Please note: Optional Dinner will start at 6:00 PM. The Lecture will start at 7:00 PM. To make dinner reservations, email CvilleCWRT@gmail.com and indicate your entree choice: prime rib, salmon or chicken. Dinner includes salad and dessert. Cost is $24 for members and $30 for non-members.

LECTURE TOPIC:  Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker & the Rehabilitation of the Army of the Potomac: Most often remembered as the bombastic commander who lost the Battle of Chancellorsville (May 1-4, 1863), Joseph Hooker nonetheless possessed admirable administrative and organizational skills. And what’s little remembered is that—in the three months leading up to Chancellorsville—he did a fantastic job restoring the army’s morale and preparing it for the upcoming campaign. Maj. Gen. George Brinton McClellan built the Army of the Potomac, but Major General Hooker rehabilitated it.

SPEAKER: Rick Britton is an award-winning historian whose articles and essays have appeared in The Washington Times, The Richmond Times Dispatch, The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star, The Hook, and C-ville Weekly. His Civil War pieces have been published by "Civil War Magazine," "Command Magazine," "Civil War Times Illustrated," and "Military History Quarterly." With over 250 articles under his belt, Rick has also written three books on Central Virginia history. He leads tours across Civil War battlefields, illustrates maps for books and websites, and lectures frequently on Virginia's amazing 18th and 19th-century history.