East Tennesseans’ attitude toward slavery during the Civil War era will be the topic of a lecture at the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture on Sunday, March 30.
McClung Museum Civil War Curator Joan Markel will give the 2:00 p.m. talk.
The talk, part of the museum’s fourth annual Civil War Lecture Series, will examine letters, diaries, and newspapers—primary documents recording the thoughts and comments of the people of East Tennessee as they moved toward war.
The monthly lectures are held in the McClung Museum auditorium, and are free and open to the public.
An added feature of the March 30 talk will be the viewing of the award-winning short documentary film The Cemetery of Life, created by the members of the Odd Fellows Scholars Program. The film explores how students at Knoxville’s Vine Middle School and the L&N Academy have devoted their energy to the research, interpretation, and preservation of the graves of the Civil War veterans of the First United States Colored Heavy Artillery in the Odd Fellows Cemetery on Bethel Avenue in Knoxville.
The final lecture in the series will be “Grand Divisions: Tennessee’s Civil War in the First Year.” Aaron Astor of Maryville College will give the talk at 2:00 p.m. on April 27.
The museum is located at 1327 Circle Park Drive. It is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Weekend parking is available on a first-come, first-serve basis on Circle Park Drive. Additional parking information is available online.
The museum’s exhibits include archaeology, ancient Egypt, decorative arts, the Battle of Fort Sanders, geology, and fossils. Admission is free.
For more information about the McClung Museum and its collections and exhibits, visit the website.
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CONTACTS:
Joan Markel (865-974-2144, jmarkel@utk.edu)
Catherine Shteynberg (865-974-6921, cshteynb@utk.edu)
Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lalapo@utk.edu)