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Contact: Patrick Schroeder, 434-352-8987 Ext. 232
Join the National Park Service and Longwood University at the annual free Civil War Seminar on February 4, 2023, located in the Jarman Auditorium at Longwood University, Farmville, VA. Noted scholars will present a series of thematically related programs upon “Old Battlefields, New Parks.”
This seminar is free and open to the public. No reservations needed. Parking is available on Longwood University campus except in 24 hour reserved spaces, handicapped, or tow-away zones. Lunch is available at the Longwood University Dining Hall.
Program Schedule:
8:30 a.m. Doors open
9:00 a.m. Introduction by Dr. David Coles
9:10 a.m. John Quarstein The First Battle: Big Bethel: The engagement at Virginia's Big Bethel Church, known as the Civil War’s first land battle, was a baptism of fire for a nation newly torn apart by sectional differences. Northern and Southern soldiers alike could not imagine how fiery passions and technological advances would collide into America's bloodiest conflict, all beginning that hot, cloudless day at Bethel, as the shells burst among the smartly clad Zouaves. Bethel is where the war saw its first friendly fire incident, the day of the first West Point graduate, the mortal wounding of the first Confederate infantryman, the first POW, and the first Confederate victory. The story of the June 10, 1861, battle, tells when soldiers first realized that the war would not be filled with glorious parades, but rather desperate struggles to decide the fate of the nation.
10:15 a.m. Greg Mertz“Jackson Is With You!” Confederates Turn the Tide at Cedar Mountain: The success of Confederate General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley during the spring of 1862 was due in part to the Federal forces he confronted belonging to three separate departments that did not cooperate with one another. That would change in the summer of 1862, as those former departments became corps in a new Federal army under General John Pope. On August 9, 1862, Jackson decided to strike Union General Nathaniel P. Banks’ isolated corps before Pope’s army consolidated. During a brutally hot day which likely hit the century mark, Jackson first engaged Banks in an artillery duel as his infantry formed for an assault. Jackson enjoyed a sizeable advantage in numbers over Banks, which may have given him a level of confidence that contributed to both Jackson and division commander General Charles Winder being distracted by the artillery contest rather than attending to the proper alignment of Winder’s infantry. While Jackson was preparing to attack the Federal forces, it was Banks who first attacked the Confederates, wreaking havoc on the poorly positioned Confederate left. With Jackson rallying his troops and the timely arrival of Confederate reinforcements, a counterattack brought gray-clad superior numbers to bear and turned a near-defeat into a Confederate victory.
11:30 a.m. Daniel Davis“The Hottest Fire I Was Ever In: The Battle of Brandy Station”: With the initiative firmly in hand following his twin victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Robert E. Lee decided to launch a second northern invasion. Lee ordered his cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart to Culpeper and assigned him the critical task of screening the main infantry movement. Stuart's presence was soon detected by Alfred Pleasonton’s Union cavalry. On June 9, 1863, Pleasonton’s horsemen crossed the Rappahannock River, intent on destroying Stuart. The resulting fourteen-hour engagement that swirled across the surrounding hills and farms opened the Gettysburg Campaign and became the largest cavalry battle ever fought in North America.
12:30 p.m. Lunch
1:45 p.m. Caroline E. Janney An End or Beginning: Lee’s Army after Appomattox: Appomattox has long served to mark the end of the American Civil War. Yet closely examining the spring and summer of 1865 reveals a far more contentious, uncertain, ambiguous and lengthy ending to the American Civil War than previously understood. It underscores the complexity of decisions made by the US army, civilian authorities and soldiers from Lee’s army, as well as the unintended consequences of those decisions.
2:45 p.m. Patrick A. Schroeder Forgotten Friday: the April 7, 1865, Actions in Cumberland County, VA: Largely overlooked owing to the events at Sailor’s Creek on April 6 and at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, multiple engagements and events occurred in Cumberland County largely overlooked by historians and the public. There are four separate battles resulting in the death, wounding and capture of three generals and the final engagement on the fringe of forcing Lee’s surrender in Cumberland County. The Gen, Barlow vs. Gen. Gordon fight along the South Side Rail Road, the repulse of Gen. Crook’s cavalry near the Coal Pits, and the 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. battles near Cumberland Church, are all fascinating and horrific in their own right, resulting in hundreds of casualties. Also, the first correspondence delivered between Grant and Lee occurred in Cumberland County.
Schedule is subject to change.Directional signs will be posted on the Longwood University Campus. For directions to the campus go to www.longwood.edu. For more information contact Dr. David Coles at 434-395-2220 or Patrick Schroeder at 434-352-8987, Ext. 232.
This annual seminar is sponsored by:Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Eastern National America’s National Parks Stores,The Department of History, Political Science, & Philosophy, and the Center forSouthside Virginia History at Longwood University
Last updated: January 18, 2023