Richmond area events: June 2014

Campaign Before Richmond Sesquicentennial Weekend

Fri-Sat, June 20-21, Deep Bottom Park

Fri, June 20, 6-9pm, Campaign Before Richmond Symposium.

 For ages 12+. Join notable historians discuss significant battles that occurred north of the James River for control of Richmond and Petersburg in the last year of the Civil War. Discussion is followed by a Q & A session. Program is outdoors on the picturesque banks of the James River. Presented by Henrico Recreation and Parks and the Richmond Civil War Roundtable. Free. Rain or Shine.

Scheduled Speakers: Moderator – Dr. John W. Mountcastle, Brigadier General US Army (retired); James S. Price, author of “The Battle of New Market Heights: Freedom Will be Theirs by the Sword” and upcoming publication “Battle of First Deep Bottom”; Douglas Crenshaw, author of “Fort Harrison and the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm: To Surprise and Capture Richmond”; Robert E.L. Krick, author of “Staff Officers in Gray: A Biographical Register of the Staff Officers in the Army of Northern Virginia” and numerous other Civil War publications; and Hampton Newsome, author of “Richmond Must Fall: The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, October 1864”

Sat, June 21, 9-11am or 6-8pm, Civil War Boat Tours- Tour the Civil War era James River. For ages 12+. Either enjoy

The Holiday that Dare Not Speak it's Name . . .

 Virginia Governor(New York born) Terry McAuliffe's first Lee-Jackson Day holiday proclamation.
 Could have been worse . . .

LEE-JACKSON DAY

1/17/2014

WHEREAS, Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson were native Virginians, having served our great nation and Commonwealth as educators, leaders, and military strategists; and

WHEREAS, Lee served in the United States Army for more than three decades until he left his position to serve as Commander in Chief of Virginia's military forces and as Commander of the Army of northern Virginia; and

WHEREAS, Jackson taught philosophy and military tactics as a professor at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington for nearly a decade before serving briefly in the United States Army and later joining the Confederate Army to fight for his native Virginia; and

WHEREAS, Lee dedicated his life after the Civil War to reforming higher education in the South by serving as President of Washington College, now Washington & Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia, where he helped to greatly increase the school's funding and expanding the curriculum to create an atmosphere most conductive to learning for young men of both Southern and Northern heritage; and

WHEREAS, Jackson's leadership and bravery enabled him to rally his troops to several improbable victories against opposition forces much larger than his own, and Jackson's inspired "Stonewall Brigade" fought alongside General Lee's troops toward another victory even after their leader was fatally wounded on the second day of the Battle of Chancellorsville; and

WHEREAS, it is fitting to recognize Generals Lee and Jackson as two of our nation's most notable military strategists, as beloved leaders among their troops, as pioneers in the field of higher education and as faithful and dedicated Virginians;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Terence R. McAuliffe, do hereby recognize January 17, 2014; as LEE-JACKSON DAY in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA and call this observance to attention for all our citizens.

A Press Release form the Mariner's Museum- January 2014

Lack of federal government funding shutters Monitor Center lab

"NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Mariners’ Museum is temporarily closing a 5,000-square foot lab that houses the American Civil War ironclad USS Monitor’s gun turret and other large artifacts following the Dec. 31, 2013 expiration of an agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Sanctuary Program.

“We regret having to make this decision, which is a deeply emotional one for our Monitor conservators, who consider themselves the guardians of these artifacts, and of their power to bring to life this important episode of American history,” said Elliot Gruber, president and CEO of The Mariners’ Museum.

NOAA is waiting on Congress’ approval of a budget to determine what funding to make available this coming year. NOAA and The Mariners’ Museum are working together to ensure that funding is in place to continue this important conservation work. The lab will re-open once funding is secured.

In 2013, the conservation cost approximately $500,000. NOAA was only able to provide 10 percent of funding, and no funding was designated in 2012, the 150th anniversary of the Monitor’s historic clash with the Confederate ironclad Virginia in Hampton Roads.

“These artifacts are owned by the federal government, protected under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act and managed by the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. The Museum is proud to partner with NOAA to conserve these artifacts, but their preservation is ultimately the responsibility of the federal government,” Gruber said. “Over the past several years, the Museum has used its resources to make up the federal shortfall, and this has placed a tremendous strain on our budget. We are unable to properly conserve our own 35,000 artifacts, develop new exhibitions and maintain our facility as well as pay for the conservation of federally owned and managed resources.”

The privately owned Mariners’ Museum, founded in 1930, includes more than 90,000 square feet of exhibition space, and a 550-acre park, the largest privately maintained park free and open to the public in the United States. It is designated by Congress as America’s National Maritime Museum. In 1987, Congress designated The Mariners’ Museum as the official repository for artifacts recovered from the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.

The federal government owns the approximately 1,500 artifacts housed in The Mariners’ Museum’s USS Monitor Center, a $31 million, 64,000-square-foot museum expansion that opened in 2007. The artifacts were recovered from the USS Monitor beginning shortly after the discovery of the wreck in 1973, and culminating with the 2002 recovery of Monitor’s iconic, 120-ton revolving gun turret. In all, over 200 tons of materials have been recovered from the site and brought to The Mariners’ Museum for conservation and display. To date, the museum has successfully conserved nearly 60 percent of all Monitor artifacts.

The Monitor Center includes the award-winning exhibition Ironclad Revolution, as well as the 15,000-square-foot Batten Conservation Laboratory Complex. The larger of the two labs, the Wet Lab, houses Monitor’s turret in a 90,000-gallon, custom-made tank, as well as its steam engine, Dahlgren guns and carriages, and condenser. That lab is visible to the public via large windows and a raised platform.

On March 9, 1862, the Monitor famously battled the CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack), ushering in a new era of naval warfare. The Monitor sank off the coast of North Carolina on Dec. 31, 1862, with the loss of 16 American lives."

Changes at the Virginia Historical Society

  . . . though unlike those of the Museum of the Confederacy, these are merely cosmetic.

Exciting plans at the VHS

"Exciting plans are underway to expand and improve our exhibitions in 2014 so that we can offer you a better experience. While we update gallery layouts, display cases, AV technology, and internet connectivity, much of our exhibition space will be under construction. Soon, you will hear more about the transformation of our spaces into even more vibrant, accessible, and engaging gateways to America’s past. During this time, you may connect with the 8.5 million objects in our collection through the library, programs, and website to learn more about the unparalleled story of Virginia."