- Are held at The Lyceum, 201 S. Washington St, Alexandria
- Begin at 7:30 PM
- Are free and open to the public, no reservations needed
- Have open seating, 140 people maximum
- Are ADA accessible
| May 22, 2013 | Lecture: “Sorrow Across the Land: The Aftermath of Fredericksburg” by John Hennessy This lecture will explore the days and months following the Battle of Fredericksburg – the ordeal of the wounded and the struggle of a community damaged both physically and emotionally to recover, and its connections to Alexandria.Mr. Hennessy is the Chief Historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he has worked since 1995. A 25-year veteran of the National Park Service, he has developed numerous interpretive media and programs for the public. Hennessey is the author of four films and three books, most notably Return to Bull Run: The campaign and battle of Second Manassas (ISBN: 978-0806131870). Among his other publications are more than 100 reviews, essays, and articles which include topics such as the preservation of historic urban areas, the exodus of slaves from central Virginia in 1862, and the legacy of the Civil War in modern society.Sponsors: Alexandria Historical Society and the Office of Historic Alexandria Civil War Sesquicentennial |
| June 26, 2013 | Lecture: “A Southern Spy in Northern Virginia: The Civil War Album of Laura Ratcliffe” by Charles V. (Chuck) Mauro ISBN: 978-1596297432 Mr. Mauro is a local historian from Fairfax who writes about the Alexandria area with a frequent focus on the Civil War. He will tell the story of an album that Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart gave to Laura Ratcliffe, a spy who lived in Frying Pan, now Floris, Virginia, during the Civil War. In the album Stuart wrote four poems to win the favor of Laura in order to have her gather and transmit intelligence in western Fairfax County for the Confederate cause. Laura also used the album as a guestbook in which 40 guests signed their namess — 26 soldiers and 14 civilians. The soldier signatures include: J.E.B. Stuart, Major John Singleton Mosby, Brigadier General Fitzhugh Lee, and some of their men. Of the civilians, half are from the local area and the others are from Cambridge, Maryland.Mr. Mauro is a member and past President of both the Historical Society of Herndon and the Manassas Warrenton Camera Club. Other local organizations to which he belongs are: the Historic Centreville Society, Ltd.; the Bull Run and Capitol Hill Civil War Round Tables; the Stuart-Mosby Society; Historic Fairfax City, Inc.; the Historical Society of Fairfax County, Virginia; and the Friends of Fort Ward. Additionally, he is a member of the Louisiana Historical Association Memorial Hall Foundation, Inc. and the National Center for Civil War Photography. |