Cloaked in Mystery - The Curious Case of the Confederate Coat

Cloaked in Mystery - The Curious Case of the Confederate Coat

Play "history detective" along with historian Richard Lewis as he takes you on a journey of discovery regarding photographic studio images of a group of Confederate generals - some of which are among the best known to Civil War buffs. As is the case with some famous battlefield photographs, not all is as it seems with these otherwise commonplace studio photographs. Indeed, these images hold a previously undiscovered secret. Listen to the story of an eagle-eyed sleuth who spotted something odd peering out from amidst the otherwise unremarkable posed portraits of five high-ranking officers of the doomed Confederacy. Combining clever deductive reasoning with old-fashioned gumshoe detective work in a fashion that would make Sherlock Holmes proud, Richard doggedly took hold of a tantalizing photographic thread and followed a trail that took him across country and centuries to solve a mystery that others never knew even existed.

Richard's presentation is filled with humor and step-by-step revelations through the research that resulted in two articles in Civil War Times, as well as ultimately bringing him face to face with the very culprit of the mystery.

Richard Lewis is a native of Gulfport, Mississippi, and a graduate of Louisiana State University, where he studied Civil War history under Pulitzer Prize-winner Dr. T. Harry Williams. A life-long Civil War enthusiast, Richard has appeared on the History Channel and authored articles in Civil War Times, America's Civil War, Civil War Monitor and Hallowed Ground magazines. He served on the Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission and now volunteers at Richmond National Battlefield Park.

On Tuesday, May 14, the Roanoke Civil War Round Table will sponsor Richard Lewis’ talk on this fascinating subject.

Date, Time & Location: Tuesday, May 14 (7:00 pm). Chapel of the Residents’ Center at Friendship, 397 Hershberger Road, Roanoke, VA. Admission is free (but becoming a Round Table member welcome).