Fairfax Station Forums
Wednesday, February 10, 2010, 7:30 PM
“A Southern Spy in Northern Virginia: The Civil War Album of Laura Ratcliffe”
Local author, Charles Mauro will be discussing his latest book about an album that then Confederate Brigadier General JEB Stuart gave to Laura in the Spring of 1862. Stuart met her while she was tending to his wounded soldiers after the Battle of Dranesville in late December 1861. Laura lived on the Centreville Road south of Herndon in an area called Frying Pan.
In the album he wrote four poems, which would be considered “love” poems today. As was the custom at the time, he was really looking to the civilian population to provide intelligence on Union soldier activity in the area. As many of the local men had already become soldiers, women could provide intelligence as well as anyone by looking out their windows and reporting on what they saw.
The album also contains 40 signatures; 26 of confederate officers and soldiers and 14 from loyal confederate civilians. The author traced who these people were and their connection to Laura. Seven were women from Cambridge, Maryland which provided a real challenge to determine the relationship. One additional well known signer of the album was then Major John Singleton Mosby. Laura is credited with saving Mosby’s life by warning him of a trap near her home in February 1863, shortly after Mosby began his career as a Partisan Ranger.
Mr. Mauro will cover these topics and will have copies of his book for purchase and autographing.
Wednesday, May 12 2010, 7:30 PM
"The Story the Soldiers Wouldn't Tell: Sex and the Civil War"
Our forum speaker, Dr. Thomas Lowry has authored more than eleven books on the Civil War. His very first book was titled "The Story the Soldiers Wouldn't Tell: Sex and the Civil War." First published in 1994, it continues to be a topic of attention and curiosity to the present day. As Dr. Lowry says, "this is the subject most people are interested in".
After a 40 year medical career, Dr. Lowry retired in 1997 to study and write history full time. Our ancestors tidied up their history after the Civil War, but recent research shows there was far more public sex and venereal disease than today. Wild and often humorous, these stories give a whole new flavor to the history of the war. He even includes locations of the houses in Washington where the ladies of the night plied their trade.
His other books included topics on desertion, rape, murder, court martial and executions. He will have many of these books available for purchase and signing.