dr. james i. robertson. at just 31 years old president kennedy appointed him as executive director of the nation's beleaguered commission for the centennial of the civil war. which he quickly righted. more recently he's been a key member of virginia's commission for the civil war sesquicentennial bringing smart, scholarly guidance to what is widely considered to be the most successful commission in the nation by far. and between the centennial and sesquicentennial, he strode proudly through one of the greatest careers of teaching and writing that any of us will ever see. he was the alumni distinguished professor in history at virginia tech for 44 years. he has written 18 books including the greatest of all biographies of stonewall jackson. today, as our keynote speaker, he will speak to us about the opening of the 1864 overland campaign. we are very honored to have with us today dr. james i. robertson. >> thank you john, very much. please know i'm deeply humbled by the invitation to be the keynote speaker on

robertson say? i would suggest there's not a agreeder compliment. this anniversary business is not new to dr. jamesrobertson. point him as executive director of the nation beleaguered which he quickly righted. in between the crennel tenial, he strode proudly through one of the greatest careers of teaching and writing that any of us will every see. he has written 18 books, including the agreesest of all biography. today as our keynote speaker, le we are very honored to have with us today dr. james i. robertson. units thank you john, very much. please know i'm deeply humbled by the invitation to be the keynote speaker on this awesome occasion. chaired by speaker of the house william hale. stay long, spend much, and enjoy yourselves here in the old dominion. months -- western half of the confed rae. virginia was the birthplace of a nation whose government had crafted largely by spacemen from the old, now virginia was scarred and overrun by thousands of soldiers fighting to the death for domination. as winter melted into spring, the simple question was which would give out first? the union army was on

dr. james i. robertson, paul levengood, david adams, a close personal friend and steward of a large portion of the cold harbor battlefield. our readers, ashley and michael, and i want to send a special thanks to our chorus from the lee davis high school. thank you all very much for being with us in this program tonight. [ applause ] >> for the last week and a half, many of you have followed in the foot steps of union and confederate armies across the north anna and the pomonkey rivers, to pottawatomie creek, bethesda church and near here at the cold harbor crossroads. tonight, we will pause to ponder the significance of these stories and what they meant to the veterans of both armies and generations of americans who came after. as we do that, we need to acknowledge the hard work of so many who joined with us in remembering and commemorating this unforgettable part of our shared history. from its own commemorative events at north anna to supporting our events here, hanover county has been a real strong partn

dr. james i. robertson, paul levengood, david adams, a close personal friend and steward of a large portion of the cold harbor battlefield. our readers, ashley and michael, and i want to send a special thanks to our chorus from the lee davis high school. thank you all very much for being with us in this program tonight. [ applause ] >> for the last week and a half, many of you have followed in the foot steps of union and confederate armies across the north anna and the pom onky rivers, to potmy creek, bethesda church and near here at the cold harbor across roads. tonight, we will pause to ponder the significance of these stories and what they meant to the veterans of both armies and generations of americans who came after. as we do that, we need to acknowledge the hard work of so many who joined with us in remembering and commemorating this unforgettable part of our shared history. from its own commemorative events at north anna to supporting our events here, hanover county has been a real strong partner wi

dr. james i. robertson, paul levengood, david adams, a close personal friend and steward of a large portion of the cold harbor battlefield. our readers, ashley and michael, and i want to send a special thanks to our chorus from the lee davis high school. thank you all very much for being with us in this program tonight. [ applause ] >> for the last week and a half, many of you have followed in the foot steps of union and confederate armies across the north anna and the pom onky rivers, to potmy creek, bethesda church and near here at the cold harbor across roads. tonight, we will pause to ponder the significance of these stories and what they meant to the veterans of both armies and generations of americans who came after. as we do that, we need to acknowledge the hard work of so many who joined with us in remembering and commemorating this unforgettable part of our shared history. from its own commemorative events at north anna to supporting our events here, hanover county has been a real strong partner wi

dr. james i. robertson.st 31 years old president kennedy appointed him as executive director of the nation's beleaguered commission for the centennial of the civil war. which he quickly righted. more recently he's been a key member of virginia's commission for the civil war us is skwi centennial bringing smart, scholarly guidance to what is widely considered to be the most successful commission in the nation by far. and between the centennial and sesquicentennial, he spoke proudly through one of the greatest careers of teaching and writing that any of us will ever see. he was the alumni distinguished professor in history at virginia tech for 44 years. he has written 18 books including the greatest of all biographies of stonewall jackson. today, as ourcis keynote speake he will speak to us about the opening of the 1864 oafland campaign. we are very honored to have with us today dr. james i. robertson. >> thank you john, very much. by the invitation to be the keynote speaker on this awesome occasion in history

dr. james i. robertson.st 31 years old, president kennedy appointed him as executive director of the nation's beleagured commission of the centennial for the civil war, which he quickly righted. more recently, he's been a key member of virginia's commission for the civil war sesquicentennial, bringing smart, scholarly guideness to the nation so far. he strode proudly through one of the greatest careers of teaching and writing that any of us will ever see. he was an alumni of history in virginia tech for 18 years. he has written numerous books, including one of the greatest biographies of stonewall jackson. today as our keynote speaker, he will speak to us about the 1864 overland campaign. we are very honored to have with us today dr. james i. robertson. [applause] >> thank you, john, very much, and please know that i'm deeply humbled by the invitation to be the keynote speaker on this awesome occasion in history and in commemoration. i also would like to extend greetings from the virginia's civil war ses kwu