. In 1619, historian James Horn sheds new light on the year that gave birth to the great paradox of our nation: slavery in the midst of freedom. This portentous year marked both the origin of the most important political development in American history, the rise of democracy, and the emergence of what would in time become one of the nation's greatest challenges: the corrosive legacy of racial inequality that has afflicted America since its beginning. Dr. James Horn is President of the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation (Preservation Virginia) at Historic Jamestowne. Previously, he served as Vice President of Research and Historical Interpretation at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Saunders Director of the International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello, and before that taught for twenty years at the University of Brighton, England. He has held fellowships at the Johns Hopkins University, the College of William and Mary, and Harvard University, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. A leading expert on early Virginia, Dr. Horn is the author of numerous articles and books including A Land as God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America; A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke; and 1619: Jamestown and the Forging of American Democracy, which has just been published. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Without Precedent: The Invention of Chief Justice John Marshall

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 19:47:34 +0000

As a statesman, diplomat, secretary of state, and chief justice, no one in the founding generation had a more enduring impact on our country’s government and judicial system than John Marshall, and no one did more to preserve the delicate unity of the fledgling union. From 1776 to his death in 1835, Marshall was at the center of every key event in the nation’s history both at home and abroad. Raised in a log cabin on the western frontier of Virginia, he had little formal education and none of the advantages of the other great Virginians, yet he developed a talent for self-invention that served him well in office. On October 11, 2018, Joel Richard Paul, author of the critically acclaimed "Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times," delivered a banner lecture on John Marshall’s pivotal role in the founding of our republic. Joel Richard Paul is a professor of constitutional and international law at the University of California Hastings Law School in San Francisco. He has also taught on the law faculties of University of California Berkeley, Yale University, University of Connecticut, Leiden University, and American University. Paul is the author of several other books, including "Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution," which he has turned into a musical. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 19:45:09 +0000

On September 27, 2018, William I. Hitchcock delivered a banner lecture,“The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s.” Once thought to be a mediocre president, Dwight Eisenhower is today widely considered one of our finest leaders. Presidential historians now rank Eisenhower fifth on the list of great presidents. In his latest book, William Hitchcock explains why. Drawing on newly declassified documents and thousands of pages of unpublished material, The Age of Eisenhowertells the story of a masterful president guiding the nation through the great crises of the 1950s, from McCarthyism and the Korean War through civil rights turmoil and Cold War conflicts. Hitchcock offers a portrait of a skilled leader who found a middle path through the bitter partisanship of his era. At home, he affirmed the central elements of the New Deal, such as Social Security; fought the demagoguery of Sen. Joseph McCarthy; and advanced the agenda of civil rights for African-Americans. Abroad, he ended the Korean War and avoided a new quagmire in Vietnam. Yet he also charted a significant expansion of America’s missile technology and deployed a vast array of covert operations around the world to confront the challenge of Communism. As he left office, he cautioned Americans to remain alert to the dangers of a powerful “military-industrial complex” that could threaten their liberties. Eisenhower was a gifted leader, a decent man of humble origins who used his powers to advance the welfare of all Americans. Now more than ever, Americans have much to learn from Dwight Eisenhower. Dr. William I. Hitchcock is a professor of history at the University of Virginia and a faculty fellow at the Miller Center for Public Affairs. He is the author or editor of six previous books, including The Struggle for Europe: The Turbulent History of a Divided Continent 1945 to the Present; The Bitter Road to Freedom: A New History of the Liberation of Europe, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; and The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 19:42:22 +0000

On October 10, 2018, John M. Barry delivered the banner lecture, “The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History” A century ago—at the height of World War I—history’s most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. The disease claimed more lives in twenty-four weeks than AIDS has claimed in thirty-seven years, and more than the Black Death killed in a century. But this was not the Middle Ages, and 1918 marked the first collision between modern science and epidemic disease. KEYNOTE SPEAKER: John M. Barry is an award-winning and New York Times best-selling author whose book The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History was named the year’s outstanding book on science or medicine by The National Academies of Science’s in 2004. After weaving together a dramatic story of triumph amid tragedy in the face of a global pandemic, Barry will join a panel of specialists from the VCU School of Medicine who will discuss the role they are playing today in the research, treatment, and prevention of infectious diseases. MODERATOR: Peter Buckley, M.D. – Dean, VCU School of Medicine, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, VCU Health System PANEL MEMBERS: John M. Barry – Distinguished Scholar at Tulane's Bywater Institute and adjunct professor at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Gonzalo Martin Llorens Bearman, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P., F.S.H.E.A., F.I.D.S.A. – Chair, Division of Infectious Diseases, VCU School of Medicine, Richard P. Wenzel Professor of Internal Medicine Hospital Epidemiologist, VCU Health System Michael Donnenberg, M.D. – Senior Associate Dean for Research and Research Training, VCU School of Medicine, Professor of Internal Medicine and of Microbiology and Immunology This program is made possible by a generous grant from the Virginia Sargeant Reynolds Foundation and is cosponsored with the MCV Foundation. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Virginian Honor: The Ethics of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 19:39:26 +0000

On September 6, 2018, Craig Bruce Smith delivered the banner lecture, “Virginian Honor: The Ethics of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.” Despite being born into different generations and regions, fellow Virginians George Washington and Thomas Jefferson believed honor was central to the American Revolution, the new nation, and daily life. While both writing to their nephews, Washington insisted “let honor & probity be your polar star,” and Jefferson instructed, “Never suppose that in any possible situation or under any circumstances that it is best for you to do a dishonourable thing.” They each felt this ideal was so essential that it needed to be imparted to the next generation. But what did they mean by honor? Drawn from his new book "American Honor: The Creation of the Nation’s Ideals during the Revolutionary Era," Craig Bruce Smith explores the ethical roots of Washington and Jefferson’s thinking. He shows two distinct paths to prominence in early America and presents how honor was formed from the battlefields to academia to the presidency. Dr. Craig Bruce Smith is an Assistant Professor of History and the Director of the History Program at William Woods University. He specializes is in early American cultural and intellectual history during the long eighteenth century and the Age of Revolution and has broader interests in colonial America, the early republic, leadership, the Atlantic world, military history, and the American Founders. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

“A Perfect Hell of Blood”: The Battle of the Crater

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 19:37:37 +0000

On August 23, 2018, A. Wilson Greene delivered a banner lecture, “‘A Perfect Hell of Blood’: The Battle of the Crater.” Although the Petersburg Campaign lasted 292 days in 1864–65, one day stands out above all others: July 30, 1864. On that infamous Saturday, the Union army exploded 8,000 pounds of black powder beneath a Confederate bastion, destroying it along with more than 300 southern soldiers. The subsequent federal assaults, however, proved a dismal failure, squandering a very real possibility of driving the Army of Northern Virginia out of Petersburg. Three determined Confederate counterattacks ensured southern victory that day, but those triumphant assaults possessed a dark side: the unprecedented massacre of black Union soldiers. A. Wilson Greene, whose new book, A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg, covers the first six weeks of the Petersburg Campaign, discusses the battle of the Crater, explores the nature of Confederate general William Mahone’s attacks, and offers insights into the motivation for the atrocities that followed. A. Wilson Greene is the former president of the Pamplin Historical Park and National Museum of the Civil War Soldier and the author of The Final Battles of the Petersburg Campaign: Breaking the Backbone of the Rebellion; Civil War Petersburg: Confederate City in the Crucible of War; and A Campaign of Giants—The Battle for Petersburg, Volume 1: From the Crossing of the James to the Crater. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

"Keep It a Holy Thing": Lee Chapel’s Greatest Challenge

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 19:37:07 +0000

On August 2, 2018, David Cox delivered a banner lecture, “‘Keep It a Holy Thing’: Lee Chapel’s Greatest Challenge.” The chapel that Robert E. Lee built on the campus of what was then Washington College in Lexington, Virginia, almost did not survive to its 150th anniversary this year. In the early 1920s, an energetic president wanted to tear it down to create a vast monumental building to honor his famous predecessor. An unlikely combination of “a little group of willful women,” a crusading newspaper editor, alumni, and Lee aficionados from around the country managed to save it for posterity, even as they redefined its meaning in ways that abide today. David Cox, a visiting professor of history at Southern Virginia University, teaches American and religious history. An Episcopal priest, he lives in Lexington, where, from 1987 to 2000, he was rector of R. E. Lee Memorial Church. He is the author of The Religious Life of Robert E. Lee and Lee Chapel at 150: A History. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

From Richmond to France: Images and Stories of Richmond and Her World War I Soldiers

Tue, 17 Jul 2018 21:02:24 +0000

On July 12, 2018, Kitty Snow delivered the banner lecture, “From Richmond to France: Images and Stories of Richmond and Her World War I Soldiers.” When America entered the Great War in 1917, many of Richmond’s “soldier boys” had never been out of the city, much less the country. Most went to Camp Lee and then boarded ships for France. One of those young men was Leon Stilson. His father, streetcar driver Harry Stilson, photographed his son and other Richmond boys as they went off to war and came home. He photographed them with family and in parades and celebrations. Harry’s great-granddaughter, Kitty Snow, will share images and stories of those young men and Richmond during the war and after the Armistice. Some did not come home, so the Stilson collection also gives you passage on a Gold Star Mother Pilgrimage to France. Kitty Snow is the owner of Home Team Realtors and a part-time historian. She is the author of "From a Richmond Streetcar: Life through the Lens of Harris Stilson," "On the West Clay Line," "Up and Down Church Hill," and "From Richmond to France: Images and Stories of Richmond and Her World War I Soldiers." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Farm to Easel: Queena Stovall’s Evolution as an Artist

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 20:21:51 +0000

On June 14, 2018, Ellen Schall Agnew delivered a Banner Lecture, “Farm to Easel: Queena Stovall’s Evolution as an Artist.” Self-taught Virginia artist Emma Serena “Queena” Stovall started painting and was “discovered” in 1949 at the age of sixty-two. Over the next two decades she recorded on canvas in meticulous detail the rural life, labors, activities, and people surrounding her home near the Blue Ridge mountains in Elon, Virginia. Stovall’s discovery came ten years after that of famed folk artist Anna Mary Robertson (“Grandma”) Moses in 1939, and at the cusp of dramatic changes in the art world with non-objective art gaining notoriety and popularity in such major art centers as New York. Sandwiched between Moses’ bucolic New England scenes and the world’s changing social, political, and economic order following the World War II, Stovall’s evolution as an artist proves a fascinating study. Ellen Schall Agnew will consider Stovall’s place within this spectrum of twentieth-century art through the personal relationships she established and fostered within the art world with professional artists, art dealers, and scholars. Insights into how Stovall was viewed as an artist and how Stovall saw herself as an artist will be examined through personal correspondence and print media during the years she painted. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Authentic Revolutionaries

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 20:11:04 +0000

On June 26, 2018, John Ferling delivered a Banner Lecture, “Jefferson, Paine, and Monroe: The American Revolution’s Authentic Revolutionaries.” He discussed American history and his book, "Apostles of Revolution: Jefferson, Paine, Monroe and the Struggle Against the Old Order in America and Europe." Some American revolutionaries in 1776 desired little domestic change and some who thought they wanted political and social transformations were quickly frightened by the changes that accompanied the American Revolution. But Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and James Monroe were real revolutionaries. Not only did they long for changes in the fabric of America that could never be realized while the colonies remained under Britain’s thumb, but they also hoped the American Revolution would inspire revolutions that would sweep Europe free of monarchies and aristocracies and expand the rights of the people. Jefferson, Paine, and Monroe were active in both the American and the French Revolution, activism that brought them face to face with dangers of many kinds. Dr. John Ferling’s lecture explored the careers and relationships of these three Founders, why they became revolutionaries, how their thinking evolved after 1776, and which was the most radical. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Best Seat In The House

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 20:08:15 +0000

On May 31, 2018, the Honorable John Hager delivered a Banner Lecture, “Best Seat in the House.” Since being struck by polio in 1973, John Hager has enjoyed life as a participatory sport — in the game, not on the sidelines. Life for him has been whole and exciting by doing not observing, and his “up close and personal” involvement with so many individuals, organizations, and groups has been enriching and fulfilling. In this lecture, John Hager talks about his life and how what some see as a handicap has instead been an enabling, not disabling, opportunity to serve others. At times he has found himself and his wheelchair in the front, often in the middle, and sometimes in the back of the room, but they were all the best seat in the house. The Honorable John H. Hager served as the 37th lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002, as an assistant secretary within the United States Department of Education from 2004 to 2007, and as the chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia from August 2007 until May 2008. He is the author of Best Seat in The House. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Churchill's Legacy: Two Speeches to Save the World

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 20:06:34 +0000

On May 22, 2018, Lord Alan Watson delivered a Banner Lecture about his book, “Churchill’s Legacy: Two Speeches to Save the World.” Having first helped bring victory to the Allies in 1945, Winston Churchill went on to preserve the freedom of the world by gaining the support of the United States in the restoration of Europe. In Fulton, Missouri, Churchill alerted America to the reality of ‘Uncle Joe’—a tyrant determined to dominate Europe at any cost. Churchill called for an Anglo-American alliance based on their shared values and the deterrent of America’s possession of the atomic bomb. Churchill also urged the Americans to recognize the debt they owed Britain for opposing Hitler in 1940, as so brilliantly portrayed by Gary Oldman in the film, Darkest Hour. In Zurich, Switzerland, Churchill boldly proposed a partnership between France and Germany: a United States of Europe. The hatred stirred up by the war had to be replaced by partnership for Europe to recover its economic vitality and regain its moral stature. Together, the Anglo-American Alliance and a United States of Europe led by France and Germany would have the power to “smite the crocodile” of Soviet ambition. Churchill’s concepts remain as relevant now as then. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Diamond - Miracle on the Boulevard

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 20:04:50 +0000

On May 16, 2018, Bobby Ukrop and his coauthors participated in a moderated discussion about their book, “The Diamond—Miracle on the Boulevard.” Born out of crisis, the community-wide effort to build the region’s sparkling jewel, “The Diamond,” showed what could happen with regional cooperation, a public-private partnership, and grassroots support of the citizenry. The Diamond opened on April 17, 1985, having been built in the off-season. It was a miracle! How did it happen and what can we learn about vision and teamwork from this Miracle on the Boulevard? Co-authors Bobby Ukrop, Randy Hallman, and Phil Stanton discussed their book with Jamie Bosket, President and CEO of the Virginia Historical Society. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Supreme Injustice: Slavery in the Nation’s Highest Court

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 20:02:42 +0000

On May 9, 2018, Dr. Paul Finkelman and Dr. Edward L. Ayers engaged in a conversation about Dr. Finkelman’s latest book, “Supreme Injustice: Slavery in the Nation’s Highest Cour" and the entanglements that alienated three major justices from America’s founding ideals and embedded racism ever deeper in American civic life. The three most important Supreme Court Justices before the Civil War―Chief Justices John Marshall and Roger B. Taney and Associate Justice Joseph Story―upheld the institution of slavery in ruling after ruling. These opinions cast a shadow over the Court and the legacies of these men, but historians have rarely delved deeply into the personal and political ideas and motivations they held. In "Supreme Injustice", the distinguished legal historian Paul Finkelman establishes an authoritative account of each justice’s proslavery position, the reasoning behind his opposition to black freedom, and the incentives created by circumstances in his private life. Dr. Paul Finkelman is the president of Gratz College. He is the author or editor of numerous articles, monographs, and reference books in American legal history, with a specialty on the court cases regarding slavery, including Defending Slavery: Proslavery Thought in the Old South: A Brief History with Documents; Dred Scott v. Sandford: A Brief History with Documents; A March of Liberty: A Constitutional History of the United States (two volumes); and, most recently, Supreme Injustice: Slavery in the Nation’s Highest Court. Dr. Edward L. Ayers is the author of the Bancroft Prize–winning In the Presence of Mine Enemies and other works of history honored as finalists for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. A recipient of the National Humanities Medal from President Obama, Ayers is Tucker-Boatwright Professor of the Humanities and president emeritus at the University of Richmond. His most recent book is The Thin Light of Freedom: The Civil War and Emancipation in the Heart of America. This lecture is cosponsored with the John Marshall Foundation, Preservation Virginia’s John Marshall House, and the American Civil War Museum and is free to their members. Dr. Finkelman’s appearance is made possible through the generous support of the Roller-Bottimore Foundation. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Letters To A Soviet Prison

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 19:53:16 +0000

On May 1, 2018, Francis Gary Powers, Jr., presented a Banner Lecture about his book, “Letters from a Soviet Prison: A Son’s Search for the Truth.” For the past twenty-five years, Francis Gary Powers, Jr., has lectured on, taught, and researched the Cold War; in particular the U-2 Incident of May 1, 1960, in which his father was shot down while flying a CIA U-2 spy plane over the former Soviet Union. In 2017, Powers, Jr., published his first book, which includes his dad’s letters to and from family while incarcerated, family photos sent to him in prison, and other correspondence that provides a unique firsthand account of the U-2 Incident, shoot down, imprisonment, and events that led up to his father’s exchange for Soviet Spy Rudolph Abel in 1962. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Jemima Code

Mon, 09 Jul 2018 20:14:34 +0000

Experience a heaping helping of culinary history in our April 6, 2018 Banner Lecture by Toni Tipton-Martin about her book, “Inside the Jemima Code: The Joy of African American Cooking.” Overshadowed by the demeaning stereotype of an illiterate “Aunt Jemima," this lecture transforms America’s most maligned kitchen servant into an inspirational and powerful model of culinary wisdom and cultural authority. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Dolley Madison and the Politics of Gracious Hospitality

Wed, 28 Mar 2018 19:20:31 +0000

On March 8, 2018, Kat Imhoff delivered at Banner Lecture entitled "Dolley Madison and the Politics of Gracious Hospitality" at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture As America’s first First Lady, Dolley Madison was instrumental in creating a new Republican template for style, etiquette, and social interaction that defined Washington, D.C.’s social-political culture in the early nineteenth century. Kat Imhoff, President and CEO of the Montpelier Foundation, takes viewers on a journey that examines Dolley’s life and the ways she used hospitality to achieve the most important political ends. This lecture was cosponsored with James Madison's Montpelier. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Haven of Safety: The Kaiser’s Courteous Pirates in Hampton Roads

Tue, 20 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

On March 22, 2018 , Gregory J. Hansard delivered Banner Lecture at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture entitled “‘Haven of Safety’: The Kaiser’s Courteous Pirates in Hampton Roads.” During World War I, two German surface raiders sought harbor to make repairs at Hampton Roads after sinking 25 merchant ships. British and French ships nearby kept them from leaving Newport News, so more than 800 German sailors took up residence at the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia. They built their own miniature German village, visited family and friends, and attended social events in the community. Their presence made the shipyard a major tourist area before the United States entered the war. Historian Gregory J. Hansard presents the fascinating story of how Hampton Roads was a haven of safety for German sailors during World War I. Mr. Hansard teaches history and museum studies at John Tyler Community College. He previously worked at the Virginia Historical Society as Manager of Web and Digital Resources and as Assistant Editor of Publications. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, where he played varsity baseball, and a masters of arts in history from Virginia State University. He is the author of "German Sailors in Hampton Roads: A World War I Story at the Norfolk Navy Yard." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

When Every Second Counted: A Reflection on the Race to Transplant the First Human Heart

Tue, 13 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Fifty years ago, cutting-edge science intersected with human drama and changed the course of medical history. The Medical College of Virginia in Richmond was situated squarely in the path of the race to the first successful human heart transplant. And now, it’s history. On March 14, 2018, at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, a panel of VCU Health transplant surgeons discussed Donald McRae’s book, "Every Second Counts", which details the critical role that the late Dr. Richard Lower and the Medical College of Virginia played in the events leading up to the first human heart transplant in December 1967 and the first human heart transplant by Dr. Lower at MCV in May 1968. The panel highlighted innovations in human organ transplantation during the past 50 years. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: Charles F. Bryan, Jr., Ph.D. — President & CEO Emeritus, Virginia Historical Society; member of MCV Foundation Board of Trustees MODERATOR: Peter F. Buckley, M.D. — Dean, VCU School of Medicine; Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, VCU Health PANEL MEMBERS: Vigneshwar Kasirajan, M.D. — Stuart McGuire Professor and Department Chair, VCU Department of Surgery, VCU School of Medicine Marlon F. Levy, M.D. — David M. Hume Endowed Chair in Surgery, VCU School of Medicine; Professor and Chair, Division of Transplant Surgery; Director, Hume-Lee Transplant Center Keyur Shah, M.D. — Section Chief of Heart Failure, Medical Director of Mechanical Circulatory Support, Associate Professor, Division of Cardiology, VCU School of Medicine Daniel G. Tang, M.D. — Richard R. Lower, M.D. Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery, Associate Professor of Surgery, VCU School of Medicine; Surgical Director, Cardiac Transplant and Mechanical Support This lecture was made possible by a generous grant from Virginia Sargeant Reynolds Foundation. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Lord Dunmore's War: Last Indian Conflict of the Colonial Era

Sun, 11 Mar 2018 16:04:27 +0000

On February 1, 2018, Glenn F. Williams delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Lord Dunmore’s War: Last Indian Conflict of the Colonial Era.” This lecture explained the causes and conduct of the last Indian War that took place before the start of the American War for Independence. Set during what some would call the “Quiet Time,” many historians pay it little attention or misinterpret its historical significance. However, John Murray, fourth Earl of Dunmore, the last royal governor of Virginia, led the colony's soldiers “in his majesty’s service” in a defensive war that culminated in a successful offensive military expedition before the deepening colonial crisis spun out of control. Although the victorious Lord Dunmore returned to Williamsburg in triumph and at the height of his popularity in December 1774, before another year ended he would flee his capital and be vilified by Virginians. Dr. Glenn F. Williams is a Senior Historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History at Fort McNair, D.C. He is the author of several books, including Year of the Hangman: George Washington’s Campaign against the Iroquois; USS Constellation: A Short History of the Last All-Sail Warship Built by the U.S. Navy; and Dunmore’s War: The Last Conflict of America’s Colonial Era. This lecture was cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Mark Twain, FFV? America’s Most Beloved Author and the Old Dominion

Sat, 10 Mar 2018 20:32:41 +0000

On January 11, 2018, Alan Pell Crawford delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Mark Twain, FFV? America’s Most Beloved Author and the Old Dominion.” Reports of Mark Twain’s death were “greatly exaggerated” more than once. The more famous report was from when he was living in London in 1897. But it happened again a decade later when he had come to Virginia on yacht that was enshrouded in fog off Hampton Roads. The New York Times reported that the yacht sank and Twain had drowned. Twain’s response was characteristically amused—and amusing. He told the Times he planned to conduct an “exhaustive investigation of this report that I have been lost at sea. If there is any foundation to this report, I will at once apprise the anxious public.” Twain, who had come to Virginia for the Jamestown Exposition, had a special and—by historians, overlooked—relationship with the Old Dominion. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain, was proud of his Virginia roots. His father was John Marshall Clemens, “one of the F.F.V.’s of Virginie,” Twain’s daughter Susy wrote in her 1872 biography, Papa. This lecture will discuss Twain’s Virginia roots, which we should all take as much pride in as he did. Alan Pell Crawford is a former U.S. Senate speechwriter, congressional press secretary, and magazine editor. He has published essays on politics and history in numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Review, and The Weekly Standard. He has reviewed books on U.S. history, politics, and culture for The Wall Street Journal since 1993. He is the author of Unwise Passions: A True Story of a Remarkable Woman and the First Great Scandal of 18th Century America; Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson; and How Not to Get Rich: The Financial Misadventures of Mark Twain. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Doing Their Bit: The Surprising Role of Virginians in the Great War

Mon, 19 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

On February 22, 2018, Lynn Rainville delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Doing Their Bit: The Surprising Role of Virginians in the Great War.” In this illustrated lecture, Lynn Rainville revealed the crucial roles that Virginians played in the Great War. These individuals ranged from drafted soldiers to politicians (including Staunton native, Woodrow Wilson) and from locally born horses to their ferriers. These patriots also included female stenographers, African American doctors, domestic gardeners, National Guard troops, and army chaplains. Of these hundreds of thousands of volunteers, more than 3,600 lost their lives as a direct result of the war, impacting families throughout the state. And yet many of their sacrifices have been forgotten. Rainville concluded her talk with a study of statues erected in Virginia after the war to reveal a more complete story of service and sacrifice during the Great War. Dr. Lynn Rainville is a research professor in the humanities at Sweet Briar College and a fellow at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. She is the author of "Hidden History: African American Cemeteries in Central Virginia" and "Virginia and the Great War: Mobilization, Supply and Combat, 1914–1919." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

WW1 America Curator Talk with Brian Horrigan

Tue, 13 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

On February 15, 2018, Brian Horrigan spoke at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture about the exhibition "WW1 America" during the WWI America Exhibition Exclusive Member Preview. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Our Little Monitor: The Greatest Invention of the Civil War

Tue, 23 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

On January 25, 2018, Jonathan W. White delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Our Little Monitor: The Greatest Invention of the Civil War.” On March 9, 1862, the USS Monitor met the CSS Virginia in battle in Hampton Roads, Virginia—the first time ironclad vessels would engage each other in combat. For four hours the two ships pummeled one another as thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers and civilians watched from the shorelines. Although the battle ended in a draw, this engagement would change the very nature of naval warfare. The “wooden walls” of navies around the world suddenly appeared far more vulnerable to political and military leaders. At the same time, in the weeks after the battle of Hampton Roads, Americans developed their own ideas for improving the Monitor or for sinking the Virginia. This talk will discuss some of the inventions devised by terrified northerners as well as the legacy of the USS Monitor in American life and culture since its sinking on New Year’s Eve 1862. Dr. Jonathan W. White is associate professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University and a senior fellow with CNU’s Center for American Studies. He is the author of several books, including Emancipation, the Union Army, and the Reelection of Abraham Lincoln and Midnight in America: Darkness, Sleep, and Dreams during the Civil War, and coeditor (with Anna Gibson Holloway) of Our Little Monitor: The Greatest Invention of the Civil War. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Toxic Dust: The History and Legacy of Virginia’s Kepone Disaster

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 18:47:02 +0000

On October 5, 2017, Gregory Wilson delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Toxic Dust: The History and Legacy of Virginia’s Kepone Disaster.” In July 1975, news broke about workers at Life Science Products Company in Hopewell poisoned while making the pesticide Kepone, the brand name of chlordecone. Further investigations showed Life Science had contracted with Allied Chemical, a larger firm with a plant in Hopewell, to make Kepone and that both companies dumped Kepone waste into the James River and its nearby tributaries. The events led to a number of significant events, including a fishing and harvesting ban that remained in various forms through the 1980s, new state and federal environmental regulations, and federal court cases that led to the creation of the Virginia Environmental Endowment in 1977. Forty years later, Kepone remains in the James River sediment but in much reduced levels. Still, traces of Kepone have been found in James River fish today. The complete toxic effects of Kepone are not fully known, but a major public health crisis appears to be unfolding in the French West Indies from continued chlordecone use on banana plants through the 1990s. Chlordecone’s toxic global legacy led the United Nations Environmental Program to call for an end to its use. The events surrounding Kepone left an important legacy that continues to affect people and the environment in Virginia and around the world. The Kepone story is a compelling reminder of the critical ongoing importance of government oversight in the protection of human health and the environment. Dr. Gregory Wilson is a professor of history at the University of Akron. He grew up in Newport News, Virginia, and remembers the Kepone tragedy from his youth. Dr. Wilson earned his Ph.D. from Ohio State University. He is the author of Above the Shots: An Oral History of the Kent State Shootings (with Craig Simpson), Ohio: A History of the Buckeye State (with Kevin F. Kern), and Communities Left Behind: The Area Redevelopment Administration, 1945–1965. This lecture is cosponsored by the Virginia Environmental Endowment as part of its 40th Anniversary. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Shockoe Hill Cemetery: A Richmond Landmark's History

Sat, 30 Dec 2017 20:43:15 +0000

On December 7, 2017, Alyson Lindsey Taylor-White delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Shockoe Hill Cemetery: A Richmond Landmark's History.” In 1822, Richmond’s Common Council faced a grave dilemma, literally. The nation, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the capital city of Richmond were in the grips of a severe economic depression, one of the young nation’s first. It was not a good time for the city to invest in capital improvements, much less acquire real estate. And yet they felt they had no choice but to do just that. In particular, the city faced a desperate shortage of available private and church properties to inter the dead safely and in a sanitary method. The decision was made to create Richmond’s first necropolis that would be designed for the living as much as for the dead. Created on the cusp of the rural cemetery movement that would soon sweep the nation, Shockoe Hill Cemetery was laid out by city surveyor Richard Young in 1824 to have a pleasing, picturesque, park-like setting. Famous occupants include Chief Justice John Marshall, Union Spy Elizabeth Van Lew, Richmond’s first mayor Dr. William Foushee, as well as most of the people who Edgar Allan Poe loved (and some he did not) as he grew up in Richmond. Today, the nearly 200 year-old cemetery is one of the city’s loveliest landmarks, and yet it remains one of the least often visited. Alyson Lindsey Taylor-White was the editor of the Virginia Review magazine for twenty-five years and is currently an adjunct instructor at the University of Richmond. She has written for the Dictionary of Virginia Biography and is a regular contributor to the blog The Shockoe Examiner, where she writes about her favorite subject, the richly textured history of Richmond. She also leads educational tours of local historic sites in Richmond and in nearby Petersburg. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Richmond’s Gilded Age: The Grit Behind the Glitz

Tue, 31 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

On November 2, 2017, Brian Burns delivered a Banner Lecture at the Virginia Historical Society entitled “Richmond’s Gilded Age: The Grit Behind the Glitz.” In the aftermath of the Civil War, Richmond entered the Gilded Age seeking bright prospects while struggling with its own past. During a labor convention in conservative Richmond, white supremacists prepared to enforce segregation at gunpoint. Progressives attempted to gain political power by unveiling a wondrous new marvel: Richmond’s first electric streetcar. Handsome lawyer Thomas J. Cluverius was accused of murdering a pregnant woman and dumping her body in the city reservoir, sparking Richmond’s trial of the century. And after Jefferson Davis’s death in 1889, elites launched an arduous monument-building campaign. Author Brian Burns takes us on a romp through the River City as it headed toward a new century. Brian Burns recently published his third book, Gilded Age Richmond: Gaiety, Greed and Lost Cause Mania. His previous titles include Lewis Ginter: Richmond’s Gilded Age Icon and Curiosities of the Confederate Capital: Untold Richmond Stories of the Spectacular, Tragic, and Bizarre. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Stonewall Jackson’s Little Sorrel

Mon, 11 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

On September 14, 2017, Sharon B. Smith delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Stonewall Jackson's Little Sorrel.” During the Civil War and throughout the rest of the nineteenth century there was no star that shone brighter than that of a small red horse who was known as Stonewall Jackson’s Little Sorrel. Robert E. Lee’s Traveller eventually became more familiar but was mostly famous for his looks. Not so with Little Sorrel. Early in the war he became known as a horse of great personality and charm, an eccentric animal with an intriguing background. Like Traveller, his enduring fame was due initially to the prominence of his owner and the uncanny similarities between the two of them. The little red horse long survived Jackson and developed a following of his own. In fact, he lived longer than almost all horses who survived the Civil War as well as many thousands of human veterans. His death in 1886 drew attention worthy of a deceased general, his mounted remains have been admired by hundreds of thousands of people since 1887, and the final burial of his bones in 1997 was the occasion for an event that could only be described as a funeral, and a well-attended one at that. Stonewall Jackson’s Little Sorrel is the story of that horse. Sharon B. Smith was a reporter, interviewer, and anchor of televised horse sports on ESPN, NBC, and Sportschannel Los Angeles during the 1980s and 1990s. She wrote, produced, and anchored ESPN’s “Down the Stretch,” a weekly half hour racing news program. She is the author of seven books including, Pocket Guide to Betting on Horses (1999), Connecticut’s Civil War (2009), The Best There Ever Was: Dan Patch and the Dawn of the American Century (2012), and Stonewall Jackson’s Little Sorrel: An Unlikely Hero of the Civil War (2016). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty

Sun, 20 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

On August 24,2017, Jon Kukla delivered a Banner Lecture at the Virginia Historical Society entitled “Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty.” Patrick Henry is remembered today mostly for one line from one speech that he made: “Give me liberty or give me death.” This is a shame because he was one of the leading patriots of the Revolutionary era, Virginia’s first governor after independence, a powerful voice in the early republic, and a great orator and statesman who played such a crucial role in shaping the course of Revolutionary Virginia’s history. In Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty, Jon Kukla, who has been studying Henry for years and has even lived on one of his former plantations, restores Patrick Henry to the front rank of American Revolutionary patriots. Jon Kukla has served as director of historical research and publishing at the Library of Virginia, curator and then director of the Historic New Orleans Collection, and as director of Red Hill, The Patrick Henry National Memorial in Charlotte County. He is the author of A Wilderness So Immense: The Louisiana Purchase and the Destiny of America, Mr. Jefferson’s Women, and Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Extremes of Virginia: Two Commonwealths, Separated and Unequal

Tue, 15 Aug 2017 20:24:25 +0000

On August 3, 2017, at noon, August Wallmeyer delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “The Extremes of Virginia: Two Commonwealths, Separated and Unequal.” August Wallmeyer brings his unique perspectives on public policy issues in Virginia to bear on three “rural, poor, and largely unknown” areas of Virginia: Southwest, Southside, and the Eastern Shore. With his forty plus years involvement with the Virginia General Assembly, Wallmeyer dissects conditions in the “extremes of Virginia” and offers his thoughts on practical steps to improve economic, social, and cultural conditions for the 10 percent of Virginians living there. He will graphically assemble a portrait of a Virginia largely unknown to those living in the commonwealth’s wealthier and more prosperous urban corridor.August Wallmeyer is a former radio and television news reporter, government speechwriter, and energy trade association lobbyist. He is the author of The Extremes of Virginia. The father of three, he now lives in Goochland County with his wife of thirty-three years, Kathy. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Jamestown, the Truth Revealed (Chauncey Lecture 2018)

Thu, 20 Jul 2017 20:32:52 +0000

On July 19, 2018, at 5:30 p.m., Dr. William M. Kelso delivered the Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture entitled “Jamestown, the Truth Revealed.” What was life really like for the band of adventurers who first set foot on the banks of the James River in 1607? Important as the accomplishments of these men and women were, the written records pertaining to them are scarce, ambiguous, and often conflicting. And those curious about the birthplace of the United States have had little to turn to except dramatic and often highly fictionalized reports. In Jamestown, the Truth Revealed, William Kelso takes us literally to the soil where the Jamestown colony began, unearthing footprints of a series of structures, beginning with the James Fort, to reveal fascinating evidence of the lives and deaths of the first settlers, of their endeavors and struggles, and new insight into their relationships with the Virginia Indians. He offers up a lively account, framed around a narrative of the archaeological team's exciting discoveries. William M. Kelso is the Director of Archaeology for Jamestown Rediscovery at Historic Jamestowne. He holds a Masters Degree in Early American History from the College of William and Mary, a Ph.D. from Emory University, and he has been awarded an honorary degree of chivalry from Queen Elizabeth II: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He is the author and coauthor of several books, including Jamestown, the Buried Truth; Jamestown Rediscovery, 1994–2004; Kingsmill Plantation, 1619–1800: Archaeology of Country Life in Colonial Virginia; Archaeology at Monticello; and Jamestown, the Truth Revealed. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Dooleys of Richmond

Thu, 20 Jul 2017 20:31:34 +0000

On July 13, 2017, Mary Lynn Bayliss will delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “The Dooleys of Richmond: Two Generations of an Irish Immigrant Family in the Old and New South.” Two weeks after their wedding in Alexandria, Virginia, Irish Immigrants John and Sarah Dooley were at home in Richmond when John’s first advertisement for his hat manufacturing business appeared in a Richmond newspaper. Five years later, when John had become one of Richmond’s prominent residents, their second son, James Henry Dooley, destined to become a lawyer and one of the city’s great philanthropists, was born. The story of his family and their devotion to the city and the South, The Dooleys of Richmond sheds new light on the experience of Irish immigrants in the urban South before, during and after the Civil War. James Henry Dooley served three terms in the Virginia House of Delegates before becoming a key figure in the development of the industries and infrastructure of the New South. Maymont, the Gilded Age estate he and his wife created and left to the city of Richmond as a museum and park, is only one of their many gifts to the city. Dr. Mary Lynn Bayliss has published articles in Virginia Cavalcade, The Richmond Quarterly, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Dictionary of Virginia Biography, and Encyclopedia Virginia. She is the author of The Dooleys of Richmond: Two Generations of an Irish Immigrant Family in the Old and New South. This lecture is cosponsored with Friends of Hollywood Cemetery. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Paradox of Robert Edward Lee

Fri, 16 Jun 2017 20:59:14 +0000

On June 1, 2017, at noon, David Cox delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Paradox of Robert Edward Lee." Robert E. Lee remains as controversial today as he was in his own era, in part because of the contradictions he embodied. A critic of slavery and secession, he fought for the cause that embodied each. He was the only man ever offered the command of armies that opposed each other. Deemed one of the greatest of military minds, his side still lost. Then, he became one of the chief proponents of reconciliation, yet he held serious reservations pertaining to race and reconstruction. In his book, The Religious Life of Robert E. Lee (March 2017), David Cox explores how Lee’s faith influenced his views and his actions. In this lecture, he will examine how Lee’s religious convictions guided two of his most important, if paradoxical, decisions: to resign his commission and side with Virginia in 1861, then to accept the presidency of Washington College in Lexington as a means of promoting the reconciliation he hoped to foster after the war. This latter decision in particular seemed to frame his sometimes paradoxical approach to controversies that arose in his later years. David Cox, a visiting professor of history at Southern Virginia University, teaches American and religious history. An Episcopal priest, he lives in Lexington, where, from 1987 to 2000, he was rector of R. E. Lee Memorial Church. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Feuding Founders: Battling and Backstabbing in Early America

Fri, 12 May 2017 15:08:21 +0000

On May 11, 2017, at noon, Paul Aron delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Feuding Founders: Battling and Backstabbing in Early America.” “Thirteen clocks were made to strike together,” John Adams wrote in 1818, recalling how the thirteen colonies united to seize their independence. Adams knew this had been a tentative and tenuous unity. During and after the Revolution, the founders were not only debating but also smearing, screaming, spitting, and occasionally shooting at each other—their politics every bit as polarized as our own. Yet despite these feuds—and even to some extent because of them—the founders (in contrast to today’s politicians) managed to find ways to build a nation. Paul Aron is director of publications for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He is the author of Founding Feuds: The Rivalries, Clashes, and Conflicts that Forged a Nation, Why the Turkey Didn’t Fly, and We Hold These Truths . . . and Other Words That Made America. This lecture is cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Dreams of War and Peace: How Americans Experienced the Civil War in Their Sleep

Tue, 09 May 2017 19:18:55 +0000

On April 27, 2017, Jonathan W. White delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Dreams of War and Peace: How Americans Experienced the Civil War in their Sleep.” The Civil War placed new and unique strains on nineteenth-century Americans, and their nightly visions reflected those hardships. Sometimes the war intruded on people’s slumber, vividly bringing to life the horrors of the conflict. For others, nighttime was an escape from the hard realities of life and death in wartime. In this talk, Jonathan W. White will explore what dreams meant to Civil War-era Americans, and how their dreams reveal that generation’s deepest longings—their hopes and fears, desires and struggles, and guilt and shame. When Americans recorded their dreams in their diaries, letters and memoirs, they sought to make sense of the changing world around them, and to cope with the confusion, despair, and loneliness of life amid the turmoil of a war the likes of which they had never imagined. Dr. Jonathan W. White is associate professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University. He is the author of several books, including Midnight in America: Darkness, Sleep, and Dreams during the Civil War (2017). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Best Rebel Reminiscence: Edward Porter Alexander’s

Tue, 25 Apr 2017 19:46:55 +0000

On April 7, 2017 at noon, Gary W. Gallagher delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “The Best Rebel Reminiscence: Edward Porter Alexander's Fighting for the Confederacy.” Edward Porter Alexander’s Military Memoirs of a Confederate: A Critical Narrative (1907) and Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander (1989) stand unchallenged as the most analytical, dispassionate, and influential books of their genre. Alexander wrote from a singular perspective as one who had served on the staffs of Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, and P. G. T. Beauregard before beginning a career in the artillery that soon revealed him to be the most gifted gunner in the Confederacy. Literally present from Manassas to Appomattox, Alexander participated in all the great battles of the Western Theater as well as fighting in Tennessee in late 1863. This lecture will assess Alexander’s two books, highlighting the process by which he crafted them and the degree to which they influenced subsequent generations of historians and other writers. Dr. Gary W. Gallagher is the John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War at the University of Virginia and the author and editor of many books and articles, including Cold Harbor to the Crater: The End of the Overland Campaign and Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander. This lecture is cosponsored with The Virginia Antiquarian Book Fair and the Virginia Antiquarian Booksellers Association (VABA). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

All Falling Faiths: Reflections on the Promise and Failure of the 1960s

Fri, 31 Mar 2017 13:48:53 +0000

All Falling Faiths: Reflections on the Promise and Failure of the 1960s by J. Harvie Wilkinson III Duration: (01:10:23) On March 29, 2017, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “All Falling Faiths: Reflections on the Promise and Failure of the 1960s.” All Falling Faiths is a personal memoir of growing up and coming of age in the 1950s and 60s. Much of it describes my boyhood and adolescence in Richmond during those two decades and what life was like, both good and bad, back then. Only a personal journey can help us recognize both the mistakes and accomplishments of our youth and the need for future generations to find the common ground that too often eluded us back then. Each chapter in my book discusses a different fallen faith. My own view is that the 1960s inflicted enormous damage on America –- damage that helps to explain the terribly torn and fractured country that we have today. Those who take a positive view of the 1960s, however, have strong points to make as well; that decade helped make us a country for all Americans, not just some. My hope in this book is that those who rend a garment may yet help to mend it. By understanding all we lost in the 1960s, we may yet find a brighter way. J. Harvie Wilkinson III is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. President Reagan appointed him to that court in August of 1984, and he was the Fourth Circuit’s chief judge from 1996–2003. He is the author of several books, including Harry Byrd and the Changing Face of Virginia Politics 1945–1966; One Nation Indivisible: How Ethnic Separatism Threatens America; Cosmic Constitutional Theory: Why Americans Are Losing Their Inalienable Right to Self-Governance; and, most recently, All Falling Faiths: Reflections on the Promise and Failure of the 1960s. Judge Wilkinson lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. He and his wife Lossie have two children, Nelson and Porter. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

A Saga of the New South: Race, Law, and Public Debt in Virginia

Mon, 27 Mar 2017 20:52:44 +0000

On March 16, 2017, Brent Tarter delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “A Saga of the New South: Race, Law, and Public Debt in Virginia.” A Saga of the New South treats the political and legal controversies Virginia’s antebellum public debt created in post–Civil War Virginia. The debt controversy fundamentally altered the political landscape of Virginia twice. It created the conditions under which the Readjuster Party, a biracial coalition of radical reformers, seized control of the state government in 1879; then it gave rise to a counterrevolution that led the elitist Democratic Party to eighty years of dominance over the state’s politics and government. The Readjusters successfully refinanced the public debt and increased spending for the new public school system, but the debt controversy generated a long train of legal disputes. Through an in-depth analysis of the political and legal controversies about public debt, race, and education, A Saga of the New South sheds new light on the many obstacles reformers faced in Virginia and elsewhere in the South during the decades after the Civil War. Brent Tarter is a founding editor of the Library of Virginia’s Dictionary of Virginia Biography and a cofounder of the annual Virginia Forum. He is the author of several books, including The Grandees of Government: The Origins and Persistence of Undemocratic Politics in Virginia, Daydreams and Nightmares: A Virginia Family Faces Secession and War, and A Saga of the New South: Race, Law, and Public Debt in Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Lonely Colonist Seeks Wife

Mon, 06 Mar 2017 20:36:19 +0000

On March 2, 2017, Marcia Zug delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Lonely Colonist Seeks Wife: Rediscovering the History of America’s First Mail-Order Brides.” Today, mail-order brides are usually assumed to be desperate and exploited women. However, the history of the Jamestown mail-order brides casts doubt on this belief. Life in the early American colonies was difficult, but one of the biggest threats was actually the absence of marriageable women. As a result, marital immigration was seen as crucial to the Virginia colony’s success. Potential female immigrants were wooed with numerous financial and legal incentives and these benefits made mail-order marriage an attractive option for some seventeenth century women. Interestingly, modern mail-order marriages may not be so different. Four centuries later, many things have changed, but mail-order marriages continue to offer women the possibility of a better future. Marcia Zug is an associate professor of law at the University of South Carolina. She is the author of Buying a Bride: An Engaging History of Mail-Order Marriage. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Airship ROMA: A Forgotten Tragedy

Thu, 02 Mar 2017 22:17:23 +0000

On February 9, 2017, Nancy E. Sheppard delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Airship ROMA: A Forgotten Tragedy.” In March 1921, Maj. John G. Thornell and his crew were detailed to Italy to procure a new experimental airship for the U.S. Army Air Service. Stationed at Langley Field in Hampton, the ROMA never lived up to expectations despite being heralded as the future of military innovation. Tragically, it crashed on February 21, 1922, in Norfolk, Virginia, claiming the lives of most of the men aboard. Author Nancy E. Sheppard will reveal details and never before published imagery of the forgotten tragedy of one of the last great airships and those who sacrificed for the promise of a new era in aviation. Nancy E. Sheppard, a writer and historian of her native Hampton Roads, Virginia, is the author of The Airship ROMA Disaster in Hampton Roads. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Six Encounters with Lincoln: A President Confronts Democracy and Its Demons

Thu, 02 Mar 2017 21:46:20 +0000

On February 22, 2017, Beverly Louise Brown delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Six Encounters with Lincoln: A President Confronts Democracy and Its Demons, A New Book by the Award-Winning Historian Elizabeth Brown Pryor,” celebrating the publication of her late sister’s book. Six Encounters with Lincoln: A President Confronts Democracy and Its DemonsIn this eye-opening book, Six Encounters with Lincoln: A President Confronts Democracy and Its Demons, Elizabeth Brown Pryor examines six striking and mostly unknown encounters that Abraham Lincoln had with his constituents. It is a collection of intriguing stories about a man who himself prized story-telling, and taken together they reveal his character and opinions in unexpected ways, illustrating his difficulties in managing a republic and creating a presidency. We observe him standing gracelessly mute at his first review of the U.S. Army on the eve of the Civil War. Later we find him swearing profusely at a young solider on the White House portico. He alternately pontificates or talks pigeon English to Native American chiefs, and he simply avoids most interactions with prominent women. In the last days of the war we find Lincoln visiting Richmond, where he meets an old Confederate with a menacing stick in his hand named Duff Green, who challenges his plans for the reconstruction of the nation. What this book shows most clearly is that greatness was not simply laid on Lincoln’s shoulders like a mantle but was won in fits and starts. Elizabeth Brown Pryor was tragically killed in Richmond in April 2015, just after completing the manuscript of Six Encounters with Lincoln. Her sister Beverly Louise Brown, a noted art historian, saw the book through publication and will talk about her sister, the book, and the perils and delights in finishing another author’s work. This lecture will celebrate the book’s publication by Viking in February 2017. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Historic Disasters of Richmond

Thu, 19 Jan 2017 20:03:47 +0000

On January 18, 2017, Walter S. Griggs, Jr. delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Historic Disasters of Richmond.” Richmond has had its share of man-made and natural calamities throughout its illustrious history. In 1811, fire destroyed the Richmond Theatre on Broad Street, tragically claiming seventy-two lives in one of the worst urban disasters in American history. As Union forces approached Richmond in the final months of the Civil War, Confederate troops ignited the city in flames, leaving scars still visible today. The international Spanish flu epidemic did not spare the city in the early twentieth century. The worst airplane crash in Virginia history occurred near Byrd Airport in 1961. Local author Walter S. Griggs, Jr., tells these stories and more as he traces the harrowing history of Richmond’s most famous disasters. Dr. Walter Griggs Jr. is an emeritus professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has written numerous books on a variety of historical subjects, including The Collapse of Richmond’s Church Hill Tunnel; The Hidden History of Richmond; World War II in Richmond, Virginia; and Historic Disasters of Richmond. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Private Jefferson: Most Blessed of the Patriarchs

Fri, 06 Jan 2017 14:55:12 +0000

On January 5, 2017, at noon, Peter Onuf delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “The Private Jefferson: 'Most Blessed of the Patriarchs.'” "Most Blessed of the Patriarchs": Tracing Jefferson's philosophical development from youth to old age, historian Peter Onuf explores what he calls the "empire" of Jefferson's imagination—an expansive state of mind born of his origins in a slave society, his intellectual influences, and the vaulting ambition that propelled him into public life as a modern avatar of the Enlightenment who, at the same time, likened himself to a figure of old—"the most blessed of the patriarchs." Indeed, Jefferson saw himself as a "patriarch," not just to his country and mountain-like home at Monticello but also to his family, the white half that he loved so publicly, as well as to the black side that he claimed to love, a contradiction of extraordinary historical magnitude. Peter Onuf, Thomas Jefferson Professor of History Emeritus and Senior Research Scholar at Monticello, is the author of “The State of the World: Thomas Jefferson’s Political Vision,” in the exhibition catalogue, The Private Jefferson: Perspectives from the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the coauthor with Annette Gordon-Reed of “Most Blessed of the Patriarchs”: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination. He is also a co-host (the “18th Century Guy”) of the popular public radio program and podcast BackStory with the American History Guys. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Documents and Drawings: The Private Jefferson Examined

Mon, 12 Dec 2016 20:14:46 +0000

On December 10, 2016, Susan R. Stein delivered a Banner Lecture called “Documents and Drawings: 'The Private Jefferson' Examined.” Thomas Jefferson devoted himself to building the new American nation as well as Monticello, his plantation home. At Monticello, he managed his sizable farms, designed the house and its surrounding landscape, and selected art and furnishings. This talk will discuss how the extensive Coolidge Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society has influenced the understanding of Jefferson and the ongoing restoration and interpretation of Monticello. The key drawings and records of The Private Jefferson exhibition—from Jefferson’s first elevation of Monticello, the Declaration of Independence, and catalog of books to his designs for curtains and a plow—demonstrate the range of his actions and interests. Susan R. Stein, the Richard Gilder Senior Curator and Vice President of Museum Programs at Monticello, is the author of The Worlds of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello (1993). She has been involved in the presentation and interpretation of Jefferson and Monticello since 1986. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Horns, Masks, and Women's Dress: How the First Klan Used Costume to Build Domestic Terrorism

Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:26:52 +0000

On December 8, 2016, Elaine Frantz Parsons delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Horns, Masks, and Women's Dress: How the First Klan Used Costume to Build Domestic Terrorism.” One hundred and fifty years ago, the Ku-Klux Klan became the first broad-based domestic terrorist movement in the United States. Although there was nothing new about white violence against black southerners, the Ku-Klux Klan reworked violence in a way that would fit a modern post-slavery nation. It sought to disempower and control rural blacks not only directly through violence but also by using bizarre costume and performance to create a climate of terror that could be spread both by word of mouth and through the powerful national newspaper network. Most “Ku-Klux” did not wear white uniforms like the Klan of the 1920s. Their varied costumes featured animal horns, fake facial hair, polka dots and reflective metals, blackface, and, often, women’s dress. Those who made and wore these costumes intended to define a new basis of southern white authority and to force freedpeople and their allies to acknowledge it. Elaine Frantz Parsons is an associate professor of history at Duquesne University and the author of Manhood Lost: Fallen Drunkards and Redeeming Women in the Nineteenth-Century United States and Ku-Klux: The Birth of the Klan during Reconstruction. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Thomas Jefferson, Revered and Reviled

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 21:47:29 +0000

On December 1, 2016, Robert M. S. McDonald delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Thomas Jefferson, Revered and Reviled.” Of all the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson stood out as the most controversial and confounding. Loved and hated, revered and reviled, during his lifetime he served as a lightning rod for dispute. Few major figures in American history provoked such a polarization of public opinion. While Jefferson’s supporters organized festivals in his honor where they praised him in speeches and songs, his detractors portrayed him as a dilettante and demagogue, double-faced and dangerously radical, an atheist hostile to Christianity. Characterizing his beliefs as un-American, they tarred him with the extremism of the French Revolution. Yet his allies cheered his contributions to the American Revolution, unmasking him as the now formerly anonymous author of the words that had helped to define America in the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson’s bifurcated image took shape both as a product of his own creation and in response to factors beyond his control. In the first fifty years of independence, Americans’ views of Jefferson revealed much about their conflicting views of the purpose and promise of America. Robert M. S. McDonald is a professor of history at the United States Military Academy. He is the author and editor of several books on Jefferson, including Thomas Jefferson’s Military Academy: Founding West Point (2004), Light and Liberty: Thomas Jefferson and the Power of Knowledge (2012), and Confounding Father: Thomas Jefferson's Image in His Own Time (2016). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Revolt and Repression: Reconsidering the Nat Turner Slave Revolt

Fri, 11 Nov 2016 21:33:03 +0000

On November 10, 2016, Patrick H. Breen delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Revolt and Repression: Reconsidering the Nat Turner Slave Revolt.” On August 21, 1831, seven men launched what would come to be known as the Nat Turner Revolt. The rebels swept through Southampton Country recruiting slaves to their rank and killing nearly five dozen whites, more than had ever been killed in any slave revolt in history of the United States. Within two days, whites reestablished control over Southampton County. Examining the terrible choices faced by slaves and also the deep disagreements among whites about how to respond to the rebels, this lecture will discuss new ways of thinking about Nat Turner, his revolt, Southampton County, and even American slavery itself. Patrick H. Breen is the author of The Land Shall Be Deluged in Blood: A New History of the Nat Turner Revolt. He is an associate professor of history at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On the Back Roads Again: More People, Places, and Pie Around Virginia

Fri, 11 Nov 2016 21:06:51 +0000

On October 20, 2016, Bob Brown and Bill Lohmann delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “On the Back Roads Again: More People, Places, and Pie Around Virginia.” Head out on the back roads of Virginia again with Richmond Times-Dispatch senior photographer Bob Brown and columnist Bill Lohmann as they encounter memorable characters, explore charming places, and search for their next piece of pie in their new book, On the Back Roads Again: More People, Places, and Pie from Around Virginia. Featuring Brown’s award-winning photographs and Lohmann’s good-humored commentary, this lecture will lead us on a casual journey to many of the places that make Virginia unique. Bob Brown, a Rockbridge County native, joined the Richmond Times-Dispatch photo staff in 1968 after working in television for the previous 10 years. Bill Lohmann, an award-winning columnist and a Richmond native, has worked for the Times-Dispatch and, previously, the Richmond News Leader since 1988. He also has reported for United Press International in Richmond, Orlando, and Atlanta, and he began his career as a sports writer for the Charlottesville Daily Progress. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Race, Reconstruction, and Memory in Postwar Richmond

Fri, 11 Nov 2016 20:40:17 +0000

On October 12, 2016, Michael D. Gorman delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “‘A Manner Which Would Not Have Been Permitted Towards Slaves’: Race, Reconstruction, and Memory in Postwar Richmond.” The Civil War in Virginia may have ended at Appomattox, but for those affected by war, additional intense times lay ahead. How did the people of Richmond cope with the sudden influx of paroled prisoners, the presence of northern occupation forces, a devastated city, and the overwhelming refugee crisis that came in the form of thousands of newly emancipated slaves? This lecture explores Reconstruction at the symbolic center of rebellion through a detailed analysis of newly available sources, highlighting how little attention has been given to the actual events and practical realities of Reconstruction. Richmond’s rebuilding was replete with racial violence and white resistance, quite at odds with what is popularly believed about Reconstruction in Virginia. Michael D. Gorman is a National Park Service historian and author of “A Conqueror or a Peacemaker? Abraham Lincoln in Richmond,” in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography (vol. 123, no. 1 [2015]). He is widely known as an expert on Civil War Richmond. This lecture is cosponsored with the Richmond National Battlefield Park and is free and open to the public. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Mathews Men: Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler’s U-Boats

Thu, 20 Oct 2016 17:31:46 +0000

On October 6, 2016, William Geroux will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled “The Mathews Men: Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler’s U-Boats.” In his book, The Mathews Men: Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler’s U-Boats, author William Geroux uses the experiences of merchant mariners from Mathews County, Virginia, to tell the largely forgotten story of the heroics and sacrifices of the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II. Mathews, a rural outpost on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, had been a cradle of merchant sea captains and mariners since before the American Revolution. When America entered World War II in December 1941, Mathews mariners were scattered on ships throughout the war zones, and they became prime targets for German U-boats trying to choke off the Allied supply line. Mathews mariners faced U-boats in the North and South Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean, and even the icy Barents Sea in the Arctic Circle. Some died terrible deaths. Others survived torpedo explosions, flaming oil slicks, storms, shark attacks, and harrowing lifeboat odysseys—only to ship out again as soon as they’d returned to safety. Nearly every family in Mathews County had a personal stake in the U-boat war, and none had a greater stake than the family of Capt. Jesse and Henrietta Hodges and their seven sons, who would experience the war in all its horrors and triumphs. William Geroux was a newspaper reporter for more than thirty years, mostly with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He also has worked for Maersk, one of the world's largest commercial shipping companies. He is the author of The Mathews Men: Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler's U-Boats. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Paradoxical Emancipator: Abraham Lincoln and the Other Thirteenth Amendment

Fri, 23 Sep 2016 20:03:12 +0000

On September 22, 2016, Daniel W. Crofts delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Paradoxical Emancipator: Abraham Lincoln and the Other Thirteenth Amendment." When Abraham Lincoln spoke so memorably at Gettysburg about “a nation conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” he was looking more toward a hoped-for future rather than accurately describing the American past. The slave system before the Civil War was deeply rooted, protected by the Constitution, and it spread rapidly. Even those Americans who disliked it felt powerless to do anything about slavery in the states where it already existed. They would instead try to stop its expansion. Without doubt, Lincoln abhorred slavery and looked forward to its “ultimate extinction.” Yet he hardly expected anything to happen soon. And he repeatedly vowed that he never would interfere with slavery in the slave states. During his first inaugural address, delivered on March 4, 1861, Lincoln even agreed to accept a constitutional amendment that would have barred Congress from legislating against slavery. Had it been ratified by the states, the other thirteenth amendment would have been the polar opposite to the real Thirteenth Amendment—enacted four years and one war later. Daniel W. Crofts is a professor of history at The College of New Jersey. He is the author of Reluctant Confederates: Upper South Unionists in the Secession Crisis; A Secession Crisis Enigma: William Henry Hurlbert and “The Diary of a Public Man”; and Lincoln and the Politics of Slavery: The Other Thirteenth Amendment and the Struggle to Save the Union. (Introduction Andrew Talkov) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Well-Dressed Hobo: The Many Wondrous Adventures of a Man Who Loves Trains

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 21:16:09 +0000

On September 8, 2016, Rush Loving Jr., delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Well-Dressed Hobo: The Many Wondrous Adventures of a Man Who Loves Trains." America’s railroads have gone through a tumultuous and dramatic era during the past eighty years, and Virginia played a key role through all of it. They were the times of strong, colorful personalities, men like Virginia’s Claytor brothers, Edward Ball, the man who controlled the DuPont Trust and every evening assembled his “likkah-hound” lieutenants for rounds of bourbon and ginger ale, and W. Thomas Rice, a Northern Neck boy like Ball, who ran the Seaboard Coast Line with the iron fist of a general. There, too, were Jack Fishwick of the Norfolk and Western and Furlong Baldwin, who grew up on a plantation near Cape Charles and used an Atlantic Coast Line office car to build a banking empire. Their stories are played on a stage filled with the drama of boardroom struggles and secret deals, all in the romantic setting of railroad locomotive cabs and the old Richmond Times-Dispatch newsroom. All this is told by a man who, from Depression days in Virginia on into the twenty-first century, watched as those dynamic men and others like them saved the nation’s railroads from ruin and then returned them to a new era of glory. A native of Virginia, Rush Loving Jr., began his career as a photo-journalist at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and from 1965 until 1969 he was the paper’s business editor. He also served as an associate editor of Fortune, the chief spokesman of the Office of Management and Budget in the Carter White House, and for twenty years headed a consulting firm serving clients that included many of the nation’s major railroads. He is the author of The Well-Dressed Hobo: The Many Wondrous Adventures of a Man Who Loves Trains. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Last Chance for Peace: Virginia's Role in the Washington Peace Conference of 1861

Tue, 06 Sep 2016 20:15:08 +0000

On August 25, 2016, Mark Tooley delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Last Chance for Peace: Virginia's Role in the Washington Peace Conference of 1861." After six states had already seceded, and after Virginia’s Secession Convention was already soon to convene, former President John Tyler, from his James River plantation, suggested in a January 1861 Richmond newspaper column that there be a conference of the border states to seek alternatives to disunion. The Virginia legislature expanded the invitation to all states, whose 131 delegates convened at the Willard Hotel in February for what became known as the “Old Gentlemen’s Convention,” with Tyler presiding. Other Virginia statesmen who attended included future Confederate War Secretary James Seddon and former U.S. Senator William Cabell Rives. Typically the convention is briefly dismissed as a failure, but actually it played an important role in slowing the secession crisis and facilitating Abraham Lincoln’s safe installation into the presidency. Mark Tooley is author of The Peace That Almost Was: The Forgotten Story of the 1861 Washington Peace Conference and the Final Attempt to Avert the Civil War. He is president of a Washington, D.C. thinktank and a lifelong resident of northern Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Realistic Visionary: The Presidency of George Washington

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 20:34:11 +0000

On October 20, 2006, Peter Henriques delivered this lecture at the 2006 symposium, 'Virginians in the White House.' Peter Henriques is Professor of History, Emeritus, at George Mason University. He specializes on Virginia history with particular emphasis on Virginia and the American Revolution and the Virginia founding fathers. Henriques's most recent work is Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington (2006). (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Woodrow Wilson: The Virginia Factor

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 20:25:11 +0000

On October 20, 2006, Mr. Berg delivered this lecture at the 2006 symposium, "Virginians in the White House." Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, A. Scott Berg is the author of best-selling books on Maxwell Perkins, Samuel Goldwyn, Charles Lindbergh, and Katharine Hepburn. He is currently writing a biography of Woodrow Wilson. Mr. Berg holds a B.A. from Princeton University. (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Patsy Cline and the Problem of Respectability

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 20:21:38 +0000

On April 4, 2008, Beth Bailey delivered this lecture at the 2008 symposium, "Sweet Dreams: The Life and Times of Patsy Cline." The continuing tensions in Winchester over Patsy Cline provide the basis for Beth Bailey's lecture. She discussed Patsy Cline and respectability by looking at questions of sexuality and gender in the context of the importance of "respectability" in postwar American culture. Dr. Bailey is Professor of History at Temple University. She is author of Sex in the Heartland; she is co-editor of A History of our Time; she also wrote From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in 20th Century America and co-authored the twentieth-century chapters in A People and a Nation. (Introduction by Sandra G. Treadway, Library of Virginia) (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Cultural Worlds of Patsy Cline's Winchester

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 20:15:37 +0000

On April 4, 2008, Mike Foreman and Warren Hofstra delivered this lecture at the 2008 symposium, "Sweet Dreams: The Life and Times of Patsy Cline." (Includes comments from oral history interviews) Mike Foreman is an adjunct assistant professor of political science at Shenandoah University and a history instructor in the School of Continuing Education. Mr. Foreman co-edited Images of the Past; he is the author of A History of the Nurses Training School, Winchester Memorial Hospital, 1903–1964; and is currently working on Some Worthy Women, featuring biographical sketches of pioneer women leaders from Winchester and Frederick County. Warren R. Hofstra is Stewart Bell Professor of History at Shenandoah University in Winchester. In addition to teaching in the fields of American social and cultural history and directing the Community History Project of Shenandoah University, he has written or edited five books on American regional history, including The Planting of New Virginia: Settlement and Landscape in the Shenandoah Valley; A Separate Place: The Formation of Clarke County, Virginia; George Washington and the Virginia Backcountry; After the Backcountry: Rural Life in the Great Valley of Virginia, 1800–1900; and Virginia Reconsidered: New Histories of the Old Dominion. (Introduction by Sandra G. Treadway, Library of Virginia) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Patsy Cline and a Changing South

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 20:11:52 +0000

On April 4, 2008, Mr. Malone delivered this talk at the 2008 symposium, 'Sweet Dreams: The Life and Times of Patsy Cline.' Bill Malone is Professor of History, Emeritus, at Tulane University. He is author of Country Music, U.S.A.; Southern Music, American Music; Don't Get Above Your Raisin': Country Music and the Southern Working Class; and to be published this June, Working Girl Blues: The Life and Music of Hazel Dickens. He also produced and annotated the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Country Music. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow. He has delivered the Lamar Lecture at Mercer University, published as Singing Cowboys and Musical Mountaineers: Southern Culture and the Roots of Country Music. He has served as a joint visiting scholar at Duke and the University of North Carolina. His weekly radio show, "Back to the Country," on Madison, Wisconsin's WORT-FM has been on the air for years and has regularly garnered listeners' choice awards. In all, he continues is his role as the dean of country music scholarship, combining, in his words, "the passionate predilections of the fan . . . with the wary skepticism of the scholar." (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Backstory with the History Guys Paying Up: The History of Taxation

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 20:03:05 +0000

On May 20, 2010, Internationally renowned historians and hosts Edward Ayers, Brian Balogh, and Peter Onuf present "Paying Up: The History of Taxation." From the very beginning, Americans have been arguing about whether their taxes are fair and just. The American History Guys will explored taxation's complicated and turbulent history—from the Stamp Act of 1765 to the Tea Party Movement of 2010—and discuss Americans' attitudes toward the Tax Man.(Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Notes from the Ground: Science, Soil, & Society in the American Countryside

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 19:55:38 +0000

On March 16, 2012, Ben R. Cohen delivered a lecture entitled "Notes from the Ground: Science, Soil, and Society in the American Countryside." This lecture was session two of "From the Earth: The Environment in Virginia's Past and Future," a free day-long conference on the historical relationship between Virginia's environment and its people. The conference is made possible by a generous grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment. (Introduction by Andrew Talkov) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Managing the Mountains: Land Use Planning, New Deal, & Creation of Federal Landscape in Appalachia

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 19:42:25 +0000

On March 16, 2012, Sara M. Gregg delivered a lecture entitled "Managing the Mountains: Land Use Planning, the New Deal, and the Creation of the Federal Landscape in Appalachia." This lecture was session four of "From the Earth: The Environment in Virginia's Past and Future," a free day-long conference on the historical relationship between Virginia's environment and its people. The conference is made possible by a generous grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment. (Introduction by Elaine Hagy) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Eco-History of the Tidewater: The Long View

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 19:35:53 +0000

On March 16, 2012, Roy T. Sawyer delivered a lecture entitled "Eco-History of the Tidewater: The Long View." This lecture was session five of "From the Earth: The Environment in Virginia's Past and Future," a free day-long conference on the historical relationship between Virginia's environment and its people. The conference is made possible by a generous grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment. (Introduction by Andrew Talkov) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Message, Money, and Management: A Roundtable Discussion on the Future of the Chesapeake Bay

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 19:20:35 +0000

On March 16, 2012, Hon. Gerald Baliles, Ann F. Jennings, Gerald P. McCarthy, and Hon. W. Tayloe Murphy, Jr. participated in a roundtable discussion entitled "Message, Money, and Management: A Roundtable Discussion on the Future of the Chesapeake Bay." The roundtable discussion was session six of "From the Earth: The Environment in Virginia's Past and Future," a free day-long conference on the historical relationship between Virginia's environment and its people. The conference is made possible by a generous grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

A Chat with Willie and Woody

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 16:41:02 +0000

On August 10, 2016, veteran Richmond Times-Dispatch sports columnist Paul Woody, and Hall of Famer Willie Lanier gave a Banner Lecture at the Virginia Historical Society. Virginia native Willie Lanier is known as one of professional football’s greatest defensive players of all time. A 1963 graduate of Maggie L. Walker High School, he was the first African American to play middle linebacker in professional football when he was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1967. During his ten season career with the Chiefs, he helped lead the team to victory in Super Bowl IV, won the NFL Man of the Year award in 1972, was a six time Pro Bowler, and was enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame in 1986. Join us for a casual conversation as veteran Richmond Times-Dispatch sports columnist Paul Woody chats with Willie Lanier at the Virginia Historical Society. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Roads from War to Reconstruction and Beyond

Wed, 20 Jul 2016 15:36:43 +0000

On June 22, 2016, Edward L. Ayers spoke with Paul Levengood in a Banner Lecture entitled “The Roads from War to Reconstruction and Beyond.” Reconstruction is central to American history, deeply interesting, and yet also deeply confusing. This conversation with Paul Levengood, VHS President and CEO, will attempt to unravel some of the complexities and mysteries of those years and why those years still matter today. Edward Ayers is President Emeritus of the University of Richmond, where he now serves as Tucker-Boatwright Professor of the Humanities. A historian of the American South, Ayers has written and edited ten books. The Promise of the New South: Life after Reconstruction was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In the Presence of Mine Enemies: Civil War in the Heart of America won the Bancroft Prize for distinguished writing in American history and the Beveridge Prize for the best book in English on the history of the Americas since 1492. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2013. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America

Fri, 10 Jun 2016 20:09:40 +0000

On June 7, 2016, Douglas Brinkley delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America.” In Rightful Heritage, acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley chronicles Franklin D. Roosevelt’s essential yet under-sung legacy as the founder of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and premier protector of America’s public lands. FDR built from scratch dozens of State Park systems and scenic roadways. Pristine landscapes such as the Great Smokies, the Everglades, Joshua Tree, the Olympics, Big Bend, Channel Islands, Mammoth Cave, and the slickrock wilderness of Utah were forever saved by his leadership. Brinkley traces FDR’s love for the natural world from his youth exploring the Hudson River Valley and bird watching. As America’s president from 1933 to 1945, Roosevelt—consummate political strategist—established hundreds of federal migratory bird refuges and spearheaded the modern endangered species movement. Rightful Heritage is an epic chronicle that is both an irresistible portrait of FDR’s unrivaled passion and drive, and an indispensable analysis that skillfully illuminates the tension between business and nature—exploiting our natural resources and conserving them. Rightful Heritage is essential reading for everyone seeking to preserve our treasured landscapes as an American birthright. Douglas Brinkley is a professor of history at Rice University, bestselling and award-winning author, and presidential historian for CNN. He serves as a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic Monthly. He is the author of numerous books—many of which have been bestsellers and New York Times Notable Books of the Year—including The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (2006), The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America (2009), The Quiet World: Saving Alaska’s Wilderness Kingdom, 1879–1960 (2011), Cronkite (2012), and his newest bestselling book, Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America (2016). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

First Dads: Parenting and Politics from George Washington to Barack Obama

Fri, 10 Jun 2016 19:50:20 +0000

On June 2 , 2016, Joshua Kendall delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "First Dads: Parenting and Politics from George Washington to Barack Obama." Every president has had some experience as a parent. Of the forty-three men who have served in the nation's highest office, thirty-eight have fathered biological children and the other five adopted children. Each president’s parenting style reveals much about his beliefs as well as his psychological make-up. James Garfield enjoyed jumping on the bed with his kids. FDR's children, on the other hand, had to make appointments to talk to him. Biographer Joshua Kendall will both describe the parenting practices of America's presidents and discuss how their experiences as fathers forever changed the course of American history. Joshua Kendall is author of several books, including The Man Who Made Lists, a life of the lexicographer Peter Mark Roget; America's Obsessives: The Compulsive Energy That Built a Nation, a group biography of seven icons, including Thomas Jefferson, Charles Lindbergh and Estee Lauder; and, most recently, First Dads: Parenting and Politics from George Washington to Barack Obama. An award-winning freelance journalist, he has written for numerous newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The LA Times, The Boston Globe, Psychology Today and BusinessWeek. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Civil War's Most Valuable Diarist

Tue, 03 May 2016 14:25:42 +0000

On April 29, 2016, James I. Robertson, Jr., delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Civil War's Most Valuable Diarist." Maryland-born John Beauchamp Jones was an established editor and novelist when civil war began. He was one of the few people who envisioned the struggle as the large-scale, all-consuming war it became. In May, 1861, he accepted a high-ranking clerkship in the Confederate War Department. For the next four years he kept a meticulous, day-by-day journal. Nothing escaped Jones's eyes and ears. Verbal descriptions of individuals, confidential reports, personal opinions, rumors, weather, inflation, newspaper articles, life inside the bloated Confederate capital—all received attention. A Rebel War Clerk's Diary appeared posthumously in 1866. This mass of information has remained only partially used because of the absences of identification of persons and events, as well as lack of an index. James I. Robertson, Jr., has edited a new edition of the diary, which includes a long introduction, 2,700 endnotes, and an index containing references to individuals and subjects. Dr. James I. "Bud" Robertson, Jr., a noted scholar on the American Civil War, is Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech and former executive director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies. He also served as executive director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission and as a member of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission. Robertson is the author and editor of numerous books, including The Stonewall Brigade, General A. P. Hill, Soldiers, Blue and Gray, Civil War! America Becomes One Nation, Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend, and A Rebel War Clerk's Diary: At the Confederate States Capital. This lecture is cosponsored with The Virginia Antiquarian Book Fair and the Virginia Antiquarian Bookseller's Association (VABA). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Thunder and Flames: American Doughboys at War, 1917–1918

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 20:12:25 +0000

On April 7, 2016, Edward G. Lengel delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Thunder and Flames: American Doughboys at War, 1917–1918." In November 1917, American troops were poorly trained, deficient in military equipment and doctrine, not remotely ready for armed conflict on a large scale—and they'd arrived on the Western front to help the French push back the Germans. Edward G. Lengel tells the story of what followed: the American Expeditionary Forces' trial by fire on the brutal battlefields of France at places like Cantigny, Chateau Thierry, Belleau Wood, the Marne River, Soissons, and little-known Fismette. The picture that emerges is sweeping in scope and rich in detail, with firsthand testimony conjuring the real mud and blood of combat from the perspective of the Germans as well as the Americans and French. Lengel shows how, by trial and error, through luck and ingenuity, the AEF swiftly became the independent fighting force of Gen. John "Blackjack" Pershing's long-held dream—its divisions ultimately among the most combat-effective military forces to see the war through. Edward G. Lengel is professor and director of the Papers of George Washington project at the University of Virginia. He is the author of General George Washington: A Military Life (2005), To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918: The Epic Battle That Ended the First World War (2008), Inventing George Washington: America's Founder, in Myth and Memory (2011), and Thunder and Flames: Americans in the Crucible of Combat, 1917–1918 (2015). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Kill Jeff Davis: The Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid on Richmond in 1864

Fri, 25 Mar 2016 16:36:41 +0000

On March 24 , 2016, Bruce M. Venter delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Kill Jeff Davis: The Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid on Richmond in 1864." The ostensible goal of the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren raid was to free some 13,000 Union POWs held in Richmond. But sinister orders found on the dead body of the raid’s subordinate commander, Col. Ulric Dahlgren, pointed to a plot to capture or kill Confederate president Jefferson Davis and set the capital ablaze. Bruce Venter’s new book delves into these areas and more as he describes the political maneuvering orchestrated by Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick to get the raid approved by President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Included is a new look at the authorship of the infamous “Dahlgren Papers.” Fresh evidence on the identity of the African American guide, hanged by Dahlgren, is also revealed. And new research shows that Richmond was not defended by only “old men and young boys” when Kilpatrick and Dahlgren attacked the city. In the end, various myths and legends surrounding the raid are exposed and put to rest. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Bedford Boys (2016 Christian Lecture)

Wed, 23 Mar 2016 15:00:03 +0000

On March 17, 2016, Alex Kershaw delivered the Stuart G. Christian, Jr. Lecture entitled “The Bedford Boys.” June 6, 1944: nineteen boys from rural Bedford, Virginia, died in the first bloody minutes of D-Day. They were part of Company A of the 116th Regiment of the 29th Division, and among the first wave of American soldiers to hit the beaches at Normandy. Later in the campaign, three more boys from this small Virginia community died of gunshot wounds. Twenty-two sons of Bedford lost—it is a story one cannot easily forget and one that the families of Bedford will never forget. Alex Kershaw will tell the true and intimate story of these men and the friends and families they left behind—the story of one small American town that went to war and died on Omaha Beach. Alex Kershaw, an honorary colonel in the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division, is the widely acclaimed author of several bestselling books about World War II, including The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice, The Longest Winter: The Battle of the Bulge and the Epic Story of World War II's Most Decorated Platoon, The Few: The American “Knights of the Air” Who Risked Everything to Save Britain in the Summer of 1940, and The Liberator: One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau. His latest book is Avenue of Spies: A True Story of Terror, Espionage, and One American Family's Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Richmond and the American Dream: Revolution and Reality

Fri, 12 Feb 2016 19:59:00 +0000

On February 4, 2016, the Rev. Benjamin P. Campbell delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Richmond and the American Dream: Revolution and Reality.” The dream that is particularly American is not the European dream for America, lived out in the first two centuries of European settlement, but rather, the dream that emerges at the time of the American Revolution. The full articulation of that dream coincides with the birth of Richmond as the capital city of Virginia. Richmond became capital of commonwealth in the midst of the Revolution. In May 1780, the legislature met in Richmond for the first time. In 1782, the city was incorporated within Henrico County. Over the next twenty-five years, the population of the capital city grew tenfold, from 600 persons to 6,000. Thus, in many ways, Richmond is a child-city of the Revolution. The subsequent 235 years of Richmond’s history represent a textbook in the dramatic, unresolved issues, which the American Revolution presented. This lecture will look at the American Dream of Revolution, its dark underside, its achievements, and at its unparalleled potential still to be realized in Richmond’s most decisive decade. The Rev. Benjamin P. Campbell studied political science and political economy at Williams College in Massachusetts, and studied theology as a Rhodes Scholar at the Queen’s College in Oxford. He received a Master’s in Divinity and an honorary Doctorate in Divinity from the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. He was ordained to the priesthood of the Episcopal Church in 1966. In 1987, he became Pastoral Director of Richmond Hill, an ecumenical Christian community and retreat center on Church Hill in Richmond. He is the author of Richmond's Unhealed History. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

From Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 20:55:14 +0000

On July 24, 2008, Dr. Paul Levengood gave a banner Lecture entitled "From Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers" The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Moses Ezekiel: Civil War Soldier, Renowned Sculptor

Mon, 08 Feb 2016 19:49:52 +0000

On July 12, 2008, Keith Gibson gave a Banner Lecture entitled "Moses Ezekiel: Civil War Soldier, Renowned Sculptor" The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson

Wed, 03 Feb 2016 21:25:10 +0000

On May 29,2008 Alan Crawford gave a Banner Lecture entitled "Twlight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Lincoln: President Elect

Tue, 02 Feb 2016 20:37:42 +0000

On December 4,2008 Harold Holzer gave a banner lecture entitled "Lincoln: President Elect". The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Matthew Fontaine Maury: The Last Crusade

Mon, 01 Feb 2016 17:46:11 +0000

On January 21, 2016, John Grady delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Matthew Fontaine Maury: The Last Crusade.” When Matthew Fontaine Maury was commissioned as a midshipman, he boldly wrote: “Citizen of Virginia” in accepting his warrant. Although he was born in the commonwealth, his family, like thousands of others, fled to Tennessee to start over, free of debt. He rediscovered his Virginia roots and family when he came eastward to await his first orders. Maury always returned to Virginia when awaiting new orders or needed the warmth of family and old friends. At no time did the most popular American scientist of his time show his loyalty more than when he served on the Governor’s Advisory Council, a de facto War and Navy Department, following secession. What is less well known is his critical role in rebuilding the state following the Civil War. The ambitious “Physical Survey of Virginia” from the Virginia Military Institute was an investor’s guide to opportunity. There were new struggles and controversies over what role, if any, Confederate office holders and military officers would play in the state’s public life, how the races would coexist, which institution would be the “land grant college,” and the need for a National Weather Service. That became Maury’s last crusade. John Grady, a managing editor of Navy Times for more than eight years and retired communications director of the Association of the United States Army, is a contributer to the New York Times “Disunion” series and Civil War Monitor and a blogger for the navy’s Sesquicentennial of the Civil War website. He continues writing on national security and defense. He is the author of Matthew Fontaine Maury, Father of Oceanography: A Biography, 1806–1873 The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

George Washington’s Journey: The President Forges a New Nation

Mon, 01 Feb 2016 17:17:47 +0000

On January 19, 2016, T. H. Breen delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “George Washington’s Journey: The President Forges a New Nation.” T. H. Breen introduces us to a George Washington we rarely meet. By nature shy and reserved, the brand new president decided that he would visit the new citizens in their own states, that only by showing himself could he make them feel part of a new nation. Washington made four grueling trips to all thirteen states. He displayed himself as victorious general (he wore his regal uniform and rode his white stallion) and as president (grand dinners, military parades, arcs of triumph, and balls—he liked to dance). He traveled by open carriage on terrible roads, in awful weather, staying and eating at lousy inns (he would not stay with wealthy would-be hosts). Washington drew on his immense popularity, even hero worship, to send a powerful and lasting message—that America was now a nation, not a collection of states. It was an enormous success. He drew the country to him. Breen takes us on Washington’s journeys. We see the country through his eyes and listen through his ears. We come to understand why George Washington is the indispensable Founding Father. He forged a new nation. Timothy H. Breen is the William Smith Mason Professor of American History Emeritus at Northwestern University. Breen received his Ph.D. in history from Yale University. He also holds an honorary MA from Oxford University. Breen is the respected author of eleven books, including Tobacco Culture: The Mentality of the Great Tidewater Planters on the Eve of Revolution (1985), American Insurgents—American Patriots: The Revolution of the People (2010), and George Washington’s Journey: The President Forges a New Nation (2015). This lecture is cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Cherokee Diaspora: A History of Migration, Survival, and Pride

Fri, 04 Dec 2015 21:21:00 +0000

On December 3, 2015, Gregory D. Smithers delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Cherokee Diaspora: A History of Migration, Survival, and Pride." According to the U.S. Census, almost one million Americans self-identify as Cherokees. Wherever one travels in the United States, someone is likely to lay claim to a Cherokee ancestor somewhere in their family tree. In fact, travel as far afield as Scotland, Hawaii, or even Australia, and chances are you will meet someone who insists that they are descended from Cherokee forebears. How can so many people, scattered all over the world, claim to be Cherokee? Historian Gregory D. Smithers addresses this question in his new book, The Cherokee Diaspora. He reveals for the first time the origins of the Cherokee Diaspora. Smithers takes the reader back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to uncover the importance of migration and removal, land and tradition, and culture and language in defining what it meant to be Cherokee while living in diaspora. The story of the Cherokee Diaspora is a remarkable tale of bravery, innovation, and resilience. Gregory Smithers, an associate professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University, specializes in Native American history. He is the author of The Cherokee Diaspora: An Indigenous History of Migration, Resettlement, and Identity. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Champion of War, Champion of Peace: The Leadership of George C. Marshall

Tue, 24 Nov 2015 20:24:00 +0000

On November 19, 2015, Gerald M. Pops will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled "Champion of War, Champion of Peace: The Leadership of George C. Marshall." George C. MarshallMore informationGeorge Catlett Marshall, recognized early on as the U.S. Army’s most capable leader, overcame a number of obstacles to become Army Chief of Staff on the very day World War II began. He served as the de facto leader of America’s military until the end of the war and then went on to serve in China as President Truman’s ambassador and then as secretary of state, president of the American Red Cross, and secretary of defense. As the father of the European Recovery Act (appropriately labeled by Truman as the “Marshall Plan”), Marshall is credited with jump-starting western Europe’s postwar economic and political recovery and laying the foundation for long-term European-American relations. For this he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This lecture will focus primarily on his extraordinary leadership between September 1939 and December 1941 in preparing America for war. Gerald M. Pops is emeritus professor of public administration at West Virginia University. He is the author of several books, including Ethical Leadership in Turbulent Times: Modeling the Public Career of George C. Marshall. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Weird-but-True Things Most People Don't Know about the Roaring Twenties

Mon, 23 Nov 2015 21:50:41 +0000

On November 14, 2015, Mary Miley Theobald delivered a lecture entitled "Weird-but-True Things Most People Don't Know about the Roaring Twenties." Mary Miley Theobald thinks the Roaring Twenties is the most fascinating decade in American history. In this lecture, she touches on some of the surprising things she learned about vaudeville, prohibition, silent movies, and fashion while doing background research for her mystery series. Mary Miley Theobald is the author of several works of nonfiction, including Death by Petticoat: American History Myths Debunked and First House: Two Centuries with Virginia's First Families, and an award-winning mystery series set in the Roaring Twenties. Her novels include The Impersonator and Silent Murders. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Unionists in Virginia: Politics, Secession, and Their Plan to Prevent Civil War

Fri, 30 Oct 2015 19:48:18 +0000

On October 29, 2015, Larry Denton will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled "Unionists in Virginia: Politics, Secession, and Their Plan to Prevent Civil War." Unionists in Virginia: Politics, Secession, and Their Plan to Prevent Civil WarWhether the Civil War was preventable is a debate that began shortly after Appomattox and continues today. But even earlier, in 1861, a group of Union-loyal Virginians—led by George Summers, John Brown Baldwin, John Janney, and Jubal Early—felt war was avoidable. In the statewide election for delegates to the Secession Convention that same spring, the Unionists defeated the Southern Rights Democrats with a huge majority of the votes across the state. These men unsuccessfully negotiated with Sec. of State William Henry Seward to prevent the national tragedy that would ensue. Author and historian Larry Denton traces this remarkable story of the Virginians who worked against all odds in a failed attempt to save a nation from going to war. Denton is the author of A Southern Star for Maryland: Maryland and the Secession Crisis; William Henry Seward and the Secession Crisis: The Effort to Prevent Civil War; and Unionists in Virginia: Politics, Secession and Their Plan to Prevent Civil War. He lectures widely throughout the mid-Atlantic. Now retired, he lives with his wife, Susan, near Oxford on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

God’s Acre: Why African American Cemeteries Matter

Thu, 08 Oct 2015 20:07:17 +0000

On October 8, 2015, Lynn Rainville delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “God’s Acre: Why African American Cemeteries Matter.” In Hidden History, Lynn Rainville travels through the forgotten African American cemeteries of central Virginia to recover information crucial to the stories of the black families who lived and worked there for more than two hundred years. The subjects of Rainville’s research are not statesmen or plantation elites; they are hidden residents, people who are typically underrepresented in historical research but whose stories are essential for a complete understanding of our national past. Rainville studied above-ground funerary remains in more than 150 historic African American cemeteries in Virginia to provide an overview of mortuary and funerary practices from the late eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth. Combining historical, anthropological, and archaeological perspectives, she analyzes documents—such as wills, obituaries, and letters—as well as gravestones and graveside offerings. Rainville’s findings shed light on family genealogies, the rise and fall of segregation, and attitudes toward religion and death. As many of these cemeteries are either endangered or already destroyed, the book and this talk will include a discussion about the challenges of preservation and how Virginians may visit, and help preserve, these valuable cultural assets. Lynn Rainville is a research professor in the humanities and the founding director of the Tusculum Institute for local history, located at Sweet Briar College. Her most recent book is Hidden History: African American Cemeteries in Central Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Magna Carta: 800 Years since Runnymede

Fri, 11 Sep 2015 16:23:40 +0000

On September 9, 2015, A. E. Dick Howard will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled "Magna Carta: 800 Years since Runnymede." A. E. Dick HowardIn 2015 people on both sides of the Atlantic will mark the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. On June 15, 1215, at Runnymede, a reluctant King John agreed to the barons' terms in a document which came to be known as Magna Carta. Though the king never meant to keep his promises, Magna Carta survived. Down through the centuries, it has been a symbol of opposition to arbitrary government. Magna Carta came to America with the English colonies' first charters. In the years leading up to the Revolution, Americans framed their arguments against British policies by drawing upon the language of the early charters and upon Magna Carta as their birthright. Having declared independence, Americans turned to writing and implementing state constitutions and, ultimately, a Federal Constitution. Magna Carta left an indelible mark on these developments. At the core of this legacy is the rule of law—the thesis that no one, including those in government, is above the law. Another principle traceable to the Great Charter is constitutional supremacy—the idea of a superstatute against which ordinary laws are to be measured. Constitutional provisions guaranteeing due process of law derive directly from Magna Carta's assurance of proceedings according to the "law of the land." And the uses successive generations, in England and America, have made of the Charter have given us the idea of an organic, evolving Constitution, one that can be adapted to the needs and challenges of our own time. A. E. Dick Howard is the White Burkett Miller Professor of Law and Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. A Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, he was a law clerk to Justice Hugo L. Black of the Supreme Court of the United States. A member of High Table at Christ Church, Oxford, Professor Howard has written extensively on constitutional law and history, including The Road from Runnymede: Magna Carta and Constitutionalism in America. Recently the University of Virginia conferred on him its Thomas Jefferson Award—the highest honor the University accords a member of the faculty. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

William Cabell Rives: A Country to Serve

Thu, 10 Sep 2015 20:37:12 +0000

On September 3, 2015, Barclay Rives delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “William Cabell Rives: A Country to Serve.” Defying the president and Democratic Party leaders in an 1838 Senate speech, William Cabell Rives declared, “I can never forget that I have a country to serve as well as a party to obey.” His career of public service began under the tutelage of his neighbors, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and extended beyond the Civil War he struggled to prevent. Rives was the third president of the Virginia Historical Society (1847–68), biographer of Madison, and editor of a four volume edition of Madison’s papers. Barclay Rives will discuss highlights of the life of this Virginia statesman, historian, and agriculturalist. Barclay Rives has published articles and stories in Virginia Sportsman, In & Around Horse Country, Albemarle Magazine, and other periodicals. He is the author of A History of Grace Church, The 100 Year History of the Keswick Hunt Club, William Cabell Rives: A Country to Serve, and See You at Second Horses. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

She Can Bring Us Home: Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee, Civil Rights Pioneer

Fri, 28 Aug 2015 17:44:02 +0000

On August 20, 2015, Diane Kiesel delivered Banner Lecture entitled "She Can Bring Us Home: Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee, Civil Rights Pioneer." At a time when blacks faced Jim Crow segregation, menial employment opportunities, and lynch mobs, Dorothy Ferebee, a native of Norfolk, was sought after to advise presidents and Congress on civil rights matters and to assist foreign governments on public health issues. She ran one of the nation’s most influential civil rights’ organizations—the National Council of Negro Women—during the nascent racial equality movement and led one of history’s most famous public health efforts—the Mississippi Health Project—in the Deep South during the Great Depression. Dr. Ferebee was a household name in black America for forty years. In her day, she was the media darling of the then thriving African American press. Ironically, her fame faded and her relevance waned as blacks achieved the professional and political power for which she so vigorously fought. This is the first full-scale biography of this significant but relatively unknown black leader. Judge Diane Kiesel—a former reporter in the Washington, D.C., bureau of Copley Newspapers; prosecutor in the Office of the New York County District Attorney; and adjunct professor of law at New York Law School—is currently an Acting Supreme Court Justice on the New York state trial court. She is the author of Domestic Violence: Law, Policy, and Practice and She Can Bring Us Home: Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee, Civil Rights Pioneer by Diane KieselAt a time when blacks faced Jim Crow segregation, menial employment opportunities, and lynch mobs, Dorothy Ferebee, a native of Norfolk, was sought after to advise presidents and Congress on civil rights matters and to assist foreign governments on public health issues. She ran one of the nation’s most influential civil rights’ organizations—the National Council of Negro Women—during the nascent racial equality movement and led one of history’s most famous public health efforts—the Mississippi Health Project—in the Deep South during the Great Depression. Dr. Ferebee was a household name in black America for forty years. In her day, she was the media darling of the then thriving African American press. Ironically, her fame faded and her relevance waned as blacks achieved the professional and political power for which she so vigorously fought. This is the first full-scale biography of this significant but relatively unknown black leader. Judge Diane Kiesel—a former reporter in the Washington, D.C., bureau of Copley Newspapers; prosecutor in the Office of the New York County District Attorney; and adjunct professor of law at New York Law School—is currently an Acting Supreme Court Justice on the New York state trial court. She is the author of Domestic Violence: Law, Policy, and Practice and She Can Bring Us Home: Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee, Civil Rights Pioneer. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Quest for Loving: Race, Sex, and the Freedom to Marry

Thu, 27 Aug 2015 19:02:15 +0000

On August 6, 2015, Peter Wallenstein delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Quest for Loving: Race, Sex, and the Freedom to Marry." Mildred Jeter was not a white woman. Richard Loving, all agreed, was a white man. So Virginia state law not only rendered their 1958 marriage illegal but also required a penalty for it of at least a year in prison. Circuit Court Judge Leon F. Bazile chose, though, to suspend their prison sentences if they agreed to leave the state. After a few years of exile, the Lovings sought legal assistance to let them return home, and this they obtained from Bernard S. Cohen and Philip J. Hirschkop. The court appeal elicited from the judge a declaration that “Almighty God created the races” and, intending that they never cross racial lines and marry, “placed them on separate continents.” Two young lovers, two young lawyers, and an elderly local judge—this talk explores their tangled biographies on the way toward a breakthrough Supreme Court ruling in 1967, a ruling that resonates down to the present. Peter Wallenstein is an award-winning professor of history at Virginia Tech. His many books include Cradle of America: A History of Virginia and Race, Sex, and the Freedom to Marry: Loving v. Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life

Thu, 27 Aug 2015 14:32:08 +0000

On July 2, 2015, Marc Leepson delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life.” Just about every American knows the name Francis Scott Key, but very few know anything more about him other than the fact that he wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner.” But there was much more to Francis Scott Key. One of the most famous, admired, and accomplished men in the early American Republic, Key was a patriotic, pious, hard-working, and well-connected Washington, D.C., lawyer. He had a thriving private legal practice; argued more than a hundred cases before the Supreme Court; and served as U.S. attorney in Washington for eight years. A confidant of President Andrew Jackson, Key was a member of Old Hickory’s kitchen cabinet and handled many sensitive legal matters for the Jackson Administration. Marc Leepson’s new biography, What So Proudly We Hailed, describes in detail how Key found himself in Baltimore Harbor on the night of September 13, 1814. It goes on to recount the other important events of his life, including his role as a founding member and one of the leaders of the American Colonization Society. Marc Leepson, historian and former staff writer for Congressional Quarterly in Washington, is the author of eight books, including Saving Monticello, Lafayette: Idealist General, and What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

A Native Son Comes Home: The Life and Legacy of Arthur Ashe

Wed, 26 Aug 2015 13:25:24 +0000

On July 23, 2015, Eric Hall delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “A Native Son Comes Home: The Life and Legacy of Arthur Ashe.” Virginia’s own Arthur Ashe was one of the world’s best tennis players in the 1960s and 1970s, winning multiple Davis Cup titles and three Grand Slam events: the U.S. Open, the Australian Open, and Wimbledon. He was also deeply committed to human and civil rights causes, most notably the antiapartheid movement in South Africa. His career as an athlete and activist straddling the civil rights and Black Power movements, Ashe fought against racism and injustice from the political center and welcomed public and private debate. This lecture will explore Ashe’s early life in Richmond and Lynchburg as well as his legacy as a public intellectual. Eric Allen Hall is an assistant professor of history and Africana studies at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro. He is the author of Arthur Ashe: Tennis and Justice in the Civil Rights Era. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The History Crisis in America: Myth and Reality

Mon, 03 Aug 2015 15:02:20 +0000

On July 9, 2015, Charles F. Bryan, Jr., delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The History Crisis in America: Myth and Reality." History occupies a paradoxical and problematic place in contemporary American culture. Numerous commentators argue that we face a growing crisis of historical amnesia, and that Americans do not value and support history as much as previous generations. They worry that history is not being properly taught. Historian Charles Bryan disagrees. “Never before have a people done as much to collect, preserve, and share their history on such a scale as have Americans,” he writes. This contrarian view of the state of history in the United States should come as no surprise to the thousands of readers of his regular columns in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Dr. Charles F. Bryan, Jr., is an American historian who spent most of his career in the museum field, including twenty as president of the Virginia Historical Society. He began writing essays for the Richmond Times-Dispatch in the 1990’s. He is coeditor of Eye of the Storm: A Civil War Odyssey and Images from the Storm: 300 Civil War Images by the Author of Eye of the Storm. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Bartlett Book of Garden Elements

Fri, 31 Jul 2015 17:14:57 +0000

On June 18, 2015, Rose Love Bartlett delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Bartlett Book of Garden Elements." Every beautiful garden, large or small, is a composition of carefully chosen details. Although the choices can be daunting, The Bartlett Book of Garden Elements offers a guide that is both visual and practical, highlighting classic as well as innovative details to delight the eye while serving the form and function of any garden. In this lecture, Rose Bartlett will take us on a pictorial journey through highlights of her new book. She will discuss the origins and roots of garden design features while providing practical suggestions for the use and maintenance of these elements in the contemporary garden. Rose Love Bartlett worked in partnership with her husband, Michael V. Bartlett, for more than twenty-eight years, complementing the bones of his garden designs with flower, herb, and edible plantings. She was a member of the board of directors of the Friends of the U.S. National Arboretum for eight years. Rose now owns a garden shop in Asheville, North Carolina, that specializes in unusual plants as well as garden and nature-related antiques. She and her husband co-wrote The Bartlett Book of Garden Elements: A Practical Compendium of Inspired Designs. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Fortune’s Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth (Chauncey Lecture 2015)

Mon, 29 Jun 2015 20:38:29 +0000

On June 11, Terry Alford delivered the 2015 Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture, entitled "Fortune’s Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth." With a single shot from a pistol small enough to conceal in his hand, John Wilkes Booth catapulted into history on the night of April 14, 1865. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln stunned a nation that was just emerging from the chaos and calamity of the Civil War, and the president's untimely death altered the trajectory of postwar history. But to those who knew Booth, the event was even more shocking-for no one could have imagined that this fantastically gifted actor and well-liked man could commit such an atrocity. In Fortune's Fool, Terry Alford provides the first comprehensive look at the life of an enigmatic figure whose life has been overshadowed by his final, infamous act. Terry Alford is a professor of history at Northern Virginia Community College. He is the author of Prince Among Slaves, which was made into a PBS documentary in 2007, and Fortune's Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Poe You May Not Know

Wed, 10 Jun 2015 19:26:01 +0000

On June 4, 2015, Barbara Anne Cantalupo delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Poe You May Not Know." Although Edgar Allan Poe’s name is most often identified with stories of horror and fear, Barbara Cantalupo's talk will reveal the less familiar Poe—the one who often goes unrecognized or forgotten—the Poe whose early love of beauty was a strong and enduring draw. Poe’s “deep worship of all beauty,” expressed in an 1829 letter to John Neal when Poe was just twenty, never entirely faded, despite the demands of his commercial writing and editorial career. “The Poe You May Not Know” gives us a look at Poe’s connection to such visual beauty, his commitment to “graphicality” (a word he coined), and his knowledge of the visual arts. Barbara Cantalupo, professor of English at Penn State Lehigh Valley, is the editor of The Edgar Allan Poe Review and author of Poe and the Visual Arts. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

VEE Oral History Project-Gerald P. McCarthy (3 of 3 interviews)

Wed, 20 May 2015 19:23:27 +0000

The Virginia Environmental Endowment Oral History Project McCarthy, Gerald P. 2009 October 26 (3 of 3 interviews) Length: 1:01:10 Mss 3 V81951a FA2 The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

VEE Oral History Project-Gerald P. McCarthy (2 of 3 interviews)

Wed, 20 May 2015 19:03:55 +0000

The Virginia Environmental Endowment Oral History Project McCarthy, Gerald P. 2009 October 2 (2 of 3 interviews) Length 1:56:29 Mss 3 V81951a FA2 The Virginia Historical Society The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

VEE Oral History Project-Gerald P. McCarthy (1 of 3 interviews)

Wed, 20 May 2015 16:12:38 +0000

The Virginia Environmental Endowment Oral History Project. McCarthy, Gerald P. 2009 September 4 (1 of 3 interviews) The Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Va. Length: 1:38:35 Mss 3 V81951a FA2 The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Leadership and Decision-Making in the D-Day Invasion (Christian Lecture 2015)

Mon, 18 May 2015 21:20:00 +0000

On May 14, Craig L. Symonds delivered the 2015 Stuart G. Christian Jr. Lecture entitled “Leadership and Decision-Making in the D-Day Invasion.” On June 6, 1944, more than six thousand Allied ships carried more than a million soldiers across the English Channel to a fifty-mile-wide strip of the Normandy coast in German-occupied France. It was the greatest sea-borne assault in human history. The code names given to the beaches where the ships landed the soldiers have become immortal: Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, and especially Omaha, the scene of almost unimaginable human tragedy. The sea of crosses in the cemetery sitting today atop a bluff overlooking the beaches recalls to us its cost. Most accounts of this epic story begin with the landings on the morning of June 6. In fact, however, D-Day was the culmination of months and years of planning and intense debate. Craig L. Symonds now offers the complete story of this Olympian effort. The obstacles to success were many. In addition to divergent strategic views and cultural frictions, Symonds includes vivid portraits of the key decision-makers, from Franklin Roosevelt and Churchill, to Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, and Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, who commanded the naval element of the invasion. Craig L. Symonds is Professor of History Emeritus at the United States Naval Academy. He is the author of many books on American naval history, including The Battle of Midway, Lincoln and His Admirals, co-winner of the Lincoln Prize in 2009, and Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington

Fri, 15 May 2015 16:38:20 +0000

On May 12, 2015, Cokie Roberts will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled "Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington By Cokie Roberts." Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868With the outbreak of the Civil War, the small, social southern town of Washington, D.C., found itself caught between warring sides in a four-year struggle to determine the future of the United States. While the nation’s men marched off to war, either on the battlefield or into the halls of Congress, the women of Washington joined the cause as well, serving as nurses, supply organizers, relief workers, and journalists. Cokie Roberts brings the war-torn capital into focus through the lives of formidable ladies like Sara Agnes Pryor and Elizabeth Blair Lee. Compelling social history at its best, Capital Dames concludes that the war not only changed Washington, but it also forever changed the role of women in American society. Cokie Roberts is a political commentator for ABC News and NPR. She has won countless awards and in 2008 was named a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress. She is the author of several bestselling books, including Founding Mothers, Ladies of Liberty, and Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848–1868. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson

Mon, 11 May 2015 21:07:28 +0000

On May 7, 2015, S. C. Gwynne delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson." Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall JacksonStonewall Jackson has long been a figure of legend and romance. He is considered, without argument, one of America’s greatest military figures. Jackson’s brilliance at the art of war tied Abraham Lincoln and the Union high command in knots and threatened the ultimate success of the Union armies. In April 1862, Jackson was merely another Confederate general in an army fighting what seemed to be a losing cause. By June he had engineered perhaps the greatest military campaign in American history and was one of the most famous men in the western world. S. C. Gwynne’s Rebel Yell is a vivid narrative that delves deep into Jackson’s private life, including the loss of his beloved first wife and his regimented personal habits. Gwynne traces Jackson’s brilliant twenty-four-month career in the Civil War; his stunning effect on the course of the war itself; and his tragic death, which caused both North and South to grieve the loss of a remarkable American hero. S. C. Gwynne has spent most of his career as a journalist, including stints with Time as bureau chief, national correspondent, and senior editor, and with Texas Monthly as executive editor. He is the author of Empire of the Summer Moon and Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

James Madison's Gift: The Power of Partnership

Fri, 01 May 2015 19:30:17 +0000

On April 30, 2015, David O. Stewart will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled “James Madison’s Gift: The Power of Partnership.” Madison's Gift: Five Partnerships That Built AmericaTo reach his lifelong goal of a self-governing constitutional republic, James Madison blended his talents with those of key partners—the dashing Alexander Hamilton, the heroic George Washington, the magnetic Thomas Jefferson, and the soldierly James Monroe. With those extraordinary partners, Madison led the drive for the Constitutional Convention, pressed for an effective new government, co-wrote the Federalist Papers, secured the Constitution's ratification, drafted and won adoption of the Bill of Rights, founded the nation's first political party and guided the nation through the War of 1812. Then he handed the leadership of a happy nation to his old friend and sometime rival Monroe. But it was his final partnership that allowed Madison to escape his natural shyness and reach the greatest heights. Dolley was the woman he married in middle age and who presided over both him and an enlivened White House. Their partnership was a love story, a unique one that sustained Madison through his political rise, his presidency, and a fruitful retirement. David O. Stewart, an attorney and an independent historian, is the author of several books, including The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution, American Emperor: Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America, and Madison’s Gift: Five Partnerships That Built America. This lecture is cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Lee's Last War Winter

Thu, 23 Apr 2015 20:27:34 +0000

On April 22, 2015, William C. Davis delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Lee's Last War Winter." Robert E. Lee faced the coming of 1865’s spring campaign season with decided unease. His army dwindled daily from disease and desertion. Across the South the Confederacy had met with nothing but disaster the previous fall, and meanwhile Union forces steadily grew in numbers and power. His only real hope was that Abraham Lincoln might be defeated in his bid for reelection, a hope that was dashed. In that desperate winter, Lee struggled to bolster his army and persuade Richmond to adopt mass conscription, making it clear that without more men, he would be almost powerless to resist Grant. And as the spring of 1865 approached, he did one more thing that few seem aware of today. He met with a few Confederate leaders to discuss surrender and reunion in return for political concessions, and he contemplated engaging in political and public relations maneuvering to force President Jefferson Davis to go along. Even with the coming of April and the evacuation of Richmond, Lee still clung to some hope, if not for victory, then for an end short of absolute defeat. William C. Davis is a retired professor of history and the director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books and numerous documentary screenplays in the fields of Civil War and southern history. His most recent book is Crucible of Command: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee—The War They Fought, the Peace They Forged. This lecture is cosponsored with the Richmond National Battlefield Park. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Confederate Alamo: Bloodbath at Petersburg’s Fort Gregg on April 2, 1865

Thu, 02 Apr 2015 16:37:36 +0000

On April 1, 2015, John J. Fox III, will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled "Confederate Alamo: Bloodbath at Petersburg’s Fort Gregg on April 2, 1865." Confederate Alamo: Bloodbath at Petersburg’s Fort Gregg on April 2, 1865General Robert E. Lee faced the most monumental crisis of his military career on April 2, 1865. By sunrise that morning, the Union 6th Corps had punched a huge hole in Lee's outer line, southwest of Petersburg. He needed time for reinforcements to arrive from Richmond, but how could his depleted army buy that time? Against overwhelming odds, a handful of Confederates made a suicidal desperate last stand at Fort Gregg. Douglas Southall Freeman called this epic fight “one of the most dramatic incidents of an overwhelming day,” and yet it has been overshadowed by all the other historic events of April 1865. Fourteen Union soldiers received the Medal of Honor for their bravery at Fort Gregg. Many battle-scarred veterans from both sides described this clash as the nastiest of their four-year war experience. John J. Fox III, will tell the story of this long-overlooked battle that took place in the last days of the war in Virginia. Fox, a native of Richmond, graduated from Washington and Lee University before serving on active duty in the U.S. Army for seven years as an armor officer and aviator. He is the author of Red Clay to Richmond: Trail of the 35th Georgia Infantry Regiment (2005), The Confederate Alamo: Bloodbath at Petersburg’s Fort Gregg on April 2, 1865 (2010), and Stuart’s Finest Hour: The Ride Around McClellan, June 1862 (2013). When not writing, Fox is a pilot for American Airlines. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

What's Wrong with Black Beard?

Tue, 31 Mar 2015 20:07:29 +0000

On March 19, 2015, Kevin P. Duffus delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "What's Wrong with Black Beard?" The traditional historical interpretation of the notorious Black Beard, and the pop culture-Hollywood incarnations it has begotten, may be among the more enduring historical frauds of colonial American history. Much of what the public knows about the infamous pirate simply isn’t true, nor is there documentary evidence to support it. To find the elusive truth of history, noted North Carolina research historian and author Kevin Duffus has delved deeper into the primary sources than anyone to discover a new, more accurate account that reveals the identity, origins, and motivations of Black Beard and his inner circle of cohorts. Join the award-winning research historian, author, and filmmaker in an all-new multimedia presentation that lays bare the popular myths of Black Beard’s widely believed surname of Teach, his ferocity, his purported birth date, his many houses, his many “wives,” and his long-lost treasure. Kevin P. Duffus, a researcher and filmmaker, is the author of several books, including Shipwrecks of the Outer Banks: An Illustrated Guide, The Last Days of Black Beard the Pirate, and War Zone: World War II off the North Carolina Coast. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Fellow Travelers on the Road to Black Ned’s Forge

Fri, 20 Feb 2015 16:56:33 +0000

On February 19, 2015, Turk McCleskey delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Fellow Travelers on the Road to Black Ned’s Forge." Edward Tarr, known widely as “Black Ned,” became a blacksmith while enslaved in Pennsylvania. After purchasing his freedom, Tarr and his white wife moved to Timber Ridge, in modern Rockbridge County, Virginia, where his forge on the Great Wagon Road became a well-known landmark. In 1753, Tarr helped found the Timber Ridge Presbyterian Church. When he bought a 270-acre farm on Mill Creek in 1754, Tarr became the first free black land owner west of the Blue Ridge. The son of Tarr’s last master attempted to re-enslave him, but with the help of his neighbors, Tarr preserved his independence. Exceptional free persons of color, such as Edward Tarr, can be found in every region and in every period during the history of slavery. As Edward Tarr’s story illustrates, these were more than isolated individuals: by the coming of the American Revolution, they constituted a self-aware, cohesive set of lobbyists capable of wielding the rhetoric of political liberty to roll back the encroachments of racist laws. Ironically, however, the Revolution undercut the legal gains made by free persons of color in the 1760s. Turk McCleskey is professor of history at Virginia Military Institute and the author of The Road to Black Ned's Forge: A Story of Race, Sex, and Trade on the Colonial American Frontier. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Welcome and Introduction

Thu, 12 Feb 2015 16:25:45 +0000

On Saturday, February 28, 2009, the community was invited to attend a conference about Richmond's African American history, "Hidden Things Brought to Light: Finding Lumpkin's Jail and Locating the Burial Ground for Negroes." Sponsored by the Virginia Historical Society, the City of Richmond Slave Trail Commission, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the half-day conference presented recent scholarship on two downtown Richmond historical sites, the Burial Ground for Negroes and Lumpkin's Slave Jail, both of which have special importance for the history of African Americans in Virginia. Welcome and Introduction by Kathleen Kilpatrick, Director, Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources Paul Levengood, President and CEO, Virginia Historical Society Dr. Lauranett Lee, Curator of African American History, Virginia Historical Society The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Shockoe Valley Topography and the Slave Trade

Thu, 12 Feb 2015 16:25:44 +0000

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Questions on first two presentations

Thu, 12 Feb 2015 16:25:44 +0000

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Locating the 1809 Negro Burial Ground

Thu, 12 Feb 2015 16:25:43 +0000

On Saturday, February 28, 2009, the community was invited to attend a conference about Richmond's African American history, "Hidden Things Brought to Light: Finding Lumpkin's Jail and Locating the Burial Ground for Negroes." Sponsored by the Virginia Historical Society, the City of Richmond Slave Trail Commission, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the half-day conference presented recent scholarship on two downtown Richmond historical sites, the Burial Ground for Negroes and Lumpkin's Slave Jail, both of which have special importance for the history of African Americans in Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

From Marshall to Moussaoui: Federal Justice in the Eastern District of Virginia

Tue, 10 Feb 2015 15:46:33 +0000

On February 5, 2015, John O. Peters, author of "From Marshall to Moussaoui: Federal Justice in the Eastern District of Virginia," was interviewed by The Honorable Henry E. Hudson, Judge of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia, on the fascinating stories in Peters's book. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has, arguably, the most interesting and important history of any trial jurisdiction in the country, state or federal. The Honorable Henry E. Hudson, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District, will interview John O. Peters, author of From Marshall to Moussaoui: Federal Justice in the Eastern District of Virginia, who will explain what makes this such a great story. Peters will discuss the role of Chief Justice John Marshall, who sat on the bench of this court for thirty-four years as a trial judge, including the trial of Aaron Burr for treason. Other topics will include the court's role during the Civil War and Reconstruction; the trials of some of America's most notorious spies and terrorists, culminating with the trial of Zacharias Moussaoui; more than twenty years of school desegregation litigation that changed the face of America and Virginia’s way of life; and a colorful admiralty jurisdiction that has seen cases related to pirates, privateers, prize ships, the Titanic, and Spanish gold. John O. Peters, a former commercial litigator who appeared before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District on numerous occasions, began writing about courts, judges, and lawyers in 1969 with the publication of Courts of the Richmond Area—A Primer. His other books include Virginia’s Historic Courthouses (1995), Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery (2010), and From Marshall to Moussaoui: Federal Justice in the Eastern District of Virginia (2013). U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson started his legal career as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney for Arlington. During his tenure in public service, he has served as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, director of the U.S. Marshal Service, and as a circuit court judge for Fairfax County. Judge Hudson received his commission as a federal district judge in August 2002 and sits in the Richmond Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He is the author of Quest for Justice: From Deputy Sheriff to Federal Judge . . . and the Lessons Learned Along the Way (2007). This lecture is cosponsored with the Historical Society of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery Where War Comes Home

Mon, 26 Jan 2015 19:55:42 +0000

On January 22, 2015, Robert M. Poole delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery—Where War Comes Home." Writer and reporter Robert Poole’s newest book, Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery—Where War Comes Home, is the powerful contemporary biography of a fourteen-acre plot where many of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan have been laid to rest alongside service members from earlier wars. It is a portrait of our national cemetery as a living, breathing community, and a narrative about how improvised explosive devices, suicide bombs, and enemies who blend in with local populations have changed the nature and aftermath of conflict. Using Section 60 as a window into the latest wars, Poole recounts stories of courage and sacrifice by fallen heroes, and he explores the ways in which soldiers’ comrades, friends, and families honor and remember those lost to war—carrying on with life in the aftermath of wartime tragedy. Section 60 is a moving tribute to those who have fought and died for our country, and to those who love them. Robert M. Poole, former executive editor of National Geographic, is a writer whose work has taken him around the world. His books include On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington Cemetery and Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery—Where War Comes Home. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

A Gunner in Lee's Army: The Civil War Letters of Thomas Henry Carter

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 17:14:22 +0000

On December 4, 2014, Graham Dozier delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "A Gunner in Lee's Army: The Civil War Letters of Thomas Henry Carter to His Wife" In May 1861, Thomas Henry Carter raised an artillery battery and joined the Confederate army. Over the next four years he rose steadily in rank from captain to colonel, placing him among the senior artillerists in Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. During that time, Carter wrote more than 100 revealing letters to his wife Susan about his service in the South’s most successful army. In this lecture, Graham Dozier will discuss the process of editing the letters; tell the story of Tom Carter's life before, during, and after the Civil War; and share some of the many fascinating observations that can be found in the letters. Graham Dozier is the managing editor of publications at the VHS and the editor of A Gunner in Lee’s Army: The Civil War Letters of Thomas Henry Carter The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War

Thu, 13 Nov 2014 16:47:04 +0000

On Tuesday, November 11, 2014, Karen Abbott delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War." After shooting a Union soldier in her front hall with a pocket pistol, Belle Boyd became a courier and spy for the Confederate army, using her charms to seduce men on both sides. Emma Edmonds cut off her hair and assumed the identity of a man to enlist as a Union private, witnessing the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Rose O’Neale Greenhow, engaged in affairs with powerful northern politicians to gather intelligence for the Confederacy. Elizabeth Van Lew, a wealthy Richmond abolitionist, hid behind her proper southern manners as she orchestrated a far-reaching espionage ring. Using a wealth of primary source material and interviews with the spies’ descendants, Karen Abbott illuminates one of the most fascinating yet little-known aspects of the Civil War: the stories of four courageous women—a socialite, a farmgirl, an abolitionist, and a widow—who were spies. Abbott is a featured contributor to Smithsonian's history blog, Past Imperfect, and also writes for Disunion, the New York Times series about the Civil War. She is the author of several books, including American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee (2010) and Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War (2014). This lecture is cosponsored with the American Civil War Museum. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Life of Duncan Lee, Red Spy and Cold Warrior

Fri, 07 Nov 2014 18:35:57 +0000

On November 6, 2014, Mark A. Bradley delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Life of Duncan Lee, Red Spy and Cold Warrior." Duncan Chaplin Lee was a Rhodes Scholar, patriot, and descendent of one of America’s most distinguished families—and possibly the best-placed mole ever to infiltrate U.S. intelligence operations. In his new book, Mark A. Bradley traces the tangled roots of Lee’s betrayal and reveals his harrowing struggle to stay one step ahead of America’s spy hunters during and after World War II. Drawing on Lee’s letters and thousands of previously unreleased CIA, FBI, and state department records, Bradley tells the unlikely story of a spy who chose his conscience over his country and its dark consequences. Mark Bradley is a former CIA intelligence officer and is currently serving as an attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division. He is the author of A Very Principled Boy: The Life of Duncan Lee, Red Spy and Cold Warrior. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Richmond’s Old Stone House and Poe Museum

Thu, 30 Oct 2014 20:16:35 +0000

On October 30, 2014, Rose Marie Mitchell delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Richmond’s Old Stone House and Poe Museum." Even though the Old Stone House in Richmond is often called the Poe House because the legend has grown that the writer once lived in the structure, the story is not true. Poe never lived there. How then did the connection between the man and the house eventually become a reality and not just an Idea? After countless years of interest in Edgar Allan Poe and over three years of research, Rose Marie Mitchell has gathered the facts and stories to bring it all together to show how the house and the man are connected and how the Old Stone House is worthy of preservation in its own right and certainly worthy of being a memorial site for the internationally known and respected author. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Woodrow Wilson: Across Three Centuries (Wilkinson Lecture 2014)

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 14:36:31 +0000

On October 15, A. Scott Berg delivered the 2014 J. Harvie Wilkinson, Jr., Lecture entitled "Woodrow Wilson-Across Three Centuries." One hundred years after his inauguration, Woodrow Wilson still stands as one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century, and one of the most enigmatic. A. Scott Berg will speak about his newest biography, Wilson, the most personal and penetrating study about not only Wilson the icon but also Wilson the man. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Founders as Fathers: Going Home with Virginia's Revolutionary

Fri, 10 Oct 2014 19:44:14 +0000

On October 9, 2014, Lorri Glover delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Founders as Fathers: Going Home with Virginia's Revolutionary." Set against the backdrop of Revolutionary Virginia, Lorri Glover’s new book, Founders as Fathers: Family Values and Revolutionary Politics, offers an intimate portrait of the lives of the country’s most celebrated political leaders, revealing, for the first time, how they struggled to balance civic duties against domestic responsibilities and contended with a revolution that remade family life every bit as much as political institutions. Glover’s lecture will bring to life the surprising, profound connections between family and politics in the lives of the Virginians who became the principal architects of the American Republic: George Mason, Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. Lorri Glover, the John Francis Bannon Endowed Chair in the Department of History at Saint Louis University, has written several books about early American history from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth, including Southern Sons: Becoming Men in the New Nation (2007) and Founders as Fathers: Family Values and Revolutionary Politics (2014). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Defiant: American POWs in Vietnam's Most Infamous Prison

Fri, 26 Sep 2014 16:58:55 +0000

On September 25, 2014, Alvin Townley delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Defiant: American POWs in Vietnam's Most Infamous Prison." Defiant: The POWs Who Endured Vietnam's Most Infamous Prison, the Women Who Fought for Them, and the One Who Never ReturnedDuring the Vietnam War, hundreds of American prisoners of war faced years of brutal conditions and horrific torture at the hands of North Vietnamese guards and interrogators who ruthlessly grilled them for military intelligence and propaganda. Determined to maintain their Code of Conduct, the POWs developed a powerful underground resistance. To quash it, their captors singled out its eleven leaders and banished them to an isolated jail that would become known as Alcatraz. None would leave its solitary cells and interrogation rooms unscathed; one would never return. When the survivors of Alcatraz finally came home, one veteran would go on to receive the Medal of Honor, another would become a U.S. Senator, and a third still serves in the U.S. Congress. A powerful story of survival and triumph, Alvin Townley's Defiant will inspire anyone wondering how courage, faith, and brotherhood can endure even in the darkest of situations. Alvin Townley, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, is the author of several books, including Spirit of Adventure: Eagle Scouts and the Making of America's Future, Fly Navy: Discovering the Extraordinary People and Enduring Spirit of Naval Aviation, and Defiant: The POWs Who Endured Vietnam's Most Infamous Prison, the Women Who Fought for Them, and the One Who Never Returned. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Thomas Jefferson’s Enlightenment—Paris, 1785

Tue, 16 Sep 2014 21:19:23 +0000

On September 11, 2014, James C. Thompson delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Thomas Jefferson’s Enlightenment—Paris, 1785." In the summer of 1784, Thomas Jefferson traveled to Paris as minister of the United States to France and lived there for five years. During this time, he made a series of excursions with Pierre Cabanis, a philosophe and an influential member of French society. Cabanis acquainted Jefferson not only with the city and its people but also with the enlightened ideas in French thought. James Thompson provides rich details of this transformative period in Thomas Jefferson’s life in his book, Thomas Jefferson’s Enlightenment—Paris 1785. James C. Thompson has taught philosophy at Strayer University in Alexandria. He is the author of Beyond the Veil of Reason—Thomas Jefferson’s Early Political Initiatives, The Birth of Virginia’s Aristocracy, and Thomas Jefferson’s Enlightenment—Paris 1785. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Sheltering Arms: A Legacy of Caring

Wed, 03 Sep 2014 21:09:46 +0000

On August 28, 2014, Anne Rutherford Lower delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Sheltering Arms: A Legacy of Caring." Sheltering Arms HospitalSheltering Arms: A Legacy of Caring is a new book featuring photographs and stories from every era of the organization’s rich history. Published in honor of Sheltering Arms’ 125th anniversary, the book chronicles the healthcare institution’s growth from humble beginnings in a donated house in downtown Richmond to a nationally recognized physical rehabilitation leader in 2014. Anne Lower has been an ardent supporter of Sheltering Arms for decades and has served as a member of the board of directors, president of the board, member of the women’s council, and as patient advocate. She is the author of Sheltering Arms Hospital: A Centennial History (1889–1989) and served as a valuable resource during the production of Sheltering Arms: A Legacy of Caring. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Nature's Civil War: Common Soldiers and the Environment in 1862 Virginia

Fri, 15 Aug 2014 20:35:40 +0000

On August 14, 2014, Kathryn Shively Meier delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Nature's Civil War: Common Soldiers and the Environment in 1862 Virginia." Nature's Civil War: Common Soldiers and the Environment in 1862 VirginiaIn the Shenandoah Valley and Peninsula Campaigns of 1862, Union and Confederate soldiers faced unfamiliar and harsh environmental conditions, which contributed to escalating disease and diminished morale. Using a wealth of personal accounts, medical sources, newspapers, and government documents, Kathryn Shively Meier reveals how these soldiers strove to maintain their physical and mental health by combating their deadliest enemy—nature. To survive, soldiers forged informal networks of health care based on prewar civilian experience and adopted a universal set of self-care habits, and they periodically had to adjust their ideas of manliness, class values, and race to the circumstances at hand. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Establishing Religious Freedom: Jefferson's Statute in Virginia

Tue, 05 Aug 2014 20:31:38 +0000

On July 24, 2014, Thomas E. Buckley delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Establishing Religious Freedom: Jefferson's Statute in Virginia." The significance of the Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom goes far beyond the borders of the Old Dominion. Its influence ultimately extended to the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the separation of church and state. In his latest book, Thomas Buckley tells the story of the statute, beginning with its background in the struggles of colonial dissenters against an oppressive Church of England. Displacing an established church by instituting religious freedom, the Virginia statute provided the most substantial guarantees of religious liberty of any state in the new nation. The effort to implement Jefferson’s statute has even broader significance in its anticipation of the conflict that would occupy the whole country after the Supreme Court nationalized the religion clause of the First Amendment in the 1940s. Thomas E. Buckley, professor in residence in the department of history of Loyola Marymount University, is the author of several books on Virginia’s religious history, including Church and State in Revolutionary Virginia, 1776–1787 and Establishing Religious Freedom: Jefferson's Statute in Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

From a Richmond Streetcar: Life through the Lens of Harris Stilson

Thu, 17 Jul 2014 13:40:29 +0000

On July 10, 2014, Kitty Snow delivererd a Banner Lecture entitled "From a Richmond Streetcar: Life through the Lens of Harris Stilson." Streetcar motorman Harris Stilson spent countless hours using his camera to capture Richmond and its everyday citizens nearly 100 years ago, giving us a priceless look at the city’s many slices of life. This lecture, presented by Kitty Snow, Harry’s great-granddaughter, will reveal the city’s past as told through Harry’s prolific images and her thoughtful narration. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Winnie Davis: Daughter of the Lost Cause

Fri, 27 Jun 2014 13:50:01 +0000

On June 26, 2014, Heath Hardage Lee delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Winnie Davis: Daughter of the Lost Cause." Varina Anne “Winnie” Davis was the youngest daughter of Confederate president Jefferson Davis and his second wife, Varina Howell Davis. Winnie’s birth in June 1864 was hailed as a blessing by war-weary southerners. Her arrival seemed a good omen that might signify future victory. After the war, Winnie, who spent her early life as a genteel refugee and a European expatriate, was christened the “Daughter of the Confederacy” in 1886. This role was bestowed upon her by a southern society trying to come to terms with defeat. Particularly idolized by such organizations as the United Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Winnie became an icon of the Lost Cause, eclipsing even her father in popularity. Her controversial engagement in 1890 to a northern lawyer, whose grandfather was a famous abolitionist, shocked her friends, family, and the southern groups that idolized her. She later moved to New York City, where she became a writer for family friend and newspaper baron Joseph Pulitzer at The World. Despite her blooming literary career, the young woman was unable to escape the looming legacy of the Lost Cause. Winnie Davis: Daughter of the Lost Cause is the first published biography of this little-known woman who unwittingly became the symbolic female figure of the defeated South. Heath Hardage Lee, author of Winnie Davis: Daughter of the Lost Cause, is the History Series Coordinator at Salisbury House and Gardens in Des Moines, Iowa. She is a writer whose work has appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Charlotte Magazine, Charlotte Home Design, Charlotte Place, and Charlotte Business, and she regularly contributes to several blogs on history, art, and design. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

War Zone: World War II off the North Carolina Coast

Wed, 18 Jun 2014 14:31:05 +0000

On June 12, 2014, Kevin P. Duffus delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "War Zone: World War II off the North Carolina Coast." For seven months in 1942, black smoke and orange flames from torpedoed vessels filled the ocean skies off the coast of North Carolina. Explosions rattled window panes and the nerves of coastal residents. Beaches were awash with wreckage, oil, empty lifeboats, and bodies. War Zone follows the accounts of three climactic engagements between U.S. forces and German U-boats off North Carolina’s coast when the battle of the Atlantic hung in the balance. This story is told from the perspective of everyday people who faced daunting challenges with perseverance, patriotism, and uncommon valor. Kevin Duffus, a researcher and filmmaker, is the author of several books, including Shipwrecks of the Outer Banks: An Illustrated Guide, The Last Days of Black Beard the Pirate, and War Zone: World War II off the North Carolina Coast. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Lee at Appomattox (Chauncey Lecture 2015)

Wed, 11 Jun 2014 18:38:09 +0000

On june 5, 2014, Elizabeth R. Varon delivered the banner lecture "Lee at Appomattox" Robert E. Lee's surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House evokes a highly gratifying image in the popular mind—it was, many believe, a moment that transcended politics, a moment of healing, a moment of patriotism untainted by ideology. But as Elizabeth Varon reveals in her latest book, this rosy image conceals a seething debate over precisely what the surrender meant and what kind of nation would emerge from war. In Appomattox, she deftly captures the events swirling around that well remembered—but not well understood—moment when the Civil War ended. Did America's best days lie in the past or in the future? For Lee, it was the past, the era of the founding generation. For Grant, it was the future, represented by northern moral and material progress. They held, in the end, two opposite views of the direction of the country—and of the meaning of the war that had changed the country forever. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire

Wed, 28 May 2014 18:16:38 +0000

On May 22, 2014, Andrew O’Shaughnessy delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire." The loss of America was an unexpected defeat for the British Empire. Common wisdom has held that incompetent military commanders and political leaders must have been to blame. Weaving together the personal stories of ten prominent men who directed the British dimension of the war, historian Andrew O’Shaughnessy dispels the incompetence myth and uncovers the real reasons that rebellious colonials were able to achieve their surprising victory. British victories were frequent throughout the war. Yet roiling political complexities at home, combined with the fervency of the fighting Americans, proved fatal to the British war effort. Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy, the Saunders Director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello and professor of history at the University of Virginia, is the author of The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire, winner of the 2014 George Washington Book Prize. Purchase a copy of The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire. This lecture is cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Spring of 1864: A Season of Hope in the United States and the Confederacy

Thu, 08 May 2014 20:21:28 +0000

On May 7, 2014, Gary W. Gallagher delivered a special evening Banner Lecture entitled "The Spring of 1864: A Season of Hope in the United States and the Confederacy." Many people consider the summer of 1863 to be the Civil War's great turning point, after which the Confederacy stood no chance of achieving independence. In fact, citizens in both the United States and the Confederacy entered the spring of 1864 with hopes for a favorable outcome of the war. This lecture will assess opinion inside and outside the armies as the campaigning season approached in April, highlighting the importance of U. S. Grant and R. E. Lee to expectations in their respective nations. It will also underscore the importance of engaging contemporary evidence, rather than retrospective accounts, if we are to understand historical events. Gary W. Gallagher is the John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War at the University of Virginia and the author of many books and articles, including Becoming Confederates: Paths to a New National Loyalty (2013). This lecture is cosponsored with the Richmond National Battlefield Park. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of WWII

Wed, 30 Apr 2014 14:23:26 +0000

On April 16, 2014, Mitchell Zuckoff delivered the 2014 Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture entitled "Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832

Mon, 28 Apr 2014 18:18:33 +0000

On April 17, 2014 Alan Taylor delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832." In 1813, British warships appeared in the Chesapeake Bay to punish Americans for declaring war on the empire. Over many nights, hundreds of slaves paddled out to the vessels seeking protection for their families from the ravages of slavery. The runaways pressured the British into becoming liberators. As guides, pilots, sailors, and marines, the former slaves used their intimate knowledge of the countryside to transform the war. Tidewater masters had long dreaded their slaves as "an internal enemy." By mobilizing that enemy, the war ignited the deepest fears of Chesapeake slaveholders. It also alienated Virginians from a national government that had neglected their defense. Alan Taylor is the Distinguished Professor in History at the University of California, Davis, and the author of The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772–1832. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Grandees of Government: The Origins and Persistence of Undemocratic Politics in Virginia

Fri, 11 Apr 2014 20:15:56 +0000

On March 27, 2014 Brent Tarter delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Grandees of Government: The Origins and Persistence of Undemocratic Politics in Virginia." From the formation of the first institutions of representative government and the use of slavery in the seventeenth century through the American Revolution, the Civil War, the civil rights movement, and into the twenty-first century, Virginia’s history has been marked by obstacles to democratic change. In The Grandees of Government, Brent Tarter offers an extended commentary based in primary sources on how these undemocratic institutions and ideas arose and how they were both perpetuated and challenged. With its thorough reevaluation of the interrelationship between the words and actions of Virginia’s political leaders, The Grandees of Government provides an entirely new interpretation of Virginia’s political history. Tarter is a founding editor of the Library of Virginia’s Dictionary of Virginia Biography and a cofounder of the annual Virginia Forum. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

From the Earth: The Environment in Virginia's Past and Future

Wed, 19 Mar 2014 18:13:47 +0000

From the Earth: The Environment in Virginia's Past and Future was a FREE, day-long conference focusing on the historic relationship between Virginia's environment and its people held at the Virginia Historical Society on March 16, 2012. The conference was sponsored by the Virginia Historical Society and made possible by a generous grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Backstory with the History Guys: Thanksgiving in American History

Wed, 19 Mar 2014 18:10:17 +0000

On November 21, 2011, Internationally renowned historians and hosts Edward Ayers, Brian Balogh, and Peter Onuf presented "Thanksgiving in American History." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Pistol, Pop, Peanut & Pedro: The Negro League Baseball Experience

Wed, 19 Mar 2014 17:59:53 +0000

On August 11, 2012, the Virginia Historical Society (VHS) hosted four Negro League baseball players at its museum located at 428 North Boulevard in Richmond. Henry "Pistol" Mason, Joe "Pop" Durham, Mamie "Peanut" Johnson-Goodman, and Pedro Sierra participated in an interview-style educational program answering questions about their Negro League ball-playing days and Civil Rights struggles in the 1950s and 1960s. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War

Tue, 11 Mar 2014 15:12:04 +0000

On November 16, 2011, Tony Horwitz delivered the Alexander W. Weddell Trustees lecture entitled Midnight Risinig: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War. (Introduction by Paul Levengood). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

We Cannot be Tame Spectators: Four Centuries of Virginia Women's History

Mon, 10 Mar 2014 21:23:31 +0000

On march 6, 2014, Cynthia A. Kierner delivered the banner lecture "We Cannot be Tame Spectators: Four Centuries of Virginia Women's History" From before Jamestown to our own new millennium, women have been central figures in the families and communities of the Old Dominion. In recent decades, historians have also shown that Virginia women—as civic leaders and reformers, genteel ladies and embattled laborers—were also significant historical actors. Join us in commemorating Women’s History Month by celebrating the flourishing field of Virginia women’s history, and by exploring how what we’ve learned about women’s historical experiences can transform our understanding of Virginia history generally. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Secretariat

Fri, 07 Mar 2014 17:00:08 +0000

On october 13, 2010, Kate Tweedy delivered the banner lecture "Secretariat" Secretariat, the great red stallion who became the 1973 Triple Crown winner, was born on March 30, 1970, at The Meadow, a historic farm in Caroline County. The new book, Secretariat's Meadow, celebrates the farm, the family—especially Chris Chenery and his daughter, Penny—and Secretariat. The story is told by Penny Chenery's daughter, Kate Chenery Tweedy, with the assistance of her coauthor, Leeanne Ladin. More than 300 photos, most of which have never been seen, offer a magnificent visual journey to complement this special story in one of America's greatest sports moments.(Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Business of Virginia Has Always Been Business

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 20:40:35 +0000

On September 13, 2007, Dr. Levengood delivered this lecture on his book, Virginia: Catalyst of Commerce for Four Centuries. He is president-elect and CEO-elect of the Virginia Historical Society. This lecture was a program of the VHS's Reynolds Business History Center. (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Tobacco, Mosquito, Slave: Colonial Virginia and the Dawn of Globalization

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 20:38:10 +0000

On April 10, 2008, Charles C. Mann delivered the 2008 Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Trustees Lecture. In his recent best-selling book, 1491, a groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Mr. Mann radically altered our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492. In "Tobacco, Mosquito, Slave," Mann gave VHS members a preview of his next book, which will describe the creation of the first truly global network of trade and ideas—from the triangular trade linking Europe, West Africa, and the New World to the first trans-Pacific ties between the New World and East Asia. (Introduction by Charles F. Bryan, Jr.) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 20:35:46 +0000

On may 29, 2008, Alan Pell Crawford delivered the banner lecture "Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson" Thomas Jefferson returned to Monticello in 1809 at the end of his second presidential term and died there seventeen years later. In his new book, Alan Pell Crawford reveals the private Jefferson at home, coping with debt and illness, mediating family quarrels, and navigating public disputes, still a towering figure in the early republic. Mr. Crawford's previous book on a Virginia subject was Unwise Passions: A True Story of a Remarkable Woman—and the First Great Scandal of Eighteenth-Century America. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

History Begins at Home: A Personal Journey

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 20:32:42 +0000

In this autobiographical lecture, Dr. Bryan reflects on the field of public history as it developed during the course of his own career. In 1988, he was appointed as President and CEO of the Virginia Historical Society. During his tenure, Dr. Bryan oversaw fund-raising campaigns that raised more than $110 million. These efforts have resulted in quadrupling the size of the Society's headquarters building and a significant expansion of educational programs statewide. In November 2008, Dr. Bryan retired from the VHS and was named president emeritus by the board of trustees. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Lincoln: President Elect

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 20:30:42 +0000

On december 4, 2008, Harold Holzer delivered the banner lecture "Lincoln: President Elect" In the winter of 1860–61, the crisis that erupted with the election of Abraham Lincoln threatened to split the nation. In his newest Lincoln book, Lincoln: President-Elect, Harold Holzer examines the perilous interregnum before the president-elect's inauguration and recounts Lincoln's public and private struggle to preserve the Union. Mr. Holzer is co-chairman of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and senior vice president for external affairs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Jefferson in Perspective (Christian Lecture 2014)

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 20:28:38 +0000

On may 21, 2009, Daniel P. Jordan delivered the banner lecture "Jefferson in Perspective" Daniel P. Jordan recently retired as president of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, one of the most beloved historic sites in America. No other historian today has immersed himself more deeply into the multifaceted life of our third president. Drawing on his many years at Monticello, Dr. Jordan reflected on the meaning of Thomas Jefferson within the broader context of his times and his enduring legacy for us today. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Historic Virginia Gardens

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 20:26:26 +0000

On November 4, 2009, Margaret Bemiss and Will Rieley delivered the banner lecture "Historic Virginia Gardens" For nearly a century, the Garden Club of Virginia has undertaken garden research and preservation work at numerous historic sites across the Old Dominion. It has restored and created beautiful landscapes for the education and enjoyment of all, from backyard gardeners to design professionals. Author Margaret Bemiss and Will Rieley, landscape architect to the Garden Club of Virginia, presented an illustrated lecture on the new book, Historic Virginia Gardens, documenting this important contribution to the commonwealth's botanical and architectural heritage. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

George Marshall, His Men, and the Recovery of Europe

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 20:23:21 +0000

On November 18, 2009, Josiah Bunting, III, delivered the 2009 Alexander W. Weddell Trustees Lecture. The topic of his lecture was "George Marshall, His Men, and the Recovery of Europe." Mr. Bunting is the President of the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation in New York, Former President of Hampden-Sydney College, and Superintendent Emeritus of the Virginia Military Institute. (Introduction by J. Stewart Bryan, III, and Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 20:21:08 +0000

On February 18, 2010, Robert Poole delivered a lecture on his book On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery. In his new book, Robert Poole traces the founding of Arlington Cemetery on what had been the family plantation of Robert E. Lee's wife. Arlington first became a U.S. Army headquarters and then a cemetery for indigent Civil War soldiers before Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton made it the new national cemetery. Arlington's special significance grew after the war, as the government gathered soldiers' remains hastily buried on nearby battlefields and reinterred them at Arlington, where they received the honors of a grateful nation. The rituals and reverence associated with Arlington evolved over the next hundred years, paid through the blood of those who fought in the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Cold War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq, and Afghanistan. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Virginia Environmental Endowment: Leadership, Leverage, and Legacy

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 20:17:48 +0000

On Thursday October 7, 2010, Gerald P. McCarthy discussed the Virginia Environmental Endowment. Since its inception in 1977, Virginia Environmental Endowment has had a profound influence throughout the Old Dominion. This lecture focused on the origins, mission, and accomplishments of VEE. Gerald P. McCarthy examined the effects of the endowment's grants on Virginia's environment and the people who have helped to make those results possible. Sometimes described as "venture capital for environmental improvement in Virginia," VEE has played a unique role in the development of environmental research, education, and civic engagement. This lecture addressed each of these aspects of its work and the strategic approach to grant making that has made VEE a leader within the foundation world. Mr. McCarthy is executive director of Virginia Environmental Endowment. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

An African Republic: Black and White Virginians in the Making of Liberia

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 20:13:52 +0000

On October 28, 2010, Marie Tyler-McGraw discussed her book An African Republic: Black and White Virginians in the Making of Liberia. The West African nation Liberia arose from the aspirations of the American Colonization Society, which attempted to persuade free blacks to emigrate from the United States to that colony. Ultimately, the colonization scheme failed, but Liberia endured. No state was more involved with the project than Virginia. Virginians figured prominently among both leaders of the ACS and among settlers building a new life in Africa. Though their paths rarely intersected, these black and white Virginians played key roles in founding Liberia. In this presentation based on her latest book, Marie Tyler-McGraw told this compelling story of hope and misunderstanding, race and freedom. Also the author of a history of Richmond, Dr. Tyler-McGraw is an independent scholar and public historian. The lecture was co-sponsored by The Richmond Forum in conjunction with its November 6, 2010 program, featuring President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Letters of Oliver and Bernie Hill: The Making of a Legendary Civil Rights Lawyer

Fri, 21 Feb 2014 15:35:37 +0000

On February 6, 2014, Margaret Edds delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Letters of Oliver and Bernie Hill: The Making of a Legendary Civil Rights Lawyer." Author-journalist Margaret Edds discusses more than 200 letters written during the first years of the Hills’ marriage, while Oliver was struggling to launch a law practice in Roanoke and Bernie was teaching in Washington D.C. The 1934–36 letters illuminate Hill’s early association with the N.A.A.C.P. and the Virginia Teachers Association, work that led in future years to participation in historic court challenges to Jim Crow segregation. Margaret Edds is an author and retired journalist who is researching a book on Oliver Hill and Spottswood Robinson. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Take Care of the Living: Reconstructing Confederate Veteran Families

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:57:07 +0000

On June 10, 2010, Jeffrey W. McClurken delivered the banner lecture "Take Care of the Living: Reconstructing Confederate Veteran Families" The Civil War ended in spring 1865, but for Confederate veterans and their families, its consequences persisted far longer as they began to pick up the pieces of their civilian lives in the devastated South. In his new book, Jeffrey W. McClurken assesses the wide-ranging effects of the war on Confederate veteran families in Southside Virginia. Coming to terms with postwar reality on an individual level meant reconstructing the household and seeking jobs and financial assistance. It also involved the state in providing replacement limbs for amputees, pensions, and homes for old soldiers and widows. These changes would influence the shape of southern society for generations to come. Dr. McClurken teaches history at the University of Mary Washington. (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Memories of World War II

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:36:16 +0000

On July 22, 2010, Jack Mountcastle discussed photos from the temporary exhibition Memories of World War II: Photographs from the Archives of The Associated Press. The exhibition presented a stunning array of photographs from the greatest war in human history. It included photographs of Hitler and Mussolini at their peak, Londoners during the Blitz, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, Allied leaders at Tehran, GIs in Normandy, and Marines on the black sands of Iwo Jima. Organized from the archives of the Associated Press, this exhibition presented a spectrum of 121 of the most dramatic photographs from all theaters of the war and the home front. In this lecture Brig. Gen. John W. Mountcastle (USA, Ret.) surveyed the most important of these images. Before retiring from active duty, Jack Mountcastle was the army's chief of military history in Washington, D.C. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Grand Avenues: The Story of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French Visionary

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:29:13 +0000

On September 23, 2010, Scott W. Berg delivered the banner lecture "Grand Avenues: The Story of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French Visionary" In 1791 George Washington asked Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who had been a French volunteer during the American Revolution, to design a new federal city on the Potomac for the young republic. Suffering from constant interference, L'Enfant persisted in his work for a year before being dismissed. Yet, his ambitious geometrical plan for the District of Columbia survived and endures to this day. In Grand Avenues, Scott W. Berg resurrects the cranky L'Enfant and reveals how his influence persists in the nation's capital city. Dr. Berg teaches English at George Mason University. (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Portent: John Brown's Raid in American Memory

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 17:30:45 +0000

On October 15, 2009, William M. S. Rasmussen delivered a lecture in conjunction with the current exhibition The Portent: John Brown's Raid in American Memory. One hundred and fifty years ago, John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry failed utterly. But the violent event and the executions it prompted shocked the nation. They reinforced white southern fears about slave insurrection, emboldened secessionists, and made Brown a martyr in the eyes of many northerners. Ever since, Brown has been a symbol of contrast and controversy. Dr. Rasmussen is Lora M. Robins Curator at the VHS and curator of the exhibition that marks these tumultuous events leading up to the Civil War. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:58:45 +0000

On November 4, 2010, Scott Reynolds Nelson delivered the banner lecture "Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend" According to the ballad that made him famous, John Henry did battle with a steam-powered drill, beat the machine, and died. Folklorists have long thought John Henry to be mythical, but historian Scott Nelson has discovered that he was a real person—a nineteen-year-old from New Jersey who was convicted of theft in a Virginia court in 1866, sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary, and put to work building the C&O Railroad. There, at the Lewis Tunnel, Henry and other prisoners worked alongside steam-powered drills. In his book, Nelson pieces together the biography of the real John Henry. It is also the story of work songs, songs that not only turned Henry into a folk hero but also, in reminding workers to slow down or die, were a tool of resistance and protest. This lecture complements the VHS exhibition Organized Labor in Virginia. Scott Reynolds Nelson teaches history at William and Mary. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

"We Shall Not Be Moved": Virginia Songs of Labor

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:54:12 +0000

On December 1, 2010, Gregg Kimball, Jackie Frost, and Sheryl Warner delivered the banner lecture "'We Shall Not Be Moved': Virginia Songs of Labor" From the textile mills of Danville to the coal fields of Wise to the tobacco factories of Richmond, workers have rallied to songs of labor. The songs told of heavy work, unjust conditions, and union struggles and were typically performed in the musical styles of their native folk traditions. On December 2, 2010, historian Gregg Kimball along with singers Jackie Frost and Sheryl Warner performed songs by such Virginia musical luminaries as the Carter Family as well as rank-and-file workers who filled churches, labor halls, and strike lines to protest their working conditions.(Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:33:35 +0000

On december 9, 2010, John Peters delivered the banner lecture "Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery" One of America's great rural cemeteries, overlooking the falls of the James River, Hollywood provides a final resting place for Richmond's—indeed, Virginia's—political, business, and creative leaders, as well as 18,000 Confederate dead. Since before the Civil War, the elaborate ironwork, stone monuments, mausoleums, and natural setting have memorialized the varied lives of the individuals who have populated Virginia’s capital city. In this lecture based on his new book, Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery, author and photographer John Peters brings these stories to life once more. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Jeffersons at Shadwell

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:31:56 +0000

On January 13, 2011, Susan Kern discussed her book, Jefferson's at Shadwell.In her book Susan Kern merges archaeology, material culture, and social history to reveal the fascinating story of Shadwell, the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson and home to his parents, Jane and Peter Jefferson, their eight children, and more than sixty slaves. Kern's scholarship offers new views of the family's role in settling Virginia as well as new perspectives on Thomas Jefferson himself. The story of Shadwell affects how we interpret much of what we know about Thomas Jefferson today. Dr. Kern is a visiting assistant professor of history at the College of William and Mary The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Inventing George Washington: America's Founder in Myth and Memory

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:26:36 +0000

On February 24, 2011, Ed Lengel delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Inventing George Washington: America's Founder in Myth and Memory." In Inventing George Washington, Edward G. Lengel shows how the former president and war hero continued to serve his nation on two distinct levels after his death. The public Washington evolved into an eternal symbol as the "Father of His Country," while the private man remained at the periphery of the national vision for successive generations. As some exalted Washington, others sought to bring him down to the earth, thus creating a series of competing mythologies that depicted Washington as every imaginable sort of human being. Dr. Lengel is editor-in-chief of the Washington Papers Project and a professor of history at the University of Virginia. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Real Lost Cause: The Idea of Union in the Memory of the Civil War

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:11:46 +0000

On November 17, 2010, Gary W. Gallagher delivered a talk on "The Real Lost Cause: The Idea of Union in the Memory of the Civil War" at the Alexander W. Weddell Trustees Lecture. 2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. Only through the bloodiest conflict of our history did Americans resolve long-running disputes over Union and slavery. Ever since then, the significance of the war—its advent and its many outcomes—has stirred debate and study. In "The Real Lost Cause: The Idea of Union in the Memory of the Civil War," Gary W. Gallagher addressed the way North and South have reflected on the nature of what it meant to be a part of the United States of America. Dr. Gallagher is the Cavaliers' Distinguished Teaching Professor and Nau Professor of History at the University of Virginia and the author of The Confederate War and Causes Won, Lost, and Forgotten: How Hollywood and Popular Art Shape What We Know about the Civil War. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Diary of a Public Man and Abraham Lincoln

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:07:56 +0000

On March 3, 2011, Daniel Crofts delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Diary of a Public Man and Abraham Lincoln." "The Diary of a Public Man," published anonymously in several installments in the North American Review in 1879, claimed to offer verbatim accounts of secret conversations with Abraham Lincoln, William H. Seward, and Stephen A. Douglas—among others—in the weeks just before the start of the Civil War. Despite repeated attempts to decipher the diary, historians never have been able to pinpoint its author or determine its authenticity. Part detective story, part biography, and part a detailed narrative of events in early 1861, A Secession Crisis Enigma presents a compelling answer to an enduring mystery. Dr. Crofts is a professor of history at The College of New Jersey. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

American City, Southern Place: Richmond on the Eve of War

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:05:07 +0000

On March 10, 2011, Gregg Kimball delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "American City, Southern Place: Richmond on the Eve of War." As a city of the upper South intimately connected to northeastern cities, the southern slave trade, and the Virginia countryside, Richmond embodied many of the contradictions of mid-nineteenth-century America. Gregg Kimball depicts the Richmond community as a series of dynamic, overlapping networks, showing how various groups of residents—immigrants and natives, free people and slaves, those high born and low—understood themselves and their society within this web of experience. Drawing on a wealth of archival material and private letters, Dr. Kimball elicits new perspectives on the nature of antebellum society and the coming of the Civil War. Gregg Kimball is director of education and outreach at the Library of Virginia and the author of American City, Southern Place: A Cultural History of Antebellum Richmond. This lecture is cosponsored with the Richmond National Battlefield Park. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Year of Meteors: Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and the Election

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:02:28 +0000

On March 24, 2011, Douglas R. Egerton delivered a Banner Lecture entitled Year of Meteors: Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and the Election that Brought on the Civil War. In Year of Meteors, Douglas R. Egerton recreates the tumultuous presidential election year of 1860, which upset every conventional expectation and split the American political system beyond repair. At the beginning of the year, Senator Stephen A. Douglas, leader of the Democrats, the only party with a large following in both North and South, seemed poised to win. By fall the Democratic Party had disintegrated, enabling the upstart Republicans to put an untried but canny dark horse candidate in the White House. Year of Meteors tells the story of Abraham Lincoln's rise to power and the series of events that led to secession and ultimately civil war. Dr. Egerton teaches history at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y.(Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Crooked Road to Civil War, 1861

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 18:56:26 +0000

On April 14, 2011, Nelson D. Lankford delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Crooked Road to Civil War." When Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated in March 1861, Virginia remained a loyal state within the Union. In the convention that met in Richmond to consider the commonwealth's relationship to the national government, union men held a strong majority. But as events unfolded, their loyalty wavered. Nelson Lankford recounts the dramatic events of that spring, when no one could foretell the future of the country, seemingly poised on the brink of dissolution. Dr. Lankford is vice president for programs at the Virginia Historical Society and author of "Cry Havoc! The Crooked Road to Civil War, 1861." This lecture is cosponsored with the Richmond National Battlefield Park. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Motives of Honor, Pleasure, and Profit: Plantation Management, 1607–1763

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 18:52:13 +0000

On April 21, 2011, Lorena S. Walsh delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Motives of Honor, Pleasure, and Profit: Plantation Management in the Colonial Chesapeake, 1607–1763." In a new account of early English America, Walsh offers an enlightening history of plantation management in the Chesapeake colonies of Virginia and Maryland. Her scope ranges from the founding of Jamestown to the close of the Seven Years' War and the end of the "Golden Age" of colonial Chesapeake agriculture. Walsh's narrative incorporates stories about the planters themselves, including family dynamics and relationships with enslaved workers. An accomplished author of books on early America, Lorena S. Walsh was for twenty-seven years a historian at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. This lecture was cosponsored with The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Lincoln and McClellan

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 18:39:38 +0000

On May 12, 2011, John C. Waugh delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Lincoln and McClellan." There was no more remarkable yoking of personalities in the Civil War than Abraham Lincoln and George McClellan. In Lincoln and McClellan, award-winning author John C. Waugh takes an in-depth look at this fascinating pair, from the early days of the conflict to the 1864 presidential election when McClellan ran against Lincoln on an antiwar platform and lost. Waugh weaves a tale of hubris, paranoia, failure, and triumph, illuminating as never before this unique and complicated relationship. John C. Waugh is an independent historian and former correspondent and bureau chief for The Christian Science Monitor. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

George Washington's America: A Biography Through His Map

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 18:36:09 +0000

On june 9, 2011, Barnet Schecter delivered "George Washington's America: A Biography Through His Map" The maps George Washington drew and purchased, from his teens until his death, were always central to his work. Inspired by these remarkable maps, Barnet Schecter has crafted a unique portrait of our first Founding Father, revealing his early career as a surveyor, his dramatic exploits in the French and Indian War, his struggles throughout the American Revolution as he outmaneuvered the far more powerful British army, his diplomacy as president, and his shaping of the new republic. Schecter, the author of The Battle for New York, the hinge battle in the American Revolution, and The Devil's Own Work, a chronicle of the Civil War draft riots in New York, is an independent historian who lives in New York City. This lecture was cosponsored with The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Wild Vine: A Forgotten Grape and the Untold Story of American Wine

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 18:34:18 +0000

On June 30, 2011, Todd Kliman delivered the banner lecture "The Wild Vine: A Forgotten Grape and the Untold Story of American Wine" Vineyards and wine making have become all-American success stories in recent years, especially in Virginia. In his book, The Wild Vine, author Todd Kliman engagingly traces the story of the native grape hybrid, and its nineteenth-century Virginia advocate, that led by a circuitous path to the rebirth of wine-making in the twentieth century. The story begins long before California supposedly put America on the viticulture map with Dr. Daniel Norton's experimentations with grapes in Richmond. The Norton hybrid migrated to the Midwest and then, after seemingly disappearing, returned to Virginia soil to great success in more recent times. Todd Kliman is food and wine editor of the Washingtonian. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood and Jack Berninger) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Virginia Plan: William B. Thalhimer and a Rescue from Nazi Germany

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 18:28:58 +0000

On August 4, 2011, Robert H. Gillette delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Virginia Plan: William B. Thalhimer and a Rescue from Nazi Germany." Among the Jews attempting to flee Nazi Germany in the 1930s were students of the Gross Breesen agricultural institute who hoped to secure visas to America. In a bold plan, Richmond department store owner William B. Thalhimer created a safe haven for the students on a Burkeville farm. This is the remarkable history of Thalhimer's heroic rescue mission and the struggle of the refugees to make a new home in rural America. In his new book, The Virginia Plan, Robert H. Gillette narrates a saga of sacrifice, survival, and hope on two continents. (Introduction by Nelson Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Constitution of Virginia: From Jefferson's Day to Our Own Time

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 18:27:14 +0000

On September 8, 2011, A. E. Dick Howard delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Constitution of Virginia: From Jefferson's Day to Our Own Time." Commentators often refer to Professor A. E. Dick Howard as "The Father of Virginia's Constitution" for good reason. He was executive director of the commission that wrote Virginia’s current constitution and directed the successful referendum campaign for ratification of that document. In this lecture, held during the 40th year since ratification, he will weave the story of Virginia's constitution with the great issues of our state's history—founding a republic, nurturing religious liberty, grappling with problems of race, facing the challenges of a changing society, and reflecting the hopes and aspirations of the people of Virginia. It is a story that has its great moments, such as Jefferson's Statute for Religious Freedom, and its sobering chapters, such as massive resistance. Ultimately, it is the story of how a people, though their constitution, shape their destiny. The author of numerous books, Professor Howard is the White Burkett Miller Professor of Law and Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.(Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Battle of the Ironclads

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 18:24:43 +0000

On September 21, 2011, John V. Quarstein delivered the first annual Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture entitled "The Battle of the Ironclads." (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Facts & Legends of Sports in Richmond

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 18:22:45 +0000

On July 14, 2011, Brooks Smith and Wayne Dementi delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Facts & Legends of Sports in Richmond." Basing their presentation on their recent book, Brooks Smith and Wayne Dementi will give an illustrated lecture on the history of sports in Virginia's capital city. Smith and Dementi will present the venues, memorable events, and athletes of Richmond sports. The essays in Facts & Legends of Sports in Richmond were originally presented in Smith's commentary series, which first aired on WCVE public radio. The many new and vintage photographs featured in the book come from the collections of the Dementi family of photographers. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The First Thanksgiving

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 17:36:09 +0000

On October 13, 2011, Graham Woodlief and Barbara Ramos delivered their lecture entitled The First Thanksgiving. Because of what they learned in elementary school, most Americans probably associate Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims in Massachusetts in 1621. Less well know outside Virginia is the fact that more than a year earlier, a hardy band of Englishmen landed at Berkeley Hundred on the James River and held the real first Thanksgiving. Captain John Woodlief and thirty-seven men sailed from Bristol, England, on the ship Margaret and reached Berkeley Hundred nearly three months later in December 1619. They marked their deliverance from the stormy north Atlantic with a simple service of thanks to God. Graham Woodlief and Barbara Ramos will tell the story of this first Thanksgiving in English-speaking America and of the origins of the Virginia Thanksgiving Festival, which led to President Kennedy's mention of Virginia in his Thanksgiving proclamation of 1963. This lecture is cosponsored with the Virginia Thanksgiving Festival. (Introduction by Thomas A. Silvestri, President and Publisher, Richmond Times-Dispatch). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Civil War Medicine

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 17:32:30 +0000

Staggering numbers of sick and wounded soldiers placed unprecedented demands on the practice of medicine on both sides during the Civil War. This lecture describes the state of medical science in the 1860s and its application in Virginia during the war, mostly on the Confederate side. It also assess the complicated issue of care on the battlefield, transportation of patients to fixed general hospitals, and the role of sanitation. Dr. Adrian Wheat practiced medicine for many years as an army surgeon and helped found the Society of Civil War Surgeons. Most recently he advised the VHS on surgical topics for the exhibition An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia. This lecture was cosponsored with the Richmond National Battlefield Park.(Introduction by Paul Levengood). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

1861: The Civil War Awakening

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 17:25:29 +0000

On November 30, 2011, Adam Goodheart delivered the banner lecture "1861: The Civil War Awakening" With his new book, 1861: The Civil War Awakening, Adam Goodheart revisits the most turbulent and consequential year in American history. In the hands of a master storyteller, we relive a time that witnessed the breakup of the nation and the first bloodletting in what became a four-year catalog of internecine violence and destruction. As the first year of the Civil War Sesquicentennial comes to an end, this lecture pulls together all of the drama and tumult of 1861 and present vividly the characters who populated that decisive era. Adam Goodheart teaches history and is director of the C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College in Maryland. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Virginia's Confederate Monuments

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 17:20:08 +0000

On November 30, 2011, Adam Goodheart delivered the banner lecture "Virginia's Confederate Monuments" Hundreds of memorials in stone commemorate the Civil War in Virginia at courthouses, cemeteries, town squares, and battlefields. With An Illustrated Guide to Virginia's Confederate Monuments, Timothy S. Sedore presents the first comprehensive handbook of this legacy of America's greatest national trauma in the Old Dominion. Timothy S. Sedore is a professor of English at The City University of New York, Bronx Community College. (Introduction by Paul Levengood). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Abolitionist Art and the American Slave Trade

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 17:15:25 +0000

On January 26, 2012, Maurie D. McInnis delivered the banner lecture "Abolitionist Art and the American Slave Trade" In 1853 Eyre Crowe, a young British artist, visited a slave auction in Richmond and captured the scene in sketches that he later developed into a series of illustrations and paintings, including the culminating work, Slaves Waiting for Sale, Richmond, Virginia. In her new book, Slaves Waiting for Sale: Abolitionist Art and the American Slave Trade, Maurie D. McInnis uses Crowe's paintings to explore the trade in Richmond, Charleston, and New Orleans. Through that exploration, which her illustrated lecture will present, she describes the evolving iconography of abolitionist art and the role of visual culture in the transatlantic world of abolitionism. Professor McInnis teaches in the department of art at the University of Virginia. (Introduction by Cheryl Magazine) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

When the Sun Stood Still: Reflections on the Rev. John Jasper

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 17:12:01 +0000

On February 23, 2012, Samuel K. Roberts delivered the banner lecture "When the Sun Stood Still: Reflections on the Rev. John Jasper" Among the larger than life personages in Richmond during the latter years of the nineteenth century is to be counted the pastor of Jackson Ward’s Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church, the Rev. John Jasper. He was born a slave in the second decade of the century, and his mark on Richmond's popular consciousness lasts even to the present. In large measure, this is because of a sermon he first preached in 1878, "The Sun Do Move and the Earth Am Square." Hailed by some and vilified by others, Jasper's sermon seemed to defy modern notions of astronomy. Yet, he was asked to preach it more than 250 times, including before the General Assembly, before his death in 1901. Reflections on this enigmatic character will explore the context in which his audiences heard him, as well as that of our own. Samuel K. Roberts is the Anne Borden and E. Hervey Evans Professor of Theology and Ethics at Union Presbyterian Seminary. This lecture was cosponsored with Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

American Emperor: Aaron Burr's Challenge to Jefferson's America

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 17:06:15 +0000

On march 15, 2012, David O. Stewart delivered the banner lecture "American Emperor: Aaron Burr's Challenge to Jefferson's America" A canny and charismatic politician who rose to become third vice president of the new United States, Aaron Burr seemed to throw it all away in 1805 and 1806 in an extraordinary attempt to lead a secession of the American West. American Emperor by acclaimed author David O. Stewart traces Burr from the threshold of the presidency in the contested election of 1800, through his duel with Alexander Hamilton, and then across the American West as he schemed with foreign ambassadors, the traitorous general-in-chief of the army, and future presidents, including Andrew Jackson. His immense ambition was matched by his undisguised contempt for Thomas Jefferson, a president he thought ineffective and unwise. The indecisive Jefferson finally had Burr arrested and charged with treason. Burr led his own legal defense in an historic treason trial in Richmond before Chief Justice John Marshall, winning an acquittal and freedom. Mr. Stewart is an attorney who practices law in Washington, D.C. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Before It Was Virginia: Setting the Stage

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 17:02:18 +0000

On march 16, 2012, Helen Rountree delivered the banner lecture "Before It Was Virginia: Setting the Stage" When English settlers arrived here 400 years ago, they encountered the first Virginians, the most famous of whom are the subjects of Helen C. Rountree's book, Pocahontas, Powhatan, and Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown. This presentation was the keynote address of "From the Earth: The Environment in Virginia's Past and Future," a free day-long conference on the historical relationship between Virginia's environment and its people. The conference was made possible by a generous grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment. Dr. Rountree is professor emerita of anthropology at Old Dominion University. She now concentrates full time on writing and speaking about early Virginia Indians, as well as consulting with the Virginia Council on Indians and on tribal recognition. (Introduction by Gerald P. McCarthy) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Fighting for America: The Struggle for Mastery in North America, 1519-1871

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 16:56:08 +0000

On march 28, 2012, Jeremy Black delivered the banner lecture "Fighting for America: The Struggle for Mastery in North America, 1519-1871" In his latest book, prize-winning author Jeremy Black traces the competition for control of North America from the landing in 1519 of Spanish troops in what became Mexico to 1871 when, with the Treaty of Washington, Britain accepted American mastery in North America. The story Black tells is one of conflict, diplomacy, and geopolitics. The eventual result was the creation of a United States of America that stretched from Atlantic to Pacific and dominated the continent. The gradual withdrawal of France and Spain, the British accommodation to the expanding U.S. reality, the impact of the American Civil War, and the subjugation of native peoples are all carefully drawn out. Jeremy Black teaches history at Exeter University in the United Kingdom. This lecture is cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia. (Introduction by Nicole McMullin) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Lost in Shangri-La: A Story of Survival and Rescue during World War II

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 16:51:59 +0000

On April 5, 2012, Mitchell Zuckoff delivered the 2012 Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture entitled Lost in Shangri-La: A Story of Survival and Rescue during World War II. The Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture was named in honor of the former president of the VHS (1989–91). Near the end of World War II, a plane carrying twenty-four members of the United States military, including nine Women’s Army Corps members, crashed into the New Guinea jungle. Three survivors were stranded deep in a jungle valley inhabited by cannibals. The story of their survival and the efforts undertaken to save them are the crux of Lost in Shangri-La. A riveting story of deliverance under the most unlikely circumstances, Mitchell Zuckoff’s book deserves its place among the great survival stories of World War II. Zuckoff teaches journalism at Boston University. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Brown's Battleground in Prince Edward County, Virginia

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 16:40:12 +0000

On April 12, 2012, Jill Titus delivered a lecture entitled Brown's Battleground in Prince Edward County, Virginia. When the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, Prince Edward County abolished its public school system rather than integrate. In her new book, Brown's Battleground: Students, Segregationists, and the Struggle for Justice in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Jill Titus situates the crisis in Prince Edward County within the seismic changes brought by Brown and Virginia's decision to resist desegregation. She reveals the ways that ordinary people, black and white, battled, and continue to battle, over the role of public education in the United States. Dr. Titus is associate director of the C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Race to the Top of the World: Richard Byrd and the First Flight to the North Pole

Fri, 07 Feb 2014 20:45:51 +0000

On January 23, 2014, Sheldon Bart delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Race to the Top of the World: Richard Byrd and the First Flight to the North Pole." In the age of adventure, when dirigibles coasted through the air and vast swaths of the earth remained untouched and unseen by man, one pack of relentless explorers competed in the race of a lifetime: to be the first aviator to fly over the North Pole. The main players in this high stakes game were Richard Byrd, a dashing navy officer and early aviation pioneer; and Roald Amundsen, a bitter rival of Byrd’s and a hardened veteran of polar expeditions. Each man was determined to be the first to fly over the North Pole, despite brutal weather conditions, financial disasters, world wars, and their own personal demons. Byrd and Amundsen’s epic struggle for air primacy ended in a Homeric episode, in which one man had to fly to the rescue of his downed nemesis and left behind an enduring mystery: who was the first man to fly over the North Pole? Sheldon Bart, an authority on polar pioneer Admiral Richard E. Byrd, is the president and founder of the Wilderness Research Foundation and a member of the board of governors of the American Polar Society. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

George Thomas: Virginian for the Union

Fri, 31 Jan 2014 15:23:07 +0000

Most southern-born army officers resigned their commissions to join the Confederacy in 1861. But a substantial minority remained loyal to the national government, including George H. Thomas, the "Rock of Chickamauga," one of the most successful Union generals of the Civil War. On March 6, 2008, Christopher Einolf spoke on his biography of the career soldier from Southampton County. Dr. Einolf teaches at the University of Virginia.(Introduction by Charles F. Bryan, Jr.) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Telling Our Stories: School Desegregation in Western Virginia

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 18:00:00 +0000

On February 22, 2007, Dr. DeLaney delivered this Banner Lecture at the VHS. In 1954 the Supreme Court held in Brown v. Board of Education that segregation by race in public schools was unconstitutional. In subsequent years, the course of integration followed a slow and varied path. The unfolding of that experience in the schools of western Virginia, particularly as related through oral history interviews, is the special focus of research by Theodore C. DeLaney. Dr. DeLaney is associate professor of history and director of the African American Studies Program at Washington and Lee University. (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Battle of Hué City, South Vietnam, 1968

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 17:57:22 +0000

On August 20, 2009, Lt. Gen. G. R. (Ron) Christmas, USMC (Ret.) delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Battle of Hué City, South Vietnam, 1968." The year 1968 marked a crucial turning point in the Vietnam War. During Tet, the lunar New Year holiday, the North Vietnamese and their Viet Cong allies staged attacks across South Vietnam, none more dramatic than the assault on Hué, the old imperial capital. The offensive ended in crippling military defeat for the attackers, and yet the strength of their assault led to a political setback for the United States, as critics at home gained traction and public support for the war eroded. Lt. Gen. G. R. (Ron) Christmas, USMC (Ret.), participated in the battle for Hué as a company commander and will present a first-hand account of the conflict. General Christmas is president and CEO of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. This lecture was part of the VHS commemoration of the Vietnam War era. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

For Better or For Worse: The Journey of a POW and His Wife

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 17:54:33 +0000

On June 11, 2009, Phyllis and Paul Galanti delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "For Better or For Worse: The Journey of a POW and His Wife." In June 1966, Lt. Cmdr. Paul Galanti was shot down over Vietnam and endured nearly seven years of captivity. His wife Phyllis played a leading role in the efforts of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia to publicize the plight of their loved ones and to secure their release. The Galantis presented an illustrated lecture recounting this dramatic story. Their talk was held in conjunction with the exhibition "Bring Paul Home: Phyllis Galanti and Vietnam War POWs," which is based on the collection given by Phyllis and Paul Galanti to the VHS. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Distorted Mirrors: Americans and Their Relations with Russia and China in the Twentieth Century

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 17:50:12 +0000

On April 1, 2010, Eugene P. Trani delivered a Banner Lecture on his book "Distorted Mirrors: Americans and Their Relations with Russia and China in the Twentieth Century." During the last century, United States relations with Russia and China went through many tumultuous changes. In a new appraisal, Eugene Trani shows where American images of Russia and China originated, how they evolved, and how they have often helped sustain foreign policies that were generally negative toward Russia and more positive toward China. Trani's wide-ranging new book draws on memoirs, archives, and interviews to show how influential individuals shaped perceptions and policies based on what they saw or thought they saw in those two countries. Dr. Trani is president emeritus of Virginia Commonwealth University. (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Struggle with Drugs and Thugs in U.S.-Mexican Relations

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 17:47:15 +0000

On December 3, 2009, George W. Grayson delivered a Banner Lecture titled "The Struggle with Drugs and Thugs in U.S.-Mexican Relations: Mexico: Narco-Violence and a Failed State?" about his book "Mexico: Narco-Violence and a Failed State?". The armed conflict between Mexico's rival drug cartels and the central government is headline news in the United States. George W. Grayson put Mexican-American relations into historical context and examined Mexican efforts to tackle both the demand and supply sides of the problems spawned by the wildly profitable supply route for illegal drugs making their way into the United States. Professor Grayson teaches at the College of William & Mary. (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Hatteras Island: Keeper of the Outer Banks

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 17:43:13 +0000

On July 23, 2009, Ray McAllister delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Hatteras Island: Keeper of the Outer Banks." The Outer Banks have enticed Virginians with the lure of sun, sky, and sea for generations. Despite this idyllic appeal, these once-isolated barrier islands have also witnessed a turbulent past. Pirates, hurricanes, shipwrecks, and U-boats all make their appearance in the varied story of the Outer Banks. Ray McAllister, an award-winning former Richmond Times Dispatch columnist, has become the established chronicler of coastal North Carolina with his latest volume on Hatteras, which follows earlier books on Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Island. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

One Nation Under Debt

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 17:40:11 +0000

On September 4, 2008, Robert E. Wright delivered a Banner Lecture on his book, "Virginia: Catalyst of Commerce for Four Centuries." The United States was born in debt. Was this obligation a vital tool for forging national unity, or a monstrous burden? In "One Nation Under Debt: Hamilton, Jefferson, and the History of What We Owe," Robert E. Wright follows our nation's debt from the founding to the credit crisis of today. A compelling and witty storyteller, Wright shows how the past can illuminate current financial woes. Dr. Wright teaches history at New York University's Stern School of Business. This lecture was a program of the VHS's Reynolds Business History Center. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Up from History: The Life of Booker T. Washington

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 17:34:50 +0000

In his compelling new biography, the first full-length life of Booker T. Washington in a generation, Robert J. Norrell recreates the broad context in which the African American leader worked to overcome past exploitation and present discrimination. Although Washington has often been disparaged since the 1960s, "Up from History" details the positive power of his vision to invoke hope and optimism. On February 5, 2009, Dr. Norrell reinstated this extraordinary historical figure to the pantheon of black leaders. Robert J. Norrell teaches history at the University of Tennessee. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Meuse-Argonne, 1918: The Battle That Ended World War I

Thu, 23 Jan 2014 15:09:29 +0000

On September 17, 2009, Edward G. Lengel delivered a lecture on his book Meuse-Argonne, 1918: The Battle That Ended World War I. After four years of stalemate on the Western Front, a final Allied push broke the German army in autumn 1918. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive represented the war's largest commitment of American troops to battle and helped pave the way to German capitulation in November. In To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918, Edward G. Lengel tells the epic tale of American soldiers in the final campaign of World War I. Dr. Lengel is associate professor of history at UVA and an editor of the Papers of George Washington. (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath

Thu, 23 Jan 2014 14:51:18 +0000

On Thursday, May 6, 2010, the VHS held its annual Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture in the Robins Family Forum. Elizabeth and Michael Norman discussed their book Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath, the gripping story of the 1942 battle for the Philippines, the surrender of 76,000 Americans and Filipinos to the Japanese, and the infamous Bataan death march. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

From Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers: The Transformation of the South in the Twentieth Century

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 14:31:07 +0000

On July 24, 2008, Paul A. Levengood delivered the banner lecture "From Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers: The Transformation of the South in the Twentieth Century" At the dawn of the twentieth century, the South was by all measurements the poorest, most segregated region in the United States. One hundred years later, it was one of the fastest-growing parts of the nation, attracting population and industry at a dizzying rate. How did this transformation take place? How much of the traditional South remains? Looking at such key events as World War II and the South’s longstanding effort to attract business investment, Paul A. Levengood will chart the breathtaking course of the twentieth century and examine what survives and what has been lost in the rush toward prosperity and growth. Dr. Levengood is president-elect and CEO-elect of the VHS. This lecture is a program of the VHS's Reynolds Business History Center.(Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Louis Brandeis: An American Legal Giant

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 14:26:17 +0000

On March 25, 2010, Melvin Urofsky delivered a lecture on his book Louis Brandeis: An American Legal Giant. Louis Brandeis was one of the most important and distinguished justices to sit on the United States Supreme Court. In his latest book, Melvin Urofsky presents not only Brandeis the reformer, lawyer, and jurist, but also Brandeis the man, in all of his complexity, passion, and wit. Drawing on family papers and materials never before available, Urofsky gives us the remarkable story of Brandeis's influence on American society and jurisprudence, and the electrifying story of his time. Dr. Urofsky is a former professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University. (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through his Private Letters

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 14:17:33 +0000

On May 24, 2007, Ms. Pryor delivered this lecture on her book, Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through his Private Letters Since his death, researchers have lamented that Robert E. Lee never wrote a memoir. But, as author Elizabeth Brown Pryor revealed during her Banner Lecture at the VHS, this collection contains numerous letters and notes in the hand of Robert E. Lee reflecting on his long career. Pryor, who was granted access to selected portions of the collection found at Burke & Herbert Bank before processing at the Society began, spoke about her recently published book, Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through his Private Letters. In her book, Pryor explores the thoughts and actions of Robert E. Lee largely through his own words—some of which were derived from the newly released papers at the VHS—focusing on Lee's religious beliefs, his views on slavery, his father, his days at West Point, and his decision to join the South during the Civil War. (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Lee and Grant

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 14:05:00 +0000

On November 1, 2007, William M. S. Rasmussen delivered a lecture in conjunction with exhibition Lee and Grant. The two great opposing military commanders of the Civil War, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, towered over their contemporaries. In a major exhibition and book created in the 200th anniversary year of Lee's birth, the VHS explored the parallel lives of these two American heroes. In an illustrated lecture, co-curator and co-author William M. S. Rasmussen examined Lee and Grant and their influence on our history. Dr. Rasmussen is Lora M. Robins Curator at the VHS and curator of the exhibition. (Introduction by James C. Kelly) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Who Looks at Lee Must Think of Washington

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:49:53 +0000

In his 1866 poem, "Lee in the Capitol," Herman Melville portrays a dignified Robert E. Lee advocating reconciliation before the Congressional committee on Reconstruction. One of the poet's most powerful references is his association of Lee with George Washington. On February 28, 2008, Robert Tilton's lecture examined Melville's interpretation of Lee and his role in American history. Professor Tilton is co-curator of the exhibition Lee and Grant and teaches English and American Studies at the University of Connecticut. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

General Lee's Army: From Victory to Collapse

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:33:46 +0000

On March 21, 2008, Joseph Glatthaar delivered the banner lecture "General Lee's Army: From Victory to Collapse" In this lecture, based on his new book General Lee's Army, Dr. Glatthaar used the story of Robert E. Lee's army as a powerful lens for viewing the entire Civil War, from the early springtime of southern hopes to final crushing defeat, from the homefront to the heart of the most famous battles of the war. Dr. Glatthaar teaches history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (Introduction by Charles F. Bryan, Jr.) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Lee and the Historians in the Age of the Anti-Hero

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 19:00:09 +0000

On May 22, 2008, Robert K. Krick delivered the banner lecture "Lee and the Historians in the Age of the Anti-Hero" According to some recent historians, Gen. Robert E. Lee was not a hero to southerners during the Civil War but only afterward. Robert K. Krick argues to the contrary that he was idolized as a great leader in the midst of the conflict, not just later when the defeated South groped to interpret what had happened. For thirty years, Mr. Krick was chief historian of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. He is the author of many books including, most recently, Civil War Weather in Virginia (Introduction by Charles F. Bryan, Jr.) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Moses Ezekiel: Civil War Soldier, Renowned Sculptor

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 18:57:37 +0000

On June 12, 2008, Keith Gibson delivered the banner lecture "Moses Ezekiel: Civil War Soldier, Renowned Sculptor" Few sculptors of the nineteenth century were as well known during their lifetimes as Moses Ezekiel, though he is little-known today. The first Jewish cadet at VMI, he fought in the battle of New Market in 1864. Encouraged by Robert E. Lee to pursue his artistic calling, Ezekiel studied in Europe and became the first American to win the coveted Prix de Rome. Keith Gibson will draw on his biography of Ezekiel to bring to life this luminary of nineteenth-century art. Colonel Gibson is executive director of museum programs and architectural historian at the Virginia Military Institute.(Introduction by Robert F. Strohm) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

So Ends This Day: An Illustrated Update on the Life and Times of the Monitor, from 1861 to yesterday

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 18:54:22 +0000

On November 12, 2009, Anna Gibson Holloway delivered the banner lecture "So Ends This Day: An Illustrated Update on the Life and Times of the Monitor, from 1861 to yesterday" Although the Union ironclad Monitor may have ended her working career in a gale off Cape Hatteras in December 1862, her story does not end there. Discovered in 1973, established as a National Marine Sanctuary in 1975, and the subject of intense recovery operations by NOAA and the U.S. Navy since then, the curious "cheesebox on a raft" still has stories to tell. Anna Holloway brought the Monitor to life in this lively, illustrated presentation by combining log entries, official correspondence, personal letters from officers and crew, and material evidence found in the ship itself. Holloway serves as vice president of museum collections and programs at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, where she recently curated the award-winning exhibition Ironclad Revolution at the USS Monitor Center. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Hidden Treasures: A Short History of the Mary Custis Lee Trunks

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 18:48:16 +0000

On April 22, 2010, Lee Shepard delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Hidden Treasures: A Short History of the Mary Custis Lee Trunks." In 2002, two wooden trunks were found at Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Company in Alexandria, Va. The trunks contained letters, legal papers, journals, travel souvenirs, financial records, and smaller artifacts that were collected by Mary Custis Lee, the eldest daughter of General Robert E. Lee. The collection of manuscripts and artifacts, now at the Virginia Historical Society, have been added to what is currently the largest holding of Lee family papers in any single repository. Lee Shepard will discuss and show images of items found in the trunks—including an 1810 letter from George Washington Parke Custis, the builder of Arlington House; an 1863 order from Robert E. Lee, in his own hand, announcing the death of General Stonewall Jackson; and an 1872 letter from former Arlington House slave Selina Gray to Mary Randolph Custis Lee. He will also reveal new information that we have learned not only about Robert E. Lee but also about his very interesting daughter Mary. Lee Shepard is vice president for collections at the VHS. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Robert E. Lee: Lessons in Leadership

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 18:45:50 +0000

On January 28, 2010, Noah Andre Trudeau delivered a lecture on his book Robert E. Lee. Almost 150 years after the fact, Robert E. Lee remains a towering figure of the Civil War era, an acclaimed strategist and an enigmatic personality. In his new book, the latest in the critically received Great Generals Series, prolific author Noah Andre Trudeau presents an insightful narrative about the Confederacy's preeminent military leader. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Skeletons on the Zahara

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 17:21:15 +0000

On January 24, 2008, Dean King delivered this Banner Lecture. In 1815 the American sailing ship Commerce ran aground on the northwestern shore of Africa. In his prize-winning book, Skeletons on the Zahara, Dean King recounts the misfortunes of the shipwrecked crew. They were captured by nomadic Arab slave traders and marched across the desert, subjected to heat, starvation, and cruelty. At last the survivors made it back to the coast where they were ransomed and freed. King, a Richmond writer, brings this once-famous adventure story, well known to nineteenth-century readers, back to life. (Introduction by Charles F. Bryan, Jr.) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Sites and Stories: African American History in Virginia

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 17:18:18 +0000

On February 14, 2008, Lauranett Lee delivered this Banner Lecture. Historic highway markers are beloved features of the Old Dominion's landscape. Through these signs, away from the high speed of interstates, the careful motorist can piece together major themes running through Virginia's past. One of the most important but sometimes neglected such strands is the story of African Americans. In Sites and Stories, Lauranett L. Lee mounted an exhibition to present the narratives told by these markers. Her lecture highlighted the struggles and triumphs of African Americans in Virginia from 1619 to the recent past. Dr. Lee is curator of African American history at the VHS. (Introduction by James C. Kelly) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Prestwould: Gracious Living on the American Frontier, 1790-1830

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 14:41:20 +0000

On October 1, 2009, Julian Hudson delivered a lecture entitled "Prestwould: Gracious Living on the American Frontier, 1790-1830." Prestwould Plantation, built at the end of the eighteenth century in a post-revolutionary Georgian style, is located on the bluffs above the Roanoke River near Clarksville, Virginia. Dr. Julian Hudson, the executive director of the Prestwould Foundation, has overseen the restoration of this historic property by leading preservation specialists. His lecture illustrated the material culture represented by Prestwould, beginning with Sir Peyton and Lady Jean Skipwith and extending down four subsequent generations. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 14:35:17 +0000

On May 27, 2010, James Horn delivered the banner lecture "A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke" In 1587, a small band of men, women, and children put down the first tentative roots of English settlement on the sandy soil of Roanoke Island along the North Carolina coast, in what was then considered part of Virginia. In the face of dwindling supplies and hostile Indians, the English leader, John White, left his family and friends and re-crossed the Atlantic in a desperate attempt to assemble ships to rescue the failing colony. However, the threat from the Spanish Armada delayed his return until 1590, and when he did, the colonists had completely disappeared. In his dramatic new account, master historian James Horn revisits the tragedy of this first, failed effort at English colonization in the New World. He offers new evidence about what happened to the Lost Colony and its people. The author of five books on early American history, James Horn is vice president of research and historical interpretation and director of the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at Colonial Williamsburg. This lecture was cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Flight from Monticello: Thomas Jefferson at War

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 14:19:11 +0000

On March 4, 2010, Michael Kranish delivered a lecture on his book Flight from Monticello: Thomas Jefferson at War. In his new book, Michael Kranish recounts Thomas Jefferson's difficult tenure as Virginia's governor during the Revolution. The story begins with the background of struggle against British rule, then the tumultuous outbreak of fighting and Jefferson's role in the Continental Congress, followed by his rise to the governorship. Influenced by Jefferson, Virginia provided for a weak chief executive, and the state was ill-prepared for invasion. When war came to the Old Dominion, the legislature fled the capital, and Jefferson narrowly eluded capture twice. Kranish describes his many stumbles as he struggled to respond to the crisis. "Jefferson's record was both remarkable and unsatisfactory, filled with contradictions," writes Kranish. As a revolutionary leader who felt he was unqualified to conduct a war, Jefferson never resolved those contradictions. But, as Kranish shows, he did learn lessons from the hard tutelage of war. This lecture is cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in Virginia. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon

Fri, 10 Jan 2014 17:03:12 +0000

On May 28, 2009 John Ferling delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon." In 2007 John Ferling spoke at the VHS on his history of the Revolutionary War, "Almost a Miracle." Now he has drawn on his unsurpassed knowledge of that era to provide a fresh and provocative new portrait of the greatest of the Founders in "The Ascent of George Washington." Dr. Ferling is the author of an earlier biography of George Washington and numerous books on the American Revolution. This lecture was cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Dolley Madison: A Documentary

Fri, 10 Jan 2014 16:55:37 +0000

On February 4, 2010, Muffie Meyer delivered a lecture entitled "Dolley Madison: A Documentary." In March, the "American Experience" history series on PBS will broadcast a new documentary on the life of Dolley Madison. Today’s event offers a preview of part of the documentary, along with commentary about the making of the film by the producer and director, Muffie Meyer. This event is jointly sponsored by the Virginia Historical Society and James Madison’s Montpelier. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788–1800

Fri, 10 Jan 2014 16:52:23 +0000

On April 16, 2008, Jay Winik delivered a lecture entitled "The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788–1800." As the 1790s began, a fragile American republic took its first uncertain steps, the Russian empire expanded, and France plunged into revolution. Jay Winik's new book, "The Great Upheaval," illuminates how events in these three nations combined to change the course of civilization. Mr. Winik is the author of the best-selling "April 1865." (Introduction by Charles F. Bryan, Jr.) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Jefferson in Perspective

Fri, 10 Jan 2014 16:44:31 +0000

On May 21, 2009, Daniel P. Jordan delivered the 2009 Stuart G. Christian, Jr., lecture entitled "Jefferson in Perspective." Daniel P. Jordan recently retired as president of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, one of the most beloved historic sites in America. No other historian today has immersed himself more deeply into the multifaceted life of our third president. Drawing on his many years at Monticello, Dr. Jordan reflected on the meaning of Thomas Jefferson within the broader context of his times and his enduring legacy for us today. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America

Wed, 08 Jan 2014 19:55:18 +0000

On April 16, 2009, Lorri Glover delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America." The wreck of the "Sea Venture" on Bermuda in 1609 and the role its survivors played in the eventual rescue of the failing colony at Jamestown are dramatic tales from the founding years of the nation. In a new book, authors Lorri Glover and Daniel Blake Smith retell this account of shipwreck, courage, mutiny, and deliverance. The authors make a forceful case that the "Sea Venture" bears no small part in the ultimate survival of English colonization in America. Dr. Glover teaches American history at Saint Louis University. This lecture was cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in Virginia. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke

Wed, 08 Jan 2014 19:51:26 +0000

On May 27, 2010, James Horn discussed his book A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke." In 1587, a small band of men, women, and children put down the first tentative roots of English settlement on the sandy soil of Roanoke Island along the North Carolina coast, in what was then considered part of Virginia. In the face of dwindling supplies and hostile Indians, the English leader, John White, left his family and friends and re-crossed the Atlantic in a desperate attempt to assemble ships to rescue the failing colony. However, the threat from the Spanish Armada delayed his return until 1590, and when he did, the colonists had completely disappeared. In his dramatic new account, master historian James Horn revisits the tragedy of this first, failed effort at English colonization in the New World. He offers new evidence about what happened to the Lost Colony and its people. The author of five books on early American history, James Horn is vice president of research and historical interpretation and director of the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at Colonial Williamsburg. This lecture was cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in Virginia. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Werowocomoco and Fairfield Plantation: Rediscovering the Forgotten Landscapes of Gloucester County

Wed, 08 Jan 2014 19:43:07 +0000

On April 2, 2009, David Brown and Thane Harpole delivered this lecture entitled "Werowocomoco and Fairfield Plantation: Rediscovering the Forgotten Landscapes of Gloucester County." The excitement of discovering lost landscapes, including the Burwell family's ancestral home and the nearby village of Powhatan and Pocahontas, has resulted in the resurgence of support for historic preservation in the Middle Peninsula. David Brown and Thane Harpole described these activities to illustrate everyday life in colonial Virginia and to show how our interpretations of it influence our own day. Brown and Harpole are archaeologists, co-directors of the Fairfield Foundation, and founding members of the Werowocomoco Research Group. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) This event was cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Mapping Virginia: Pictures of a Moving Place, 1587–1783

Tue, 10 Dec 2013 17:59:26 +0000

On December 5, William C. Wooldridge delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Mapping Virginia: Pictures of a Moving Place, 1587-1783." Drawing from the engaging images in Mapping Virginia: From the Age of Discovery to the Civil War, Bill Wooldridge shows the very different ways that cartographers, and by implication their audiences, conceived of Virginia from generation to generation from the sixteenth century through the Revolutionary War. Until the mid-eighteenth century, these changing visions of Virginia had only a distant connection to changes in the colony's legal boundaries. Instead, they reflected the Old World's evolving understanding of the place, from exotic Eden to much of Eastern North America to the country around Chesapeake Bay to imperial England's greatest province. William C. Wooldridge, a retired attorney and current VHS trustee, is the author of Mapping Virginia and of several articles on cartographic history. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Carillon: The Story of a Richmond Community

Fri, 15 Nov 2013 22:05:10 +0000

On November 14, 2013, Elizabeth O'Leary delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Carillon: The Story of a Richmond Community." An active community nestled near Richmond's Byrd Park, the Carillon neighborhood has a surprisingly rich, complex history. Basing her lecture on her recently published work,The Carillon Neighborhood: A History, Dr. Elizabeth O'Leary will relate the story of the area’s land and people from the colonial frontier to antebellum farmland; Gilded Age streetcar suburb to upscale Jazz Age development; site of a postwar housing boom to hub for civil rights activism. The lecture will provide special focus on the formation of the Carillon Civic Association and its efforts in the turbulent 1960s and '70s in nurturing one of Virginia's first successfully integrated communities. An art historian who resides in Richmond, O'Leary is the former associate curator of American art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Family of Assassins: The Surratts of Maryland

Fri, 01 Nov 2013 20:36:39 +0000

On October 31, David O. Stewart delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Family of Assassins: The Surratts of Maryland. "Everyone knows about John Wilkes Booth, the man who killed Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. But what about Mary Surratt, the boardinghouse keeper who "kept the nest that hatched the egg" of assassination and was the first woman executed by the United States government? Or her son John, a Confederate courier and boon companion to Booth, who fled through Canada and Britain to Vatican City, ending up as a Papal Zouave until he was chased across the Mediterranean and hauled back to face a Washington, D.C., jury that deadlocked and set him free? The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

First House: Two Centuries with Virginia's First Families

Thu, 10 Oct 2013 19:24:24 +0000

On October 10, 2013, Mary Theobald delivered a banner lecture entitled First House: Two Centuries with Virginia's First Families. Conceived during the Revolutionary War, built during the War of 1812, and looted during the Civil War, Virginia's executive mansion has endured fires, threats, riots, and hurricanes. Written to coincide with the mansion's bicentennial in 2013, First House: Two Centuries with Virginia's First Family by Mary Miley Theobald brings to life the private stories of the governors and their families who shaped the destiny of this unique home. The book traces triumph and tragedy through the turbulence of wars, fires, economic depressions, and renovations in a story that mirrors Virginia's progress from the nineteenth century into the twenty-first. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Contested Borderland: The Civil War in Appalachian Kentucky and Virginia

Thu, 03 Oct 2013 21:02:10 +0000

On July 25, 2013, Brian D. McKnight delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Contested Borderland: The Civil War in Appalachian Kentucky and Virginia." During the four years of the Civil War, the border between eastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia was highly contested territory, alternately occupied by both the Confederacy and the Union. In Contested Borderland, Brian McKnight examines the features of the region's geography and the influence of the attacks on borderlands caught in the crossfire of opposing forces. He reveals how the dual occupation of the Union and Confederate armies divided the borderland population, creating hostilities within the region that would persist long after the war's conclusion. Professor McKnight teaches history at the University of Virginia's College at Wise. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

War and Pieces: Quilts through America's War Years

Thu, 03 Oct 2013 19:33:11 +0000

On August 22, 2013, Neva Hart delivered a banner lecture entitled "War and Pieces: Quilts through America's War Years." For soldiers in the field or citizen soldiers who declared the moral equivalent of war, quilts have been used throughout America's history not only as comfort, but to further "the Cause." It wasn't the Boston Tea Party that started the fight! Learn how quilt makers, impacted by textile trade and social trends, were influenced by the Revolutionary War to today’s Middle East conflicts. This illustrated lecture featuring examples as early as the late 1700s, will discuss embargoes to the Colonies, development of America's textile manufacturing, the Underground Railroad, Civil War, women and politics, development of the Red Cross, Quilts of Valor, and virtual quilts. Neva Hart served as president of the Professional Association of Appraisers-Quilted Textiles and as a board member for the Virginia Quilt Museum. Editor and contributor to Quilts of Virginia, 1607–1899 (2006), she writes, lectures, researches and collects antique and art quilts from her home near Roanoke. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Fighting for Freedom: African Americans and the War of 1812

Thu, 03 Oct 2013 19:27:22 +0000

On September 4, 2013, Gene Allen Smith delivered a banner lecture entitled "Fighting for Freedom: African Americans and the War of 1812." Images of American slavery conjure up cotton plantations and African Americans locked in bondage until the Civil War. Yet early in the nineteenth century the state of slavery was very different, and the political vicissitudes of the young nation offered diverse possibilities to slaves. Though surprising numbers of slaves did assist the Americans in the War of 1812, the conflict created opportunities for slaves to find freedom among the British. The Slaves' Gamble: Choosing Sides in the War of 1812 by Gene Smith offers a fascinating and original narrative history of an extraordinary yet little-known chapter in the dark saga of American history. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Ocracoke: The Pearl of the Outer Banks

Thu, 22 Aug 2013 22:20:46 +0000

On August 8, 2013, Ray McAllister delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Ocracoke: The Pearl of the Outer Banks." The Outer Banks have enticed Virginians with the lure of sun, sky, and sea for generations. Despite this idyllic appeal, these once-isolated barrier islands have also witnessed a turbulent past. Pirates, hurricanes, shipwrecks, and U-boats all make their appearance in the varied story of the Outer Banks. Ray McAllister, an award-winning former Richmond Times Dispatch columnist, has become the established chronicler of coastal North Carolina with his latest volume on Ocracoke, which follows earlier books on Hatteras Island, Wrightsville Beach, and Topsail Island. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Feud: The All-American, No-Holds-Barred, Blood-and-Guts Story of the Hatfields and McCoys

Fri, 16 Aug 2013 15:20:04 +0000

On June 20, 2013, Dean King delivered the 2013 Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture at the Virginia Historical Society entitled "The Feud: The All-American, No-Holds-Barred, Blood-and-Guts Story of the Hatfields and McCoys." The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Knights of the Golden Circle: Secret Empire, Secession, Civil War

Thu, 15 Aug 2013 19:15:04 +0000

On June 13, 2013, David C. Keehn delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Knights of the Golden Circle: Secret Empire, Secession, Civil War." The Knights of the Golden Circle was a mysterious southern-based society that set out in 1859 to establish a slave empire in Mexico. In late 1860, it shifted its focus to supporting the secession movement and intimidating Unionists in the South. According to David Keehn, once the war began, the Knights helped build up the nascent Confederate army and carried out various clandestine actions, including an attempt to assassinate Abraham Lincoln as he passed through Baltimore in 1861. Keehn, an attorney from Allentown, Pa., is the author of Knights of the Golden Circle: Secret Empire, Southern Secession, Civil War. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Civil War at a Crossroads: The Seven Days

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:37:08 +0000

On June 19, 2012, Edward Ayers delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Civil War at a Crossroads: The Seven Days." In the spring of 1862, Virginia's civilians faced a different kind of war than they had the year before. Advancing Union armies now occupied large amounts of territory in western Virginia and in Tidewater, and their presence had a dramatic effect on local populations. Pro-Confederate white Virginians became refugees as they left their homes, and enslaved Virginians began to flee to the safety of Union lines. In this lecture, Edward L. Ayers analyzed the impact of the Civil War on Virginia's civilians up through the first half of 1862. He is president of the University of Richmond and the author of "In the Presence of Mine Enemies: The Civil War in the Heart of America, 1859–1863." This lecture is cosponsored with the Richmond National Battlefield Park and The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar. (Introduction by Paul Levengood, Dave Ruth, and Cheryl Magazine) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Unlocking Menokin’s Secrets: Archaeological and Landscape Research at a Northern Neck Plantation

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:37:06 +0000

On October 25, 2012, David Brown delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Unlocking Menokin’s Secrets: Archaeological and Landscape Research at a Northern Neck Plantation." One of the great houses to survive from colonial Virginia, Menokin was the result of a unique collaboration between John Tayloe II of Mount Airy and Francis Lightfoot Lee, the husband of his daughter Rebecca. Tayloe gave Lee a life interest in 1,000 acres of his vast Richmond County estate and, as a wedding present, built the plantation house and surrounding structures. Though scant written records remain, other clues offer insight into this adaptation of European design to the environment of eastern Virginia. David Brown with DATA Investigations will discuss recent archaeological and landscape research conducted at the site. Brown is a consulting archaeologist for The Menokin Foundation. This lecture is cosponsored by the foundation, which owns and operates the home of Francis Lightfoot Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his wife Rebecca Tayloe Lee. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Sarah Dillard Pope) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

John Randolph of Roanoke

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:07:15 +0000

On June 28, 2012, David Johnson delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "John Randolph of Roanoke." One of the most eccentric and accomplished politicians in all of American history, John Randolph of Roanoke led a life marked by controversy. The long-serving Virginia congressman and architect of southern conservatism grabbed headlines with his prescient comments, public brawls, and clashes with every president from John Adams to Andrew Jackson. The first biography of Randolph in nearly a century, "John Randolph of Roanoke" provides a full account of the powerful Virginia planter's hardcharging life and his influence on the formation of conservative politics. John Randolph of Roanoke tells the story of a young nation and the unique philosophy of a southern lawmaker who defended America's agrarian tradition and reveled in his own controversy. David Johnson is deputy attorney general for the state of Virginia and the author of a biography of Douglas Southall Freeman. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Andrew Cain). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

To Bind Up the Nation’s Wounds: An Overview of the Thirteenth Amendment

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 15:39:21 +0000

On April 14, 2012, Dr. Lauranett delivered a lecture entitled "To Bind Up the Nation’s Wounds: An Overview of the Thirteenth Amendment." This talk highlighting the historical significance of the document. Other speakers during the lecture included Edward Ayers and Senator Henry Marsh. (Introduction by Edward Ayers and Senator Henry Marsh) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Lost Communities of Virginia

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 15:38:28 +0000

On May 3, 2012, Terri Fisher delivered a lecture entitled "Lost Communities of Virginia." Virginia's back roads and rural areas are dotted with traces of once-thriving communities. General stores, train depots, schools, churches, banks, and post offices provide intriguing details of a way of life now gone. "Lost Communities of Virginia" documents thirty small communities from throughout the commonwealth that have lost their original industry, transportation mode, or way of life. Using contemporary photographs, maps, and excerpts of interviews with longtime residents of these communities, the book documents the present conditions, recalls past boom times, and explains the role of each community in regional settlement. Terri Fisher is outreach and programs coordinator at the Community Design Assistance Center at Virginia Tech and executive director of the Giles County Historical Society. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The U.S. Marines at Belleau Wood, June 1918

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 15:37:28 +0000

On June 14, 2012, Patrick Mooney delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The U.S. Marines at Belleau Wood, June 1918." In 1917 the German Empire won its war on the Eastern Front by imposing humiliating terms on Russia. It then mounted a giant spring offensive on the Western Front in 1918 to crush the weakened Allied armies. U.S. Marines of the American Expeditionary Force helped blunt the German thrust and turn the tide. The pivotal action took place in June at the battle of Belleau Wood, the bloodiest fighting involving American troops since the Civil War. Patrick Mooney will describe this dramatic chapter in Marine Corps history and America's participation in World War I. Mr. Mooney is visitor services chief at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

More Important Than Gettysburg: The Seven Days Campaign as a Turning Point

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 15:36:23 +0000

On July 11, 2012, Gary W. Gallagher delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "More Important Than Gettysburg: The Seven Days Campaign as a Turning Point." Ever since the Civil War ended, it has been a popular pastime to look for dramatic turning points in that conflict. For many, the battle of Gettysburg represents the great event that tipped the balance toward the North. Key political, diplomatic, social, and military issues, however, were at stake in the summer of 1862 as Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan faced off in the Seven Days Battles. Gary W. Gallagher argues that Lee's victory had a profound effect on the conflict and that perhaps the series of battles waged on the Virginia Peninsula should be regarded as a major turning point of the war. Dr. Gallagher is a professor of history at the University of Virginia. His most recent book is "The Union War." This lecture is cosponsored with the Richmond National Battlefield Park and The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Dave Ruth) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Queen and the USA: Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee in America

Mon, 08 Jul 2013 16:41:54 +0000

On July 26, 2012, H. Edward "Chip" Mann delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Queen and the USA: Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee" in America. Although the United States was born out of revolution against Great Britain, Americans have warmly greeted the reigning British monarch on each of her visits to this country. Queen Elizabeth II has made three state visits to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Each has rekindled appreciation of the common bonds between the United Kingdom and the United States: the rule of law, representative government, and economic freedom. "The Queen and the USA" was published to celebrate those ties on the occasion of Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee. With illustrations from his new book, H. Edward "Chip" Mann will describe the queen's special relationship with Virginia and all of America on the anniversary of her sixty years as queen of England. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Daphne Maxwell Reid) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Edward Coles: Crusade Against Slavery

Mon, 08 Jul 2013 16:39:16 +0000

On August 2, 2012, Bruce G. Carveth delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Edward Coles: Crusade Against Slavery." Edward Coles was a wealthy heir to a central Virginia plantation who left his family's Virginia tobacco plantation in 1819 and started the long trip west to Edwardsville, Illinois. He paused along the Ohio River on an emotional April morning to free his slaves and offer each family 160 acres of Illinois land of their own. Some continued to work for Coles, while others were left to find work for themselves. Coles later became the second governor of Illinois, the loyal personal secretary to President James Madison, and a close antislavery associate of Thomas Jefferson. In "Crusade Against Slavery," Bruce G. Carveth and his coauthor detail Coles's remarkable life story and his role in the struggle to free all slaves. Carveth is an independent writer and former editor. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

A Nation of Deadbeats: An Uncommon History of America's Financial Disasters

Mon, 08 Jul 2013 16:37:47 +0000

On November 8, 2012, Scott Reynolds Nelson delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "A Nation of Deadbeats: An Uncommon History of America's Financial Disasters." Pundits will argue that the 2008 financial crisis was the first crash in American history driven by consumer debt. But Scott Nelson demonstrates in his new book, "A Nation of Deadbeats: An Uncommon History of America's Financial Disasters," that consumer debt has underpinned almost every major financial panic in the nation’s history. In each case, the chain of banks, brokers, moneylenders, and insurance companies that separated borrowers and lenders made it impossible to distinguish good loans from bad. Bound up in this history are stories of national banks funded by smugglers, fistfights in Congress over the gold standard, America's early dependence on British bankers, and how presidential campaigns were forged in controversies over private debt. Scott Reynolds Nelson is the Leslie and Naomi Legum Professor of History at the College of William and Mary.(Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

Mon, 08 Jul 2013 15:50:40 +0000

On November 14, Daniel Okrent delivered the 2012 Alexander W. Weddell Lecture entitled "Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition." The first annual Alexander W. Weddell Lecture took place in 1983 and was named in honor of Alexander Weddell, former president of the VHS. Ambassador Weddell and his wife, Virginia, bequeathed Virginia House and a generous endowment to the VHS. The Weddell Lecture takes place on the evening of the last board of trustees meeting of the year, usually the third Wednesday in November. Past Weddell Lecturers have included Gary W. Gallagher, Edward L. Ayers, Rick Atkinson, and Tony Horwitz. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Good to Great to Gone: The Circuit City Story

Sat, 06 Jul 2013 17:37:56 +0000

On November 29, 2012, Alan Wurtzel discussed his book, Good to Great to Gone: The 60 Year Rise and Fall of Circuit City. Not many years ago, Circuit City stood out as perhaps the premier name in the highly competitive sector of consumer electronics and a prominent corporate presence in Virginia. No longer. The author of Good to Great to Gone is uniquely placed to relate this story. Alan Wurtzel was the creator and first chief executive officer of the company. His newly published account gives the inside perspective, as only the CEO can provide, on the company's spectacular rise and fall. The book is a complement to the documentary, A Tale of Two Cities: The Circuit City Story. This lecture is part of the Reynolds Business History Center series. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Gregory J. Gilligan) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: Harrison Salisbury

Sat, 06 Jul 2013 16:59:36 +0000

On March 28, 2013, Eugene P. Trani delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: Harrison Salisbury." During his career at the New York Times, Harrison Salisbury served as the bureau chief in post–World War II Moscow, reported from Hanoi during the Vietnam War, and in retirement he witnessed the Tiananmen Square massacre firsthand. In a new biography of the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Eugene P. Trani and Donald E. Davis make use of Salisbury's personal archive of interviews, articles, and correspondence to shed light on the personal triumphs and shortcomings of this preeminent reporter and illuminate the world in which he lived. Doctor Trani is President Emeritus and University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author, with Davis, of The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: Harrison Salisbury and the New York Times. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Winslow Homer's Virginia

Thu, 30 May 2013 20:49:01 +0000

On April 18, 2013, Elizabeth O'Leary delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Winslow Homer's Virginia." When his paintings were exhibited in 1866, artist Winslow Homer gained critical acclaim for picturing "what he has seen and known." Afterward, this reputation for objectivity helped bolster the celebrated artist's long and prosperous career. Focusing on Homer's representations of Virginia during the Civil War and post-Reconstruction era, Elizabeth O'Leary examines the more subjective aspects—political, cultural, and personal—that informed his creation of some of the most enduring images of nineteenth-century America. An art historian who resides in Richmond, O'Leary is the former associate curator of American art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Booker T. Washington, Julius Rosenwald, and the Building of Schools for the Segregated South

Thu, 30 May 2013 19:05:56 +0000

On May 16, 2013, Stephanie Deutsch delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Booker T. Washington, Julius Rosenwald, and the Building of Schools for the Segregated South." Booker T. Washington, the founder of Tuskegee Institute, and Julius Rosenwald, the president of Sears, Roebuck, and Company, first met in 1911. By charting the lives of these two men both before and after the meeting, Stephanie Deutsch offers a fascinating glimpse into the partnership that would bring thousands of modern schoolhouses to African American communities in the rural South. By the time segregation ended, the "Rosenwald Schools" that sprang from this unlikely partnership were educating one third of the South's African American children. Deutsch, a writer and critic living in Washington, D.C., is the author of "You Need a Schoolhouse: Booker T. Washington, Julius Rosenwald, and the Building of Schools for the Segregated South." (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945

Thu, 30 May 2013 17:14:25 +0000

On May 23, 2013 Rick Atkinson delivered the 2013 Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture entitled "The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945." The Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture was named in honor of the former president of the VHS and takes place in the spring. Because "Punky" Christian was a decorated veteran of the Normandy Campaign, we have focused the series on topics from the era of World War II. Previous speakers have included Elizabeth and Michael Norman, Robert Edsel, and Mitchell Zuckoff. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Why Washington Burned and How the President Survived: James Madison and the War of 1812

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

On March 7, 2013, Jeff Broadwater delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Why Washington Burned and How the President Survived: James Madison and the War of 1812." In his recent biography of the fourth president, Broadwater focuses on James Madison's role in the battle for religious freedom in Virginia, his contributions to the adoption of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, his place in the evolution of the party system, his views on slavery, and his relationship with Dolley Madison. In this lecture, Broadwater will shed light on Madison's performance as a wartime commander in chief and reveal how the unlikely wartime leader survived repeated setbacks in the War of 1812 with his popularity intact. Jeff Broadwater is a professor of history at Barton College. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) This lecture was cosponsored with the War of 1812 Commission and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

On February 7, 2013, Henry Wiencek delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves." Is there anything new to say about Thomas Jefferson and slavery? The answer is a resounding yes. Master of the Mountain, Henry Wiencek's eloquent, persuasive book—based on new information coming from archaeological work at Monticello and on previously overlooked or disregarded evidence in Jefferson's papers—opens up a huge, poorly understood dimension of Jefferson's world. Wiencek's Jefferson is a man of business and public affairs who makes a success of his debt-ridden plantation thanks to what he calls the "silent profits" gained from his slaves—and thanks to a moral universe that he and thousands of others readily inhabited. Henry Weincek, a nationally prominent historian and writer, lives in Charlottesville.(Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Monticello

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

On January 17, 2013, Cynthia A. Kierner delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Monticello.” As the oldest and favorite daughter of Thomas Jefferson, Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph was extremely well educated, traveled in the circles of presidents and aristocrats, and was known on two continents for her particular grace and sincerity. Yet, as mistress of a large household, she was not spared the tedium, frustration, and great sorrow that most women of her time faced. Though Patsy's name is familiar because of her famous father, Cynthia Kierner is the first historian to place Patsy at the center of her own story, taking readers into the largely ignored private spaces of the founding era. Kierner is professor of history and director of the Ph.D. program in history and art history at George Mason University. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Nicole McMullin) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

My Father’s Name: A Black Virginia Family after the Civil War

Sat, 12 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

On January 31, 2013, Lawrence Jackson delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “My Father’s Name: A Black Virginia Family after the Civil War.” Part history and part detective story, "My Father’s Name" is a moving narrative full of the mixture of anguish and fulfillment that accompanies any search into the history of slavery. In this intimate study of a black Virginia family and neighborhood, Lawrence Jackson vividly reconstructs moments in the lives of his father’s grandfather, Edward Jackson, and great-grandfather, Granville Hundley. In the process the author brings to life stories of the people of Pittsylvania County during and immediately after slavery. Lawrence Jackson teaches in the English department at Emory University. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The 1811 Richmond Theater Fire

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On December 6, 2012, Meredith Henne Baker delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “The 1811 Richmond Theater Fire.” On the day after Christmas in 1811, the state of Virginia lost its governor and almost one hundred citizens in a devastating nighttime fire that consumed a Richmond playhouse. The tragic Richmond Theater fire would inspire a national commemoration and become its generation's defining disaster. In "The Richmond Theater Fire," the first book about the event and its aftermath, Meredith Henne Baker explores a forgotten catastrophe and its wide societal impact. The story of transformation comes alive through survivor accounts of slaves, actresses, ministers, and statesmen. Investigating private letters, diaries, and sermons, among other rare or unpublished documents, Baker views the event and its outcomes through the fascinating lenses of early nineteenth-century theater, architecture, and faith and reveals a rich and vital untold story from America's past. Meredith Henne Baker, an independent scholar, lives in Washington, D.C. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Planter Oligarchy on Virginia’s Northern Neck

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On October 4, 2012, John C. Coombs delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Planter Oligarchy on Virginia’s Northern Neck." The rise of a distinct class of affluent families to economic, social, and political dominance in Virginia during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries is without doubt one of the most important developments in the Old Dominion's early history. As a group, however, the “gentry” were far from homogenous. John C. Coombs will draw on research for his forthcoming book "The Rise of Virginia Slavery" to discuss the foundations of power that were common across all ranks of the elite, as well as the circumstances that allowed the Carters, Lees, and Tayloes to achieve distinction as the colony's “first families.” Dr. Coombs is a professor of history at Hampden-Sydney College and coeditor of Early Modern Virginia: Reconsidering the Old Dominion. This lecture is cosponsored by The Menokin Foundation, which owns and operates the Richmond County plantation home of Francis Lightfoot Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his wife Rebecca Tayloe Lee. This lecture was cosponsored with The Menokin Foundation. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Sarah Dillard Pope) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Civil War Lawyers: Constitutional Questions and Courtroom Dramas

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On September 13, 2012, Arthur T. Downey delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Civil War Lawyers: Constitutional Questions and Courtroom Dramas." Lawyers dominated public life during the first third of American history, and many who were prominent during the Civil War era had tried cases with and against each other before the conflict. The key members of Lincoln's cabinet were all lawyers, as were many diplomatic appointees and the five men who tried to end the war at the Hampton Roads Peace Conference in February 1865. "Civil War Lawyers" is a book not just for lawyers. It examines the dramatic issues and courtroom theatrics that played their parts in the story of how the nation divided and went to war against itself. Arthur T. Downey has taught at Georgetown University Law Center and is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia.(Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Cosmic Constitutional Theory: Why Americans Are Losing Their Inalienable Rights to Self-Governance

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On September 6, 2012, J. Harvie Wilkinson III delivered a Banner Lecture "entitled Cosmic Constitutional Theory: Why Americans Are Losing Their Inalienable Rights to Self-Governance." American constitutional law has undergone a transformation. Issues once left to the people have increasingly become the province of the courts. Subjects as diverse as abortion rights, firearms regulations, and health care reform are increasingly the domain of judges. What sparked this development? Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III argues that America's most brilliant legal minds have launched a set of cosmic constitutional theories that, for all their value, are undermining self-governance. The loser in all the theoretical fireworks is the old and honorable tradition of judicial restraint, which has given way to competing schools of liberal and conservative activism—Living Constitutionalism, Originalism, Process Theory, or the supposedly anti-theoretical creed of Pragmatism. Wilkinson calls for a plainer, self-disciplined commitment to judicial restraint and democratic governance, a course that may be impossible as long as the cosmic constitutionalists continue to dominate legal thought. J. Harvie Wilkinson III is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Todd Culbertson) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.