The Life and Times of General George Custer
Guest Lecturer: Dakota Starr
Date: Thursday May 16, 2013
Time: 6:00-8:00pm
Location: Sloan Museum
Dakota Starr will be giving an in-depth presentation about the life and times of General George Custer. He will be giving an overview of Custer’s service in the Civil War, then focus on his achievements out West, his view of the Indians, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Mr. Starr will also be bringing various reproductions to pass around to help the audience get a better feeling of what he and his men went through on the final few years before the West was won.

Join us on this tour of downtown Detroit where we pay tribute to the local people who played a prominent role in defending our Nation and preserving the Union.

“Thank God for Michigan!” Why did President Lincoln utter those famous words?
How did Detroit’s role in the abolition movement impact public opinion against slavery?
What two major players in the Civil War resided in Detroit prior to the outbreak of war?
Why is a letter written by a local resident considered by many as the real start of the Civil War?
How did a United State Senator from Michigan make his mark on the Constitution?
Which Detroit mayor was able to thwart not one, but two Confederate attempts to wreak havoc locally – which if successful could have resulted in huge national consequences?
What role did the city center known as Campus Martius play during this time?
You’ll find out the answers to these questions and much more on the Glory, Valor & Sacrifice: Detroit Civil War Remembrance Tour.

Rick Brown – Little Known Facts about the Lincoln’s and the Civil War
Date: Thursday April 18, 2013
Time: 6-8pm
Location: Sloan Museum
Fee: $9 adults, $8 seniors, $6 youth age 3-11, Free for APHC
Upon purchasing a copy of the April 28, 1865 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer Rick Brown discovered an article about the capture and death of John Wilkes Booth. The reason he purchased it? It was 100-years-old at the time. Little did he know that this small incident in his life would turn out to become his life-long avocation. He has spent the last 47-years collecting Lincoln assassination relics and researching the assassination and its aftermath.
Also on display that evening will be his Traveling Lincoln Assassination Museum. It is 24-running feet in length and contains over 50 original relics including newspapers, broadsides, engravings, and a mourning ribbon worn at Lincoln’s funeral in Philadelphia. In addition, the diary of a resident of Washington, D.C written during the time of the assassination will be on display, as will sheet music, stereo views, CDVs and other photos, booklets, and letters. All relics were produced between April and July 1865. Space is limited. Reservations Recommended. Reserve your seat at 810.237.3409

Henry Ford: The Way He Worked Us
Guest: Steven Stanford, H is for Henry Publications
Date: Thursday, April 11, 2013
Time: 6:00 – 8:00pm
Location: Buick Gallery
Fee: $9 adults, $8 seniors, $6 youth age 3-11, Free for APHC
What would it have been like to work for Henry Ford? This lecture explores the impact of the moving assembly line on working at the Highland Park Plant and how the Five Dollar Day and the Sociological Department revolutionized factory work. We then look at work at the Rouge and the rise of Unionization in Mr. Ford’s factories. Registration Required. Call 810.237.3409 to reserve your seat.

The Friends of Michigan History Inc. is pleased to offer another program in its ongoing commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. Today, Civil War authors and scholars gather at the Michigan Library and Historical Center for a daylong exploration of the “irrepressible conflict.”

Morning and afternoon concurrent sessions cover topics that include General Lee and General Meade at Gettysburg; women in the Civil War; Michigan in the Civil War; and scholarly resources for further study of the conflict. Presenters include:

• Bruce Butgereit, reenactor
• Dr. Marilyn Culpepper, retired professor of American Thought and Language, Michigan State University
• Jack Dempsey, author of Michigan and the Civil War: A Great and Bloody Sacrifice
• David Finney, historian
• Mark Hoffman, author of My Brave Mechanics: The First Michigan Engineers and Their Civil War
• Dr. Roger Rosentreter, professor of history, Michigan State University
• Dr. Morris O. Thomas, professor of geography, Michigan State University

Registration fee: $20 (includes box lunch)
Download the Michigan Civil War Symposium registration form.

For more information please contact Friends president Larry Griffin at Griflar2@aol.com.

The Michigan Library and Historical Center is located at 702 West Kalamazoo Street, Lansing. Visitor parking is on the north side of Kalamazoo Street, two blocks east of M. L. King Jr. Boulevard. Weekend parking is free.

It is April, 1865. The Civil War is over and Caleb DeLeon, a young Jewish Confederate officer, returns to Richmond, Virginia to find his family’s home in ruins. Caleb is greeted by two of his family’s former slaves, Simon and John, who are waiting for his family’s return. As the three men wait for signs of life to return to the city, they wrestle with their shared past, the bitter irony of Jewish slave-owning and the reality of the new world in which they find themselves.

The Whipping Man is part of Flint Youth Theatre’s Emancipation Project. This season long exploration of the topic of emancipation, from the historical event to its immediate aftermath and through to the present day, honors the 150th anniversary of the proclamation. The project also includes the plays, The Heavens Are Hung in Black, Gee’s Bend and Gem of the Ocean. Emancipation Packages for all four plays are available for $45 by calling 810-237-1530.

Austin Blair-War Governor
Guest Lecturer: Kerry Chartkoff
Date: Thursday, March 14, 2013
Location: Sloan Museum
Time: 6pm-8pm
Fee: $9 adults, $8 seniors, $6 youth age 3-11, Free for APHC
Austin Blair was sworn into office as Michigan’s thirteenth governor barely two weeks after South Carolina seceded from the Union. He was hailed as one of the greatest of the nation’s “War Governors”–those men whose loyal support was so critical to Lincoln’s success and the preservation of the Union. How did he do it? Why did he step down from office before the war was over? What do Michigan and the nation owe to Austin Blair? Discover the answers with this informative program. Space is limited. Reserve your seat at 810.237.3409.

Presentation & Book Signing

Michigan & the Civil War-A Great and Bloody Sacrifice
Guest Lecturer: Jack Dempsey
Date: February 21, 2013
Location: Sloan Museum
Time: 6pm-8pm
Fee: $9 adults, $8 seniors, $6 youth age 3-11, Free for APHC
With lively narration, telling anecdotes and vivid battlefield accounts, Michigan and the Civil War presents, as never before, the story of Michigan’s heroic role in saving the Union. Beginning with Michigan’s antebellum period and antislavery heritage, the book describes the state’s rapid response to President Lincoln’s call to arms, its involvement in the greatest battles and its most interesting personalities. In the triumphant conclusion, Custer comers Lee at Appomattox, and the Fourth Michigan Cavalry apprehends the fleeing Davis. Based on thorough and new research, this volume is surprising in breadth, at times awe-inspiring and a continual revelation of long-overlooked Civil War contributions of the Great Lakes State. This will be a book signing and presentation. Space is limited. Reserve your seat at 810.237.3409.

Book Signing & Presentation