VMHC Lectures

On July 24, 2008, Dr. Levengood delivered a talk entitled 'From Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers: The Transformation of the South in the Twentieth Century.' At the dawn of the twentieth century, the South was by all measurements the poorest, most segregated region in the United States. One hundred years later, it was one of the fastest-growing parts of the nation, attracting population and industry at a dizzying rate. How did this transformation take place? How much of the traditional South remains? Looking at such key events as World War II and the South’s longstanding effort to attract business investment, Paul A. Levengood will chart the breathtaking course of the twentieth century and examine what survives and what has been lost in the rush toward prosperity and growth. Dr. Levengood is president-elect and CEO-elect of the VHS. This lecture is a program of the VHS's Reynolds Business History Center. (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford)

On June 12, 2008, Colonel Gibson delivered a talk on Moses Ezekiel, the first Jewish cadet at VMI and world renowned sculptor. Few sculptors of the nineteenth century were as well known during their lifetimes as Moses Ezekiel, though he is little-known today. The first Jewish cadet at VMI, he fought in the battle of New Market in 1864. Encouraged by Robert E. Lee to pursue his artistic calling, Ezekiel studied in Europe and became the first American to win the coveted Prix de Rome. Keith Gibson will draw on his biography of Ezekiel to bring to life this luminary of nineteenth-century art. Colonel Gibson is executive director of museum programs and architectural historian at the Virginia Military Institute. (Introduction by Robert F. Strohm)

On May 29, 2008, Mr. Crawford delivered a talk on his new book, Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson returned to Monticello in 1809 at the end of his second presidential term and died there seventeen years later. In his new book, Alan Pell Crawford reveals the private Jefferson at home, coping with debt and illness, mediating family quarrels, and navigating public disputes, still a towering figure in the early republic. Mr. Crawford's previous book on a Virginia subject was Unwise Passions: A True Story of a Remarkable Woman—and the First Great Scandal of Eighteenth-Century America. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood)

In this lecture, based on his new book General Lee's Army, Dr. Glatthaar used the story of Robert E. Lee's army as a powerful lens for viewing the entire Civil War, from the early springtime of southern hopes to final crushing defeat, from the homefront to the heart of the most famous battles of the war. Dr. Glatthaar teaches history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (Introduction by Charles F. Bryan, Jr.)

On March 6, 2008, Dr. Einolf delivered a talk on George H. Thomas, one of the most successful Union generals of the Civil War. 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.)

On July 23, 2009, Ray McAllister delivered a lecture entitled "Hatteras Island: Keeper of the Outer Banks." The Outer Banks have enticed Virginians with the lure of sun, sky, and sea for generations. Despite this idyllic appeal, these once-isolated barrier islands have also witnessed a turbulent past. Pirates, hurricanes, shipwrecks, and U-boats all make their appearance in the varied story of the Outer Banks. Ray McAllister, an award-winning former Richmond Times Dispatch columnist, has become the established chronicler of coastal North Carolina with his latest volume on Hatteras, which follows earlier books on Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Island. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood)

On June 11, 2009, Phyllis and Paul Galanti delivered a 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)

On May 28, 2009, John Ferling delivered a talk on his book, The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon. In 2007 John Ferling spoke at the VHS on his history of the Revolutionary War, Almost a Miracle. Now he has drawn on his unsurpassed knowledge of that era to provide a fresh and provocative new portrait of the greatest of the Founders in The Ascent of George Washington. Dr. Ferling is the author of an earlier biography of George Washington and numerous books on the American Revolution. This lecture was cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood)

On April 16, 2009, Lorri Glover delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America." The wreck of the Sea Venture on Bermuda in 1609 and the role its survivors played in the eventual rescue of the failing colony at Jamestown are dramatic tales from the founding years of the nation. In a new book, authors Lorri Glover and Daniel Blake Smith retell this account of shipwreck, courage, mutiny, and deliverance. The authors make a forceful case that the Sea Venture bears no small part in the ultimate survival of English colonization in America. Dr. Glover teaches American history at the University of Tennessee. This lecture was cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in Virginia. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood)

On April 2, 2009, David Brown and Thane Harpole delivered this lecture entitled 'Werowocomoco and Fairfield Plantation: Rediscovering the Forgotten Landscapes of Gloucester County.' The excitement of discovering lost landscapes, including the Burwell family's ancestral home and the nearby village of Powhatan and Pocahontas, has resulted in the resurgence of support for historic preservation in the Middle Peninsula. David Brown and Thane Harpole described these activities to illustrate everyday life in colonial Virginia and to show how our interpretations of it influence our own day. Brown and Harpole are archaeologists, co-directors of the Fairfield Foundation, and founding members of the Werowocomoco Research Group. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood)