An infamous episode of the American Civil War will be recalled next Tuesday, March 6th, at author Kevin Levin will talk about his new book, which examines the Battle of the Crater, at the Civil War Lecture Series at GCC.
The Battle of the Crater was a botched attempt by the Union army to punch a hole in the Confederate line outside of Petersburg, VA by tunneling under the Confederate position, packing the tunnel with TNT and then igniting the fuse. While the explosion was spectacular, the Union attack was poorly orchestrated and resulted in over 5,000 casualties – many of them African-American soldiers who led the charge.
Levin’s book, Remembering The Battle of the Crater: War as Murder, is due to become available in June of this year.
The Civil War Lecture Series is free and open to the public and begin at 7:00pm in room T102. Although it is not required, pre-registration is requested through the BEST Center.
Upcoming lectures include:
April 3rd — “From Bondage to Freedom” with Kevin Cottrell, Founder of Motherland Connextions
As a local Historian, Preservationist, Educator and Entrepreneur, Kevin Cottrell has been lecturing both locally and nationally on the topic of the Underground Railroad especially as it relates to Western New York, and Southern Ontario. Now days Cottrell leads “Motherland Connextions”, a heritage tourism group that conducts tours with African-American Heritage as a theme throughout the country and now the world.
May 1st — “The Longstreets in War and Peace” with Dr. Terrianne Schulte, D’Youville College
The American Civil War affected families throughout the North and South for years after the fighting ended. This talk explores the impact of the war and its aftermath on a well-known and controversial Southern family, the Longstreets, focusing in particular on Confederate General James Longstreet, his second wife, Helen Dortch Longstreet, and his uncle, Judge Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, the author of Georgia Scenes.
