CWI Summer Conference Dine-in

CWI 2027 Conference Dine-Ins

SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 12:15 – 1:45 pm

The Start of an Uneasy Alliance: Two Enslaved People Reach US Lines before Emancipation (Michael Pierson, University of Massachusetts, Lowell)

We will talk about two fabulous documents, leading off with part of Mattie Jackson’s autobiography. Jackson was a young teenager when she fled slavery in St. Louis early in the war, and not much older when she published her life history in 1866. It’s messy, confusing, and brilliant. Then we’ll discuss John Washington’s (clearer) memoirs of his experiences with McDowell’s U.S. forces near Fredericksburg in Spring 1862. Through these accounts, we’ll answer big questions: How did Union soldiers react to enslaved people early in the war? What did Blacks contribute to the US war effort, even in the first year? Did Black refugees change the opinions of soldiers from the North? How can Black testimony inform our overall understanding of the war and the end of slavery?

Medicine and Memoirs (Lindsay Privette, Anderson University)

“There is a sacredness gathered around your profession, as the guardians of true science and sound knowledge,” so declared Elias Root Beadle in his sermon to the students at Jefferson Medical College in November of 1865. Optimistic though it may be Beadle’s appreciation of nineteenth-century physicians was not necessarily shared by his contemporaries. In fact, the Civil War contributed to a growing dissonance in relation to surgeon’s wartime contribution. This dine-in will explore the images, literature, articles, and memoirs produced by the wartime generation and consider who most shaped our modern understanding of Civil War medicine.

Copperheads of Loyal Opposition?: Debating Dissent in the Civil War North (Robert Sandow, Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania at Lock Haven)

What did it mean to be “loyal” during the Civil War — and who got to decide? Using a small selection of wartime primary sources, this discussion will explore the bitter debate over Northern Democrats labeled “Copperheads.” Participants will consider Republican accusations of disloyalty and conspiracy alongside Democratic claims to constitute a legitimate “loyal opposition,” examining how controversies over conscription, emancipation, civil liberties, and partisan politics blurred the boundary between dissent and treason. The discussion will also ask whether “Copperhead” describes a coherent political movement or a powerful partisan label applied to a much more varied body of wartime opposition. 

The Spirits of Rebellion: Whiskey Sellers in Civil War Missouri (Megan Bever, Missouri Southern State University)

Whiskey sellers living in wartime Missouri found themselves caught up in the military justice system. Although they were civilians, they had to obtain licenses through the Federal provost marshal system to continue keeping their liquor shops open. When sellers ran afoul of Union authorities, their loyalty was called into question. In this Dine In session, we’ll dive into some of the colorful cases involving whiskey sellers that flow through the provost marshal records.

Devils in Disguise: Civil War Boat Burners and Irregular Naval Warfare (Laura June Davis, Columbus State University)

At the end of the Civil War, newspapers across the United States reported that over 200 steamboats along the Lower Mississippi had been destroyed by Confederate boat burners. Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt claimed that the boat burning conspiracy went all the way up to Jefferson Davis and included at least 35 individuals. Who were these Confederate incendiaries? Why did they embrace irregular naval warfare? And, how did they economically and psychologically terrorize the U.S.? By exploring newspaper accounts, military records, court trial testimony, and other primary sources, this dine-in discussion will answer these questions and more.

SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 5:30-7:00 pm

“It Proclaimed Freedom”: United States Colored Troops’ Monuments and Memorials (Steve Phan, Camp Nelson National Monument)  

On July 4, 1924, the George M. Monroe Chapter 8, Kentucky Colored Corps, a division of the Women's Relief Corps of the Grand Army of the Republic, dedicated the Kentucky African American Civil War Memorial at Green Hill Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky. The marker honored US Colored Troops who served in the US Army from Franklin County. The ceremony occurred in a state which witnessed violent retribution directed at African American soldiers and their families during the war and adopted a pro-Confederate memory during Reconstruction and the Jim Crow eras.   So how did Black Americans memorialize their Civil War service? This discussion will explore the shaping of Civil War memory through the dedication of memorials, markers, and monuments for US Colored Troops across the nation.

What if Lincoln Lived? (Andy Lang, University of Texas at Austin)

When reflecting on Reconstruction’s failures, Americans often ask the haunting question: “What if Lincoln had lived?” This dine-in explores Lincoln’s political philosophy and postwar vision, and how his assassination reshaped national reunion. 

Finding Kate Hewitt…the Secret Fiancee of General John Reynolds (Jeffrey Harding, Licensed Battlefield Guide) 

Join historian, author, and Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Emeritus Jeffrey J. Harding for a dine-in discussion on General John Reynolds’s secret fiancée, Kate Hewitt. Jeff’s recent book, Gettysburg’s Lost Love Story – The Ill-Fated Romance of General John Reynolds and Kate Hewitt, revealed, for the first time ever, Kate’s true life story and her ultimate fate. Glimpse some of the rare primary source documents that helped Jeff solve these mysteries!

Every Man His Own Historian: Comparing Soldiers’ Diaries and Memoirs (Mary Hall, St. Mary’s College of Maryland)

 This dine-in will compare Mary’s book, From a Yankee to a Rebel Diary to Sam Watkins’s famous Company Aytch as the basis for a general discussion of the differences between diaries and memoirs. Mary will provide short readings from both books and will invite attendees to discuss Civil War diaries or memoirs that they found memorable (and why). 

Rethinking Reconstruction’s Afterlife: Memory, Archives, and the Production of Civil War Era History during the Age of Mass Culture (Robert Bland, University of Tennesse—Knoxville)

This discussion will examine the transformation of the Reconstruction’s place in popular culture and national memory during the twentieth century’s interwar period. Emphasizing the rise of mass culture, mass migration, and mass production, the discussion will trace the role of film, radio, and urbanization in reshaping the story of the nation’s second founding.