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Harrisburg

Civil War Round Table
since 1959

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The Crossing of the James and the First Petersburg Offensive

The Crossing of the James and the First Petersburg Offensive

When

05/15/2026    
5:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Where

Central Penn College Conference Center
600 Valley Rd., Summerdale, PA, 17093

Join us on Friday, May 15, for our annual Nye-Sommers Lecture, delivered by one of Dr. Richard J. Sommers’ closest friends, celebrated author and historian A. Wilson Greene, who is coming all the way from Tennessee to honor Dr. Sommers’ memory.

Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant managed one of the Civil War’s most spectacular logistical operations in June 1864 when he moved from the Cold Harbor battlefield to and across the mighty James River under the nose of General Robert E. Lee.  Grant and his generals, however, squandered the advantage they gained through a number of errors that prevented his forces from capturing Petersburg on June 15, 1864, mistakes that led to three more days of brutal combat and Confederate control of Petersburg for nine more months.

A. Wilson Greene completed a 44-year career in public history and battlefield preservation in 2017.  He is the author of six books and more than twenty articles and essays on the American Civil War.  He is currently at work on the third of three volumes on the Petersburg Campaign entitled A Campaign of Giants, published by the University of North Carolina Press. The second volume, published in 2025, is dedicated to Dr. Sommers. Greene holds degrees in American history from Florida State University and Louisiana State University and resides in Walden, Tennessee.

Dinner reservations for this event must be made by noon on Sunday, May 3.RSVP to our membership chair, Michael Margolius, at membership@harrisburgcwrt.org
Please pay in advance using PayPal or a credit card below, or pay by check, cash, or credit card at the door.  If paying below, you may make reservations for multiple guests. After selecting the month and entering the name of each guest, you will select the quantity on the next page.
Those who are unable to attend this engagement in person are invited to tune in to the lecture and Q&A session via Zoom.  Click on the following link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84009313379.    No password in required.  To dial in by phone, call 1-301-715-8592 or click on the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/84009313379/invitations?signature=hT2N5zitkwR52Dj-VQSi7FoWbl8uzicrV676yAwyLf0 The meeting ID # is 840 0931 3379.  Zoom participants should join the meeting by 7:00 pm.


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