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Virginia Politics: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

By Bob Holsworth
January 14, 21, 28, and February 4, 2010   |   Time: 5:30–7:00 pm

In 1949, the author V. O. Key described Virginia as a "political museum" piece. Yet for the last fifty years, the Old Dominion has been anything but. Virginia is an economically and politically vibrant state that is increasingly seen as a bellwether for national trends. This class examines the forces, the people, and the issues that have transformed Virginia politics. The course will focus on key elections, major policy innovations, and the principal challenges that face the state in contemporary times. It will pay special attention to the concerns that Virginia's new governor will have to address in 2010 and beyond. The class is taught by Dr. Bob Holsworth, one of the state's leading political analysts, founder of VirginiaTomorrow.com, and a State Council of Higher Education for Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award Winner. He was also founding director of the Center for Public Policy and the Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.

$110/VHS members; $125/nonmembers
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George Washington at War

By Ed Lengel
February 11 and 18, 2010   |   Time: 5:30–7:00 pm

George Washington's military leadership, though often described, remains little understood. Was he a Fabian warrior, dedicated to preserving his army and avoiding set-piece battles, in hopes of outlasting the British? Or was he a gambler, prone to recklessly exposing his forces in pursuit of the all-elusive final battle that would crush Britain's military might and end the war? Edward G. Lengel, senior editor at the Papers of George Washington documentary editing project and author of numerous books and articles on Washington's military career, examines these and many other questions as he explores the nature of Washington's military leadership. Special emphasis is given to the Philadelphia and Valley Forge campaigns of 1777–78, and to facts and insights recently uncovered in the course of editing Washington's military correspondence.

$50/VHS members; $60/nonmembers
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History from the Ground Up: Exploring Themes in Virginia Archaeology

By Matthew R. Laird, Nicholas M. Luccketti, and Garrett R. Fesler
April 1, 8, and 15, 2010   |   Time: 5:30–7:00 pm

This three-part lecture series will be presented by the partners of the James River Institute for Archaeology, Inc. (JRIA), who conduct archaeological and historical research projects throughout Virginia.

Handmaiden to History? An Historian's View of Archaeology   |   April 1
How do archaeologists know where to dig? How do they interpret what they find? In what ways do historical sources inform archaeological research, and how have archaeological discoveries altered our understanding of Virginia's complex history? JRIA Senior Researcher Matt Laird will address the rewards and challenges of practicing historical archaeology, and share his experiences using an array of sources, including maps, photographs, court records, genealogies, and oral histories to document sites that span the Virginia Company period through NASA's space program.

The Invisible Century   |   April 8
To those interested in Virginia history, the first 100 years of the Old Dominion are largely invisible; there is just a handful of surviving 17th-century structures in Virginia, and the records of many Virginia counties that were settled in the 17th century were destroyed during the Civil War. During the past forty years however, archaeologists have found and excavated numerous sites that have provided a much more detailed picture of what life was like in 17th-century Virginia. JRIA Principal Archaeologist Nicholas Luccketti will review the excavations of several sites spanning the 17th century that reveal how architecture, material culture, and landscape evolved during Virginia's Invisible Century.

Triumph and Tragedy: The African American Past in the Archaeological Record   |   April 15
Over the past forty years American archaeologists have focused attention on the history of enslaved Africans and their African American descendants. Some of the archaeological findings have been surprising and added new wrinkles to our understanding of the African American past. Other findings have reaffirmed what was already known about the trajectory of African American history. The archaeological evidence illustrates both the triumph of African American culture and the tragic effects of slavery and systemic racism in this country. JRIA Senior Archaeologist Garrett Fesler will review the past, present, and future of what is commonly called African Diaspora Archaeology.

$75/VHS members; $85/nonmembers
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The Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville Campaigns

By A. Wilson Greene
April 22 and 29, 2010   |   Time: 5:30–7:00 pm

This two-part lecture series will explore the context of these two military campaigns, the unique impact of battle on a civilian population trapped in the vortex of combat, and the experiences of the common soldiers who fought the battles, along with the generals who won and lost them. The class will be taught by A. Wilson Greene, director of Pamplin Historical Park and former staff historian at the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. The class is intended for those with at least a rudimentary grounding in Civil War history and who seek to learn more about the pivotal battle that set the stage for Gettysburg.

Thunder on the Rappahannock: Fredericksburg   |   April 22
When Ambrose E. Burnside received command of the Army of the Potomac in November 1862, he understood that President Abraham Lincoln expected him to renew offensive operations in Virginia. Burnside opted to shift his huge army southeast from Warrenton toward Fredericksburg. He would cross the Rappahannock River there and push "on to Richmond," the target of all Union strategy in the Eastern Theater. Burnside's campaign started well but ended in what has been described as the most one-sided Union defeat of the Civil War. When the guns fell silent on December 13, more than 18,000 Americans lay killed or wounded, the vast majority of them wearing blue. Burnside's attempt to redeem the disaster resulted in the infamous "Mud March" of January 1863 and his dismissal as army commander.

Lee's Greatest Victory: Chancellorsville   |   April 29
In the spring of 1863, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia faced daunting odds. The Union army had a new commander, "Fighting Joe" Hooker, and numbered 130,000, twice the strength of Lee's tattered regiments. Hooker crafted a brilliant campaign plan, and by the last day of April, the Federal army was poised to deliver what might become the knockout blow they had sought for two years. But Hooker did not factor in the genius of Lee and his subordinate, Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. Between May 1 and 5, the Confederates confounded and outfought the numerically superior Union army, ultimately sending Hooker's legions streaming across the Rappahannock in humiliating defeat. In their wake, more than 30,000 soldiers in blue and gray lay dead or wounded in the tangled woods of the Wilderness of Spotsylvania County. The most significant of those casualties proved to be Jackson himself, who at the height of his most spectacular military maneuver, fell wounded before the mistaken fire of his own men. Chancellorsville would prove to be General Lee's most remarkable—and perhaps most costly—victory of the Civil War.

$50/VHS members; $60/nonmembers
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