News---Virginia's Third Sesquicentennial Conference Looks Appealing; Price is Right

The Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission’s third annual Signature Conference will focus on the Military Strategy in the American Civil War; Virginia Tech in Blacksburg will host the Saturday, May 21, 2011 meeting in it's Cassell Coliseum. The conference will feature noted historians discussing military strategy in the American Civil War. The conference will highlight Virginia and the Eastern Theater, as well as the Western Theater of the War. Speakers will also discuss elements of the war that affected military strategy and tactics. As a special treat, the Stonewall Brigade Band will perform during the lunch break. The day's schedule is:

9:00 - 10:00 "American Military Strategy and the Civil War: An Overview"; James I. Robertson, Jr., Dennis E. Frye, Richard J. Sommers

10:30 - 11:30 "Military Strategy in the Eastern Theater"; Gary W. Gallagher, Joseph T. Glatthaar, Richard J. Sommers

11:30-1:00 Lunch and Stonewall Brigade Band performs

1:15 - 2:15 "Military Strategy in the Western Theater"; Richard M. McMurry, Stephen E. Woodworth, William C. Davis

2:45 - 3:45 "Forgotten Elements of the Civil War"; James M. Bowen, William C. Davis, James I. Robertson, Jr.

4:00 - 5:00 Book Signing/Meet and Greet with all speakers

The conference's registration is $15 and the conference with lunch is $25. Lunch includes thoice choice of hamburger, chicken sandwich, pork barbeque sandwich, or hot dog, along with chips, fruit, and water or soft drink.

The previous Virginia Sesquicentennial Commission's Signature Conferences were 1860: America on the Eve of the Civil War and Race, Slavery and the Civil War: The Tough Stuff of American History and Memory. These conferences proceedings are available on DVD and the first conference's proceedings have been published as a book.

CWL has already registered for the event and recommends the first conferences proceedings which are an immersion into 1860. The speakers were limited to only speaking on what was known on December 31, 1860 and not allowed to use anything known of 1861-1865. It was a challenging endeavor that was well executed. CWL highly recommends the book and DVD of this conference. As yet CWL has not viewed the second conference's proceedings but looks forward to acquiring the DVD at the 2011 event.

Virginia's Sesquicentennial Conference in 2011