Events Calendar
|
|
|
Program: Dr. Ethan Rafuse - “Back to the Chivalric Days of Yore, The Valley Campaign of 1862”
Dr. Ethan Rafuse will cover the great campaign Stonewall Jackson waged in the Shenandoah Valley in 1862. When the year began he was eager to take the offensive—too eager as setbacks in western Virginia and Kernstown demonstrated. In May, however, Jackson recovered from these setbacks and conducted a magnificent campaign of maneuver that frustrated Federal leaders from Washington to the mountains of western Virginia and won battlefield victories at McDowell, Front Royal, Winchester, Cross Keys, and Port Republic that provided a badly needed tonic to Southern morale. Ethan will also offer insights into Jackson’s personality and generalship, the Federal efforts he was so successful in thwarting, and their impact on the larger war in Virginia during the first half of 1862.
Ethan’s publications include Stonewall Jackson: A Biography, Corps Commanders in Blue, and battlefield guides to Antietam, Manassas, and Petersburg. In 2018-2019 he was the Charles Boal Ewing Distinguished Visiting Professor of Military History at the U.S. Military Academy.
We are returning to In person meeting at the Village Heights Community of Christ Fellowship Hall. This was our pre-COVID meeting place located just off 24 Highway and east of Highway 291 about five blocks. Turn north on Farview when you see the Hardee’s restaurant. The church is located at the fork of the street, and there is plenty of parking on the east side of the building. Masks are no longer required in Independence, but you are welcome to wear one if you wish.