CW sesquicentenary -- performance ops, etc.

[razyn]

I'm not into reenacting, as such, but have nothing against the "living history" approach in the broader sense.  Pursuant to the recent rumors about AEBG IV through VIII -- as components of an enlarged music program at Antietam National Battlefield, during the upcoming CW 150th anniversary years -- I've been Googling around to see what other historic sites of that era might be planning.  I found this semi-interesting web page:

http://cwar.nps.gov/civilwar/civwar150.html

When you click on one of the individual states (in the menu on the right), the resulting info is not at all standardized.  Some states aren't yet planning much, but have a lot of links to other people who are.  For links, I especially recommend Indiana's site.  Maryland's efforts seem to have been turned over to the three-county "Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area," which I think is pretty questionable -- but at least it includes Antietam, and Frederick.  In Tennessee, the big events are targeted by the state's "grand divisions" (East, Middle, West), sequentially; so if there's nothing going on in your area, you can either wait a few months, or travel a few hundred miles.  (I liked the effort in Tennessee to collect digital images of CW people and artifacts.  Two drums and a violin, so far.)  Virginia and Kentucky are well organized, by the people who are always in charge of organizing stuff like this; I guess that's good.  I didn't look at all of the state links.  The one for Kansas doesn't even work, at the moment.

Anyway, this page is a starting place.  Look for music -- you won't find much.  If that bothers you, look for phone numbers, and do something about it.

[Susan Rosenvold]

Hi Razyn,
I'm new to the forum--an enthusiastic banjo fan, and work for George Wunderlich operating the Pry House Field Hospital Museum at Antietam. The Heart of the CW Heritage Area is a good organization, my museum is a member, and George is on the board. The State of Maryland has forsaken the Sesquicentennial for the War of 1812 Bicentennial, so it is up to organizations like the HCWHA to ensure events are taking place to commemorate this critically important part of the nation's history. Antietam National Battlefield is planning a good deal for 2011-2015, the emphasis naturally being September 2012. You may consider the AEBG IV-VIII more than just a rumor. I'll be coordinating those and after this past weekend looking forward to the next few years. The lady and gentlemen I met over this past weekend were one of the most wonderful groups I've had the pleasure of spending a weekend with. I hope they'll all come back this next June. I will keep everyone up to date on planning, etc, as things are confirmed.

[razyn]

Susan -- I'm Dick Hulan -- handed you a check Saturday morning. (I wasn't wearing Russian drag at the time.)

I only meant that turning over the planning and publicity effort to HCWHA was questionable. Not that your organization isn't great, and all. But there are 20 other Maryland counties, plus a city of some note; and if I were from them (or if my CW ancestors were), I would find it questionable.

Baltimore was prominently featured in George's presentation on Boucher; and I'm sure that in the broader sense, the HCWHA won't intentionally put down the late Maryland heroes (on both sides) who may have participated in your 3-county area's famous mixups. Still, there's a lot more to a war than where the main battles were fought. One being, where did they get all their banjos?

I just checked out the West Virginia link, and I see there's no mention of any plans at Shepherd University. The George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War (at that school) has hosted seminars on Civil War music, among other topics, and is (or recently was) one of the leading centers of research in that field. About ten miles from the Pry House; but perhaps the left hand knows not what the right hand does.

In that regard, your Antietam Battlefield colleagues could host a Sacred Harp sing, or similar program on the religious folk music of the period, in the Dunker Church. The Dunkards themselves (Old German Baptist Brethren) didn't publish the music of their hymns until a few years after the war; but there is a large and active Potomac Convention of Sacred Harp singers. And as it happens, I'm co-author of a book about that mid-19th century tradition, The Makers of the Sacred Harp, announced in the current (Fall, 2010) catalog of the University of Illinois Press -- cover illustration, and p. 35.

http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/SeasonalCatalogs.htm