VMHC Lectures

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)

A canny and charismatic politician who rose to become third vice president of the new United States, Aaron Burr seemed to throw it all away in 1805 and 1806 in an extraordinary attempt to lead a secession of the American West. American Emperor by acclaimed author David O. Stewart traces Burr from the threshold of the presidency in the contested election of 1800, through his duel with Alexander Hamilton, and then across the American West as he schemed with foreign ambassadors, the traitorous general-in-chief of the army, and future presidents, including Andrew Jackson. His immense ambition was matched by his undisguised contempt for Thomas Jefferson, a president he thought ineffective and unwise. The indecisive Jefferson finally had Burr arrested and charged with treason. Burr led his own legal defense in an historic treason trial in Richmond before Chief Justice John Marshall, winning an acquittal and freedom. Mr. Stewart is an attorney who practices law in Washington, D.C. (Introduction by Paul Levengood)

On April 5, 2012, Mitchell Zuckoff delivered the 2012 Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture entitled Lost in Shangri-La: A Story of Survival and Rescue during World War II. The Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture was named in honor of the former president of the VHS (1989–91). Near the end of World War II, a plane carrying twenty-four members of the United States military, including nine Women’s Army Corps members, crashed into the New Guinea jungle. Three survivors were stranded deep in a jungle valley inhabited by cannibals. The story of their survival and the efforts undertaken to save them are the crux of Lost in Shangri-La. A riveting story of deliverance under the most unlikely circumstances, Mitchell Zuckoff’s book deserves its place among the great survival stories of World War II. Zuckoff teaches journalism at Boston University. (Introduction by Paul Levengood)

On January 23, 2014, Sheldon Bart delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Race to the Top of the World: Richard Byrd and the First Flight to the North Pole."

In the age of adventure, when dirigibles coasted through the air and vast swaths of the earth remained untouched and unseen by man, one pack of relentless explorers competed in the race of a lifetime: to be the first aviator to fly over the North Pole. The main players in this high stakes game were Richard Byrd, a dashing navy officer and early aviation pioneer; and Roald Amundsen, a bitter rival of Byrd’s and a hardened veteran of polar expeditions. Each man was determined to be the first to fly over the North Pole, despite brutal weather conditions, financial disasters, world wars, and their own personal demons. Byrd and Amundsen’s epic struggle for air primacy ended in a Homeric episode, in which one man had to fly to the rescue of his downed nemesis and left behind an enduring mystery: who was the first man to fly over the North Pole?

Sheldon Bart, an authority on polar pioneer Admiral Richard E. Byrd, is the president and founder of the Wilderness Research Foundation and a member of the board of governors of the American Polar Society.

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

Most southern-born army officers resigned their commissions to join the Confederacy in 1861. But a substantial minority remained loyal to the national government, including George H. Thomas, the "Rock of Chickamauga," one of the most successful Union generals of the Civil War. On March 6, 2008, Christopher Einolf spoke on his biography of the career soldier from Southampton County. Dr. Einolf teaches at the University of Virginia.(Introduction by Charles F. Bryan, Jr.)

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 February 22, 2007, Dr. DeLaney delivered this Banner Lecture at the VHS. In 1954 the Supreme Court held in Brown v. Board of Education that segregation by race in public schools was unconstitutional. In subsequent years, the course of integration followed a slow and varied path. The unfolding of that experience in the schools of western Virginia, particularly as related through oral history interviews, is the special focus of research by Theodore C. DeLaney. Dr. DeLaney is associate professor of history and director of the African American Studies Program at Washington and Lee University. (Introduction by Nelson D. 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.

On August 20, 2009, Lt. Gen. G. R. (Ron) Christmas, USMC (Ret.) delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Battle of Hué City, South Vietnam, 1968." The year 1968 marked a crucial turning point in the Vietnam War. During Tet, the lunar New Year holiday, the North Vietnamese and their Viet Cong allies staged attacks across South Vietnam, none more dramatic than the assault on Hué, the old imperial capital. The offensive ended in crippling military defeat for the attackers, and yet the strength of their assault led to a political setback for the United States, as critics at home gained traction and public support for the war eroded. Lt. Gen. G. R. (Ron) Christmas, USMC (Ret.), participated in the battle for Hué as a company commander and will present a first-hand account of the conflict. General Christmas is president and CEO of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. This lecture was part of the VHS commemoration of the Vietnam War era.

(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.

On June 11, 2009, Phyllis and Paul Galanti delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "For Better or For Worse: The Journey of a POW and His Wife." In June 1966, Lt. Cmdr. Paul Galanti was shot down over Vietnam and endured nearly seven years of captivity. His wife Phyllis played a leading role in the efforts of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia to publicize the plight of their loved ones and to secure their release. The Galantis presented an illustrated lecture recounting this dramatic story. Their talk was held in conjunction with the exhibition "Bring Paul Home: Phyllis Galanti and Vietnam War POWs," which is based on the collection given by Phyllis and Paul Galanti to the VHS.

(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.

On April 1, 2010, Eugene P. Trani delivered a Banner Lecture on his book "Distorted Mirrors: Americans and Their Relations with Russia and China in the Twentieth Century." During the last century, United States relations with Russia and China went through many tumultuous changes. In a new appraisal, Eugene Trani shows where American images of Russia and China originated, how they evolved, and how they have often helped sustain foreign policies that were generally negative toward Russia and more positive toward China. Trani's wide-ranging new book draws on memoirs, archives, and interviews to show how influential individuals shaped perceptions and policies based on what they saw or thought they saw in those two countries. Dr. Trani is president emeritus of Virginia Commonwealth University.

(Introduction by Nelson D. 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.

On December 3, 2009, George W. Grayson delivered a Banner Lecture titled "The Struggle with Drugs and Thugs in U.S.-Mexican Relations:

Mexico: Narco-Violence and a Failed State?" about his book "Mexico: Narco-Violence and a Failed State?". The armed conflict between Mexico's rival drug cartels and the central government is headline news in the United States. George W. Grayson put Mexican-American relations into historical context and examined Mexican efforts to tackle both the demand and supply sides of the problems spawned by the wildly profitable supply route for illegal drugs making their way into the United States. Professor Grayson teaches at the College of William & Mary.

(Introduction by Nelson D. 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.