Tag: Rick Britton

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Geology and Some Civil War Battlefields

Richard Nicholas speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

On March 14, 2013, Richard Nicholas presented the second lecture in our new six part CPN Thursday series entitled The Civil War Through Different Lenses (2013).

Finding the high ground was important to Civil War commanders for many reasons. Listen as Nicholas explains the role that this and other geological features played in the outcome of the war.

Richard L. Nicholas is a native Virginian and UVA graduate. He obtained his graduate degree from the University of Kansas. Richard has worked for Shell Oil as a geologist where he rose to the rank of chief geologist by the time of his retirement in 1991.

Richard has had a life long interest in Virginia history, especially the Civil War and has written two books, in the Virginia Regimental History series. He has written numerous articles for The Magazine of Albermarle County History. Mr. Nicholas recently completed a new book, Sheridan’s James River Campaign of 1865 Through Central Virginia.

The lecture series was organized by award-winning historian and Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer Rick Britton in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

Click here listen all six parts of this series.

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Moving Dirt: The Evolution of Fieldworks

Dale Floyd speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

On March 7, 2013, Dale Floyd presented the first lecture in a new six part CPN Thursday series entitled The Civil War Through Different Lenses (2013).

Henry Halleck defined fieldworks as “the art of disposing the ground in such a manner as to enable a small number of troops to resist a larger army the longest time possible.” According to Floyd, creating such fortifications was often difficult work. “To the scarcity of entrenching tools, many of the men were obliged to use their sabre bayonets, tin plates, and in some cases merely their hands to scrape up the dirt for the breastworks.” says Floyd in this podcast.

Dale Floyd studied at Ohio University and the University at Dayton. He has written nine books on military history. Mr. Floyd has been an archivist at the National Archives, and an historian with the US Army Core of Engineers and the National Park Service.

The lecture series was organized by award-winning historian and Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer Rick Britton in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

Click here listen all six parts of this series.

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Central Virginia Railroads in the 19th Century

Rick Britton speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville

On Thursday, September 27, 2012, Rick Britton presented the fourth and final lecture in our series entitled “Virginia History 301: The Old Dominion in Antebellum Times.”

The date is June 27, 1850 when the very first train rolled into Charlottesville, says Britton, in this fascinating podcast. Rail passengers of time could travel from Richmond, VA to Charlottesville in just 12 hours, says Britton. Listen as he tells the story of the early railroads of central Virginia, and of Claudius Crozet, the brilliant engineer who created the world’s longest tunnel through the Blue Ridge mountains.

Britton, an award-winning historian and Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer organized the series in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

This is the fourth and final part of this series. Click here listen all four parts.

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Edward Coles: Albemarle Emancipator

Bruce Carveth speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville

On Thursday, September 20, 2012, Bruce Carveth presented the third lecture in our series entitled “Virginia History 301: The Old Dominion in Antebellum Times.”

Carveth tells the story of Edward Coles, an Albemarle County native, who, on April 14, 1819, freed his slaves. The freeing of slaves by ones will was rare, freeing slaves while their master still lived was almost unheard of according to Carveth. Listen as he recounts the amazing events of Cole’s life.

Bruce Carveth is a writer, editor, database developer and independent scholar currently living in Charlottesville, Virginia. Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Mr. Carveth moved to Central Virginia in 1983. He discovered the little known story of Edward Coles in 1998 then joined forces with his writing partner Kurt Leichtle to publish Crusade Against Slavery: Edward Coles, Pioneer of Freedom in 2011.

Mr. Carveth has an MA in applied social and community psychology from the University of Guelph in Ontario, and a masters degree in urban and regional planning from Virginia Tech.

The series was organized by award-winning historian and Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer Rick Britton in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

This is the third of a four part Thursday series. Click here listen all four parts of this series.

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Virginia Architecture in the Mid 19th Century

Ed Lay speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville

On Thursday, September 13, 2012, Ed Lay presented the second lecture in our series entitled “Virginia History 301: The Old Dominion in Antebellum Times.”

Mr. Lay explains how classical forms of architecture, a form which originated in Greece, became known as the “National Style” in the mid 1800s in America. Ed points out that in the American deep south the practice of surrounding homes with Greek-style columns was popular until the Civil War. He continues with specific examples of buildings embodying this form, many of which can still be found in the Charlottesville area. Following his presentation, Mr. Lay answered questions from the audience.

Mr. Lay is the Cary D. Langhorne Professor Emeritus of Architecture at the University of Virginia. A veritable font of architectural knowledge on the Old Dominion, Professor Lay has also taught abroad in Edinburgh and Vicenza.

The series was organized by award-winning historian and Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer Rick Britton in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

This is the second of a four part Thursday series. Click here listen all four parts of this series.

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Slavery in 19th Century Virginia

Beth Taylor speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville

On Thursday, September 6, 2012, Beth Taylor presented the first lecture in a new series entitled “Virginia History 301: The Old Dominion in Antebellum Times.”

In this podcast, you will learn about how the practice of slavery became institutionalized in the American South. According to Taylor, field slaves worked 19 hour days sometimes in extreme temperatures. A slave’s working life could begin as early as age 6. By age 12, they were considered to be adults and assigned an adult’s work load. Taylor wraps up with the 1831 story of Nat Turner’s Rebellion, the bloodiest slave revolt in American history.

Ms. Taylor has served as director of interpretation at Jefferson’s Monticello and as director of education at James Madison’s Montpelier. She is also a fellow at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

Taylor’s first book, A Slave in the White House: Paul Jennings and the Madisons was a New York Times best seller and a National Book Award nominee. She has appeared on The Daily Show, with Jon Stewart.

The series was organized by award-winning historian and Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer Rick Britton in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

This is the first of a four part Thursday series. Click here listen all four parts of this series.

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Virginia Festival of the Book: If Buildings Could Talk

A panel of local authors speaking in the City of Charlottesville Council Chambers on March 22, 2012.

Learn about the history of Jefferson’s Monticello, Keswick Hall and Grace Church. Following the presentation questions were taken from the audience. The program was introduced by Burt Zisk.

The Panel:

Rick Britton, author of Jefferson: A Monticello Sampler, is a Charlottesville-based author, historian, and cartographer. Having published more than 200 essays and articles, he is a frequent lecturer, radio commentator, and battlefield tour guide.

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Patricia Castelli, author of The Story of Keswick Hall, pieced together one hundred years of long-buried history about an estate that became a country club and now a world-class hotel. She serves as resident historian at Keswick Hall.

Barclay Rives, author of A History of Grace Church, is an Albemarle County native. He concerns himself with horses, local history, and characters. All three figure in this book. He is a regular contributor to In & Around Horse Country and Virginia Sportsman.

Burt Zisk is a long-time moderator for the Virginia Festival of the Book, and a former Engineer who worked for GE. He is originally from New York but was brought up in Norfolk, Virginia.

The event was one of a series held during the Virginia Festival of the Book. The series was sponsored by The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

Audio for this event was provided courtesy Charlottesville TV10.

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Thomas Walker and The Founding of Charlottesville

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.

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Virginia History with Rick Britton: Rick’s Top Five Civil War Movies

Virginia History with Rick Britton

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.

This is the final episode for this series.



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Virginia History with Rick Britton: Civil War Blockade Runners

Virginia History with Rick Britton

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.



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Virginia History with Rick Britton: Civil War Christmas

Virginia History with Rick Britton

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.



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Virginia History with Rick Britton: The Cat That Would Not Boil

Virginia History with Rick Britton

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.