In his presentation, Rhea will tell the story of the brief (one-week) military service of Charles Whilden, a middle-aged Confederate private from South Carolina, during the first battles of the Overland Campaign.

Gordon C. Rhea has lectured extensively on topics of military history at the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command, at several National Military Parks, and at historical societies and civil war round tables across the country. He has been a member of numerous boards of directors of historical societies, magazines, and historic preservation organizations, including the Civil War Library and Museum, Philadelphia, and North and South magazine. Mr. Rhea has appeared on History Channel, A&E Channel, and Discovery Channel in programs related to American history and has written scores of articles for various scholarly and popular publications.  His previous work on the Virginia campaigns of 1864 has established him as the most knowledgeable scholar about the period.  He possesses a remarkable skill at explaining the complex maneuvers and events of those confusing weeks and he is equally adept at crafting engaging narratives.

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