bob crick insists, who is not with us -- he's now watching virginia v. north carolina in basketball. bob crick insists the army of north virginia stood its ground in the face of vastly superior numbers and that this was the dumbest thing that anybody -- and robert e. lee included -- could ever have done. i think he stayed put on the 17th because he thought he could win. he thought he could fight mcclellan on the defensive. whatever. he stayed put on the 18th all but daring mcclellan to renew the offensive. and then finally, barely, was able to get across butler's ford and back across the potomac into virginia. and then, of course, he fought on december 13th at fredericksburg. the plain between fredericksburg and crossed a significant drainage ditch, then the attacking ranks had to cross more open ground to confront a sunken road which formed a perfect four-foot trench for confederate infantry. behind the sunken road, marie's height rose precipitously studded with artillery and more infantry. the assault disintegrated into murder. lee saw the enemy founde

but as bob crick reminded us, it was not really a good dayall jat to play and decided not to. the union general, mcclellan, after glendale, sent this message to the war department. notice the tone. i shall do my best to save the army. but we know that well before the battles of glendale and malverne hill, george mcclellan's conception of how victory could be won was badly shaken. in this larger context our noted historian once again provides his insights into the character of this general who was actually just too closely wedded to his preconceived notions of how war should be fought. in a chapter with a marvelous title the historian writes, the failure of mcclellan's peninsula campaign was not alone a military failure. it represented also the downfall of the limited war for limited ends that mcclellan favored. from now on the north would fight not to preserve the old union but to destroy it and build a new one on its ashes. a concept so dear to men like mcclellan when eventually reconciliation some sort of gentleman's agreement was being washed away by increasing tides of blo

and like bob crick, he's becoming known as the father of another civil war historian, dr. clay mountcastle who's product of vmi class of '94. [ applause ] >> clay is the author of "punitive war, confederate guerillas and union reprisals." i had the pleasure of reading that book early and plugging it for the book seller. it's a fabulous read. i recommend it to all of you. but a lot of local folks know that jack mountcastle retired from the u.s. army as a brigadier general. fewer people know that he also earned his ph.d in history. so i've never known whether to call him dr. general or general doctor. but ladies and gentlemen, here's jack mountcastle. and did i remember to tell you that he's a product of vmi? [ cheers and applause ] >> i agree with the applause for wade rolls. i think he did a superb job. we just keep trapg him year in and year out. he's getting better and better at these all important int introductions. it's mid afternoon and you're all still here. i think that's great. john? great job. excellent. [ applause ] >> well, like everyone else who's had the privi

bob crick.or him and the others you will find a biography in your programs so i will not give long introductions for the benefit of our live television audience. however, let me say a few things about robert k. krick. today he's best known as the father of robert e.l. krick. bob the elder was for more than 30 years chief historian at the fredericksburg and spotsylvania national military park and in that capacity was extremely active as a researcher, a writer, a speaker, and especially as one of the country's leading battlefield reservati preservationists. in his so-called retirement and so-called retirement bob will never retire, he has continued his research and writing and occasional speaking. we are very pleased to have him with us here today to make the first nomination. bob krick. [ applause ] >> the years do move right along. for many decades, my son, a young historian, was introduced as my son. now, almost inevitably, i'm introduced as his father. so these things come and go and change. i

bob crick, in re- thomas, and david white -- blight. they have lectured. they're very knowledgeable folks. i am sure your viewers have bookshelves full of their books. it will be an interesting group of historians. each one has a reputation of who they like and do not like. that is driving some speculation of who they will nominate and how well they will present a case for their nominee. >> waite rawls is the ceo of the museum of the confederacy. our viewers will be able to participate as well with phone calls. we will take a look at tweets throughout the day. that is getting underway at 9:30 eastern on american history tv. host: joining us from boston rouge, louisiana, is buddy roemer. you decided this week he would become an independent. explaining the strategy behind that. -- explained the strategy behind that. guest: in the 21st century, elections are decided by debate performance and opportunity. i have been a republican for 21 years. i am proud of the republican party. i was a democrat before that. in the course of the last year, there have been 23 n