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Library Series Presents Campaigns & Politics: The Civil War in 1864

September 15, 2014 —      The fourth year of the Civil War was one of decisive campaigns in the Eastern and Western theaters. Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee’s armies battled to a stalemate in Virginia, and William T. Sherman advanced across Georgia.

     Meanwhile, the country grew tired of the war. It appeared Lincoln would not be re-elected in November, but when Sherman captured Atlanta in September the political tides shifted in his favor.

     The Library continues its observance of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War with a series of programs focusing on the campaigns and presidential election in this crucial year. One highlight is the Oct. 14 portrayal of President Abraham Lincoln by scholar and actor Fritz Klein at 7 p.m. in the Springfield Art Museum. 

     Here is the schedule of events:

  • The Death Angel Gathers Its Last Harvest: The Battle of Franklin -- Wednesday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Retreating from Spring Hill, Tenn., Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield’s army reached Franklin on November 30 and quickly formed a defensive line against Gen. John B. Hood’s advancing Confederate army. The resulting battle yielded more than 8,500 casualties and a Union victory as the Confederate force moved down the slopes into immortality. Thomas Cartwright, one of the leading authorities on the Battle of Franklin, will explore the decisive battle and its impact on the Civil War. Sponsored by Civil War Round Table of the Ozarks.

 

  •  True Veterans and Tried: The 14th Iowa Infantry at the Battle of Pilot Knob --Thursday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Todd Wilkinson, librarian and adjunct history instructor at Ozarks Technical Community College, will examine of the 1864 Battle of Pilot Knob/Ft. Davidson, Mo., through the eyes of the officers and men of the 14th Iowa Infantry, who played a decisive role in the Federal victory against Gen. Sterling Price’s forces.

 

  • “Atlanta is Ours and Fairly Won”: The Atlanta Campaign of 1864 -- Saturday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m. in the auditorium. On June 27, 1864, Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman attacked Kennesaw Mountain held by Gen. Joseph E. Johnson and the Confederate Army of the Tennessee. The battle was a tactical defeat for the
    Union army, and Sherman’s last assault of the Atlanta Campaign. Willie Ray Johnston, recently retired historian at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, will discuss the Battle of Kennesaw and Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign.
  • State of the Union: October 14, 1864 -- Tuesday, Oct. 14, 7 p.m. for adults at Springfield Art Museum, 1111 E. Brookside Drive. Hear Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by living history scholar Fritz Klein, give his presidential and personal perspective of the war in 1864, including that year's presidential election. 

 

  • 1864: Grant in Command -- Friday, Oct. 17, 7 p.m. in the auditorium. In March, 1864, Ulysses S. Grant arrived in Washington, D.C. to accept the rank of lieutenant general of all Union armies – a rank previously held only by George Washington. His prior successes in the Western Theater had earned him this honor, and Lincoln (and the North) counted on Grant to do the same in the East. Pam Sanfilippo, site historian at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, will explore Grant’s actions in 1864, including the challenges he faced in helping to achieve the dual war aims of the Union and the end of slavery.

 

  • "We have surely done a big work": The Experiences of a Hoosier Soldier on Sherman's "March to the Sea" -- Monday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m. in the auditorium. William Bluffton Miller's detailed diary offers a unique "common soldier" perspective on one of the most famous campaigns of the Civil War. Author Jeffrey Patrick will examine Miller's role in the march from Atlanta to Savannah in 1864.
  • United States Colored Troops in 1864 -- Tuesday, Oct. 21, 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Emmanuel Dabney, park ranger at Petersburg National Battlefield, will explore the rise of the use of soldiers of African descent in the Federal armies in 1864. He will discuss the racialized atrocities of Civil War combat along with the Confederate perspectives on armed black men. The program will touch upon divides between free black Northerners and escaped slaves and provide personalized stories of the U. S. Colored Troops.
  • Sterling Price's 1864 Missouri Campaign -- Friday, Oct. 24, 7 p.m. in the auditorium. The final major Confederate offensive in the Trans-Mississippi Theater began on Sept. 19, 1864, when Maj. Gen. Sterling Price led approximately 12,000 cavalrymen from northeast Arkansas into southeast Missouri. Price’s men covered more than 1,500 miles and fought three major battles, along with numerous skirmishes. Connie Langum, historian at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, will explore Price’s 1864 Missouri Campaign, providing an overview of the major battles, and discussing preservation of those historic sites.
  • One Damn Blunder from Beginning to End: The Red River Campaign of 1864 --Saturday, Oct. 25, 7 p.m. in the auditorium. In the spring of 1864 the "Brown Water Navy" participated in its final major campaign. Supported by a fleet of ironclads and transports, Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks pushed up the Red River, intending to capture Shreveport, La., and defeat Confederate forces under Gen. Richard Taylor. Gary Joiner, associate professor of History at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, will discuss the disastrous Red River Campaign and its repercussions.
  • James Longstreet and the Confederate Cause in 1864 -- Tuesday, Oct. 28, 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Throughout much of his career as a
    Confederate general, James Longstreet acted as second-in-command to Robert E. Lee in Virginia, but he also saw action in Georgia and Tennessee. Longstreet’s experiences in 1864, which included the Battle of the Wilderness in the spring and the siege of Petersburg in the fall, encompassed some of the most critical moments of the Civil War. Dr. William Piston, history professor at Missouri State University, will provide an examination of Longstreet during the period that underscores both the opportunities and the dilemmas facing the Confederate high command during the last full year of the war.

The series is made possible with funding support from Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, Civil War Round Table of the Ozarks, the Friends of the Library and The Library Foundation.
 


PRESS CONTACTS

Vickie Hicks
Community Relations Director
vickieh@thelibrary.org
(417) 616-0564
Morgan Shannon
Copywriter
morgans@thelibrary.org
(417) 616-0566

Find this article at http://thelibrary.org/press/article.cfm?aid=3456


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