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II.
United States History and Culture
C.
Civil War
Abraham Lincoln:
The Personal Side
By Spencer Davis
This is a Chautauqua-style program done in Lincoln
costume. Davis uses Lincoln's departure from Springfield, Ill., as the
occasion for Lincoln's reflections on his early life.
African-American
Soldiers in the Civil War: Fighting on Two Fronts
By Spencer Davis
This program presents the story of African-American
soldiers in battle and their struggle for equal treatment in the Union
army. Black troops in uniform were often transformed by the experience.
The presentation describes how black troops faced discrimination within
the Union Army as well as Confederate attacks. A growing number of these
soldiers' letters and articles have been discovered, and they form the
basis for this presentation.
A Civil
War Irish Soldier’s Journey to Nebraska
By Charles E. Real
Real follows the very different paths of two brothers fleeing An Gorta Mor
(Gaelic for the great hunger) only to face each other on opposite sides of the
American Civil War. While one brother does not survive Shiloh’s killing fields,
the other becomes an officer and later successful settler and businessman in
Nebraska. The program is a commemoration of survival, war, and pioneering and
reveals how this ex-soldier becomes financial backer to several North Dakota and
Minnesota towns and his relationship to the Great Lakes ore ship Edmund
Fitzgerald.
The Common Soldier
in the Civil War
By Ron Rockenbach
Rockenbach brings to life the adventure and sacrifice
of the Civil War with his description of how the war was fought and his
display of uniforms, accoutrements and weapons that defined a soldier's
life. The presentation may include a drill from the manual of arms and
recordings of Civil War songs.
From Bleeding
Kansas to Old Virginny: Songs and Stories of the Civil War
By Dan Holtz
For four years, the Civil War raged on such storied
battlefields as Gettysburg and Antietam in the East to lesser-known places
like La Glorieta Pass in New Mexico. With guitar accompaniment, Holtz performs
songs that express the war's wide variety of sentiments, issues and stories.
The program includes some of the popular patriotic and sentimental parlor
songs. Thus, the war is chronicled and tied to memorable excerpts from
some of the great conflict's novels, poems and short stories.
General U.S.
Grant
By Thomas N. King
Step back to the Civil War era and listen to
tales and personal history from one of America's most famous generals.
This Chautauqua-style portrayal takes Ulysses S. Grant from personal mediocrity
to his promotion to the highest-ranking general in the Union Army. Complete
with period costume, the presentation allows audiences to relive the war
years through the eyes of General Grant.
General Victor
Vifquain: Nebraska's 1st Medal of Honor Winner
By Jeffrey Smith
Victor Vifquain was the first European settler
in Saline County. He was eager to put his Belgian military training into
practice when the Civil War broke out, so he enlisted as a private in the
53rd New York Volunteer Infantry rather than wait for muster in Nebraska
Territory. He received a Congressional Medal of Honor and was promoted
to brigadier general for his exciting but unsuccessful attempt to kidnap
Jefferson Davis. This presentation by Vifquain's great-grandson tells the
story and adventures of this Belgian immigrant to Nebraska who participated
in the Civil War and the Spanish-American War in the regiment of William
Jennings Bryan.
The
Great Body of the Republic: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Plains
By Kenneth Winkle
Abraham Lincoln considered
the Great Plains important for America’s future. As president, however,
Lincoln subordinated the interest of the Great Plains and the people who
lived there because of his efforts to win the Civil War. Professor
Winkle investigates how Lincoln’s wartime policies changed the history
of the Great Plains forever and left an indelible impression on the lives
and culture of the people who live here today.
The "Little Dutchman's" Civil War:
Translating Private August Scherneckau's Diary of the First Nebraska Volunteers,
1862-1865
By Edith Robbins
Civil War documents in the German language have not often
been translated, yet they deserve much more attention since the participation of
German immigrants in that war was extensive. August Scherneckau, the only
volunteer from Hall County, left a comprehensive diary that gives an in-depth
perspective on the experience of a Union soldier. Robbins describes the
difficulties in translating such a document and reads excerpts from the diary.
Nebraska
and the Civil War
By David Wells or Doug Rung
Few people realize that Nebraska was involved
in one of the most tragic events in our history, the Civil War, from 1861-1865.
The territory sent 1/3 of its male population to the war, and more than
200 died or were killed. After the war, thousands of veterans came to Nebraska.
By 1890 more than 100,000 veterans lived here, and they played a major
role in the development of Nebraska from a territory to statehood. They
helped found many of the cities. This presentation looks at these early
settlers and the role they played—geographically specific to the program
site.
Understanding
Emancipation: Abraham Lincoln and Sojourner Truth
By Spencer Davis & Vivian Davis
Abraham Lincoln and Sojourner Truth met only
once — a brief meeting in the White House in 1864. That meeting serves
as the premise for a dialogue between Lincoln and Truth based on primary
sources and dedicated to revealing the complicated path to — and beyond
— the Emancipation Proclamation. The presentation is in period costume
with Spencer Davis portraying Lincoln and Vivian Davis portraying Truth.
The dialogue is preceded by a historical introduction by Spencer Davis
and followed by a question-and-answer period with the Davises.
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