Virginia Historical Society Podcast

On April 17, 2019, Douglas Brinkley delivered the 2019 Stuart G. Christian, Jr. Lecture, "American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race." On May 25, 1961, John F. Kennedy made an astonishing announcement: his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. In American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race, Douglas Brinkley returns to the 1960s to recreate one of the most exciting and ambitious achievements in the history of humankind. American Moonshot brings together the extraordinary political, cultural, and scientific factors that fueled the birth and development of NASA and the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects, which shot the United States to victory in the space race against the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. Drawing on new primary source material and major interviews with many of the surviving figures who were key to America's success, Brinkley brings this fascinating history to life as never before. A vivid and enthralling chronicle of one of the

On April 25, 2019, Aaron Sheehan-Dean delivered the Banner Lecture, "The Calculus of Violence: How Americans Fought the Civil War." At least three-quarters of a million lives were lost during the American Civil War. Given its seemingly indiscriminate mass destruction, this conflict is often thought of as the first "total war." Aaron Sheehan-Dean's latest books, The Calculus of Violence, demonstrates that this notoriously bloody war could have been much worse. Military forces on both sides sought to contain casualties inflicted on soldiers and civilians. In congress, in church pews, and in letters home, Americans debated the conditions under which lethal violence was legitimate, and their arguments differentiated carefully among victims: women and men, black and white, enslaved and free. Sometimes, these well-meaning restraints led to more carnage by implicitly justifying the killing of people who were not protected by the laws of war. As the Civil War raged on, the Union's confrontations with guerrillas and

On April 5, 2019, Heath Hardage Lee delivered the Banner Lecture, "The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home from Vietnam." On February 12, 1973, one hundred and fifteen men who, just six years earlier, had been high flying Navy and Air Force pilots, shuffled, limped, or were carried off a huge military transport plane at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. These American servicemen had endured years of brutal torture, shackled and starved in solitary confinement, in rat-infested, mosquito-laden prisons, the worst of which was The Hanoi Hilton. Months later, this first group of Vietnam POWs to return home would learn that their rescuers were their wives, a group of women led by Sybil Stockdale and including Jane Denton, Louise Mulligan, Andrea Rander, Phyllis Galanti, and Helene Knapp. The POW-MIA advocacy group Sybil and her "League of Wives" created, The National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, went

On June 13, 2013, David C. Keehn delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Knights of the Golden Circle: Secret Empire, Secession, Civil War." The Knights of the Golden Circle was a mysterious southern-based society that set out in 1859 to establish a slave empire in Mexico. In late 1860, it shifted its focus to supporting the secession movement and intimidating Unionists in the South. According to David Keehn, once the war began, the Knights helped build up the nascent Confederate army and carried out various clandestine actions, including an attempt to assassinate Abraham Lincoln as he passed through Baltimore in 1861. Keehn, an attorney from Allentown, Pa., is the author of Knights of the Golden Circle: Secret Empire, Southern Secession, Civil War.

On July 25, Brian D. McKnight delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Contested Borderland: The Civil War in Appalachian Kentucky and Virginia." During the four years of the Civil War, the border between eastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia was highly contested territory, alternately occupied by both the Confederacy and the Union. In Contested Borderland, Brian McKnight examines the features of the region's geography and the influence of the attacks on borderlands caught in the crossfire of opposing forces. He reveals how the dual occupation of the Union and Confederate armies divided the borderland population, creating hostilities within the region that would persist long after the war's conclusion. Professor McKnight teaches history at the University of Virginia's College at Wise.

On August 8, 2013, Ray McAllister delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Ocracoke: The Pearl of the Outer Banks." The Outer Banks have enticed Virginians with the lure of sun, sky, and sea for generations. Despite this idyllic appeal, these once-isolated barrier islands have also witnessed a turbulent past. Pirates, hurricanes, shipwrecks, and U-boats all make their appearance in the varied story of the Outer Banks. Ray McAllister, an award-winning former Richmond Times Dispatch columnist, has become the established chronicler of coastal North Carolina with his latest volume on Ocracoke, which follows earlier books on Hatteras Island, Wrightsville Beach, and Topsail Island.

On Thursday, August 22, Neva Hart delivered a banner lecture entitled "War and Pieces: Quilts through America's War Years." For soldiers in the field or citizen soldiers who declared the moral equivalent of war, quilts have been used throughout America's history not only as comfort, but to further "the Cause." It wasn't the Boston Tea Party that started the fight! Learn how quilt makers, impacted by textile trade and social trends, were influenced by the Revolutionary War to today’s Middle East conflicts. This illustrated lecture featuring examples as early as the late 1700s, will discuss embargoes to the Colonies, development of America's textile manufacturing, the Underground Railroad, Civil War, women and politics, development of the Red Cross, Quilts of Valor, and virtual quilts. Neva Hart served as president of the Professional Association of Appraisers-Quilted Textiles and as a board member for the Virginia Quilt Museum. Editor and contributor to Quilts of Virginia, 1607–1899 (2006), she writes, lectur

On Wednesday September, 4, Gene Allen Smith, delivered a banner lecture entitled "Fighting for Freedom: African Americans and the War of 1812." Images of American slavery conjure up cotton plantations and African Americans locked in bondage until the Civil War. Yet early in the nineteenth century the state of slavery was very different, and the political vicissitudes of the young nation offered diverse possibilities to slaves. Though surprising numbers of slaves did assist the Americans in the War of 1812, the conflict created opportunities for slaves to find freedom among the British. The Slaves' Gamble: Choosing Sides in the War of 1812 by Gene Smith offers a fascinating and original narrative history of an extraordinary yet little-known chapter in the dark saga of American history.

On October 10, Mary Theobald delivered a banner lecture entitled First House: Two Centuries with Virginia's First Families. Conceived during the Revolutionary War, built during the War of 1812, and looted during the Civil War, Virginia's executive mansion has endured fires, threats, riots, and hurricanes. Written to coincide with the mansion's bicentennial in 2013, First House: Two Centuries with Virginia's First Family by Mary Miley Theobald brings to life the private stories of the governors and their families who shaped the destiny of this unique home. The book traces triumph and tragedy through the turbulence of wars, fires, economic depressions, and renovations in a story that mirrors Virginia's progress from the nineteenth century into the twenty-first.

On March 26, 2019, Gregory May delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Jefferson’s Treasure: How Albert Gallatin Saved the New Nation from Debt.” The fight over how to pay for government has always been at the heart of American politics. Thomas Jefferson’s champion in that fight was Albert Gallatin. And in the great struggle against Alexander Hamilton’s financial policies, Gallatin won. Gregory May’s new biography of Gallatin explains why he, more than Hamilton, was America’s financial founder. Gallatin first came to national attention as a rebel spokesman in the Whiskey Rebellion. Despite Hamilton’s attempts to destroy him, Gallatin soon became the leader of the Republican opposition in Congress. And once the Republicans elected Jefferson as president, Gallatin took charge of the Treasury—the largest and most powerful department of government. By the time Gallatin left office, he had abolished internal revenue taxes, slashed federal spending, and repaid half of the national debt. The Jefferson administration’s

On March 14, 2019, Nancy E. Sheppard delivered the Banner Lecture, “Hampton Roads Murder and Mayhem: The Darker Side of the Tidewater.” Join two-time, award-nominated author and historian, Nancy Sheppard, as she discusses some of the darker tales from southeastern Virginia. Dive into true stories of: survival cannibalism at Jamestowne the bravery of Grace Sherwood, known as “The Witch of Pungo” stories of riots, murders, lynchings, and Charles Lindbergh’s visit to Hampton Roads to find his son. Come and experience some of the more nefarious moments in the vibrant history of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Nancy E. Sheppard, a writer and historian of her native Hampton Roads, Virginia, is the author of The Airship ROMA Disaster in Hampton Roads and Hampton Roads Murder: & Mayhem.

The formation of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia is a national story with strong ties to Virginia. Fueled by their shared frustration about the United States government’s silence regarding prisoners of war held by the North Vietnamese, Phyllis Galanti, Louise Mulligan, and Jane Denton—all wives of American POWs living in Virginia—began organizing under the auspices of the National League and its founder, Sybil Stockdale. They joined the efforts of other POW wives from other states-like Andrea Rander in Maryland and Marty Halyburton in Georgia, to break the silence and demand that the government account for their husbands and secure their return. In conjunction with the opening of the exhibition, "The League of Wives: Vietnam’s POW/MIA Advocates & Allies," this panel discussion held on March 1, 2019 features a rare opportunity to understand the efforts of the National League by women who led it and how they, and their allies, captured national attention and

On February 28, 2019, Elizabeth L. O’Leary delivered the Banner Lecture, “Across Time: Robinson House, Its Land and People.” What is that building? Just a short stroll from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture stands a tall antebellum structure with a soaring pyramidal belvedere. Robinson House, built about 1828 and expanded in the nineteenth century (and again just last year), is scheduled to open to the public in late January 2019. Owned by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, this intriguing structure was recently renovated and expanded to house a new regional tourism center and an exhibition about its rich and complex history. Project curator and author, Elizabeth O’Leary, will share the multilayered story of Robinson House, its land and inhabitants—including native peoples and English colonists; an elite antebellum family and the enslaved people who labored for and sometimes escaped them; the nation’s best-known Confederate veterans’ home, formed from a spirit of reconciliation between North and South;

On February 21, 2019, Peter S. Carmichael delivered the Banner Lecture, “Tracking Down a Confederate Deserter after Gettysburg.” On August 20, 1863, thirteen veteran soldiers from the 3rd North Carolina Infantry decided that they'd had enough of war. That evening, in the blackness of night, they picked up their rifles, slung on their cartridge belts, and escaped into the woods. From that point on there was no turning back. Our guest speaker, Professor Peter S. Carmichael, will focus on the words of John Futch, one of the thirteen deserters. Though he was illiterate, Futch left a remarkable set of letters that he dictated to his comrades. Futch’s powerful story puts us in the shoes of a deserter, enabling us to see his world after the devastating defeat in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Dr. Carmichael, one of the nation’s foremost authorities on the American Civil War, is the Robert C. Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies and the director of the Civil War Institute, Gettysburg College. He is the author of numer

Over the past decade, Richmond has seen an explosion of public artwork. Artist, muralist, and writer Mickael Broth has documented this phenomenon in his new book, Murals of Richmond. In this special edition banner lecture, held on January 10, 2019, Broth moderates a lively panel discussion about the transformative power of public art with Christina Wing Chow, Hamilton Glass, Andre Shank, and Ed Trask, who are among Richmond’s most talented mural artists. Mickael Broth, also known as The Night Owl, has painted over two hundred public murals throughout Richmond, the United States and Europe since 2012. He was awarded a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Professional Fellowship in 2008 for his gallery work and has shown widely around the United States. Broth serves on the board of directors for the RVA Street Art Festival and has been instrumental in the curatorial direction of the organization since its formation in 2012. In 2013, he published Gated Community: Graffiti and Incarceration, a memoir detailing his exper

Few figures from the American past are better known than the young Powhatan woman who has come down to us as “Pocahontas.” Her fame began in her own lifetime and has endured for more than 400 years. Pocahontas: Her Life, Legend, and Legacy was a half-day symposium held at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on November 14, 2018 with the intention of telling the story of Pocahontas from the English and Native American perspectives. Distinguished national and international speakers led discussions on what Pocahontas has come to represent as a cross-cultural ambassador, the role of religion and faith in her story, and the myths and realities that surround her. Shown here is Session 3: Pocahontas – Legacy, Myths, Realities and Relevance. Moderator Chief Emeritus Kenneth Adams led the discussion with panelists Chief Stephen Adkins, Rt. Rev. Carol Gallagher, Chief Robert Gray, John Pagano, Dr. William M. S. Rasmussen, Chief Anne Richardson, Dr. Helen C. Rountree, and Rev. Canon Chris Stone. This groundbrea

Few figures from the American past are better known than the young Powhatan woman who has come down to us as “Pocahontas.” Her fame began in her own lifetime and has endured for more than 400 years. Pocahontas: Her Life, Legend, and Legacy was a half-day symposium held at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on November 14, 2018 with the intention of telling the story of Pocahontas from the English and Native American perspectives. Distinguished national and international speakers led discussions on what Pocahontas has come to represent as a cross-cultural ambassador, the role of religion and faith in her story, and the myths and realities that surround her. Shown here is Session 2: Pocahontas – Religion and Faith. Moderator Chief Anne Richardson led the discussion with panelists Rt. Rev. Carol Gallagher and Rev. Canon Chris Stone. This groundbreaking program not only honors the Indian Tribes in Virginia who were responsible through peaceful treaties and collaboration with the early settlers to establ

Few figures from the American past are better known than the young Powhatan woman who has come down to us as “Pocahontas.” Her fame began in her own lifetime and has endured for more than 400 years. Pocahontas: Her Life, Legend, and Legacy was a half-day symposium held at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on November 14, 2018 with the intention of telling the story of Pocahontas from the English and Native American perspectives. Distinguished national and international speakers led discussions on what Pocahontas has come to represent as a cross-cultural ambassador, the role of religion and faith in her story, and the myths and realities that surround her. Shown here is Session 1: Pocahontas – Ambassador of Cross Culture Understanding. Moderator Chief Stephen Adkins led the discussion with panelists Chief Robert Gray, John Pagano, Dr. William M. S. Rasmussen, and Dr. Helen C. Rountree. This groundbreaking program not only honors the Indian Tribes in Virginia who were responsible through peaceful tre

On October 30, 2018, James M. Scott delivered the banner lecture, “Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila.” General Douglas MacArthur, driven from the Philippines under the cover of darkness at the beginning of World War II, famously vowed to return. This is the untold story of his homecoming. The twenty-nine-day battle to retake Manila resulted in the catastrophic destruction of the city and a rampage by Japanese soldiers and marines that terrorized the civilian population. Landmarks were demolished, houses torched, suspected resistance fighters were tortured and killed, countless women raped, and their husbands and children murdered in a massacre as heinous as “The Rape of Nanking.” Based on extensive research, war crimes testimony, after action reports, and survivor interviews, Rampage recounts one of the most heartbreaking chapters of the Pacific war. A former Nieman Fellow at Harvard, James M. Scott is the author of Target Tokyo, which was a 2016 Pulitzer Prize finalist and was named o

On October 17, 2018, James Horn delivered the J. Harvie Wilkinson, Jr. Lecture, “1619: Jamestown and the Forging of American Democracy.” Along the banks of the James River, Virginia, during an oppressively hot spell in the middle of summer 1619, two events occurred within a month of each other that would profoundly shape the course of history. In the newly built church at Jamestown, the General Assembly—the first gathering of a representative governing body in America—came together at the end of July. Several weeks later, a battered privateer entered the Chesapeake Bay carrying the first African slaves to land on mainland English America. In 1619, historian James Horn sheds new light on the year that gave birth to the great paradox of our nation: slavery in the midst of freedom. This portentous year marked both the origin of the most important political development in American history, the rise of democracy, and the emergence of what would in time become one of the nation's greatest challenges: the corrosive