Past Symposia
Below you will find a sampling of themes and talks from our past symposia and, when available, links to the C-SPAN recordings. We hope you will consider joining us for a future ECW Symposium at Stevenson Ridge!
Presenters:
- Cecily Nelson Zander: “From Stones River to Chattanooga: Braxton Bragg & The Struggle for Tennessee in 1863”
- Neil P. Chatelain: “Charleston 1863: Evaluating Command, Control & Technology”
- Timothy B. Smith: “The Vicksburg Campaign” (Keynote)
- 1863 Panel Discussion
- Sarah Kay Bierle: “Chancellorsville: From the Place of Blood and Wrath His Soul Changed”
- Kevin Pawlak: “John Mosby & The Gettysburg Campaign”
- Jon Tracey: “Barlow’s Knoll Reconsidered”
- James Hessler: “1863: The Summer of Dan Sickles”
- Zachery Fry: “A Year of Transformation: The Army of the Potomac in 1863”
- Chris Kolakowski: “The Battle of Missionary Ridge”
- Battlefield Tour: Bristoe Station Tour with Rob Orrison and Kevin Pawlak
- Battlefield Tour: First Day at Chancellorsville with Daniel T. Davis and Sarah Kay Bierle
Presenters:
- Brian Matthew Jordan: ” The Concept of What If”
- Neil Chatelain: “Ambitions & Challenges of a Confederate Navy European Ironclad Squadron”
- Garry Adelman: “Speculation Run Amok: Fun with Gettysburg’s ‘What Ifs” (Keynote)
- Maryland Campaign “What If” Panel Discussion
- Phill Greenwalt: “What If: A Confederate Western Empire”
- Sarah Kay Bierle: “What if Rienzi Stumbled at Cedar Creek?”
- Jon Tracey: “The Realities of Civil War Medicine (What if it wasn’t as bad as we think it is?)”
- Gordon Rhea: “Six Great What If’s of the Overland Campaign”
- Zachery A. Fry: “What if Meade Had Attacked Lee at the Potomac River after Gettysburg?”
- Kris White: “What if Stonewall Jackson Had Not Been Shot?”
- “What If” Panel Discussion
- Battlefield Tour: Slaughter Pen Farm at Wilderness Battlefield with Chris Mackowski and Kris White
(Note: C-Span did not record the 2022 ECW Symposium)
Presenters:
- Dan Welch: “The Reluctant Rise and Unavoidable Fall of General John Pope”
- Doug Crenshaw & Bert Dunkerly: “Not For Rank or Fame: Joseph E. Johnston”
- Gordon Rhea: “J.E.B. Stuart’s Mortal Wounding at Yellow Tavern” (Keynote)
- Sean Chick: “Dreams of Victory: P.G.T. Beauregard”
- Sarah Kay Bierle: “John Pelham at Kelly’s Ford”
- Chris Mackowski: “Fearless of All Danger: Brig. Gen. Thomas G. Stevenson”
- Matt Atkinson: “Chasing Glory: The Life and Times of the Gallant Earl Van Dorn”
- Kevin Pawlak: “A Seared Soul: The Fall of Fitz John Porter”
- Dave Powell: “Death of a General: Leonidas Polk”
- Tom McMillan: “Armistead & Hancock at Gettysburg”
- Battlefield Tour: Payne’s Farm with Theodore P. Savas; Longstreet’s Wounding at the Wilderness with Greg Mertz
Presenters:
- Jon Tracey: “Union Soldier John Rankin, Antietam, & Gettysburg”
- Doug Crenshaw: “1864 Battle of Fort Harrison”
- Kristopher White: “Robert E. Lee and the Battle of Chancellorsville”
- Steward Henderson: “U.S. Colored Troops”
- Sarah Kay Bierle: “1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaigns & Medical Care”
- Chris Mackowski: “Ulysses S. Grant’s Post-Presidency Life and Memoirs”
Presenters:
- Paige Gibbons Backus: “Carnage in the Medical Field During the Civil War”
- Sarah Kay Bierle: “The Chambersburg Raid of 1862”
- Mark Maloy: “The First Shots of the War in Charleston Harbor”
- Derek Maxfield: “Hellmira Prison Camp”
- Kevin Pawlak: “The Loudoun Valley Campaign of 1862”
- Dan Welch: “George Greene’s Brigade at Gettysburg”
Presenters:
- A. Wilson Greene: “Ulysses S. Grant’s Second Petersburg Offensive” (Keynote)
- Sarah Kay Bierle: “1864 New Market Campaign”
- Jon-Erik Gilot: “1861 Battle of Philippi”
- Phillip Greenwalt: “The Battle of Olustee” [Not recorded]
- Drew Gruber: “1862 Battle of Williamsburg”
- Dwight Hughes: “The Burnside Expedition” [Not recorded]
- Christopher Kolakowski: “1863 Tullahoma Campaign”
- Chris Mackowski: “1863 Battle of Mine Run”
- Kristen Pawlak: “1861 Battle of Wilson’s Creek”
- Steven Phan: “1864 Battle of Fort Stevens”
- Ryan Quint: “1861 Battle of Dranesville”
- Dan Welch: “1862 Battle of Secessionville”
- Battlefield Tour: North Anna with tour guide Bert Dunkerly
Presenters:
- D. Scott Hartwig: “Battle of Antietam, Lincoln, & Emancipation” (Keynote)
- Panel Discussion: “Civil War Turning Points”
- Ed Alexander: “General Grant Crosses the James River in 1864”
- Matt Atkinson: “Gettysburg and Vicksburg as Turning Points”
- Robert Dunkerly: “Civil War Turning Points Overview”
- Christopher Kolakowski: “Ulysses S. Grant as Union Army General-in-Chief”
- Greg Mertz: “The Death of Albert Sidney Johnston”
- Rea Redd: “1864 Presidential Election”
- Battlefield Tour: Jackson at Chancellorsville with tour guide Chris Mackowski
Presenters:
- Brian Matthew Jordan: “The Battle of South Mountain” (Keynote)
- Panel Discussion: “Civil War Defenses”
- Matt Atkinson: “Siege of Vicksburg and Confederate Defense”
- Christopher Kolakowski: “Army of the Cumberland’s Defense at Stones River”
- Chris Mackowski: “General Robert E. Lee’s North Anna River Defense”
- Kelley Mezurek: “U.S. Colored Troops as Prison Guards”
- Kevin Pawlak: “General Robert E. Lee’s Antietam Defense”
- David Powell: “Battle of Chickamauga & Horseshoe Ridge Defense”
- Ryan Quint: “Union General Lew Wallace’s Monocacy Defense”
- Dan Welch: “General Stonewall Jackson’s Stand at Second Manassas”
- Kristopher D. White: “Civil War Defenses”
- Eric Wittenberg: “Union General John Buford’s Gettysburg Defense”
- Battlefield Tour: Brandy Station with tour guides Eric Wittenberg and Daniel T. Davis
Presenters:
- James Ogden: “General James Longstreet’s Assault at Chickamauga” (Keynote)
- Panel Discussion: “Great Attacks of the Civil War”
- Ed Alexander: “Federal Breakthrough at Petersburg”
- Stephen Davis: “John Bell Hood’s Assault at Atlanta”
- Christopher Kolakowski: “The Naval Attack on New Orleans” [Not recorded]
- Chris Mackowski: “Battle of Spotsylvania Court House”
- David Powell: “Civil War Battle Tactics”
- Ryan Quint: “The Fighting in Antietam’s Cornfield” [Not recorded]
- Kristopher D. White: “Battle of the Wilderness and Longstreet’s Counterattack”
- Lee White: “Army of Tennessee’s Assault at Franklin”
- Battlefield Tour: Second Fredericksburg – Marye’s Heights Sector with tour guides Kristopher D. White & Chris Mackowski
Presenters:
- Dana Shoaf: “Bayonet Usage During the Civil War” (Keynote)
- Panel Discussion: “Evaluating the Civil War Sesquicentennial”
- Emmanuel Dabney: “The Freedmen’s Bureau”
- Phillip Greenwalt: “Formation of the Lost Cause”
- Christopher Kolakowski: “The Fall of Richmond and Appomattox”
- Eric J. Wittenberg: “Joshua L. Chamberlain & Wade Hampton: Parallel Lives” [Not recorded]
- Battlefield Tour: Stonewall Jackson’s Flank Attack at Chancellorsville
Presenters:
- Eric J. Wittenberg: “Battle of Trevilian Station” (Keynote)
- Dan Davis: “Ulysses S. Grant & the Overland Campaign” [Not recorded]
- Phillip Greenwalt: “A Study of the Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia” [Not recorded]
- Meg Groeling: “The 1864 Presidential Election”
- Christopher Kolakowski: “The Fall of the Confederate Navy”
- Kristopher D. White: “Changing Military Strategy in 1864”
- Lee White: “Patrick Cleburne & the Tennessee Campaign of 1864” [Not recorded]
- Battlefield Tour: Wilderness & Spotsylvania with tour guides Kristopher D. White & Chris Mackowski.