Join speaker Dr. Timothy Orr as he shares the story of “The Forgotten Battle of Wapping Heights.”

The three-day Battle of Gettysburg resulted in over 50,000 casualties and ultimately forced the retreat of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia led by General Robert E. Lee from Pennsylvania into Virginia. Union Major General George G. Meade initially failed to pursue his retreating foe, which caused President Abraham Lincoln to remark “We had only to stretch forth our hands & they were ours.” Meade then decided to try and flank the retreating Confederates and cut them off at Manassas Gap in the Shenandoah Valley. The little-known resulting Battle of Wapping Heights took place in the final days of the Gettysburg Campaign. It’s inconclusive outcome led to two more years of bloody Civil War and was a missed opportunity to bring the war to an early end.

Timothy Orr is associate professor of military history at Old Dominion University. He earned his PhD at the Richards Civil War Era Center at Pennsylvania State University. He is author and editor of Last to Leave the Field (2011) and co-author of Never Call Me a Hero (2017), as well as several essays about the Army of the Potomac. He is the book review editor for the Gettysburg Magazine and author of the blog Tales From the Army of the Potomac. For eight years, he worked as a seasonal ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park.

The Petersburg Civil War Roundtable (PCWRT) will meet the first Thursday of each month at Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier from 7:00 pm-8:00 pm. Annual membership is $40.00. Individuals who are already members of Pamplin Historical Park can become members of PCWRT for $20.00. Non-members can attend for $5.00 each meeting. Call (804) 861-2408 for more information.