Mosby Heritage Area Association Newsletter July 2009

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The Mosby Heritage Area Association is a membership driven 501 (c) 3. organization focusing on education and preservation. Your tax-deductible membership supports our work and entitles you to advance notice of our upcoming programs, services and events, as well as our annual newsletter
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Upcoming Events:
George Washington, Statesman, Farmer
September 19, 2009
More info here...

Mr. Monroe of Oak Hill
October 17, 2009
More info here...

Cavaliers, Courage & Coffee Program
October 24, 2009
More info here...

Saturday Morning Special Field Trips
October 24, 2009
More info here...

Conference on the Art of Command in the Civil War "The 1862 Valley Campaign"
October 2-4, 2009
More info here...

BROWN!
October 24, 2009
November 07, 2009
More info here...

Newsletter Archive:
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October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

Mosby Heritage Area Association Newsletter
August 2009

From The President
Three exciting upcoming MHAA events are featured in this stripped-down-for-August newsletter:

The talk on Saturday, September 19 by Jim Rees, the Executive Director of Mount Vernon, on George Washington: Soldier, Statesman, Farmer at the Hill School Performing Arts Center in Middleburg.
Our 12th annual Conference on the Art of Command in the Civil War, focusing this year on The 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign, October 2-4 at the Middleburg Community Center.
The talk on Saturday, October 17 by Dr. Daniel Preston, the renowned James Monroe Scholar (along with an appearance by James Monroe himself), at historic Oak Hill, Monroe’s home near Leesburg.

Please scroll down for details. It’s not too early to reserve your seats for these terrific events, which also serve as important fundraisers for MHAA.

We greatly value your interest in MHAA and in preserving our special area of the country. For more info about our events or the organization itself, scroll down, go to our website, www.MosbyHeritage.com, or call us at 540-687-6681.

Marc Leepson
President
MHAA

MHAA Special Event, September 19
George Washington’s Mount Vernon Executive Director
Jim Rees To Speak on “George Washington: Soldier, Statesman, Farmer”

The Board of Directors of the Mosby Heritage Area Association invites you to an informative and engaging talk by James C. Rees, one of the nation’s premier authorities on the life and times of our first President, George Washington.

If you cannot attend but would like to support MHAA education programs with a contribution, or if you would like to be a sponsor, please call 540-687-6681.

Please mark your calendars for Saturday, September 19. That’s when Mr. Rees, the Executive Director of Mount Vernon, will speak on "George Washington: Soldier, Statesman, Farmer " at the Sheila C. Johnson Performing Arts Center at The Hill School in Middleburg, Virginia.

This promises to be an interesting and exciting event. It will begin with a reception with light refreshments at 4:00. Mr. Rees’ presentation begins at 5 p.m. After his talk, Mr. Rees will sign copies of his book, George Washington's Leadership Lessons: What the Father of Our Country Can Teach Us About Effective Leadership and Character.

Admission to this event is $75. Sponsorships are available beginning at $250. Proceeds benefit education programs of the Mosby Heritage Area Association. With a limited number of seats, we strongly encourage you to RSVP ASAP. Call 540-687-6681 or visit www.mosbyheritagearea.org to make your reservation and payment online today. To learn more, please visit the MHAA web site or email us at info@mosbyheritagearea.org.

The 12th Annual Conference on the Art of Command in the Civil War – October 2-4
This year we will be devoting ourselves to the study of Major General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s extraordinary 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. This campaign has come down through history as a brilliant example of what an independent command of just 17,000 men can accomplish against enormous odds through the use of lightning- fast movement and audacious action.

As you may recall, in the early spring of 1862, Union General George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, over 100,000 strong, came down to the Peninsula between the York and James Rivers. McClellan made this move by employing the use of an enormous fleet of transport ships.
Through the spring and early summer of 1862, McClellan successfully pushed the Confederate army under General Joseph E. Johnston back from Yorktown all the way to the outskirts of Richmond. McClellan’s men, in fact, could hear church bells ringing in the city of Richmond. His plan was slowly working and now he expected to hook up with additional federal forces coming down from the Shenandoah Valley and the Fredericksburg area to make the final push that would crush the rebellion.
What General McClellan did not plan for was a small Confederate force that would show up in the Valley and successfully attack and maneuver around three separate union forces that were preparing to come down to aid him in front of Richmond. President Lincoln took note of this enemy force so close to Washington and held back the union forces for the protection of the nation’s capital.
McClellan was defeated before Richmond and he blamed President Lincoln for not sending him the troops he felt he needed to be successful.
We will study what General Jackson and his small force did that so totally disrupted General McClellan’s plan.

We will have eight historians talk with us Friday afternoon and Saturday – October 2nd and 3rd. October 4th will be spent on the Shenandoah battlefields where General Jackson so befuddled his enemy.

Please spend a little time with our conference brochure as it outlines more information about our speakers and gives the titles of their presentations.

The brochure with the registration form can be downloaded from our web site: www.mosbyheritagearea.org/MHAA12thConferenceBrochure.pdf For further information, call 540-687-6681 or email MHAA at info@mosbyheritagearea.org

Major General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and General George B. McClellan

CLICK HERE for the Registration Form.

MHAA Special Event
James Monroe Scholar Daniel Preston to Speak at Oak Hill With Special Appearance by President Monroe

The Board of Directors of The Mosby Heritage Area Association is pleased to announce a celebration of the life of James Monroe, the nation’s fifth president, at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 17 at historic Oak Hill, Monroe’s home near Leesburg, Virginia. The evening features a talk by the renowned Monroe scholar Daniel Preston, the editor of The Papers of James Monroe.

This limited-seating event begins with a tour of the famed Oak Hill gardens, hosted by James Monroe himself (in the person of noted Monroe interpreter Dennis Bigelow), continues with Dan Preston’s lively talk, and ends with a book signing and light food and beverage reception. Dress is casual.

If you cannot attend but would like to support MHAA education programs with a contribution, or if you would like to be a sponsor, please call 540-687-6681.

This event is being made possible through the generous support of Thomas and Gayle DeLashmutt, the stewards of James Monroe’s Oak Hill, a National Historic Landmark located on the west side of U.S. Route 15, two miles north of the intersection of Route 15 and Route 50 at Gilbert’s Corner.

About Daniel Preston: In addition to editing the James Monroe papers, Dr. Preston, who teaches U.S. history at the University of Mary Washington, has held a Mellon Fellowship at the Virginia Historical Society and a David Bruce Fellowship at Keele University in England. He is a past winner of the annual prize awarded by the Society of Historians of the Early American Republic for the best article published in The Journal of the Early Republic. He also is the author of James Monroe: An Illustrated History.

Oak Hill

About the Mosby Heritage Area Association
MHAA was founded in 1995 in Middleburg, Virginia, as a membership-driven, 501(c) 3 nonprofit preservation and historic organization. MHAA’s mission is to educate about, and advocate for, the preservation of the extraordinary historic, cultural and scenic resources in the Northern Virginia Piedmont.

Although MHAA is interested in the complete history of the area, it is named for the famed Confederate Cavalry officer John S. Mosby whose rangers fought throughout the region during the Civil War. The Heritage Area encompasses the counties of Loudoun, Fauquier, Clarke, Warren and part of Prince William, some 1,800 square miles. This unique area of the country consists of gently rolling hills, cool deciduous forests, lively winding creeks and broad rambling rivers. Accented by stunning vistas and an abundance of open space, the region is crisscrossed by scenic byways and historic thoroughfares once used by Native Americans, early settlers and soldiers. To learn more, please continue to browse this web site or email us at info@mosbyheritagearea.org