February 12, 2003

TSU plans first symposium on southern history for Feb. 21-22

The Troy State University Department of History will present the first Chancellor’s Symposium on Southern History Feb. 21-22, according to Dr. Scout Blum, Assistant Professor of History.

The Symposium, "The Civil War: Research and Ideas 140 Years after Vicksburg and Gettysburg," will feature presentations by scholars, a mock re-enactment of a Civil War battle and a reading of a modern play about Civil War re-enactors. The symposium is funded in part by a grant from the Alabama Humanities Foundation.

"This symposium will provide an opportunity for both scholarly work and community outreach," Dr. Blum said. "We want to involve our faculty, staff and students, of course, but we also want community attendance and involvement."

All events are open to the public and no admission fee will be charged.

The keynote address for the symposium is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. in the Trojan Center Theatre. Dr. Eric Walther, Associate Professor and Director of the Texas Slavery Project at the University of Houston, will speak on "The Civil Wars of William Lowndes Yancey." Dr. Walther, who earned his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, is researching the life of Yancey, a prominent Alabamian who urged secession from the Union long before the Civil War.

Friday’s events also include presentations of papers from both TSU students and visiting faculty from 1-3 p.m. in the Hawkins-Adams-Long Hall of Honor.

Two presentations from noted scholars will begin at 4 p.m. in the Hall of Honor. Dr. John Marszalek, W.L. Giles Distinguished Professor of History of Mississippi State University, will speak on "Sherman and the Capture of Vicksburg: Victory and Loss." Dr. Joseph Glatthaar, Professor at the University of Houston, will speak on "Black ‘Glory:’ African-Americans in the Union Army.

Saturday’s events are highlighted by a 1 p.m. panel on "Recreating the Civil War: The Reenactment Phenomenon," with a mock battle scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on the Band Practice Field on Collegedale Avenue. Dr. Blum said several groups of re-enactors will demonstrate battle tactics, uniforms and culture of the Confederate and Union armies.

The final event of the symposium will be a reading of "Shiloh Rules," featuring students and faculty from the Department of Speech and Theatre, scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Trojan Center Theater. "Shiloh Rules," written by Doris Baizley, is the story of five women re-enactors and was first staged in 2002 as part of the Southern Writers’ Project of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

Friday, Feb. 21, 2003
   1 p.m. Hawkins-Adams-Long Hall of Honor "New Research, New Voices: Civil War Research from a Variety of Perspectives"
   Bill Rice, amateur historian: "Alabamians/Pike Countians at Gettysburg and Vicksburg"
   Lauren Doughty, Troy State University: "Women of the Civil War"
   Michael J. Steigerwald, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania: "The Lightning Brigade: The Importance of Technology and Leadership in Battle."
   Patricia Pettijohn, de la Parte Institute Research Library: "From Military to Social History, Civil War Studies Revisited: The impact of the digitization of primary materials in African-American history on Civil War studies and battle site interpretation."
   4 p.m. Hall of Honor "Cutting Edge Civil War Research: Distinguished Scholars' Interpretations of the Civil War."
   Dr. John Marszalek, W.L. Giles Distinguished Professor of History, Mississippi State University: "Sherman and the Capture of Vicksburg: Victory and Loss"
   Dr. Joseph Glatthaar, Professor, University of Houston: "Black 'Glory': African Americans in the Union Army"
   8 p.m. Trojan Center Theater Keynote address by Dr. Eric Walther, Associate Professor and Director, Texas Slavery Project, University of Houston, "The Civil Wars of William Lowndes Yancey"

Saturday Feb. 22, 2003
   9 a.m. Hall of Honor "Anti-Confederate Sentiment in the South"
   Dr. Keith S. Bohannon, State University of West Georgia, Chair and comment Brian D. McKnight, Mississippi State University, "Rebels in Rebeldom: Anti-Confederate Sentiment in the Mountains of Southwestern Virginia"
   Derek W. Frisby, University of Alabama, "'Placed Between Two Fires’: Violence, Vengeance, and Unionism in Occupied West Tennessee"
   M. Shannon Mallard, Mississippi State University, "Divided Loyalties in Confederate Mississippi"    1 p.m. Hall of Honor "Recreating the Civil War: The Re-enactment Phenomenon"
   Bob McLendon, amateur historian and re-enactor, "The Practical Aspects of Reenactment"
   Jeff Cranford, Troy State University, "A History of Reenactments"
   Christopher Bates, University of California Los Angeles, "Oh, I'm A Good Ole Rebel: Reenactment and The Lost Cause"
   2:30 p.m. Band Practice Field Mock Reenactment Join several groups of re-enactors, as they demonstrate battle tactics, weaponry, uniforms and culture of the Confederate and Union Armies during the Civil War.
   7 p.m. Trojan Center Theater Reading of "Shiloh Rules" "Shiloh Rules," written by Doris Baizley, details the adventures of four female Civil War re-enactors at the Battle of Shiloh. The play was performed originally at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival over the summer of 2002.