History club's war forum 'makes war seem more real'

by Chris Vesci assistant copy editor

The history club organized an extensive forum, which in the words of one student, "makes the war more real."

The club, under the supervision of Dr. James Hedtke, chair of the history department, brought in major speakers and memorabilia. The highly attended event was held on Nov. 20, lasted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and was held mainly in the Widener Center lecture hall.

Hedtke explained that the history club had been planning to do a forum for months, and they decided that the Civil War would be a great topic since he is currently teaching a class on it.

The club even took a trip to Gettysburg in October. Hedtke credits them with organizing most of the forum.

"They found the best speakers within a hundred mile radius," he said. "I served as liaison to the speakers."

The first of the speakers was Lt. Colonel Conrad Crane who is a professor of history at the United States Military Academy and father of Cabrini sophomore Conrad

Lt. Colonel Crane spoke about the Battle of Valverde, a littleknown civil war happening in New Mexico.

After that, Dr. Lee Jennings, the head historian at Fort Delaware, gave a lecture about Civil War prisons. He talked of the despicable conditions at both Union and Confederate facilities.

Next up was Dr. Russell Weigley, distinguished university professor Emeritus of Temple University, with a presentation called "Winning their freedom: African American soldiers in the war."

Weigley explained that serving in the war made freedom seem more real to African Americans, and they hoped that citizenship would soon follow.

Sophomore John Forney enjoyed Weigley's speech, declaring that he was an excellent speaker.

·'The viewpoint of the African American was different from that of the white American. They had different reasons for fighting the war though they both wanted victory," Forney said.

During the buffet luncheon in the Grace Hall atrium, Kevin Rawlings, a social historian, spoke on Christmas celebrations during the war. Dressed in a Santa hat with striped red and white trousers, he explained that many of today's Christmas traditions were "maturing" on the eve of the Civil War.

Christmas carols were being written, and the image of Santa Claus was being popularized by magazines like Harper's Ferry.

He also spoke of how today's traditions come from many cultures-the Christmas tree from the Germans, Santa from the Dutch and caroling from the English. Rawlings had many anecdotes of how the war influenced Christmas celebrations, including a Southern mother telling her children that the Union blockade was stopping Santa from arriving.

After the luncheon, Tara Holland, a junior in Hedtke's Civil War class remarked, "This really makes the war seem more real."

In addition, Rawlings generously displayed many artifacts in the Widener Center gathering area, such as illustrations from Harper's Ferry and books, including his own Pratt award-nominated "We were Marching on Christmas Day."

Back in the Widener Center, Dr. Randall Miller, a professor of his- tory at St. Joseph's University an author of two award winning books, lectured on "the enduring meaning of the Civil War."

Miller called the it "a war we ought to know" and "the great central event of American history." He talked of the social, economic and political ramifications of the war, ranging from women's roles to its effect on the world.

He also noted it was the first war to be photographed, quoting a photographer of the era who said cameras "brought the bodies in and laid them at our doorsteps."

Cabrini's own Dr. Jolyon Girard took the floor next for a lecture on the Trent Affair, a naval incident that almost sparked war between the Union and Great Britain. History club member Marie Aragona thought he was "the best speaker" and said he really illustrated the diplomatic aspects of the war, which are not often covered.

The day closed with lectures by Dr. James Paradis of Temple University on the sixth United States colored infantry and by Karlton Smith, a park ranger, who spoke of how the Confederates plundered Gettysburg.

Near the end of the day, history club president Lisa Mariano said,

"It's going excellently. There's a good turnout, the students are corning in."

Anne Schweim, coordinator of user services in the library, concluded that the history club did a "super job" and was impressed that students from the club introduced each speaker.

"It brings great credibility to Cabrini's academic program," she said.

The club was able to secure donations from the Franklin Mint for a raffle to help defray the cost of the forum.

Thanks to club member Christine Mondello, whose mother is employed with the mint, the club sold tickets to win a George Custer figurine, a Stonewall Jackson pocket knife and a Picket's charge bowie knife.

In addition, Rawlings donated one of his books to the raffle. A continental breakfast was supplied by Acme.

"They worked very hard," Hedtke said. "People don't see what goes on behind the scenes. It's like planning eight weddings to schedule eight speakers."