Distinguished Civil War historian to present final lecture in series for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech

Distinguished Civil War historian Richard M. McMurry will present "General Joseph E. Johnston: The Central Figure in Confederate Military History" in the Colonial Hall at Virginia Tech’s Squires Student Center on Tuesday, April 13.

McMurry is presenting the third in an inaugural series of three lectures as the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies' William C. Latham Lecturer. The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m.

A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and Emory University, McMurry is the author of a number of definitive works in the field, including Two Great Rebel Armies, and John Bell Hood and the War for Southern Independence. For the past 20 years he has been an independent scholar specializing in the Civil War west of the Appalachians and the Atlanta Campaign.

The series is endowed by Virginia Tech alumnus William C. Latham, with the goal of bringing outstanding visiting historians to the Virginia Tech campus and to the region. The Virginia Center for Civil War Studies was founded in 1999 to further awareness and understanding of America's experience during the Civil War era and its lasting impact.