“A New Birth of Freedom” Civil War Symposium

The April 9 Symposium is sold out. Please contact Espy Post curator, Jon-Erik Gilot, at
gilotj@einetwork.net to place your name on a waitlist for any seats that may open.

The Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall is pleased to announce the return of our biennial Civil War Symposium, slated for April 9, 2022. Marking the 160th anniversary of the second year of the Civil War, the symposium will focus on the events of 1862 as they related to veterans of our national treasure Captain Thomas Espy Post, including the battles that scarred them, the medicine that saved them, and the words that freed them. We are thrilled to welcome five dynamic speakers from Emerging Civil War, a public history-oriented platform for sharing original scholarship related to the American Civil War.

Early bird tickets for the symposium are $50.00 from December 01 – December 31, 2021, and the regular price of $60.00 from January 01 – April 01, 2022. Seating is limited. The price of the ticket includes a boxed lunch.

Proceeds from the symposium will benefit the ongoing preservation of the Captain Thomas Espy Post.

Please contact Espy Post Curator, Jon-Erik Gilot, at gilotj@einetwork.net with any questions.

Drew A. Gruber – “The Civil War on the Virginia Peninsula, 1862” – Drew Gruber, Executive Director of Civil War Trails, will speak on the Civil War on the Virginia Peninsula in the spring and summer of 1862. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia, and is author of To Hell or Richmond: The 1862 Peninsula Campaign.

Dan Welch – “The Emancipation Proclamation & Western Pennsylvania” – A seasonal park ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park, Dan Welch will speak on the Emancipation Proclamation and how it was viewed by Western Pennsylvania regiments and in the Pittsburgh homefront. Dan is the author The Last Road North: A Guide to the Gettysburg Campaign and co-editor of the Emerging Civil War 10th Anniversary Series.

Paige Gibbons Backus – “Dr. Jonathan Letterman’s Plan that Changed Military Medicine” – Paige Gibbons Backus works with Prince William County Historic Preservation as Site Manager at the Brentsville Courthouse Historic Center. She will be speaking on Canonsburg native Dr. Jonathan Letterman and his advancements that revolutionized battlefield medicine. Paige is the author of Witness to Peace and Strife: The History of Ben Lomond in Manassas, Virginia.

Chris Mackowski – “Simply Murder: The Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia” – Chris Mackowski is a Co-Founder and Editor of Chief of Emerging Civil War, and editor of the award-winning Emerging Civil War Series, published by Savas Beatie. Chris is a writing professor in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University, and has authored or co-authored more than fifteen books on the Civil War. He will be speaking on on December 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg.

Kristopher D. White – “The Battle of Gaines’ Mill, Virginia” A native of Pittsburgh, Kristopher D. White is a Co-Founder and Chief Historian at Emerging Civil War. He works as Deputy Director of Education at the American Battlefield Trust, and has authored, co-authored, or edited nearly two-dozen books on the Civil War. Kris will be speaking on the July 1862 Battle of Gaines’ Mill, where Espy Post namesake Captain Thomas Espy was mortally wounded.