Avon Historical Society Presenting "Legacies of the Civil War" Lectures

The Avon Historical Society’s Sequicentennial Committee of the Civil War will present two lectures in March.

“Legacies of the Civil War” is supported by the Connecticut Humanities, Ensign Bickford Foundation, Avon Public Schools, Avon Senior Center and the Avon Free Public Library.

More from the society:

On Saturday, March 14 at 1:00 p.m. a lecture entitled “From Petersburg to Appomattox: The Capture of Richmond and Lee’s Surrender to Grant” will be presented by A. Wilson Greene, Executive Director, Pamplin Historical Park, Petersburg, VA at the Avon Free Public Library. The capture of Richmond and Petersburg and the campaign that culminated in Appomattox in April 1865 has been steeped in myth and legend. Greene’s presentation will outline the important events that occurred during the last two weeks of the Civil War in Virginia that set the nation on the path to peace.

On Saturday, March 28 at 1:00 p.m. a lecture entitled “The Legacies of the Civil War in Our Own Time” will be presented by David Blight, PhD, Professor of American History at Yale University at the Avon Town Hall, Building #1, Selectman’s Chamber, 60 West Main Street (Route 44), Avon. Dr. Blight will talk about the complexities of the Civil War and reconstruction. Quoting from his lecture by the same name available online, “…the most vexing piece of our past for the public to process.” Both events are open to the public, free of charge. They are being sponsored by CT Humanities.

The Society’s exhibit “Legacies of the Civil War” looks at the closing campaigns, the way in which the war was remembered in Connecticut and the long-term outcome of the war. The exhibit features period newspaper broadsides announcing the end of the war; maps and pictures showing all the Connecticut regiments actions during the various battles; descriptions of the final assaults at Petersburg; story of the Connecticut men of the 1st Connecticut Calvary who escorted Lt. General Grant to Appomattox for the final surrender; and photos and locations of many of the monuments in the state commemorating the Civil War that are visible today.

Two more events will be held in May to close out the four-year commemoration. The Avon Historical Society began this activity with the Avon Free Public Library in 2011 when the national commemoration of the U.S. Civil War began. In early 2013 the Society took over the commemoration for the town and, with lead support of CT Humanities, has been able to bring to the public seven specialized exhibits and over a twenty speakers and re-enactors at events for the public.