Lectures
Death and Survival in the Civil War
Thanks to all who came out, enjoyed the lectures, and the complimentary bakery items from Big Sky Bakery! We had a great turnout at each lecture and many positive comments on our evaluation sheets.
The theme of our 2011 lecture series was chosen in support of the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War. These lectures offered insight into this country's greatest national crisis in relation to death and dying. It is estimated that up to 700,000 people, or 2% of the population died in the War Between the States.
The lectures were sponsored in part by the Maine Humanities Council.
"The Forest City Regiment: Death, Mourning and Loss"
January 29, 2011
Kim MacIsaac, Director/Curator of the Fifth Maine Regiment Museum on Peaks Island, spoke about one of the first Maine regiments to be mustered in. The Forest City Regiment included 1,046 men from southern and central Maine, and left Portland in July 1861. After 3 years, this fighting regiment mustered out only 193—the rest were killed in action, died from disease, were wounded, deserted, or transferred to other regiments.
“Civil War Heroes and Heroines Buried in Evergreen Cemetery”
March 5, 2011
Tom Desjardin, Chief Historian, Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands does work focuses on the history of Maine and on the Civil War. He is an 11th generation Maine native and holds a PhD from the University of Maine. A leading expert on the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment and its famous commander Joshua Chamberlain, Dr. Desjardin is an author and historical advisor who lived and worked at Gettysburg for 6 years. He is currently the historian for the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.
“Dead Men’s Pockets: Gettysburg Bodies and Other Stories”
March 26, 2011
Margaret Creighton, professor at Bates College, wrote Colors of Courage: Gettysburg's Forgotten History which considers the legendary battle of Gettysburg from the perspectives of white women civilians, African American civilians, and immigrant soldiers. This book was a runner-up for the Lincoln Prize and named as one of the five best books on Gettysburg by the Wall Street Journal.