Campaign Before Richmond Symposium, June 20

From W. Waud,"The Battle of Darbytown Road" (LOC)

On June 20, I'll be at Deep Bottom Park outside Richmond to participate in a symposium about military events in Henrico County during the last year of the war.  During my presentation, I plan to discuss the October 1864 battles at the Darbytown and Williamsburg Roads covered in my book, Richmond Must Fall. The program, presented by Henrico County and the Richmond Civil War Roundtable, will be held outdoors in the evening under a large tent.  I'm looking forward to joining fellow panelists John Mountcastle, Jimmy Price, Doug Crenshaw, and Bobby Krick for this event. Here is the full announcement from the Henrico website: 





Campaign Before Richmond Sesquicentennial Weekend, 
Fri-Sat, June 20-21, Deep Bottom Park

Fri, June 20, 6-9pm, Campaign Before Richmond Symposium. For ages 12+. Join notable historians discuss significant battles that occurred north of the James River for control of Richmond and Petersburg in the last year of the Civil War. Discussion is followed by a Q & A session. Program is outdoors on the picturesque banks of the James River. Presented by Henrico Recreation and Parks and the Richmond Civil War Roundtable. Free. Rain or Shine.

Scheduled Speakers: Moderator – Dr. John W. Mountcastle, Brigadier General US Army (retired); James S. Price, author of “The Battle of New Market Heights: Freedom Will be Theirs by the Sword” and upcoming publication “Battle of First Deep Bottom”; Douglas Crenshaw, author of “Fort Harrison and the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm: To Surprise and Capture Richmond”; Robert E.L. Krick, author of “Staff Officers in Gray: A Biographical Register of the Staff Officers in the Army of Northern Virginia” and numerous other Civil War publications; and Hampton Newsome, author of “Richmond Must Fall: The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, October 1864”

Sat, June 21, 9-11am or 6-8pm, Civil War Boat Tours- Tour the Civil War era James River. For ages 12+. Either enjoy our morning cruise or evening cruise. Information: (804) 652-3409. Preregistration required at www.henricohistoricalsociety.org. $45.

Bowery and Rafuse: Guide to the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign

This week I purchased the Guide to the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, the most recent entry in the U.S. Army War College Guides to Civil War Battles, published by University Press of Kansas and edited by Charles R. Bowery, Jr. and Ethan S. Rafuse.  Based on my initial glance, there is much to like in this mammoth (500 page) title.  Similar to other works in the series, the Guide furnishes a useful companion to those touring the battlefields of the 1864-65 campaign.  The book is not intended, however, to provide a detailed campaign narrative or a lengthy discussion of the whys and hows.    

The military actions at Richmond and Petersburg pose a stiff challenge to the editors of such a work.  Stretching over many months and scattered over dozens of locations, the campaign involved a dizzying series of complicated operations and hard-fought battles.  Any effort to catalog these events and organize them in a fashion useful to the visitor is a difficult one. However, in this case, it seems that Bowery and Rafuse have succeeded. 

The book features two parts. The first includes three segments covering events that took place within the Petersburg National Battlefield:  1) the initial Petersburg attacks in June 1864, 2) the Battle of Fort Stedman in 1865, and 3) the Battle of the Crater in July 1864.  The second part contains six separate excursions (i.e., driving tours) in and around Richmond and Petersburg, which lead visitors to the sites of various engagements - including several covered in Richmond Must Fall, such as the fighting at the Darbytown Road and Burgess Mill.

Each of these sections features a short introduction, a list of the key events, driving or walking directions, and lengthy excerpts from important official reports and other primary sources.  The excerpts from these first-hand accounts comprise the bulk of the book's text and provide colorful background that will enhance the experience for those visiting these battlefields.   

The numerous maps are terrific.  Prepared by Steven Stanley, they display modern and period road networks, topographical details including elevations and tree cover, fortifications, and the movements of the units involved in each engagement.  Though the small details sent me reaching for my reading glasses, these maps are handsome and, in some cases, provide tactical details not necessarily discussed in the text. 

Given the nature of the book, I would have liked to have seen a critical, descriptive bibliography (rather than a bare list of titles) to point readers to other sources on this sprawling campaign.  But that's a feeble quibble and I look forward to digging into the volume further. 

150 Years Ago: Stuart at Yellow Tavern (May 11, 1864)

Stuart Monument, Richmond, Va.
(Library of Congress)

"I looked to my left, in which direction Gen. Stuart was, and saw him wheeling his horse around and start towards the rear.  He sat so straight and so firmly on his horse that I doubted whether he had been shot, though I saw him only a moment . . . I asked [Norvell] Harris what made him think Gen. Stuart had been shot.  He replied that he 'saw the dust or lint fly from his coat where the bullet struck him.'  This made an impression on me, because I was not then familiar with the fact (not having been long in the army) that such an appearance of dust, or lint, often accompanied a bullet wound, though afterwards I noticed it frequently."

- Hill Carter, 1st Va. Cavalry, from Vaughan, B.B., "A Trooper's Reminiscences:  Wilderness to Yellow Tavern," in  Civil War Talks: Further Reminiscences of George S. Bernard and His Fellow Veterans.

Richmond Must Fall - Finalist for Harwell Book Award

I learned recently that Richmond Must Fall was a finalist for the 2014 Richard B. Harwell Book Award from the Atlanta Civil War Round Table. The two other finalists were Earl Hess's book on Kennesaw Mountain and Allen Guelzo's Gettysburg title. Guelzo's excellent work earned the prize. I'm honored my book was included in such company.

Browning: The North Atlantic Blockading Squadron

I recently picked up From Cape Charles to Cape Fear, an excellent study by Robert M. Browning, Jr. about the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.  Browning is a historian with the U.S. Coast Guard and has several other titles under his belt.   In From Cape Charles to Cape Fear, he provides a comprehensive treatment of naval activities in Virginia and North Carolina during the war, including offshore blockade operations and coastal gunboat activities.  Browning writes with a direct, clean style and delivers a well-organized narrative.

Among other things, the study furnishes a revealing analysis of the Confederate counteroffensive at New Bern and Plymouth in 1864.  In discussing these events, Browning notes the lack of cooperation between the Federal navy and army in North Carolina, particularly compared to efforts in the western theater.  He highlights the failure of Union forces, both on water and land, to destroy the rebel ironclads in N.C. before those vessels could float down the rivers and threaten federal coastal strongholds.  Browning also touches on the questionable decision to spread Union forces at multiple coastal enclaves, including Plymouth, Washington (N.C), and New Bern.  I'm happy to have added this title to my collection.