Lakeside 2008 Week 9 Civil War Week

There's so much to do this week I clipped the article from the paper and attached it to the refrigerator. Monday I attended the very interesting "Military commanders and their wives" presented by U. of Akron Professor of History, Lesley Gordon, which focused on 12 famous couples and the ways in which the war affected their unions; Monday evening I attended a showing of the documentary film "Johnny" about a boy soldier from Ohio, Lincoln Clem; on Tuesday I attended "Through the eyes of soldiers; battle of Wyse Fork, NC" by Tom Edwards, a former director of Lakeside, 1981-1988 who still maintains a summer home here but lives now in SC; on Wednesday I enjoyed Cathy Kaemmerlen, a storyteller and historical interpreter from Marietta, GA performing the diaries and letters of Confederate women during Sherman's March to the Sea; today the theater was filled for the Abraham Lincoln Portrayal by Pete Raymond of Wooster who incorporated some of Lincoln's speeches in his presentation; I went back in the afternoon to hear a program "Musical history of the Civil War," by the Fifth Michigan Regiment Band about antique instruments, the role of the bands during the Civil War, and the most popular tunes; tonight at Hoover the band will perform again. Tomorrow I plan to hear an archeologist talk about Johnson's Island and in the afternoon will go there for explanation about using radar and electromagnetic tools to locate graves and other items. We'll also walk to Fort Johnson, the only remaining fortification (there were 3) constructed to protect the prison from Confederate invation.

For those of you not familiar with this area, Johnson's Island was a prisoner of war camp during the Civil War. The first POWs arrived in April 1862 and it was closed in September 1865. More than 9,000 prisoners, including 26 Confederate generals, were confined there over the years, and there are more than 200 men buried there. There were many escape attempts, but most weren't successful. The cemetery received a memorial statue of a confederate soldier in 1910 erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy. Approximately 4,000 people attended its dedication.

If you are a Civil War buff, next year's Civil War Week is August 24-28, 2009.