VMHC Lectures

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George Washington's America: A Biography Through His Map Feb 18, 2014

Show notes

On june 9, 2011, Barnet Schecter delivered "George Washington's America: A Biography Through His Map" The maps George Washington drew and purchased, from his teens until his death, were always central to his work. Inspired by these remarkable maps, Barnet Schecter has crafted a unique portrait of our first Founding Father, revealing his early career as a surveyor, his dramatic exploits in the French and Indian War, his struggles throughout the American Revolution as he outmaneuvered the far more powerful British army, his diplomacy as president, and his shaping of the new republic. Schecter, the author of The Battle for New York, the hinge battle in the American Revolution, and The Devil's Own Work, a chronicle of the Civil War draft riots in New York, is an independent historian who lives in New York City. This lecture was cosponsored with The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Wild Vine: A Forgotten Grape and the Untold Story of American Wine Feb 18, 2014

Show notes

On June 30, 2011, Todd Kliman delivered the banner lecture "The Wild Vine: A Forgotten Grape and the Untold Story of American Wine" Vineyards and wine making have become all-American success stories in recent years, especially in Virginia. In his book, The Wild Vine, author Todd Kliman engagingly traces the story of the native grape hybrid, and its nineteenth-century Virginia advocate, that led by a circuitous path to the rebirth of wine-making in the twentieth century. The story begins long before California supposedly put America on the viticulture map with Dr. Daniel Norton's experimentations with grapes in Richmond. The Norton hybrid migrated to the Midwest and then, after seemingly disappearing, returned to Virginia soil to great success in more recent times. Todd Kliman is food and wine editor of the Washingtonian. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood and Jack Berninger) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Virginia Plan: William B. Thalhimer and a Rescue from Nazi Germany Feb 18, 2014

Show notes

On August 4, 2011, Robert H. Gillette delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Virginia Plan: William B. Thalhimer and a Rescue from Nazi Germany." Among the Jews attempting to flee Nazi Germany in the 1930s were students of the Gross Breesen agricultural institute who hoped to secure visas to America. In a bold plan, Richmond department store owner William B. Thalhimer created a safe haven for the students on a Burkeville farm. This is the remarkable history of Thalhimer's heroic rescue mission and the struggle of the refugees to make a new home in rural America. In his new book, The Virginia Plan, Robert H. Gillette narrates a saga of sacrifice, survival, and hope on two continents. (Introduction by Nelson Lankford) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Constitution of Virginia: From Jefferson's Day to Our Own Time Feb 18, 2014

Show notes

On September 8, 2011, A. E. Dick Howard delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Constitution of Virginia: From Jefferson's Day to Our Own Time." Commentators often refer to Professor A. E. Dick Howard as "The Father of Virginia's Constitution" for good reason. He was executive director of the commission that wrote Virginia’s current constitution and directed the successful referendum campaign for ratification of that document. In this lecture, held during the 40th year since ratification, he will weave the story of Virginia's constitution with the great issues of our state's history—founding a republic, nurturing religious liberty, grappling with problems of race, facing the challenges of a changing society, and reflecting the hopes and aspirations of the people of Virginia. It is a story that has its great moments, such as Jefferson's Statute for Religious Freedom, and its sobering chapters, such as massive resistance. Ultimately, it is the story of how a people, though their constitution, shape their destiny. The author of numerous books, Professor Howard is the White Burkett Miller Professor of Law and Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.(Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Battle of the Ironclads Feb 18, 2014

Show notes

On September 21, 2011, John V. Quarstein delivered the first annual Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture entitled "The Battle of the Ironclads." (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Facts & Legends of Sports in Richmond Feb 18, 2014

Show notes

On July 14, 2011, Brooks Smith and Wayne Dementi delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Facts & Legends of Sports in Richmond." Basing their presentation on their recent book, Brooks Smith and Wayne Dementi will give an illustrated lecture on the history of sports in Virginia's capital city. Smith and Dementi will present the venues, memorable events, and athletes of Richmond sports. The essays in Facts & Legends of Sports in Richmond were originally presented in Smith's commentary series, which first aired on WCVE public radio. The many new and vintage photographs featured in the book come from the collections of the Dementi family of photographers. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The First Thanksgiving Feb 18, 2014

Show notes

On October 13, 2011, Graham Woodlief and Barbara Ramos delivered their lecture entitled The First Thanksgiving. Because of what they learned in elementary school, most Americans probably associate Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims in Massachusetts in 1621. Less well know outside Virginia is the fact that more than a year earlier, a hardy band of Englishmen landed at Berkeley Hundred on the James River and held the real first Thanksgiving. Captain John Woodlief and thirty-seven men sailed from Bristol, England, on the ship Margaret and reached Berkeley Hundred nearly three months later in December 1619. They marked their deliverance from the stormy north Atlantic with a simple service of thanks to God. Graham Woodlief and Barbara Ramos will tell the story of this first Thanksgiving in English-speaking America and of the origins of the Virginia Thanksgiving Festival, which led to President Kennedy's mention of Virginia in his Thanksgiving proclamation of 1963. This lecture is cosponsored with the Virginia Thanksgiving Festival. (Introduction by Thomas A. Silvestri, President and Publisher, Richmond Times-Dispatch). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Civil War Medicine Feb 18, 2014

Show notes

Staggering numbers of sick and wounded soldiers placed unprecedented demands on the practice of medicine on both sides during the Civil War. This lecture describes the state of medical science in the 1860s and its application in Virginia during the war, mostly on the Confederate side. It also assess the complicated issue of care on the battlefield, transportation of patients to fixed general hospitals, and the role of sanitation. Dr. Adrian Wheat practiced medicine for many years as an army surgeon and helped found the Society of Civil War Surgeons. Most recently he advised the VHS on surgical topics for the exhibition An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia. This lecture was cosponsored with the Richmond National Battlefield Park.(Introduction by Paul Levengood). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

1861: The Civil War Awakening Feb 18, 2014

Show notes

On November 30, 2011, Adam Goodheart delivered the banner lecture "1861: The Civil War Awakening" With his new book, 1861: The Civil War Awakening, Adam Goodheart revisits the most turbulent and consequential year in American history. In the hands of a master storyteller, we relive a time that witnessed the breakup of the nation and the first bloodletting in what became a four-year catalog of internecine violence and destruction. As the first year of the Civil War Sesquicentennial comes to an end, this lecture pulls together all of the drama and tumult of 1861 and present vividly the characters who populated that decisive era. Adam Goodheart teaches history and is director of the C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College in Maryland. (Introduction by Paul Levengood) The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Virginia's Confederate Monuments Feb 18, 2014

Show notes

On November 30, 2011, Adam Goodheart delivered the banner lecture "Virginia's Confederate Monuments" Hundreds of memorials in stone commemorate the Civil War in Virginia at courthouses, cemeteries, town squares, and battlefields. With An Illustrated Guide to Virginia's Confederate Monuments, Timothy S. Sedore presents the first comprehensive handbook of this legacy of America's greatest national trauma in the Old Dominion. Timothy S. Sedore is a professor of English at The City University of New York, Bronx Community College. (Introduction by Paul Levengood). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

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