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The 4th Annual University of Virginia Civil War Conference with Gary W. Gallagher
THE CAMPAIGN AND BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG
May 29 - June 2, 2002 • Richmond, Virginia“It is well this is so terrible! We should grow too fond of it.”
General Robert E. Lee, Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 13, 1862“If there is a worse place than Hell, I am in it.”
President Abraham Lincoln, Washington, DC, December 16, 1862Join Gary W. Gallagher and an exceptional group of historians on the field and
in the classroom for lectures, walking tours, and lively discussions
focused on this 1862 campaign and bloody battle.During November and December 1862, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Ambrose E. Burnside's Army of the Potomac maneuvered along the Rappahannock River before clashing in a bloody engagement on December 13. Throughout a long day of combat, Burnside's soldiers pressed Lee's well-positioned defenders in a tactical offensive that climaxed with a number of hopeless brigade attacks against Marye's Heights west of Fredericksburg. Burnside's costly repulse affected Northern morale and sent shock waves through the highly charged political atmosphere in the Union, while Lee's easy victory added luster to his growing reputation and prompted many Confederate civilians to look to his army as their best source for good news from the military front.
Exploring the meaning and drama of the campaign and battle over the course of five days, this program will trace what transpired and why, where events might have gone differently, and how leadership and serendipity played key roles in determining outcomes. Together, we will evaluate military leadership, examine the tactical ebb and flow, discuss the impact of the battle on the city and citizens of Fredericksburg, and assess how the campaign affected Union and Confederate society.
During the program we will tour Marye's Heights, Lee's Hill, Prospect Hill, Bernard's Cabins, the sites where Union engineers built pontoons across the Rappahannock, the point along "Stonewall" Jackson's line where Federals achieved their only breakthrough, and the Union attackers' route through the streets of Fredericksburg toward Marye's Heights. Our battlefield tours include visits to sites not normally open to the public.
By program’s end you will have a richer understanding of this important campaign and the terrain over which it was waged.
Four Year Sequence: For the next four years the U.Va. Civil War Conference will focus on the battlefields near Fredericksburg, Virginia. No other place witnessed such massive fighting during the conflict, and a study of the four battles waged near Fredericksburg will reveal much about a variety of crucial themes. We will examine the battles in chronological order, beginning with the battle of Fredericksburg, followed by the battle of Chancellorsville (2003), the battle of the Wilderness (2004), and the battles of Spotsylvania (2005).
PROGRAM FEATURES: The U.Va. Civil War Conference offers you the opportunity to join talented historians for four and one-half days of lectures, extensive walking tours, and lively discussions offering a fresh perspective on the 1862 Campaign and Battle of Fredericksburg. Some of the battlefield walking tours will be strenuous, and all will be held rain or shine. Richmond’s Owens & Ramsey Historical Booksellers will be on site during the program offering a wide selection of new, used, and very rare titles on the War Between the StatesReturn to the top
PROGRAM LOCATION: We will be based at the beautiful University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. The Civil War Conference begins with check-in from 2:00-4:00 pm, on Wednesday, May 29. The program ends 11:00 am, on Sunday, June 2. Richmond is served byRichmond International Airport (airport code RIC), Greyhound Bus Line, and Amtrak. The University of Richmond offers modern, air-conditioned dormitory rooms served by shared central bathroom facilities.
Click here for information about hotel accommodations near the University of Richmond.
William W. Bergen is an assistant dean at the University of Virginia School of Law with a longtime interest in the Army of the Potomac’s senior generals. He has led many battlefield tours over the past 25 years, has lectured widely on the Civil War, and is the author of The Other Hero of Cedar Creek: The 'Not Specially Ambitious' Horatio G. Wright.
Peter S. Carmichael is an assistant professor in the Department of History at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. The author of Lee's Young Artillerist: William R. J. Pegram, as well as several essays and articles in popular and scholarly journals, he is completing a study of Virginia slaveholders' sons and the formation of southern identity in the late ante-bellum years.
Gary W. Gallagher is John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War at the University of Virginia. His books include The Confederate War and Lee and His Generals in War and Memory. Return to the top
Robert E. L. Krick, a Richmond-based historian and author of The Fortieth Virginia Infantry and a number of essays and articles, is completing a biographical register of the staff officers of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Robert K. Krick is a specialist on the military history of the Confederacy. He has written dozens of articles and ten books, the most recent being The Smoothbore Volley that Doomed the Confederacy and Conquering the Valley: Stonewall Jackson at Port Republic.George C. Rable holds the Charles G. Summersell Chair in Southern History at the University of Alabama. Among his many publications are Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg! and The Confederate Republic: A Revolution against Politics.
George C. Rable holds the Charles G. Summersell Chair in Southern History at the University of Alabama. Among his many publications are Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg! and The Confederate Republic: A Revolution against Politics.
University of Virginia Program Director:Tom Dowd, Senior Director of Program Development, University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies. Return to the top
PROGRAM SCHEDULE (subject to change)
Wednesday, May 29
2:00 - 4:00 pm: Check In
4:45 pm: Program Introduction
5:00 pm: “We Had Not Gained a Foot of Ground”: The Impact of Fredericksburg - Gary W. Gallagher
6:45 pm: Dinner
8:15 pm: "A Chicken Couldn't Live on that Plain”: A Tactical Review of the Battle of Fredericksburg - Robert K. Krick
9:15 pm: Evening Snack Break Return to the top
Thursday, May 30
7:00 am: Breakfast
8:15 am: The State of the Army of Northern Virginia in December 1862 - Robert E. L. Krick
10:00 am: "Not Fitted To Command": Ambrose Burnside, His Generals, and the Army of the Potomac during the Fredericksburg Campaign - William W. Bergen
11:30 am: Patriotism and the Fredericksburg Campaign - George C. Rable
1:00 pm: Lunch
2:30 pm: With the Army of the Potomac at Fredericksburg: The story of Indiana soldier David Beem - Peter S. Carmichael
4:30 pm: Preview of Battlefield Tours - Gary W. Gallagher and Robert K. Krick
6:30 pm: Dinner
8:00 pm: Round Table: Recent Civil War Books - All Faculty
9:15 pm: Evening Snack Break Return to the top
Friday, May 31
6:30 am: Breakfast
9:00 am: Battlefield Tour: Phillips House overlook, Chatham overlook, Upper Pontoon crossing, Falmouth Flats, canal crossing, Mary Washington Monument, Confederate Cemetery, Cemetery Battlefield Tour
12:30 pm: Lunch
1:30 pm: Battlefield Tour: Sentry Box yard, lower Caroline Street, Rocky Lane, Middle Crossing site, Humphreys's Division approach to Marye's Heights, Sunken Road, Innis House, Richardson House, Brompton, National Cemetery
7:00 pm: Dinner
8:00 pm: Open Forum with Faculty
9:15 pm: Evening Snack Break Return to the top
Saturday, June 1
6:30 am: Breakfast
9:00 am: Battlefield Tour: Lee's Hill, Howison's Hill, Pelham Site, Richmond Stage Road, Bernard's Cabins
12:30 pm: Lunch
1:30 pm: Battlefield Tour: Downtown (St.George's Church, Presbyterian Church, courthouse plaza, market square, Mary Washington house yard, Jane Beale yard, McGuire House, Smithsonia), Prospect Hill, Meade Breakthrough Pyramid, Maxcy Gregg death site, Pierson's Knoll
7:00 pm: Closing barbecue and music
8:30 pm: Evening Snack Break and Book Raffle Return to the top
Sunday, June 2
7:00 am: Breakfast
9:00 am: Concluding Thoughts - All Faculty
11:00 am: Program concludes, Dorm Check-Out Time Return to the top
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travelandlearn@virginia.edu or call us at 800-346-3882 or 1-434-982-5252.
