DANVILLE, Va. - Civil War historian and Danville native James I. "Bud" Robertson will present a new look at the Civil War at 3:45 p.m. at the Wednesday Club's weekly meeting.
The Wednesday Club is located at 1002 Main Street. The program is free and open to the public.
Robertson is heralded as one of the country's most knowledgeable Civil War historians. His work on the Civil War movie "Gods and Generals," by most accounts, remains true to actual Civil War events.
"This movie is the first time that [Confederate Gen. "Stonewall"] Jackson has been portrayed in a movie where he is the star," Robertson said. "It has been a wonderful experience for me. [Movie director] Ron Maxwell is dedicated to accuracy. I hope the American people are ready for it. The main character prays a lot. And this is an emotional movie. Someone said to me 'it is a five-hanky movie.'"
Robertson is a great-grandson of a Confederate soldier. He has always been interested in Civil War history and currently teaches Civil War-era classes to about 250 students each semester at Virginia Tech.
On Wednesday, Robertson will talk about his role in making "Gods and Generals" and will display pictures of the movie as it was being filmed.
"I am going to talk about how I became involved in the making of the movie and show some 8-by-10 stills from the movie set," Robertson said.
"Gods and Generals" is the prequel to "The Killer Angels," a novel by Michael Shaara, on which the film "Gettysburg" was based. Shaara's son, Jeff Shaara, wrote the book, "Gods and Generals," which was rewritten as a screenplay by Robertson and director Ron Maxwell.
The movie was produced by Ted Turner Pictures.
"The book was not easy to adapt to a screenplay and I really wanted to make sure it was accurate," Robertson said. "Hollywood has this reputation of entertaining the masses without worrying about the factual accounts of history. This movie is different. It is certainly entertaining, but it is also one of the most historically accurate accounts of the Civil War I have seen."
Robertson appears regularly in Civil War programs on the Arts & Entertainment Network, the History Channel, and public television. He also presents a weekly Civil War history broadcast for 11 public radio stations, including WVTF 89.1, which is accessible in the Danville area.
Robertson is the recipient of every major award given in the field of Civil War history and has written award-winning books including General A.P. Hill, Soldiers Blue and Gray, and Civil War! America Becomes One Nation.
His latest book, Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend, was a main selection of two major book clubs and has won eight national awards, and the movie rights for the book have been sold.
Robertson is presently an Alumni Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech.
