A group of historians united last year after an armed occupation of Gettysburg took place over the July 4, 2020 weekend. The militia event was designed to intimidate and it was participated in by some of the same people who assaulted the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The historians went to Gettysburg in September of 2020 to help visitors understand the full history of the Civil War. This September 18, there will be an even larger historian event at the Gettysburg Battlefield, and you’re invited! Here is the day’s program:
Gettysburg National Military Park is pleased to partner with the Journal of the Civil War Era and Gettysburg College on a series of special events to be held in the park on Saturday, September 18. From 12 pm to 2 pm, join National Park Service rangers, historians, and volunteers at select sites throughout the battlefield for a special look at some of the forgotten or neglected layers of history at Gettysburg including the experiences of Gettysburg black citizens, the development of the battlefield as a memorial park, and the complicated and controversial history of many of its monuments and memorials.
“We are excited to be able to work alongside the Journal of the Civil War Era and our partners at Gettysburg College to continue the critical conversations around history and memory on the Gettysburg battlefield,” said Superintendent Steve Sims. “This is an excellent opportunity to expand the stories we tell and highlight the ongoing work being done at Gettysburg.”
#MoreHistory is a national effort sponsored by the Journal of the Civil War Era to connect academic and public historians in the important work of engaging the public in critical conversations at historic sites. Held near the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, #MoreHistory 2021 aims to transform historic places like Gettysburg into outdoor classrooms where educators and visitors can explore the past together. “#MoreHistory aims to link history educators across institutional boundaries, to illuminate aspects of Civil War Era history that are often neglected or misunderstood,” said Gregory P. Downs and Kate Masur, editors of the journal. Additional information on #MoreHistory can be found at: www.journalofthecivilwarera.org.
September 18, 2021 Schedule
History, Monuments, & Memory: Auto Tour Stop 6, Pitzer Woods
Interpretive Station open from 12 pm to 2 pm
Stop by and chat with National Park Service rangers and historians. How did Gettysburg become a National Park? When were the monuments at Gettysburg placed and how have they shaped the memory of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Civil War, and the issues that precipitated the war? Park along West Confederate Avenue. Do not park on Millerstown Road. Keep all wheels on pavement.
The James Warfield Home
Open to the Public from 12 pm to 2 pm
Occupied at the time of the battle by members of Gettysburg’s African American community, the historic James Warfield home was recently rehabilitated by staff at Gettysburg National Military Park. Step inside this modest home and discover the often-forgotten story of Gettysburg’s black citizens and the challenges they faced during the summer of 1863.Park along West Confederate Avenue. Do not park on Millerstown Road. Keep all wheels on pavement.
The Abraham Brian Farm
Open to the Public from 12 pm to 2 pm
Visitors can explore the home of Abraham Brian and his family. A member of Gettysburg’s African American Community, he fled Gettysburg with his family only to return to find his home in ruins.Park in the National Cemetery Parking Lot or on Hancock Avenue. Keep all wheels on pavement.
#MoreHistory Evening Campfire Talk with Dr. Hilary N. Green
This special campfire program is co-sponsored by Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg College, and the Journal of the Civil War Era. Held at 7 pm at the Park Amphitheater on West Confederate Avenue. This program is free and open to the public.
Remembering Gettysburg: Joseph Winters, Songs and Civil War Memory
Focusing on a Black Chambersburg songwriter, this lecture explores how Joseph Winters contributed to African American memory of the Gettysburg campaign through songwriting. By documenting the African American experience during the Gettysburg campaign, Green will show how Winters continued to draw on this local memory for USCT recruitment and securing Black men’s vote in the 1880 Presidential campaign.Dr. Hilary N. Green is an Associate Professor in the Department of Gender and Race Studies at The University of Alabama. She earned her M.A. in History from Tufts University and her Ph.D. in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Educational Reconstruction: African American Schools in the Urban South, 1865-1890 (Fordham University Press, 2016) as well as articles, book chapters and other scholarly publications. In addition to several short publications, she is currently at work on a second book manuscript examining how everyday African Americans remembered and commemorated the Civil War. She is also at work on a National Park Service & Organization of American Historians Historic Resource Study of African American Schools in the South, 1865-1900 and co-editing a volume exploring the Civil War Era and the Summer of 2020 with Andrew L. Slap.
All events are free and open to the public. All programs will be conducted consistent with CDC recommendations. People who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear masks indoors and in crowded outdoor spaces. Masks are required for everyone on all forms of public transportation. Additional details are available at www.nps.gov/coronavirus.
Gettysburg College is a residential, undergraduate college of the liberal arts and sciences that prepares students from across the nation and around the globe to pursue lives of personal and professional fulfillment and to engage the complex questions of our time through effective leadership and socially responsible citizenship.
The Journal of the Civil War Era is published by UNC Press in association with the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center. It publishes the most creative new work on the many issues raised by slavery, the sectional crisis, war, emancipation, Reconstruction, and memory of the country’s signal conflict, while bringing fresh understanding to the struggles that defined the period, and by extension, the course of American history in the nineteenth century.
Gettysburg National Military Park is a unit of the National Park Service that preserves and protects the resources associated with the Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg National Cemetery and provides an understanding of the events that occurred there within the context of American history. For a complete listing of all of the free summer ranger programs, please visit our website at www.nps.gov/gett for additional information.
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