Duke University Symposium Marks 150th Anniversary of Civil War

The best way to avoid repeating history is to remember it, record it, and learn therefrom. The Civil War is definitely something from which everyone can learn, and as the war ended in Durham in 1865, there is an opportunity to do exactly that here next week.

Prominent historians from Duke University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and Ohio State University will gather at Duke for a one-day symposium marking the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War.

The symposium, “Another March Madness: The American Civil War at 150,” will run from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, March 16, in Perkins Library’s Gothic Reading Room. The event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow in the library’s Rare Book Room.

The symposium will feature talks and presentations on a wide range of topics related to the war and its ongoing impact a century and a half later.

Co-organizers Shauna Devine and Margaret Humphreys, both Duke historians, said the panelists are Civil War experts representing a broad range of interests. “Our goal is to provide an opportunity to learn about the many divergent aspects of the conflict, including the medical, military, cultural, political and social history of the Civil War,” Devine said.

Guest speakers include:

-- Joseph Glatthaar, professor of history at UNC, who will speak on the relationships between officers and enlisted men in Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia;

-- Susanna Lee, professor of history at N.C. State, who will discuss the wartime conflicts with Native Americans and their claims to Union citizenship;

-- Laura Edwards, professor of history at Duke, who will examine the legal ramifications of the war;

-- Mark Grimsley, military historian at Ohio State University, who will examine Reconstruction violence as an extension of Civil War violence; and

-- Devine and Humphreys who will talk about medical history relating to the war, including the development of new medical standards and diagnostic techniques.

The symposium coincides with a Civil War-related exhibit on display in Perkins Library. “I Recall the Experience Sweet and Sad: Memories of the Civil War” showcases the memoirs of men and women who lived through the conflict, including Walt Whitman, whose work as an army hospital nurse inspired some of his greatest works. An exhibit highlighting Duke’s rich Civil War medicine collection will be on display in the Gothic Reading Room.

For more information, visit the symposium website.