Rappahannock Valley Civil War Round Table
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Tapp Field
Internships are sponsored throughout the year at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
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News
June Meeting
June 9th, 2025 7:30pm
Derek Maxfield
Long called by some the “Andersonville of the North,” the prisoner of war camp in Elmira, New York, is remembered as the most notorious of all Union-run POW camps. It existed for only a year—from the summer of 1864 to July 1865—but in that time, and for long after, it became darkly emblematic of man’s inhumanity to man. Confederate prisoners called it “Hellmira.”
In the years after the war, as Reconstruction became increasingly bitter, the North pointed to Camp Sumter—better known as the Andersonville POW camp in Americus, Georgia—as evidence of the cruelty and barbarity of the Confederacy. The South, in turn, cited the camp in Elmira as a place where Union authorities withheld adequate food and shelter and purposefully caused thousands to suffer in the bitter cold. This finger-pointing by both sides would go on for over a century. And as it did, the legend of Hellmira grew.
In Hellmira: The Union’s Most Infamous POW Camp of the Civil War, Derek Maxfield contextualizes the rise of prison camps during the Civil War, explores the failed exchange of prisoners, and tells the tale of the creation and evolution of the prison camp in Elmira. In the end, Maxfield suggests that it is time to move on from the blame game and see prisoner of war camps—North and South—as a great humanitarian failure.
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Derek Maxfield is an associate professor of history at Genesee Community College in Batavia, New York. He holds a BA in History from SUNY Cortland, an MA in History from Villanova University, and was a PhD candidate at the University of Buffalo, where he is ABD. In 2013, Maxfield was awarded the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities and, more recently, was awarded the 2019 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching. When he is not engaged in academic pursuits, he is usually found working on genealogy with a cat in his lap.
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Our speaker lineup for 2025 is NOW available HERE
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Dinner Meeting Extras!!
At each monthly dinner meeting we offer multiple door prizes, including gift certificates to Brock's Riverside Grill and Riverby Books. We also have dozens of used Civil War and military history books available for a "pay what you will" rate. All book proceeds are donated to the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust.
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Central Virginia Battlefields Trust (CVBT)
Central Virginia Battlefields Trust (CVBT) is a nonprofit organization preserving land associated with the Civil War campaigns of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Mine Run, The Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House. They have preserved nearly 1,700 acres of hallowed local battlegrounds since incorporating in 1996. RVCWRT has raised and donated over $40,000 to support CVBT projects. Our round table is proud to be the 2017 recipient of the CVBT Dr. Michael P. Stevens Preservation Award, whose purpose is "to shine a light on those who have made notable contributions to the preservation of Civil War resources in Virginia." Learn more about this active and important preservation organization at www.cvbt.org.
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Brock's Riverside Grill
Brock’s Riverside Grill, 503 Sophia Street, on the Rappahannock River in historic Old Town Fredericksburg, has been our favorite meeting venue for many years. Brock’s is open for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch year round. Menu is American “steak and seafood” with a southwestern flair. More information is available at Brocksgrill.com. Call 540-370-1820 for reservations.
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A Note from Riverby Books
Riverby Books has been buying and selling quality used books in downtown Fredericksburg since 1996. Our 3-level store houses more than 25,000 volumes for readers, scholars, and collectors alike, with an additional 25,000 volumes of rare and unusual titles found only in our online inventory. We carry titles for all interests and all levels of expertise, with a large selection of American History. We buy books (and whole collections) every day, pay fair prices, price them cheap, and delight in watching our customers take them home. No topic is too obscure. Beach reads, kids books, cook books, antique books and more. Open 7 days a week at 805 Caroline St.
LOOKING FOR A BATTLEFIELD TOUR?
Hallowed Ground Tours is run by RVCWRT member Scott Walker, a trained historian who has lived in Fredericksburg for over 50 years. He offers tours not only of area battlefields but also of architecture and history of various designated historic districts within the city. His tours, which also emphasize the changes to and preservation of the local landscape, are tailored to your interests and needs.
Website: HallowedGroundTours.com
E-mail: Tourmaster@HallowedGroundTours.com
Telephone: 540-809-3918
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Battlefield Tours of Virginia, operated by RVCWRT member John Kanaster, came about because of the need to get visitors mobile with a battlefield guide and to achieve a comprehensive private battlefield tour experience. The company has addressed this need by creating a team of knowledgeable and experienced battlefield guides, primarily based out of the Central Virginia area. Many of these battlefield guides are published historians with their own book and are available to speak. Battlefield Tours of Virginia offers tours in and around Fredericksburg, Culpeper, Richmond and the Shenandoah Valley.
Website: battlefieldtoursofvirginia.com
Email: info@battlefieldtoursofvirginia.com
Telephone : 540-310-8162
Geoff White Music
Geoff White is from Blowing Rock North Carolina. He has played the fiddle all his life, and has performed in pubs, bars, restaurants, concert halls, and battlefields all across the east coast. Geoff was a member of the bluegrass group Sugar Run for several years. He currently lives in Roanoke. He earned a degree in History from Radford University in 2002.
