Clark H. Lewis, President         Art & Carol Bergeron, Editors
P. O. Box 1122                    3901 Paces Ferry Road      
Richmond, VA 23218                 Chester, VA 23831-1239   

March 2002 PROGRAM

William J. Cooper, Jr.

"Jefferson Davis and His Generals"

8:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 12, 2002, at the
Boulevard United Methodist Church, 321 N. Boulevard,
Richmond, VA (corner of Boulevard and Stuart Ave.)

Dr.  William J.  Cooper, Jr., is Boyd Professor  of  History
at Louisiana State University.  A native of Kingstree, South
Carolina, he received his A.  B.   degree  in  history  from
Princeton University and his Ph.D.  in American history from
Johns Hopkins University.  From 1966-1968,  he  was  in  the
United States army.  Cooper began teaching at L.  S.  U.  in
1968.  He served as Dean of the Graduate School  there  from
1982 to 1989.  In the Spring of 2000, Cooper was the Douglas
Southall Freeman Professor of History at the  University  of
Richmond.   He  is  the  author  of The Conservative Regime:
South Carolina, 1877-1890 (1968); The South and the Politics
of  Slavery,  1828-1856  (1978);  and  Liberty  and Slavery:
Southern Politics to 1860 (1983).  He is  the  co-author  of
The  American  South:  A History (1990).  His latest book is
Jefferson Davis, American (2000).   This  biography  of  the
President  of  the Confederacy won the Jefferson Davis Award
from the Museum of the  Confederacy  in  2001  and  the  Los
Angeles  Times  Prize  for  Biography  in  2001.  Cooper has
published articles  and  essays  in  numerous  journals  and
books,  including  Journal of Southern History, Encyclopedia
of  Southern  History,  and  The  Dictionary   of   American
Biography.  From 1979 to 1993, he was Editor of the Southern
Biography  Series  at  Louisiana  State  University   Press,
overseeing  the publication of 26 books.  Cooper has been on
the Board of Advisory Editors of  The  Papers  of  Jefferson
Davis since 1991.                                           

Jefferson   Davis   frequently  had  difficulties  with  his
generals during the Civil War.  As a hero of the Mexican War
and former Secretary of the Army, Davis considered himself a
military expert and probably would have  preferred  to  have
commanded  a  Confederate  army  instead of being president.
Cooper will examine Davis' relations with the men with  whom
he quarreled, as well as men, like Robert E.  Lee, with whom
he enjoyed a strong working relationship.                   


Review of the February Program


John V.  Quarstein presented a lively and  informative  talk
titled  "C.   S.   S.  Virginia: Sink Before You Surrender."
His remarks focused on  the  history  of  the  ironclad  ram
Virginia  and  her battle in Hampton Roads on March 8, 1862.
Named for a river in New Hampshire, the U.  S.  S.  Merrimack
was  a  steam screw frigate and had been plagued with engine
problems from the time she was launched.  She was placed  in
ordinary at the Gosport Navy Yard in 1860.                  

Union  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Gideon Welles tried to save
Gosport when war became imminent.  The secession of Virginia
on April 17, 1861, made his efforts critical.  Captain C.  S.
McCauley, commander of the navy yard at  Norfolk,  tried  to
get  the  Merrimack  ready  for sea.  Welles sent a force to
destroy her, and it arrived on April 20.  McCauley began  to
scuttle vessels but did a poor job of it.                   

Confederate  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Stephen  R.   Mallory
planned to build ironclads.  He asked John Mercer Brooke  to
come up with a design.  Brooke was also working on plans for
rifled cannon.  John L.  Porter brought a design  to  Brooke
that  the  latter  liked.   Then  William P.  Williamson put
forth a plan to adapt  Porter's  design  to  the  Merrimack,
which  had  been raised.  Work began in June 1861.  The hull
was reduced in length, and an iron casemate  170  feet  long
was  built  on  it to deflect enemy shot.  Brooke and Porter
did not like each other and argued  over  the  project.   In
November,  Catesby  ap  R.   Jones was assigned to supervise
construction.  Brooke went on to develop the  finest  rifled
cannon  of  the  war,  as  well as a bolt to be fired by his
rifle.                                                      

The Tredegar Iron Works produced  the  iron  plate  for  the
casemate.   These  plates  were  taken  by  railroad through
Weldon, North Carolina, to Norfolk.  The  new  vessel  began
taking  shape  in  February 1862.  John Taylor Wood recuited
the crew, which was supposed to  be  350  men  strong.   Ten
cannon  were  placed  on  the ironclad, including two 9-inch
Dahlgrens designed to fire hotshot.   Then  she  was  fitted
with  an iron ram.  She was christened the Virginia, and she
had an outstanding set of officers.                         

Franklin Buchanan, an old navy officer  from  Maryland,  was
named captain of the Virginia.  He was considered one of the
best officers  in  the  Confederacy.   Buchanan  planned  an
attack on Union shipping in Hampton Roads.                  

On  the morning of March 8, 1862, Buchanan took the Virginia
out for what he had called a shakedown  cruise.   Once  past
Sewell's  Point,  he  informed his officers and men of their
real  mission.   He  announced,  "We  will  sink  before  we
surrender."  Buchanan  went  after the Cumberland at Newport
News Point because she had the heaviest  guns.   She  turned
her broadside to open on the Virginia.  Buchanan ordered his
ship to ram the Cumberland.  The ram got stuck  and  started
to  pull  the  Virginia  down.   Finally  the ram broke, and
Buchanan turned to the Congress.  She ran aground,  and  the
Virginia came within 100 feet and opened fire.  The Congress
lowered her colors in  surrender.   Union  troops  on  shore
fired at the boat going to accept the surrender, so Buchanan
ordered his cannoneers to fill the Congress with hotshot.   

Buchanan was wounded, so Catesby  Jones  took  the  Virginia
back toward Gosport.  She had proven the power of iron ships
over wooden vessels and had created a  revolution  in  naval
warfare.                                                    



 Announcements 

Spring Field Trip

The Richmond Civil War Round Table's Spring field trip  will
be  on  May  4  and  will  a  visit  to  the  Averasboro and
Bentonville battlefields in North Carolina.  Mark L.  Bradley
will   be  the  tour  guide.   Bradley  is  a  native  North
Carolinian and the author of Last Stand  in  the  Carolinas:
The  Battle  of  Bentonville  and This Astounding Close: The
Road to Bennett Place.  He is an experience tour  guide  and
should make this a memorable trip.                          

Cost  for  the trip will be $30.00 per person.  The bus will
depart from the shopping center parking lot at the corner of
Brook  Road  and  Parham at 6:30 a.m.  Return will be around
6:30 p.m.  that evening.  Please bring a lunch  and  drinks.
Morning and afternoon snacks will be furnished.             

You can make a reservation  by  giving  your  check  to  Art
Bergeron  at  one  of  the meetings or by mailing it to:    

Art Bergeron          
3901 Paces Ferry Road 
Chester, VA 23831-1239


Sons of Confederate Veterans Tour

The Sons of Confederate Veterans Spring tour will be held on
April 20 and will visit Peninsula Campaign sites.  Guide for
the tour is John V.  Quarstein, Director of the Virginia War
Museum and author of Civil War on the Virginia Peninsula and
several other books on this area.   Quarstein,  who  is  the
Round Table's February speaker, is an expert on this theater
and a dynamic tour guide.  The tour will depart  at  7  a.m.
from  the  James  River bus lot at 915 North Allen.  Cost is
$20.00 per person.  For reservations, contact:              

Reginald Roberts  
2239 Burroughs St.
Bon Air, VA 23235 

Phone (804) 272-3041


Sons of Confederate Veterans Tour

The Sons of Confederate Veterans Spring tour will be held on
April 20 and will visit Peninsula Campaign sites.  Guide for
the tour is John V.  Quarstein, Director of the Virginia War
Museum and author of Civil War on the Virginia Peninsula and
several other books on this area.   Quarstein,  who  is  the
Round Table's February speaker, is an expert on this theater
and a dynamic tour guide.  The tour will depart  at  7  a.m.
from  the  James  River bus lot at 915 North Allen.  Cost is
$20.00  per  person.   For  reservations,  contact  Reginald
Roberts,  2239  Burroughs  St.,  Bon  Air,  VA  23235, phone
272-3041.                                                   


Round Table Web Site

For those members who have Internet access, the Round  Table
has  a  Web  site that features the monthly newsletter, past
newsletters, book reviews, and much more.   The  address  is
www.rcwrt.org
or just
rcwrt.org


Richmond Civil War Round Table Speakers for the Rest of 2002

April - Edward Smith              
May - Frank O'Reilly              
June - Gordon Rhea                
July - Cramer Gallimore           
August - not determined           
September - not determined        
October - Gabor Boritt            
November - Jay Winick             
December - William C. "Jack" Davis


Newsletter Deadlines

To facilitate the printing and timely  distribution  of  the
monthly  newsletter,  information for it should be submitted
to the editors no later than the following dates:           

for April; April 19 for May; May 24     
for June; June 21 for July; July 19 for August; August 23   
for September; September 20 for October; October 18         
for November; and November 22 for December                  


Richmond Civil War Round Table Newsletter
Art & Carol Bergeron, Editors
3901 Paces Ferry Road
Chester, VA 23831-1239