Our Country's Fiery Ordeal

A blog about the American Civil War, written and maintained by historian Daniel J. Vermilya, author of The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain (History Press, 2014) and James Garfield and the Civil War (History Press, 2015)

Dedicated to my great-great-great grandfather, Private Ellwood Rodebaugh, Company D, 106th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, killed at the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862.

"And may an Overuling Providence continue to cause good to come out of evil, justice to be done to all men where injustice has long prevailed, and finally, peace, quiet, and harmony to come out of this terrible confrontation and our country's fiery ordeal." -- Albert Champlin, 105th Ohio, Diary entry of June 19, 1864 (Western Reserve Historical Society)

Friday, January 27, 2012

James Garfield NHS Major Battles of the Civil War Series

Greetings all, sorry for the paucity of posts on here as of late. I have been working away at quite a few projects, one of which I want to let you all know about. While I am home this winter, I am doing some volunteer work for the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio. The site consists of the house where Garfield and his family lived when he was elected the 20th President of the United States, as well as grounds around the house, a few outbuildings such as Garfield's campaign office, and a visitor center and museum. For those who haven't seen the site, it is worth a trip.


This year, to commemorate the Civil War sesquicentennial, in a partnership with the Mentor public library, the Garfield National Historic Site is conducting a series of public lectures on the major battles of the war, as they occurred 150 years ago. There is one program per month (with the exception of July), and the programs are designed to cover the major battles as they occurred. Thus, in February, the topic will be the battle for Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee, and yours truly will be presenting and leading the program. It is at noon on February 8th at the Mentor Public Library, and it is completely free of charge. The program will last from 45 minutes to an hour, and it will be covering Grant's campaign for Forts Henry and Donelson and its implications on the western theater as well as the overall conflict. The program will be on the lower level of the library in the James R. Garfield room. If you know for sure that you will be attending, please call ahead (440-255-8811) or click on this link to make sure there is enough seating for all those in attendance. Again, the program is free of charge.


Here is a link for a page advertising the programs through the rest of the year. I will be working on developing programs for several of these battles, as well as leading a few more myself, including those on Shiloh, the Seven Days, 2nd Manassas, and of course, Antietam. On behalf of the James A. Garfield NHS, we hope you can attend some of these events. I have put a link below to the 2012 special event calendar for the Garfield site. Please look through the events and if you live in the area, stop by to help commemorate the sesquicentennial at a fascinating historic site.


Garfield NHS 2012 Special Event Calendar



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