Please note: Optional Dinner will start at 6:00 PM. The Lecture will start at 7:00 PM. To make dinner reservations, email CvilleCWRT@gmail.com and indicate your entree choice: beef, salmon or chicken. Dinner includes salad and dessert. Cost is $24 for members and $30 for non-members.

LECTURE TOPIC: Nothing in Phil Sheridan’s background hinted at future greatness. After graduating in the bottom one-third of his class at West Point, he spent his pre-Civil War years on the Western frontier. He began his Civil War service as a staff officer and was then promoted to colonel of a new Michigan cavalry unit. He demonstrated such battlefield prowess that he rose from Captain to Major General in barely six months. Promoted to lead the Army of the Potomac’s cavalry in early 1864, Sheridan earned a mixed record until he was appointed Commander of the Army of the Shenandoah, where he earned several victories. He later played a crucial role in the Appomattox campaign. He was a controversial general in the postwar army during Reconstruction and the Indian Wars, but ultimately was promoted to Commanding General of the US Army. Bill Bergen will recount Sheridan’s tumultuous life and examine the extent to which he deserves both credit and censure.

SPEAKER BIO:  Bill Bergen is a historian who specializes in the US Army of the Potomac and is particularly interested in how politics influenced the appointment of Union generals. He served as the Union army expert for several UVA Civil War conferences led by Gary Gallagher. His writing credits include essays in Gallagher’s books published by the University of North Carolina Press. Bill also served as an Assistant Dean at UVA’s law school and as the Senior Legislative Analyst at US Postal Service headquarters. He serves on Charlottesville’s Historic Resources Committee.