Podcast appearances and mentions of James I Robertson

Gen. Robert E. Lee began moving part of his Army of Northern Virginia from the Old Dominion toward Pennsylvania on June 3, 1863. Lee believed his army needed to win a major victory on Northern soil if the South was to have a chance at winning the war. Transferring the fighting out of war-torn Virginia would allow the state time to heal while he supplied his army from untapped farms and stores in Maryland and the Keystone State. Lee had also convinced Pres. Jefferson Davis that his offensive would interfere with the Union effort to take Vicksburg in Mississippi. The bold movement would trigger extensive cavalry fighting and a major battle at Winchester before culminating in the bloody three-day battle at Gettysburg. As the Virginia army moved north, the Army of the Potomac responded by protecting the vital roads to Washington, D.C., in case Lee turned to threaten the capital. Opposing presidents Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, meanwhile, kept a close watch on the latest and often conflicting military intelligence gathered in the field. Throughout northern Virginia, central Maryland, and south-central Pennsylvania, meanwhile, civilians and soldiers alike struggled with the reality of a mobile campaign and the massive logistical needs of the armies. Thousands left written accounts of the passage of the long martial columns. Mingus and Wittenberg mined hundreds of primary accounts, newspapers, and other sources to produce this powerful and gripping account. As readers will quickly learn, much of it is glossed over in other studies of the campaign, which cannot be fully understood without a firm appreciation of what the armies (and civilians) did on their way to the small crossroads town in Pennsylvania. Scott L. Mingus Sr. is a scientist and consultant in the global pulp and paper industry. Scott is the author of nearly two dozen books and numerous articles. His biography Confederate General William “Extra Billy” Smith won multiple awards, including the 2013 Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. Literary Award for Confederate history. Scott is also the author of many articles for a wide variety of publications, including Gettysburg Magazine. Eric J. Wittenberg is an accomplished American Civil War cavalry historian and author. The Ohio attorney has authored nearly two dozen books on various Civil War subjects, with particular focus on cavalry operations, as well as three dozen articles in popular magazines, such as North & South, Blue & Gray, America's Civil War, and Gettysburg Magazine. His first book, Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions, won the prestigious 1998 Bachelder-Coddington Literary Award. Wittenberg speaks widely, leads tours of various battlefields, and is an active preservationist.

Michael Hardy on "General Lee's Immortals: The Lane-Branch Brigade" For more information: WWW.CWRTChicago.com Over the course of four years of exemplary service, the North Carolina brigade commanded first by Lawrence O'Bryan Branch, and then by James H. Lane, fought on the most storied fields of the war. Some of the most well-known Civil War engagements, like Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg, saw the Branch-Lane Brigade in the forefront of battle. The brigade's career includes spectacular battle honors and dazzling successes, such as saving the entire Army of Northern Virginia twice at Spotsylvania Court House. Yet, there were also devastating losses and costly mistakes, most notably, the mortal wounding of the legendary Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville. The story of this brigade is one marked by glory and tragedy, from the first days of the war to the lingering effects long after Appomattox. General Lee's Immortals: The Battles and Campaigns of the Branch-Lane brigade tells this remarkable story. Michael C. Hardy has a passion for history. Over the past three decades, he has written about people, places, and events that are frequently overlooked in the grand, sweeping narratives. He is the author of twenty-four books. His articles have appeared in numerous national magazines, and Michael has been featured on Civil War Talk Radio and in the recent "Blood and Fury: America's Civil War" on the American Heroes Channel. In 2010, Michael was named the North Carolina Historian of the Year by the North Carolina Society of Historians, and in 2018, General Lee's Immortals, his history of the Branch-Lane brigade, was honored with the James I. Robertson, Jr., Literary Prize. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama, and, since 1995, has called western North Carolina home.

First Friday means a history episode and this is part 2 of our 4 part Civil War series on the crucial battles of 1862-1863 that lead to Grant coming East. This week we talk Chancellorsville, Lee's greatest tactical victory, and along the way of course there's an examination of the personalities, like "Fighting" Joe Hooker and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.Robert specifically mentions Chancellorsville by John Bigelow, Jr during the episode, but the guys also recommend an article on American Heritage, The Destruction of Fighting Joe Hooker by Gene Smith and Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Soldier, the Legend by James I. Robertson, Jr. 

Close to the Mason-Dixon line, South Central Pennsylvania was a magnet for slave catchers and abolitionists alike. Influenced by religion and empathy, local abolitionists risked their reputations, fortunes and lives in the pursuit of what they believed was right. The sister of Benjamin Lundy, one of America's most famous abolitionists, married into an Adams County family and spent decades helping runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad. National figures such as Frederick Douglass toured the region, delivering antislavery orations to mixed receptions. In 1859, John Brown planned his Harpers Ferry raid from Chambersburg while local abolitionists concealed his identity. Author Cooper Wingert reveals the history of the antislavery movement in South Central Pennsylvania. Cooper Wingert is the author of ten books, including "The Confederate Approach on Harrisburg" and "Slavery and the Underground Railroad in South Central Pennsylvania." He is the recipient of the 2012 Dr. James I. Robertson Literary Award for Confederate History. Wingert currently resides in Enola, Pennsylvania. Description courtesy of the History Press.

James “Bud” Robertson published his first book on the Civil War in 1963. Among other accomplishments, he taught at Virginia Tech for decades, has written the definitive biography on Stonewall Jackson, and acted as a historical consultant to the 2003 film Gods and Generals. Now, he's working on a new book on Robert E. Lee. Bud talks with Colin about studying at Emory, being in the White House when JFK died, and his relationship with Robert Duvall.

On Friday, April 29, James I. Robertson, Jr., delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Civil War's Most Valuable Diarist." At the Confederate States CapitalMaryland-born John Beauchamp Jones was an established editor and novelist when civil war began. He was one of the few people who envisioned the struggle as the large-scale, all-consuming war it became. In May, 1861, he accepted a high-ranking clerkship in the Confederate War Department. For the next four years he kept a meticulous, day-by-day journal. Nothing escaped Jones's eyes and ears. Verbal descriptions of individuals, confidential reports, personal opinions, rumors, weather, inflation, newspaper articles, life inside the bloated Confederate capital—all received attention. A Rebel War Clerk's Diary appeared posthumously in 1866. This mass of information has remained only partially used because of the absences of identification of persons and events, as well as lack of an index. James I. Robertson, Jr., has edited a new edition of the diary, which includes a long introduction, 2,700 endnotes, and an index containing references to individuals and subjects. Dr. James I. "Bud" Robertson, Jr., a noted scholar on the American Civil War, is Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech and former executive director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies. He also served as executive director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission and as a member of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission. Robertson is the author and editor of numerous books, including The Stonewall Brigade, General A. P. Hill, Soldiers, Blue and Gray, Civil War! America Becomes One Nation, Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend, and A Rebel War Clerk's Diary: At the Confederate States Capital. This lecture is cosponsored with The Virginia Antiquarian Book Fair and the Virginia Antiquarian Bookseller's Association (VABA).

On April 29, 2016, James I. Robertson, Jr., delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Civil War's Most Valuable Diarist." Maryland-born John Beauchamp Jones was an established editor and novelist when civil war began. He was one of the few people who envisioned the struggle as the large-scale, all-consuming war it became. In May, 1861, he accepted a high-ranking clerkship in the Confederate War Department. For the next four years he kept a meticulous, day-by-day journal. Nothing escaped Jones's eyes and ears. Verbal descriptions of individuals, confidential reports, personal opinions, rumors, weather, inflation, newspaper articles, life inside the bloated Confederate capital—all received attention. A Rebel War Clerk's Diary appeared posthumously in 1866. This mass of information has remained only partially used because of the absences of identification of persons and events, as well as lack of an index. James I. Robertson, Jr., has edited a new edition of the diary, which includes a long introduction, 2,700 endnotes, and an index containing references to individuals and subjects. Dr. James I. "Bud" Robertson, Jr., a noted scholar on the American Civil War, is Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech and former executive director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies. He also served as executive director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission and as a member of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission. Robertson is the author and editor of numerous books, including The Stonewall Brigade, General A. P. Hill, Soldiers, Blue and Gray, Civil War! America Becomes One Nation, Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend, and A Rebel War Clerk's Diary: At the Confederate States Capital. This lecture is cosponsored with The Virginia Antiquarian Book Fair and the Virginia Antiquarian Bookseller's Association (VABA). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.