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Lee’s Army in Maryland: A New Perspective on the September 1862 Campaign

Lecture

What’s Happening?

Most students of the Civil War believe the story of Robert E. Lee’s 1862 Maryland Campaign is complete, and that new studies must rely on interpretations long since accepted and understood. But what if this is not the case? What if the histories previously written about the first major Confederate operation north of the Potomac River missed key sources, proceeded from mistaken readings of the evidence, or were influenced by Lost Cause ideology? Dr. Alexander Rossino demonstrates that these types of distortions continue to shape modern understanding of the campaign and offers suggestions for how to correct them, developing in the process a new understanding of what General Lee hoped to accomplish in September 1862.

Dr. Alexander Rossino is an independent historian. He earned Master’s and Doctoral degrees in History at Syracuse University, where he taught for two years, before working as an historian at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. He is an expert on the 1862 Maryland Campaign and the author of Their Maryland: The Army of Northern Virginia from the Potomac Crossing to Sharpsburg in September 1862; The Tale Untwisted: General George B. McClellan, The Maryland Campaign, and the Discovery of Lee's Lost Orders (with Gene Thorp); and Calamity at Frederick: Robert E. Lee, Special Orders No. 191, and Confederate Misfortune on the Road to Antietam.

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Most students of the Civil War believe the story of Robert E. Lee’s 1862 Maryland Campaign is complete, and that new studies must rely on interpretations long since accepted and understood. But what if this is not the case? What if the histories previously written about the first major Confederate operation north of the Potomac River missed key sources, proceeded from mistaken readings of the evidence, or were influenced by Lost Cause ideology? Dr. Alexander Rossino demonstrates that these types of distortions continue to shape modern understanding of the campaign and offers suggestions for how to correct them, developing in the process a new understanding of what General Lee hoped to accomplish in September 1862.

Dr. Alexander Rossino is an independent historian. He earned Master’s and Doctoral degrees in History at Syracuse University, where he taught for two years, before working as an historian at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. He is an expert on the 1862 Maryland Campaign and the author of Their Maryland: The Army of Northern Virginia from the Potomac Crossing to Sharpsburg in September 1862; The Tale Untwisted: General George B. McClellan, The Maryland Campaign, and the Discovery of Lee's Lost Orders (with Gene Thorp); and Calamity at Frederick: Robert E. Lee, Special Orders No. 191, and Confederate Misfortune on the Road to Antietam.

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

More about Virginia Museum of History Culture
The Virginia Museum of History & Culture was founded in 1831 as the Virginia Historical Society. The oldest museum in Virginia and one of the oldest in the United States, the VMHC has devoted nearly two centuries to collecting and preserving the artifacts of our past to share the far-reaching history of the Commonwealth of Virginia with the world. Today, this nationally respected museum and research organization cares for a renowned history collection totaling more than nine million items and engages hundreds of thousands of Virginians and other guests annually.
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