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Colby Award author digs into trench warfare at Pamplin Park

AFP

Pamplin Historical ParkPamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier welcomes guest speaker Steven Sodergren on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. to the Petersburg Civil War Roundtable.

Sodergren will discuss Union soldiers and trench warfare in his presentation titled, “The Army of the Potomac in the Overland and Petersburg Campaigns: Union Soldiers and Trench Warfare 1864-65.”

The final year of the Civil War found the Army of the Potomac endured months of brutal trench warfare and fighting against their Confederate adversaries. Sodergren will explore the Overland and Petersburg Campaigns where the morale of the soldiers was tested as attrition and the new grim realities of a lengthy campaign set in.

Sodergren is a professor and chair of the Department of History and Political Science at Norwich University located in Norwich, Vermont. Sodergren earned his B.A. in history and philosophy from Cornell College followed by an M.A. and PhD in American and military history from the University of Kansas.

Since 2007, he has taught in the history and political science department at Norwich University. He is the resident Civil War scholar and regularly leads students on staff rides to famous Civil War battlefields. In 2018, Sodergren was the first author associated with Norwich University to win the prestigious Colby Award.

Colby Award recipients receive a $5,000 author honorarium provided through the generosity of the Chicago-based Pritzker Military Foundation. Named for the late ambassador and former CIA director William E. Colby, the Colby Award recognizes a first solo work of fiction or non-fiction that has made a significant contribution to the public’s understanding of intelligence operations, military history or international affairs. The William E. Colby Award began at Norwich University in 1999.

The Petersburg Civil War Roundtable will meet the first Thursday of each month at Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier from 7-8 p.m. Annual membership is $40. Individuals who are already members of Pamplin Historical Park can become members of PCWRT for $20. Non-members can attend for $5 each meeting. Call (804) 861-2408 for more information.

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