VMHC Lectures

On July 9, 2015, Charles F. Bryan, Jr., delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The History Crisis in America: Myth and Reality."

History occupies a paradoxical and problematic place in contemporary American culture. Numerous commentators argue that we face a growing crisis of historical amnesia, and that Americans do not value and support history as much as previous generations. They worry that history is not being properly taught. Historian Charles Bryan disagrees. “Never before have a people done as much to collect, preserve, and share their history on such a scale as have Americans,” he writes. This contrarian view of the state of history in the United States should come as no surprise to the thousands of readers of his regular columns in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Dr. Charles F. Bryan, Jr., is an American historian who spent most of his career in the museum field, including twenty as president of the Virginia Historical Society. He began writing essays for the Richmond Times-Dispatch in the 1990’s. He is coeditor of Eye of the Storm: A Civil War Odyssey and Images from the Storm: 300 Civil War Images by the Author of Eye of the Storm.

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On July 9 at noon, Charles F. Bryan, Jr., delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The History Crisis in America: Myth and Reality."

History occupies a paradoxical and problematic place in contemporary American culture. Numerous commentators argue that we face a growing crisis of historical amnesia, and that Americans do not value and support history as much as previous generations. They worry that history is not being properly taught. Historian Charles Bryan disagrees. “Never before have a people done as much to collect, preserve, and share their history on such a scale as have Americans,” he writes. This contrarian view of the state of history in the United States should come as no surprise to the thousands of readers of his regular columns in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Dr. Charles F. Bryan, Jr., is an American historian who spent most of his career in the museum field, including twenty as president of the Virginia Historical Society. He began writing essays for the Richmond Times-Dispatch in the 1990’s. He is coeditor of Eye of the Storm: A Civil War Odyssey and Images from the Storm: 300 Civil War Images by the Author of Eye of the Storm.

On June 18, 2015, Rose Love Bartlett delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Bartlett Book of Garden Elements."

Every beautiful garden, large or small, is a composition of carefully chosen details. Although the choices can be daunting, The Bartlett Book of Garden Elements offers a guide that is both visual and practical, highlighting classic as well as innovative details to delight the eye while serving the form and function of any garden. In this lecture, Rose Bartlett will take us on a pictorial journey through highlights of her new book. She will discuss the origins and roots of garden design features while providing practical suggestions for the use and maintenance of these elements in the contemporary garden.

Rose Love Bartlett worked in partnership with her husband, Michael V. Bartlett, for more than twenty-eight years, complementing the bones of his garden designs with flower, herb, and edible plantings. She was a member of the board of directors of the Friends of the U.S. National Arboretum for eight years. Rose now owns a garden shop in Asheville, North Carolina, that specializes in unusual plants as well as garden and nature-related antiques. She and her husband co-wrote The Bartlett Book of Garden Elements: A Practical Compendium of Inspired Designs.

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On June 18 at noon, Rose Love Bartlett delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Bartlett Book of Garden Elements."

Every beautiful garden, large or small, is a composition of carefully chosen details. Although the choices can be daunting, The Bartlett Book of Garden Elements offers a guide that is both visual and practical, highlighting classic as well as innovative details to delight the eye while serving the form and function of any garden. In this lecture, Rose Bartlett will take us on a pictorial journey through highlights of her new book. She will discuss the origins and roots of garden design features while providing practical suggestions for the use and maintenance of these elements in the contemporary garden.

Rose Love Bartlett worked in partnership with her husband, Michael V. Bartlett, for more than twenty-eight years, complementing the bones of his garden designs with flower, herb, and edible plantings. She was a member of the board of directors of the Friends of the U.S. National Arboretum for eight years. Rose now owns a garden shop in Asheville, North Carolina, that specializes in unusual plants as well as garden and nature-related antiques. She and her husband co-wrote The Bartlett Book of Garden Elements: A Practical Compendium of Inspired Designs.

On June 11, Terry Alford delivered the 2015 Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture, entitled "Fortune’s Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth." With a single shot from a pistol small enough to conceal in his hand, John Wilkes Booth catapulted into history on the night of April 14, 1865. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln stunned a nation that was just emerging from the chaos and calamity of the Civil War, and the president's untimely death altered the trajectory of postwar history. But to those who knew Booth, the event was even more shocking-for no one could have imagined that this fantastically gifted actor and well-liked man could commit such an atrocity. In Fortune's Fool, Terry Alford provides the first comprehensive look at the life of an enigmatic figure whose life has been overshadowed by his final, infamous act. Terry Alford is a professor of history at Northern Virginia Community College. He is the author of Prince Among Slaves, which was made into a PBS documentary in 2007, and Fortune's Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth

On June 11, Terry Alford delivered the 2015 Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture, entitled "Fortune’s Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth."

With a single shot from a pistol small enough to conceal in his hand, John Wilkes Booth catapulted into history on the night of April 14, 1865. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln stunned a nation that was just emerging from the chaos and calamity of the Civil War, and the president's untimely death altered the trajectory of postwar history. But to those who knew Booth, the event was even more shocking-for no one could have imagined that this fantastically gifted actor and well-liked man could commit such an atrocity. In Fortune's Fool, Terry Alford provides the first comprehensive look at the life of an enigmatic figure whose life has been overshadowed by his final, infamous act.

Terry Alford is a professor of history at Northern Virginia Community College. He is the author of Prince Among Slaves, which was made into a PBS documentary in 2007, and Fortune's Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth.

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On June 4 at noon, Barbara Anne Cantalupo delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Poe You May Not Know." Although Edgar Allan Poe’s name is most often identified with stories of horror and fear, Barbara Cantalupo's talk will reveal the less familiar Poe—the one who often goes unrecognized or forgotten—the Poe whose early love of beauty was a strong and enduring draw. Poe’s “deep worship of all beauty,” expressed in an 1829 letter to John Neal when Poe was just twenty, never entirely faded, despite the demands of his commercial writing and editorial career. “The Poe You May Not Know” gives us a look at Poe’s connection to such visual beauty, his commitment to “graphicality” (a word he coined), and his knowledge of the visual arts. Barbara Cantalupo, professor of English at Penn State Lehigh Valley, is the editor of The Edgar Allan Poe Review and author of Poe and the Visual Arts.

On June 4, 2015, Barbara Anne Cantalupo delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Poe You May Not Know."

Although Edgar Allan Poe’s name is most often identified with stories of horror and fear, Barbara Cantalupo's talk will reveal the less familiar Poe—the one who often goes unrecognized or forgotten—the Poe whose early love of beauty was a strong and enduring draw. Poe’s “deep worship of all beauty,” expressed in an 1829 letter to John Neal when Poe was just twenty, never entirely faded, despite the demands of his commercial writing and editorial career. “The Poe You May Not Know” gives us a look at Poe’s connection to such visual beauty, his commitment to “graphicality” (a word he coined), and his knowledge of the visual arts.

Barbara Cantalupo, professor of English at Penn State Lehigh Valley, is the editor of The Edgar Allan Poe Review and author of Poe and the Visual Arts.

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On May 14, Craig L. Symonds delivered the 2015 Stuart G. Christian Jr. Lecture entitled “Leadership and Decision-Making in the D-Day Invasion.” On June 6, 1944, more than six thousand Allied ships carried more than a million soldiers across the English Channel to a fifty-mile-wide strip of the Normandy coast in German-occupied France. It was the greatest sea-borne assault in human history. The code names given to the beaches where the ships landed the soldiers have become immortal: Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, and especially Omaha, the scene of almost unimaginable human tragedy. The sea of crosses in the cemetery sitting today atop a bluff overlooking the beaches recalls to us its cost. Most accounts of this epic story begin with the landings on the morning of June 6. In fact, however, D-Day was the culmination of months and years of planning and intense debate. Craig L. Symonds now offers the complete story of this Olympian effort. The obstacles to success were many. In addition to divergent strategic views and cultural frictions, Symonds includes vivid portraits of the key decision-makers, from Franklin Roosevelt and Churchill, to Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, and Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, who commanded the naval element of the invasion. Craig L. Symonds is Professor of History Emeritus at the United States Naval Academy. He is the author of many books on American naval history, including The Battle of Midway, Lincoln and His Admirals, co-winner of the Lincoln Prize in 2009, and Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings.

On May 12 at noon, Cokie Roberts will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled "Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington By Cokie Roberts." Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868With the outbreak of the Civil War, the small, social southern town of Washington, D.C., found itself caught between warring sides in a four-year struggle to determine the future of the United States. While the nation’s men marched off to war, either on the battlefield or into the halls of Congress, the women of Washington joined the cause as well, serving as nurses, supply organizers, relief workers, and journalists. Cokie Roberts brings the war-torn capital into focus through the lives of formidable ladies like Sara Agnes Pryor and Elizabeth Blair Lee. Compelling social history at its best, Capital Dames concludes that the war not only changed Washington, but it also forever changed the role of women in American society. Cokie Roberts is a political commentator for ABC News and NPR. She has won countless awards and in 2008 was named a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress. She is the author of several bestselling books, including Founding Mothers, Ladies of Liberty, and Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848–1868.