Past is Prologue
Clint Schemmer writes about history, heritage preservation and the American Civil War. On Facebook: Past is Prologue On Twitter: @prologuepast Contact: Email Clint or call 540/374-5424.
Richmond NBP to Commemorate 150th Anniversary of Battle of Seven Pines
Richmond, Virginia's famed Monument Avenue includes this equestrian statute of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
This just came in over the transom:
Battle resulted in the appointment of Robert E. Lee as Confederate commander
RICHMOND, Va. – To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Seven
Pines, the event that led to the appointment of Robert E. Lee as commander
of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Richmond National Battlefield
Park will offer programs in partnership with Henrico County on Thursday,
May 31 – the anniversary of the battle – and on Saturday, June 2, and
Sunday June 3.
Presentations by National Park Service Ranger Bert Dunkerly and NPS alumnus
Mike Andrus at Henrico County’s Sandston Library on Thursday, May 31 and
Saturday, June 2 will give provide an overview of the battle and explain
what it meant for the course of the war and our nation. The presentations
take place on Thursday at 12:15 p.m., 4 p.m., and 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at
11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
A ranger-led bus tour of the battlefield area on Saturday at noon will
visit the places where the fighting occurred. The tour will meet at
Sandston Library. The cost of the tour is $25 and advance registration is
encouraged, as seating is limited; to make a reservation, call
On Sunday, June 3, a unique program with NPS Ranger Mike Gorman will use
Civil War-era photography to explore the Battle of Seven Pines and the
larger Peninsula Campaign. Taking place in the Henrico Theater at 4 p.m.,
the presentation will look at the battle and the war through the
photographer’s lens, using a variety of period photographs of sites
throughout the Richmond area – including places that exist today – and the
remarkable faces of the people who lived and fought here.
About the Battle of Seven Pines
On June 1, 1862, after a string of Confederate losses across the South,
President Jefferson Davis found himself without a commander to defend
Richmond from the massive Union army sitting on its outskirts. Gen. Joseph
Johnston had been wounded the day before in a battle at Seven Pines, near
the modern-day Richmond International Airport. With more than 100,000
Federal troops sitting a few miles away, Davis asked his military advisor,
Robert E. Lee, to lead the Army of Northern Virginia. One month later,
after a series of battles that drove the Union army from the gates of
Richmond, Lee was poised to take the offensive, and Northern leaders began
to consider emancipation as a war aim.
Battle of Seven Pines Special Events at Richmond National Battlefield Park:
Thursday, May 31 – 12:15 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 2 – 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
“The Battle of Seven Pines (or Fair Oaks): Lee Assumes Command of the Army
of Northern Virginia”
Public presentations with NPS Alumnus Mike Andrus and NPS Ranger Bert
Dunkerly at Sandston Library (23 E. Williamsburg Road, Sandston,
23150). Free of charge.
Saturday, June 2 – 12:00 p.m.
Bus Tour of the Seven Pines Battlefield
Join National Park Service staff for a tour of the Seven Pines
battlefield. Tour departs from Sandston Library (23 E. Williamsburg
Road, Sandston, 23150) following an 11:00 a.m. presentation about the
battle. $25 fee. Seating is limited, so advance registration is
encouraged; call 804-771-2035.
Sunday, June 3, 4:00 p.m.:
“Seven Pines and the Peninsula Campaign – Photography Begins to Tell the
Tale of the Civil War”
Program with NPS Ranger Mike Gorman looking at the Peninsula Campaign
and Seven Pines through the photographer’s lens (free). Henrico
Theater, 305 E Nine Mile Road, Henrico, 23075.
For more information about Richmond’s Sesquicentennial events this spring
and summer, visit www.nps.gov/rich.
_________
Richmond National Battlefield Park protects 13 Civil War sites in Hanover,
Henrico, and Chesterfield counties. Experiencing the park’s battlefield
sites and five visitor centers usually takes a full day. The main park
visitor center is located at Historic Tredegar (470 Tredegar Street in
Richmond) and provides museum exhibits, audio-visual programs, and
orientation services to help plan a visit to the battlefields.
For additional information, please contact the park at 804-226-1981. Park
information and updates about programs and events are also available on the
park’s website at www.nps.gov/rich and on Facebook
(www.facebook.com/RichmondNPS).
