Macculloch Hall Historical Museum presents a Civil War Lecture Series in conjunction with the exhibit “Gone for a Soldier:” Jerseymen in the Civil War
On Wednesday June 27th Macculloch Hall Historical Museum is pleased to welcome Dr. James McPherson in conjunction with the museum’s current exhibit “Gone for a Soldier:” Jerseymen in the Civil War. Presented in collaboration with the New Jersey Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee, this exhibit brings together for the first time about two hundred objects from the Civil War from nearly thirty museums, historical societies, and private collections. Each month through June the Museum is presenting a topic relating to the exhibit.
Dr. McPherson will present the lecture “When Will this Cruel War be Over? The Failure of Peace Negotiations during the Civil War”. Despite the enormous casualties of the war and the desire of people in both the Union and Confederacy for an end to the killing by 1864, efforts at peace negotiations proved abortive because of the uncompromisable nature of war aims on each side. The lecture will discuss these peace efforts and their failure, and will explain how and why the war ended only in unconditional victory for the Union. Dr. McPherson will be available after the lecture to sell and sign his books. Titles include Battle Cry of Freedom, The Civil War Era, The Mighty Scourge, Perspectives of the Civil War, Tried by War; Abraham Lincoln As Commander in Chief.
James M. McPherson was born in North Dakota and grew up in Minnesota, where he earned the B.A. degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1958. He earned a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1963. From 1962 to 2004 he taught at Princeton University, where he is now the George Henry Davis ’86 Professor of American History Emeritus. He is the author of fifteen books and editor of another ten, mostly on the era of the American Civil War and Reconstruction. His books have won several prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize (1989) for Battle Cry Freedom: The Civil War Era and two Lincoln Prizes (1998 and 2009) for, respectively, For Cause and Comrades: Why men Fought in the Civil War and Tired By War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief. He is active in several organizations for historic and battlefield preservation, and in addition to several professional associations he is an elected member of the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has received honorary degrees from ten American colleges and universities.
All lectures start at 7pm with tickets available from 6:30pm and are held at the Cincinnati Masonic Lodge No. 3, 39 Maple Avenue (one block from the museum). Tickets for the lectures are Adults $8, Seniors $6, Students (over 12 years) $6. Members of the Museum will receive a $2 discount for these special programs. Memberships can be purchased at the door. Cash or check only please. Ticket holders to the museum exhibit will receive a $2 discount to the lectures with proof of admission; lecture ticket holders may also receive a $2 discount on a museum exhibit visit. See ticket desk for details. On the evenings of the Civil War Lecture Series the Museum will have extended exhibit hours from 1pm - 6:30pm. “Gone for a Soldier” is on display Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday afternoons through July 1st 2012.
The New Jersey Sesquicentennial Committee, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, a volunteer organization working for increased awareness and recognition of New Jersey’s important role in the Civil war, has been recognized by the New Jersey Governor and both houses of the New Jersey legislature. Macculloch Hall Historical Museum preserves the history of the Macculloch-Miller families, the Morris area community, and the legacy of its founder W. Parsons Todd through its historic site, collections, exhibits, and educational and cultural programs. For information, call the Museum weekdays at (973) 538-2404 ext 10, visit our website www.maccullochhall.org or find us on Facebook. Macculloch Hall Historical Museum, 45 Macculloch Ave., Morristown, NJ 07960. Macculloch Hall Historical Museum is a nonprofit educational affiliate of the W. Parsons Todd Foundation.
Price: Admission is Adults $8, Seniors $6, Students (over 12 years) $6. Members of the Museum will receive a $2 discount for these special programs.
