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Richmond’s Gilded Age: The Grit Behind the Glitz
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On November 2, 2017, Brian Burns delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Richmond’s Gilded Age: The Grit Behind the Glitz.”
In the aftermath of the...
Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause
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On May 5, 2021, Ty Seidule showcased why some of this country’s oldest wounds have never healed.
In a forceful but humane narrative, former soldier...
Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth
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On October 1, 2019, Kevin M. Levin delivered a Banner Lecture entitled, “Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth.”
Mor...
Searching for Stonewall Jackson
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On January 30, 2020, Ben Cleary delivered the Banner Lecture, "Searching for Stonewall Jackson: A Quest for Legacy in a Divided America."
Thomas...
Secrets & Symbols: Child's Chest of Drawers
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Chest of drawers, about 1914
William L. Hedgbeth, Sr. (1882–1966)
VMHC Collection, Gift of Llewellyn H. Hedgbeth in memory of her grandfather William L...
Secrets & Symbols: Desk by John Shearer
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Desk, 1817
John Shearer (about 1760–after 1818)
VMHC Collection, Gift of The Children of Louis and Harriett Waldrop
John Shearer, a Scottish immigrant...
Secrets & Symbols: Temperance Quilt
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Quilt, about 1890–1900
Rena Effinger Coyner Koiner (1869–1949)
Cotton fabrics
VMHC Collection, Gift of Dennis and Kay Stockdale
Rena Koiner, the maker of...
Secrets & Symbols: "Crown of Thorns" Chest of Drawers
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“Crown of Thorns” chest of drawers, late 1800s
Unknown maker
VMHC Collection
So-called tramp art was popular across the U.S. from the 1870s to the 1930s...
Stonewall Jackson’s Little Sorrel
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On September 14, 2017, Sharon B. Smith delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Stonewall Jackson's Little Sorrel.”
During the Civil War and throughout...
The 1811 Richmond Theater Fire
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The Best Rebel Reminiscence: Edward Porter Alexander's Fighting for the Confederacy
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On April 7, 2017 at noon, Gary W. Gallagher delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “The Best Rebel Reminiscence: Edward Porter Alexander's Fighting for...
The Cherokee Diaspora: A History of Migration, Survival, and Pride
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On December 3, 2015, Gregory D. Smithers delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Cherokee Diaspora: A History of Migration, Survival, and Pride."
Ac...
The Dooleys of Richmond: Two Generations of an Irish Immigrant Family in the Old and New South
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On July 13, 2017, at noon, Mary Lynn Bayliss delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “The Dooleys of Richmond: Two Generations of an Irish Immigrant...
The History Crisis in America: Myth and Reality
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On July 9 at noon, Charles F. Bryan, Jr., delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The History Crisis in America: Myth and Reality."
History occupies a...
The Material World of Eyre Hall: Four Centuries of Chesapeake History
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On March 24, 2022, Carl R. Lounsbury delivered a lecture about four centuries of Chesapeake history as revealed through material world of Eyre Hall.
...The Old Bay Line—1840 to 1962
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On November 3, 2022, author Jack Shaum lectured on the subject of his newest book, 122 Years on the Old Bay Line.
Old Bay Line is the name by which...
The Rarefied Life of George Washington Parke Custis
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George Washington Parke Custis was raised at Mount Vernon by George and Martha Washington. Young “Wash” appears in Edward Savage's 1789 painting of...
The Record of Murders and Outrages: Racial Violence and the Fight over Truth during Reconstruction
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On February 10, 2022, historian William Blair delivered a lecture about the early Reconstruction era effort by Freedmen’s Bureau officers to document...
The Strange Genius of Mr. O: The World of the United States’ First Forgotten Celebrity
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On July 15, 2021, historian Carolyn Eastman delivered a Banner Lecture examining the career of James Ogilvie, a now-forgotten celebrity of the very...
Turning Fact into Fiction: Writing Fiction about the Richmond Theater Fire
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On May 11, 2023, Rachel Beanland gave a lecture on the historical research behind her novel about the Richmond Theater Fire, The House is On Fire...