USAHEC CW Photography Conference

I received the following today from Gus Keilers, Digital Archivist at the U. S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC

In conjunction with the Civil War sesquicentennial, The U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (www.usahec.org) &  Army Heritage Center Foundation presents their Civil War Photography Conference, Understanding War through Imagery: The Civil War in American Memory June 25-26, 2011.  We invite you to join us for this conference focused on the events of the Civil War, early photography and photographic techniques and related historical and research resources.  The USAHEC offers a unique setting that promotes interaction between speakers and attendees, scholars and enthusiasts.  This year’s speakers include both established and new scholars, who will be discussing a wide range of topics surrounding the Civil War and photography.

Please find conference brochure and schedule, speaker list and registration information at: Understanding War through Imagery Brochure.

Register by May 15 and save $10.

Recent additions to our digitized photographs include the Massachusetts MOLLUS Photograph Collection. Please see our online catalog USAHEC Online Catalog (a quick link to the Mass-MOLLUS Collection is on the lower right.) Our holdings cover a wide range of US Army resources, including books, photographs, and manuscripts.

Please email questions, inquiries and/or responses to CARL_CIVILWARCONF@conus.army.mil (underscore between “CARL” and “CIVIL”).

Upcoming Seminar – 1861: First Blood

Liberty University will be holding their 15th Annual Civil War Seminar March 25-27. The topics to be discussed are 1861 events, and among the speakers are Ethan Rafuse on First Bull Run and Jim Morgan on Ball’s Bluff. And who knows where John Rambo might show up.  Nobody expects John Rambo.  His chief weapon is surprise and fear.  Err.., his two weapons are surprise, fear, and ruthless efficiency. Umm..his three weapons are surprise, fear, ruthless efficiency and an almost fanatical devotion to high explosives…oh, bugger.

Read more about the seminar – which has nothing at all to do with Rambo or The Spanish Inquisition – as far as I know – here.

And now for a little British humor…

Cancellation

I received word today of the cancellation of the Rocky Mountain Civil War Symposium, The Eastern Theater from First Manassas Through the Seven Days Campaign in Aurora, CO, at which I was to speak on October 1, 2011.

Sell your stock in airlines and Denver area dining and lodging establishments, as the estimated 125,000 folks who wanted to see my dog and pony show have been forced to change their plans.  Sorry Chamber of Commerce, it’s not my fault!

Seminar on the War in 1861 and a Podcast Blog

Thanks to Craig Swain for bringing this to my attention.  The Appomattox Court House National Historical Site announced that a seminar will be held at Longwood University in Farmville, VA on Saturday, February 26, 2011, The War Begins, 1861.  There are two lectures on First Bull Run that look interesting (I’m not implying that the other lectures are less than interesting by any means).  Here’s the schedule:

Jarman Auditorium at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia.

Schedule

9:00 a.m. Doors Open
9:25 a.m. Introduction by Dr. David Coles, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of History, Political Science, and Philosophy, Longwood University
9:30 a.m. David Ruth, The Nation Crosses the Rubicon: Fort Sumter 1861.
10:30 a.m. John Hennessy, First Manassas: Legends, Lies, and Misunderstandings.
11:30 a.m. Patrick Schroeder, The Fire Zouaves at Bull Run: Heroes or Humbugs?
12:30 p.m. Lunch
1:45 p.m. Jeffery Wert, “‘He Stood out from the Great War Canvas’: Jeb Stuart.”
2:45 p.m. Mike Gorman, Richmond Again Taken: Images of the Confederate Capital.

No reservations necessary. Signs will be posted on the Longwood University campus. For directions to the campus go to www.Longwood.edu.

For more information contact Dr. David Coles at 434-395-2220 or Patrick Schroeder at 434-352-8987 ext. 32.

Longwood also has a podcast blog at That a Nation Might Live.  It’s a little confusing – you have to click-through on each post to find a link to the podcast, usually located underneath an illustration.  Check it out.

Shepherd University Seminar

Mark Snell (from GTM Center site)

This past Friday night in Gettysburg I ran into Mark Snell of Shepherd University.  I had met him a few – OK, maybe ten or so – years ago at a Penn State Mont Alto conference, so I’m pretty sure he didn’t remember me.  But it turns out he’s a fan of Bull Runnings; at least, he said he is, so I’ll take him at his word, though there’s always the possibility he was being polite.  Prof. Snell runs the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War at the University, as well as the Center’s popular and long running summer seminar.  He filled me in on the upcoming 2010 seminar, and asked if I would let you all know about it upon determination of the itinerary.  I see today on Kevin Levin’s blog that the details have been worked out (Kevin is part of the faculty for the seminar again this year).  You can find them here.

Mark told me that this is the first year that the seminar will be held away from Shepherd University.  Petersburg, VA will be the site for Petersburg: In the Trenches with the Common Soldier, June 24-27, 2010.  As the title implies, the focus here will be on soldier life during the siege of Petersburg.  Faculty will consist of Mark Snell; A. Wilson Greene, director of Pamplin Historical Park, with whom Shepherd U. is conducting the seminar in conjunction; Earl Hess; Kevin Levin; Christopher Stowe of the US Army Command and General Staff College; and Walter Powell of Shepherd University and Mount St. Mary’s College.  Cost runs from $395 to $687 depending on your choice of accommodation.    The prices include all meals, which I’ve heard are outstanding.

As I think I’ve mentioned, my great-grandfather was a member of the 205th PA in 9th Corps, wounded at Petersburg on April 2, 1865.  I’m hoping to attend, but it’s very much up in the air at this point.