Virginia Tech to host 22nd annual Civil War Weekend March 22 to 24
During the days of March 22 to 24, 1863, the Civil War was taking a decisive turn as Union troops marched through Mississippi while holding the Confederate army at bay in northern-held Kentucky.
Exactly 150 years later to the day, March 22 to 24, 2013, the Virginia Tech Alumni Association and Virginia Tech’s Virginia Center for Civil War Studies will host the 22nd annual Civil War Weekend at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center in Roanoke. The two-day event will honor that period of American history and, this year, will celebrate new Confederate writings recently discovered in Roanoke and published in 2012 that detail the final days of the war.
The cost per person is $270 and online registration is now open.
Civil War Weekend will feature presentations from several Civil War historians, including Roanoke College’s John R. Turbyfill Professor of History John Selby. Selby co-edited the new publication “Civil War Talks: Further Reminiscences of George S. Bernard and His Fellow Veterans,” which contains the personal letters, diaries, and recollections of 42 Civil War veterans. These writings were discovered by a collector at a Roanoke estate sale in 2004, and were published last year.
Also presenting are William C. “Jack” Davis, director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies and author and editor of more than 50 books on the Civil War and Southern history, as well as on-camera consultant for numerous episodes of the History Channel series “Civil War Journal;” Virginia Tech Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus, renowned Civil War historian, and Civil War Weekend founder Bud Robertson; Naval Lt. Adam Jones, currently assigned to Virginia Tech’s NROTC Unit as an assistant professor of naval science; keynote speaker Richard J. Sommers, senior historian at the Army Heritage and Education Center at the Army War College; former Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Deputy Commandant Lt. Col. William F. Stringer; and Virginia Tech Professor of History Peter Wallenstein.
"The Civil War is the continental divide of American history. The old America ended in the war and modern American was born. We deal every day with issues that began in 1861 to 1865, from budget deficits to public welfare,” said Davis. “The talks given by these outstanding historians illuminate the drama of our past better than any book."
For more information on Civil War Weekend, contact the conference registrar at 540-231-5182.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
Written by Jennifer Gibson.
