Impending War Lecture Series Nov-Dec 2010

Date: November 18, 2010
Contact: Jennifer Zoebelein, [phone]

As the National Park Service prepares for the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, the staff and volunteers of Fort Sumter National Monument are presenting monthly talks at the Fort Moultrie Visitor Center on Sullivan’s Island.

Entitled Impending War, this free lecture series takes a deeper look at the antebellum history of the United States. Each lecture gives visitors the opportunity to learn more about significant historical figures, developing currents of thought, historical trends, and dramatic events that led to the first shots of the Civil War. Presentations are on the following Saturdays:

• November 20:  Southern Seacoast Forts on the Eve of Secession by Park Ranger Gary Alexander. Federal fortifications dotted the southern coastline before the Civil War, but as southern states seceded from the Union in 1860-1861, soldiers stationed at these forts found themselves in a precarious situation. This presentation sets the scene for war by discussing the construction of coastal forts during the mid-nineteenth century and their individual statuses in late 1860. This presentation will begin at 2 p.m.
  
• December 11: Edmund Ruffin: Agriculturist and Secessionist by Park Historian Rick Hatcher III. One of the South’s earliest and most outspoken proponents of secession, Edmund Ruffin first earned a reputation among southeastern farmers and planters for restoring his nutritionally exhausted fields. This presentation examines the life and political motivation of this famous Virginian. This presentation will begin at 2 p.m.

Fort Moultrie is a unit of Fort Sumter National Monument and is located at 1214 Middle Street, Sullivan's Island, South Carolina. The fort and visitor center are open daily from 9:00-5:00 except for New Year's, Thanksgiving and Christmas Days. For more information, call [phone].