Local historian Rick Britton speaking in the City of Charlottesville Council Chambers Wednesday.

Of the neglected figures in history, wrote Archibald Henderson, Thomas Walker is easily the most distinguished. In this podcast, local historian Rick Britton talks about Thomas Walker, Walker’s relationship with Thomas Jefferson, and how Walker came to establish the town of Charlottesville.

Today’s lecture is one of a noontime series offered by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities in conjunction with Charlottesville Tomorrow and Celebrate!250. The series concludes March 6, 2012. Our podcast is moderated by Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Jennifer Marley.

Audio of today’s event was provided by Charlottesville TV10 and is used here with permission.

Airing on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, CPN’s Dan Gould talks with local award-winning historian and cartographer, Rick Britton about a wide range of subjects from Virginia’s colorful 18th and 19th centuries.

In this episode, Rick shares his top five Civil War movies. Is yours on Rick’s list? Listen in to find out.

Click here to listen to all the episodes in this series.

Airing on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, CPN’s Dan Gould talks with local award-winning historian and cartographer, Rick Britton about a wide range of subjects from Virginia’s colorful 18th and 19th centuries.

In this episode, Dan talks to Rick about the Federal naval blockades in the American Civil War and how the South found ways to run them. Blockade running was so profitable that a Southern captain could afford to loose his ship after only two runs. Learn why blockade runners never fired on Federal ships. In answer to Dan’s question, 16 knots is approximately 18 miles per hour.

Click here to listen to all the episodes in this series.

Airing on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, CPN’s Dan Gould talks with local award-winning historian and cartographer, Rick Britton about a wide range of subjects from Virginia’s colorful 18th and 19th centuries.

In this, our special Christmas day episode, Dan talks to Rick about Christmas and the American Civil War and how some of the iconic Christmas images we know today were created during this period. Learn how soldiers looked forward to receiving a Christmas package from home and how they were sometimes disappointed.

Rick’s book, “Jefferson, A Monticello Sampler”, described in this podcast, is available here.

Click here to listen to all the episodes in this series.

Airing on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, CPN’s Dan Gould talks with local award-winning historian and cartographer, Rick Britton about a wide range of subjects from Virginia’s colorful 18th and 19th centuries.

In this episode, Dan talks to Rick about how a Civil War army on the move fed itself. Learn about the “mess”, the basic cooking unit of a marching army, and about “the cat that would not boil”.

Click here to listen to all the episodes in this series.

Dennis Bigelow speaking at the Charlottesville Senior Center.

Rick Britton is a Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer. An award-winning historian, Rick also organizes history-related lecture classes in conjunction with the Charlottesville Senior Center.

On October 11, 2011, Fifth President James Monroe – in the flesh! – presented the final lecture in a new series entitled “Virginia History 201: Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, A Dynasty of Friends.” Monroe, of course, passed away in 1831 (on the Fourth of July), but historical interpreter extraordinaire Dennis Bigelow – in his period clothing, and possessed of a fascinating amount of historical detail – is the personification of our fifth president. (A Vietnam veteran and well-trained thespian, Mr. Bigelow portrays James Monroe for Ash-Lawn Highland, the president’s restored “cabin castle.”) Listen and learn about Monroe’s amazing political career.

This is the final part of our five part series. Click here listen all five parts of this series.

Airing on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, CPN’s Dan Gould talks with local award-winning historian and cartographer, Rick Britton about a wide range of subjects from Virginia’s colorful 18th and 19th centuries.

In this episode, Dan talks to Rick about how a marching Civil War army was like a city on the move. Learn how soldiers coped with the boredom of long marches and about the instant “cities” that sprang up when they ended.

Click here to listen to all the episodes in this series.

Meg Kennedy speaking at the Charlottesville Senior Center.

Rick Britton is a Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer. An award-winning historian, Rick also organizes history-related lecture classes in conjunction with the Charlottesville Senior Center.

On Thursday, October 6th, Meg Kennedy presented the fourth lecture in a new series entitled “Virginia History 201: Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, A Dynasty of Friends.” Research Coordinator for the Mansion Interiors Initiative at James Madison’s Montpelier, Kennedy talks about Dolley Madison’s early life as a Quaker, her tragic family losses to the dreaded Yellow Fever, her marriage to James Madison-principle framer of the Constitution-and her wonderful, and welcoming, influence over the White House in the early days of the Republic. Listen and learn about our nation’s first “First Lady!”

This is the forth of five parts for this series. Click here listen all five parts of this series.

Beth Taylor speaking at the Charlottesville Senior Center.

Rick Britton is a Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer. An award-winning historian, Rick also organizes history-related lecture classes in conjunction with the Charlottesville Senior Center.

On Thursday, September 22, 2011, Beth Taylor presented the third lecture in our continuing series entitled “Virginia History 201: Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, A Dynasty of Friends.” An historian who’s developed slavery-related interpretive programs at both Montpelier and Monticello, Taylor herein delivers fascinating details about slave life on the plantations owned by the author of the Declaration and the architect of the Constitution. Were enslaved African Americans at Jefferson’s Monticello or Madison’s Montpelier treated any better than bondsmen on other Virginia plantations? Listen and find out!

This is the third of five parts for this series. Click here listen all five parts of this series.

Airing on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, CPN’s Dan Gould talks with with local award-winning historian and cartographer, Rick Britton about a wide range of subjects from Virginia’s colorful 18th and 19th centuries.

In this episode, Dan talks to Rick by telephone as he walks historic Pickett’s charge, the climatic conclusion to the Civil War’s Battle of Gettysburg. Roughly 1/2 of the 440 soldiers from Charlottesville and Albemarle were killed or wounded in just one hour. Our podcast was recorded on October 28, 2011.

Join us next time on Sunday November 27, 2011 when Rick will talk about life on the road for a Civil War soldier.

Click here to listen to all the episodes in this series.

Jeff Looney speaking at the Charlottesville Senior Center.

Rick Britton is a Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer. An award-winning historian, Rick also organizes history-related lecture classes in conjunction with the Charlottesville Senior Center.

On Thursday, September 15, 2011, the second lecture in a new lecture series entitled “Virginia History 201: Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, A Dynasty of Friends” was delivered by Jeff Looney, Senior Editor of the Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series. Called “Jefferson Through the Eyes of His Family,” Editor Looney’s talk-using anecdotes culled from the many Jefferson and Randolph family letters-presents the human side of the “Sage of Monticello’s” life after his retirement from public office.

This is the second of five parts for this series. Click here listen all five parts of this series.

Rick Britton speaking at the Charlottesville Senior Center.

Rick Britton is a Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer. An award-winning historian, Rick also organizes history-related lecture classes in conjunction with the Charlottesville Senior Center.

On Thursday, September 8, 2011, Rick Britton himself delivered the first lecture in a new series entitled “Virginia History 201: Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, A Dynasty of Friends”. Entitled “James Monroe at the Battle of Trenton,” the presentation describes how the future 5th president of the United States joined the American Revolution, and focuses specifically on his heroism at one of the war’s pivotal actions.

This is the first of five parts for this series. Click here listen all five parts of this series.