Guest Speaker, Hampton Newsome, spoke about the little known raid which took place early in July, 1863, at the same time the battles at Gettysburg were being fought. The account is contained in his soon-to-be-published book called “Gettysburg’s Southern Front.”
Nicknamed the “Blackberry Raid” after the abundant blackberries which grew along side the path taken by the troops of Union Maj. Gen. Erasmus Darwin Keyes as they advanced from White House Landing, Virginia, in an attempt to destroy a number of bridges, including Bottom's Bridge on the Chickahominy river.
If they had succeeded, Keyes and the 6,000 men of the IV Corps would have prevented Confederate reinforcements from intercepting Lieut. Col. George Washington Getty's march to the South Anna Railroad bridge—a key component of General Lee's line of communication with Richmond.
Newsome spoke of the challenges and difficulties encountered, and ultimately the cautious and ineffective strategies Keyes employed. Keyes seemed to spend most of his energy during July manufacturing excuses for his failure. The campaign would mark the abolitionist's last field command; he would later fade into obscurity.
In addition to the regular book raffle, we also drew winners for the annual preservation raffle, both of which are pictured below.
Book Raffle Winners June 2022
Annual Preservation Raffle Winners - June 2022