RELEASE ON RECEIPT




The Civil War Close Up
WEEKEND SEMINAR VISITS HISTORIC BATTLEFIELD 

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Oct. 28 -- High demand and interest in the Civil 
War has prompted the University of Virginia Division of Continuing Education 
to offer a weekend course on this very contentious and much discussed conflict.
	The "Civil War Close Up" seminar, which meets Nov. 14 to 16, will 
offer a guided tour of the historic Chancellorsville battlefield and an 
opportunity to engage in classroom discussions with historians.  Participants 
also will explore Civil War resources that are available in U.Va.'s "Valley of 
the Shadow" digital archive, which contains a variety of newspapers, 
documents, maps, personal narratives and diaries, slave logs, military 
information, architectural details and artifacts.
	Registration is now under way for the seminar, which will take 
participants to the site of Gen. Robert E. Lee's most dazzling victory.  It 
was on the battlefield of Chancellorsville that 30,000 men were killed, 
captured, wounded or reported missing in a week-long engagement, where Lee's 
trusted friend, Lt. Gen. Stonewall Jackson, was wounded by friendly fire.  It 
was Chancellorsville that gave Lee the momentum to seize the offensive, 
setting the stage for his invasion of the Union and the bloody confrontation 
at Gettysburg.
	This is the first in a series of courses on the Civil War that will 
be offered by the Division of Continuing Education.  Cost for the seminar is 
$295, and includes a reception, two dinners, lunch, refreshments and 
transportation to the battlefield.  For out-of-town registrants, a block of 
rooms at a special rate of $62 per night is being held at the Days Hotel on 
Emmet Street in Charlottesville.  Participants will receive a copy of the 
book, "Chancellorsville 1863: The Souls of the Brave," and a chance to talk 
about the "what if's" of the battle with its author Ernest "Pat" Furgurson.
	The seminar also offers participants a rare opportunity to explore 
U.Va.'s "Valley of the Shadow" digital archive with noted historian Ed Ayers, 
and to experience first-hand a resource that is going to have an impact on 
Civil War research and teaching. 
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			                                                               October 27, 1997                                           

                       

	For registration information call the Division of Continuing 
Education at 1-800-346-3882.  Television reporters should call our TV News 
Office at 924-7550.