Saturday, February 9, 2019 @ 8:30am - 5:00pm

8:30am
Doors Open
9:00am
Introduction by Dr. David Coles
9:10am
John Quarstein
The Ship that Saved the Nation: The Monitor's Recovery and Conservation
10:15am
Jake Wynn Discovering Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office
11:30am
Edwin C. Bearss Recovering the U.S.S. Cairo from the Yazoo
12:30pm
Lunch
1:45pm
Caroline Janney We Were Not Surrendered: Parolin Lee's Army After Appomattox
2:45pm
Brandon Bies Unprecedented Discovery at Manassas National Battlefield Park: Field Hospital Burials Un-earthed

Topic Summaries:

The Ship that Saved the Nation: The Monitor's recovery and conservation: The U.S.S. Monitor became the "little ship that saved the nation" when the Union ironclad fought the Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Virginia, to a draw on March 9, 1862. Eventually, the Monitor was lost in a powerful storm off Cape Hatter-as on December 31, 1862. It remained lost until rediscovered by a team of scientists on August 27, 1973. By 1984 objects found in the wreck were placed on display at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia. The recovery project continued and by 2002 the Monitor's turret was recovered. The turret, guns, engines and many other objects are now being conserved. The story of how this famous ship was saved after being lost is a compelling tale of science, history, technology, and archaeology which enables people today to touch history.

Discovering Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office: In the aftermath of the Civil War, relief organizer and volunteer nurse Clara Barton opened the Missing Soldiers Office to search for missing Union soldiers. In three years, Barton and her team dis-covered the fate of more than 22,000 missing men. Her boardinghouse in Washington fell into disrepair and by the 1990s, was likely to be torn down. In 1996, a government employee named Richard Lyons made a surprising discovery and uncovered the story of Barton's Missing Soldiers Office and preserved the historic structure to be developed into a museum that is now operated by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.

Recovering the U.S.S. Cairo from the Mississippi: For 98 years the ironclad U.S.S. Cairo lay at the bottom of the Yazoo River after being the first ship ever sunk by a "torpedo" (mine) on December 12, 1862. Bearss discovered the hulk resting on the bottom of the Yazoo, north of Vicksburg, but how could it be recovered? He will narrate details of the complicated salvage operations, and its final restoration and eventual display at Vicksburg National Battlefield Park, where it serves as a virtual "time capsule" of life and the Civil War Navy.

We Were Not Surrendered: Paroling Lee's Army After Appomattox: Perhaps as much as one-third of the Army of Northern Virginia did not surrender at Appomattox. Some had dropped out of the ranks during the march west, a significant portion escaped the Union cordon on April 9, and still others had re-fused to await formal paroles after it was clear that the army had been defeated. Janney will discuss the story of those who were not there - of those who insisted that the rebellion was not yet dead and hoped to continue the fight, of others who at-tempted to make their way home while avoiding Union lines, and of the thousands who ultimately decided it was in their best interest to turn themselves in to Union provost marshals in order to receive paroles.

Unprecedented Discovery at Manassas National Battlefield Park: Field Hospital Burials Unearthed: In 2014, archeologists monitoring an excavation at Manassas National Battlefield Park observed bone fragments scattered across the soil. Further excavations in 2015 resulted in the discovery of the remains of a Union field hospital pit dating to the Second Battle of Manassas. Archeologists recovered the nearly-complete remains of two Union soldiers, along with eleven amputated arms and legs. This unprecedented discovery is the first of its kind on a Civil War battlefield, and has greatly expanded our understanding of the decisions made by surgeons of who could, and could not, be saved.

This seminar is FREE and open to the public.

Parking is available in the Wheeler Lot, at the corner of High Street and Griffin Blvd.
For directions to the campus go to www.longwood.edu Signs will be posted on the Long-wood University Campus.
Lunch is available at the Longwood University Dining Hall No Reservations Necessary.
For more information contact Patrick Schroeder at 434-352-8987, Ext. 232 or Dr. David Coles at 434-395-2220