Virginia Tech conference commemorates Civil War

Military strategy in the American Civil War will be the focus of a May 21 conference at Virginia Tech’s Cassell Coliseum. 

Historian and Virginia Tech Alumni Distinguished Professor James I. Robertson Jr. chairs this third installment in the signature conference series sponsored by the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission.

In addition to Robertson, the conference features noted historians William C. Davis, Dennis E. Frye, Gary W. Gallagher, Joseph T. Glatthaar, Richard J. Sommers, and Steven E. Woodworth.

Topics include Virginia in the Civil War, the eastern and western theaters, and elements of the war that affected military strategy and tactics. There will be a lunchtime performance by the Stonewall Brigade Band.

Robertson is a charter member of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, which was created in 2006. He spearheaded the first major initiative of the commission by serving as executive producer of the Emmy-nominated video, Virginia in the Civil War: A Sesquicentennial Remembrance. The two-volume DVD set was distributed free to every public school in Virginia as a supplemental resource for teaching the Civil War.

Activities commemorating the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War began in 2009 and will continue through 2015. The Virginia Tech conference continues the standard of excellence set by the commission as the nation turns its attention to the sesquicentennial this year. Serving as a host university for the signature conference series "is a great honor for the Hokie Nation,” said Robertson.

The registration fee is $15 or $25 with lunch. For more information, call (804) 786-3591.