PARK SPECIAL EVENT PROGRAMS:

* July 25: Homefolk and Heroes: A Walk through Fredericksburg’s City and Confederate Cemetery. Led by Historian Mac Wyckoff. Meet at the entrance gate to the City/Confederate Cemetery at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Amelia Street.  7 p.m. 1 1/2 hours.

* August 1: Bloody Dawn: Fairview in the Maelstrom. Led by Historian John Hennessy. Meet at Fairview, tour stop # 10, Chancellorsville Battlefield.  7 p.m. 1 1/2 hours.

* August 8: Lens on History: The Photography of the Sunken Road. Led by Historian Stacy Humphreys. Meet at the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center.  7 p.m. 1 1/2 hours.

* August 15: Beyond the Big House: Slaves and Slavery at Chatham. Led by Historian John Hennessy (60 minutes). Meet on the Chatham patio on the garden side of the house. 7 p.m. 1 hour.

* August 16-17. Chatham Living History Weekend. Living history event featuring a wide variety of activities including infantry, artillery, medical, and signal corps demonstrations; a presentation by a Walt Whitman impersonator, as well as a concert by the Wildcat Regimental Brass Band. 9:00 - 4:30 at Chatham.

* September 20-21. Living History Program - Yankees in Falmouth. Tours, rifle firings, demonstrations, and encampment. September 20 9:00 am - 9:00 pm. September 21 9:00 am - 3:00 pm. Free.

* September 28. "Taming of the Wilderness." 18th Century Building Techniques Demonstrations. The historic structure Ellwood on the Wilderness Battlefield is the setting for a day of activities showing how buildings such as Ellwood were constructed.

* December 7. Old Salem Church Holiday Music Program. Tentative time and date - 6 p.m. The decorated and candle-lit church will come alive again with choral music in a program sponsored by the congregation from the New Salem Baptist Church.

* December 14. Anniversary of the Battle of Fredericksburg Ceremony. 2:00 p.m. the annual anniversary program at the Kirkland Memorial honors the troops of both sides. The battle is commemorated with a keynote speaker, the presentation of wreaths and the playing of Taps.

* December date to be announced at later time. Civil War Santa at Chatham. Civil War era dressed Santa Claus explains the history of Santa Claus followed by the children visiting with Santa. Enjoy period music while waiting for the next program with Santa Claus.

NON-PARK CIVIL WAR PROGRAMS for 2008:

* John Adams Elder: Fredericksburg’s Artist of the Civil War will be on display through September 7, 2008. The Fredericksburg Area Museum is delighted to have the opportunity to display such a large collection of this important artist’s paintings, as well as several of his personal items and sketches. Visit us at 907 Princess Anne Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 or call (540) 371-3037 for more information. For the first time since 1947, a retrospective of the works of John Adams Elder (1833-1895) is on exhibition. John Adams Elder: Fredericksburg’s Artist of the Civil War features numerous portrait, landscape and genre paintings of the Civil War and Southern life on loan from the State Art Collection of The Commonwealth of Virginia and other private sources.

Born in Fredericksburg, John Adams Elder was a painter in the school of realism. At the age of 17 he moved to New York City to improve his skill, and shortly thereafter moved to Dusseldorf, Germany for five years to study under Emanuel Leutze, famed German painter of Washington Crossing the Delaware. Elder moved back to New York City in 1856 and continued his painting career, returning to Fredericksburg in 1860. After his home was damaged during the early stages of the Battle of Fredericksburg, he enlisted in the Confederate army. He was present during the famous "Battle of the Crater" in Petersburg, VA, and later completed the definitive painting of this famous battle. After the war, Elder worked in Richmond and in Fredericksburg painting portraits of some of the most prominent men and women of the era. Some of these people included Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, as well as some very influential Fredericksburg locals. While painting Jefferson Davis’ portrait in Biloxi, MS, Elder contracted malaria. Complications from the illness, combined with years of alcoholism, led Elder to be incapacitated the remaining five years of his life. He died in his home and studio, located at 1111 Main Street (present day Caroline Street), in 1895. His gravestone can be found at the Confederate cemetery on Washington Avenue. Elder’s work played a significant role in post-war America, helping to perpetuate the idea of the glorious “Lost Cause” and the “Southern Mystique” which is still very much alive today.