Lecture on Lincoln at BC

James I. Robertson – one of the most distinguished names in Civil War history and a lecturer and writer of national acclaim – will focus on “Lincoln the Man” at the fifth annual symposium of The Lincoln Society of Virginia at Bridgewater College.

The symposium, which is part of the celebration of Lincoln’s 200th birthday year, will be held April 21 at 7 p.m. in the Boitnott Room. It is free and open to the public.

Phillip C. Stone, president of Bridgewater College and a Lincoln scholar, founded The Lincoln Society of Virginia in 2004 to commemorate and disseminate information about Lincoln family connections in the Shenandoah Valley, to protect and preserve Lincoln landmarks in the Shenandoah Valley – including Lincoln homes and the Lincoln cemetery – and to interpret the 16th president, his life, work and legacy, particularly in Virginia.

Robertson has served as executive director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission and has worked with presidents Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson in marking the war’s 100th anniversary. Today, his Civil War history course at Virginia Tech is the largest of its kind in American higher education, attracting some 300 students each semester.

Robertson is the author of the award-winning books “General A.P. Hill,” “Soldiers Blue and Gray,” “Civil War! America Becomes One Nation” and the 950-page biography, “Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend,” which won an unprecedented eight national awards.

A native of Danville, Va., Robertson is the author or editor of more than 20 books. He has regularly appeared in Civil War programs on the A&E Network, the History Channel, C-Span and public television. He has also recorded a weekly Civil War program that aired on 11 public radio stations.

Robertson is an Alumni Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech, one of 10 such honorees selected from the university’s 2,200 faculty members.

For more information about the Society or the symposium, contact Elaine Dellinger at (540) 828-5620 and the e-mail address is [email protected].

– News Release