History calendar

Please enter information at events.fredericksburg.com. Select “History” category. You may also email tandc@freelancestar.com (subject: History Calendar), or fax  540/373-8455. Deadline: noon Thursday preceding Tuesday publication. 540/374-5461.

LOCALLY

Historic Port Royal’s Independence Day Celebration.  10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday, July 4. Features reading of the Declaration of Independence; St. Andrew’s Legion Pipes and Drums; period musicians Evergreen Shade; 18th-century dancing demonstrations by the Rappahannock Colonial Heritage Society; living-history encampment; surrey rides; period children’s games;  more. historicportroyal .com.

“Breakthrough!  Prospect Hill.” 7 p.m.,  Friday, July 6:  Meet at Prospect Hill, Tour Stop 6, South Lee Drive, Fredericksburg Battlefield. “History at Sunset” tours are every Friday evening through Aug. 10, by Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park staff. Now in its 11th year, the free series explores lesser-known aspects of the Civil War here. July 13:  “Looting and Bombardment of Fredericksburg.” Meet at Market Square, corner Princess Anne and William Streets, in downtown Fredericksburg. Yet to come are two off-site venues: 

A July 20 tour of Culpeper County’s Cedar Mountain battlefield, led by National Park Service historians Frank O’Reilly and Ray Brown; and a July 27 look at Lt. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s winter encampment at Moss Neck plantation in Caroline County, led by O’Reilly.  2012 will also feature the series’ first  campfire program. Led by Beth Parnicza and Peter Maugle, it will examine feelings of soldiers as nightfall descended on Fredericksburg battlefield. See bit.ly/histsun12, call 540/373-6122, or visit nps.gov/frsp.

Culture and Cocktails —Hanging in There: The FAMCC’s Portraits in Storage 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, July 12. Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center Director of Collections and Exhibitions Christopher Uebelhor will show portraits from the collection that have either never been on display or have been in storage for years.  He will discuss portrait subjects and issues that have kept the portraits out of public view.  Light fare, open bar included.  Event will be held in galleries of the Catherine W. Jones McKann Center, 1001 Princess Anne St.  Event is for Museum members only. Advance registration required.  Contact Christopher Uebelhor, cuebelhor@famcc.org or 540-371-3037 ext. 129. For more information, call 540-371-3037, or visit famcc.org. 

Open House, John J. Wright Museum. Noon, Saturday, July 14. The 23rd Infantry Regiment, United States Colored Troops, invites public to visit Spotsylvania’s newest museum and cultural center. Meet the soldiers, learn about the 23rd’s historic role locally in the Civil War.  Enjoy light refreshments, take photos with the soldiers, examine artifacts (including a 10-foot pre-war flag) and more. 7565 Courthouse Road. 540/582-7583, ext. 5545, or jjwmuseum.org/23rdinfantryusct.html

Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center Summer Camp.  July 18–July 20. Each day, camp will feature a different Fredericksburg local who will help students create art using a different medium inspired by natural environment.  At camp’s end,  students’ art will be displayed. Call  540/371-3037, email education@famcc .org, visit famcc.org.

Civil War History Day in Culpeper County.  Saturday, July 21. Newly formed African American Heritage Alliance Inc. and co-sponsor Friends of Wilderness Battlefield host three-part, daylong program exploring Civil War military strategy, political debate and  impact of war and emancipation on a rural community.   A free symposium—“Anguish and Freedom: The Yankees Descend upon Culpeper”—at Germanna Community College’s Daniel Center in Culpeper includes historian Clark B. Hall, Dr. Daniel Sutherland, author of “Seasons of War: The Ordeal of a Confederate Community,” John Hennessy, chief historian of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, and Dr. James Bryant,  author and professor of history at Shenandoah University. Morning snacks and lunch. From 1 to 5 p.m., rarely seen stops on first-of-its-kind bus tour, “The Rappahannock: A River to Freedom,” will include mountaintop view of the county, site of its largest slave-holding plantation, a celebrated refugee river crossing and sites reflecting former slaves’ return to region as members of the United States Colored Troops. $60, with water and snacks; limited seating.  “An evening with Dr. Dan Sutherland,”  6–8 p.m., a reception at Holly Hill in Reva will feature food, Virginia wines, beautiful venue. Casual attire;  $50. Register fowb.org or contact Zann Nelson at 540/547-2395 or M16439@aol.com.

Summer hours, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park is operating on new hours through Labor Day: 9 a.m.–6 p.m., at Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center and the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center; 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. at the “Stonewall” Jackson Shrine; Ellwood: 11 a.m.–5 p.m. at Ellwood Manor on Orange–Spotsylvania line, off State Route 3 (open weekends and holidays only after Aug. 12); 9 a.m.–5 p.m. at Wilderness Exhibit Shelter on State Route 20 in Orange County (historian on duty daily, 10:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m., 1:15–5:15 p.m.); Spotsylvania Exhibit Shelter off Route 613 (historian on duty daily, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.); Old Salem Church off State Route 3 in Spotsylvania, 3–6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (ends Aug. 12).

 “Thrill on the Hill.” Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center exhibit hosts look at Soap Box Derby history in Fredericksburg. Features retired race  cars and memorabilia from the derby’s mid-century “golden age” to present. Open through August. 540/371-3037 or famcc.org.

“Bricks and Boards in the ’Burg.”  Join the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center and Hallowed Ground Tours on Saturdays for architectural walking tours of historic downtown. Hourlong tours depart Market Square  at 10 a.m., and highlight four centuries of history and architecture, 

the Rappahannock River,  spires and steeples of Princess Anne Street, Fredericksburg’s Town Hall, Market House and Market Square;  $4/adult, $1/child.  Discounted museum admission for  participants. Hallowed Ground Tours: 540/809-3918.

ELSEWHERE

Civil War sesquicentennial lectures in Richmond.  5:30 p.m Wednesday, July 11. The Virginia Historical Society, Richmond National Battlefield Park and the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar sponsor talk on war’s pivotal Seven Days Campaign around Richmond. On Wednesday, July 11, author and University of Virginia  professor Gary Gallagher presents “More Important Than Gettysburg: The Seven Days Campaign as a Turning Point.”   Virginia Historical Society, 428 N. Boulevard, Richmond. Special Banner Lecture is free, as is parking.  vahistorical.org.

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