Fredericksburg, Virginia, January 25, 2019 - Stratford Hall presents Reading Lee: Robert E. Lee’s Great Expectation of 1862 with historian Dennis Frye on Friday, February 1, 7:00-9:00 p.m., at the Fredericksburg Branch of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, 1201 Caroline Street, 22401. The lecture will last approximately an hour and will be followed by a question and answer segment. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Stratford Hall presents this annual lecture as part of the Reading Lee program, sponsored by the Lee-Jackson Educational Foundation. This series features nationally recognized authors who present research and insights on Robert E. Lee.

The Confederacy was at its zenith, and Lee knew it. “The present seems to be the most propitious time since the commencement of the war for the Confederate Army to enter [the North],” wrote General Lee to President Davis on the first Wednesday of September, 1862. Confederate independence seemed possible, if not probable. Now was the moment. But two week later, Lee was in retreat; he had suffered his second defeat; and the South’s rising tide had collapsed. What happened?

Dennis Frye served for 20 years as Chief Historian at Harpers Ferry National Park. Upon retirement in 2018, Dennis earned the Department of Interior’s highest honor, the “Distinguished Service Award,” for his more than three decades with the National Park Service. Dennis has authored 11 books and 102 articles, writing for every major Civil War publication. His most recent works are: Antietam Shadows: Mystery, Myth & Machination, and September Suspense: Lincoln’s Union in Peril. Frye's book Harpers Ferry Under Fire: A Border Town during the Civil War won several national book awards. Dennis has appeared on numerous television and film documentaries, including the History Channel, A&E, C-SPAN, Fox News, the Military Channel, and Voice of America. His works include three Emmy Award winning shows that feature Antietam, Harpers Ferry, and Maryland during the Civil War. Dennis is a life-long resident of the Antietam area, and he and his wife Sylvia have restored and reside in General Burnside’s post-Antietam headquarters.

Serving Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Westmoreland, Virginia. 

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