The United States, Interrupted, 1861 - 1865: Week 3

Thank you to all who've attended a Civil War 150 related event thus far! All this planning and coordination is for nought if the community chooses not to participate.There's plenty more to come.

We're ready to begin "One County Reads the Civil War" Week 3.

Don't forget that Civil War 150: Exploring the War and Its Meaning through the Words of Those Who Lived It is open in the BDC Mondays through Fridays, 10 am until 5 pm through Monday, Sept. 30th.  This week we're keeping the 2nd floor open to 7:30 pm on Thurs., Sept. 19th in order to accommodate families.  (The final special evening hours for the Civil War 150 exhibit session is Tues., Sept. 24th.) 

 Here's what to expect, Sept. 16th - 22nd: 

The Beaufort District Collection has three events: 

Sept. 17th - “Undaunted Valor: The Beaufort Volunteer Artillery in the Civil War” with Ron Roth, SC Humanities scholar. This free program is  co-sponsored by the Greater Beaufort Chamber of Commerce which is graciously allowing us to hold the lecture in The Arsenal, the traditional home of the BVA.  The Beaufort Volunteer Artillery is one of our nation's longest serving military units.  Join us in the Arsenal at 7 pm.

If you'd like to see the BVA's "unsurrendered flag", visit the Historic Beaufort Foundation's John Mark Verdier House Museum.  If you drop by and view our Civil War 150 exhibit first, you can receive a "Discount Voucher" towards the paid admission on the HBF tour. The discount voucher is good through Thurs., Oct. 31st.

Sept. 18th  is a busy day.  Coordinating so many schedules means that the BDC has 2 programs on Wednesday.

In the afternoon, learn about the digitization of the New South newspaper, a Federal occupation newspaper published in Port Royal during the Civil War, with project managers, Kate Boyd and Craig Keeney of the University of South Carolina.  They will include information about the other Civil War collections in the South Carolina Digital Library, too.  This free program will be held in the Beaufort District Collection, 2d floor, 311 Scott Street in Beaufort beginning at 1:00pm. (There's a special historical treat for the attendees of this session!)     


That evening we will be at St. Helena Branch Library with Dave Smoot for the 2d session of “Civil War Medicine: What They Never Told You.” This free BDC@ the Branches program begins at 6:00pm.  At the presenter's request, please no one under age 16.    

From our partners:

Dave Smoot is a busy re-enactor.  He tackles the topic of the "Medical Care of Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson at the Beaufort County Historical Society meeting on Thurs., 9/19 beginning at Noon.  The program is free. Lunch is optional for a fee and reservation. Contact maryloubrew@aol.com for additional information. (In real life, Dave Smoot is the museum technician at the Parris Island Museum).

Beaufort History Museum continues their series about the United States Colored Troops by screening Glory! [The Movie] with SC Humanities scholar Joseph McGill and the Beaufort History Museum on Fri., 9/20 at 7:30 pm at the USC-B Center for the Arts followed the next morning (Sat., 9/21) with a free "1st South Carolina Volunteers Encampment" in the Naval Heritage Park near the Naval Hospital on Ribaut Road from 10:00am until 4:00 pm.      


Inside the Library system:
Dr. Joseph Kelly, College of Charleston, discusses "America's Longest Siege: Charleston, Slavery and the Slow March Towards Civil War" on Mon., 9/16 beginning at 2:00pm in the St. Helena Branch Library.      

Hilton Head Branch Library's children's department reads The Patchwork Path and discusses how creative quilt makers designed patterns that contained messages and directions for slaves to use along the Underground Railroad.  2nd graders and up will complete a paper quilt using squares in the same designs and patterns in a free program, "The Secret Quilt," Tues., 9/17 beginning at 6:30pm.     

Thurs., 9/19 Hilton Head Branch screens and discusses Glory! beginning at 2 pm. Later in the afternoon, Beaufort Branch hosts Louise Murray, experienced Civil War re-enactor and former head of the Palmetto Soldiers Relief Society, who arrives at 5:30 pm in period dress to discuss "The Life and Times of a “Lady” during the Civil War. (Some of you may know her in her professional capacity as Beaufort County Emergency Services Administrator.)

Children ages 4 to 8 can "Time Travel Back to the Civil War" at Bluffton Branch on Fri., 9/20 at 3:30 pm while Teens reign supreme at Hilton Head Branch where the Civil War themed "Scavenger Hunt" begins at 6 pm. 

And don't forget the continuing exhibits, tours, and displays mentioned in the Connections blog last Saturday!  Visit Civil War 150 to learn more about what contemporaries thought about the issues and challenges of the war.  Discount vouchers for select tours and exhibits at some of our partners will be issued through Sept. 30th and expire on Halloween.

For an agenda style version of the week's "One County Reads the Civil War" events, http://bit.ly/14nVVFX 

We hope to see you this week!