Civil War Weekend set at arts center

The Shawnee Hills Arts Council is planning to host a Civil War Weekend Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 7-10, in Anna.

Activities will be at the Anna Arts Center, which is located at 125 W. Davie St.

Thursday, Feb. 7

The weekend is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, with a presentation of “Ghost Stories from the Union County Encampments” by Dr. Susan A. Whitemountain.

“Ghost Stories” is scheduled to be presented again at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9.

In the presentations, Whitemountain will discuss the locations of Civil War encampments in Union County.

Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

Friday, Feb. 8

A Blue and Gray Dinner is planned at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8. The guest speaker is scheduled to be George Buss of Freeport, who portrays Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln will be joined by Mrs. Lincoln.

The dinner will be catered by The Kitchen on Lafayette. Reservations were requested by Feb. 2.

Saturday, Feb. 9

Speakers, exhibits and vendors will be featured from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at the arts center.

The King’s Battery, a Civil War reenactors unit from Missouri, is scheduled to be at the arts center.

Other Civil War reenactors are scheduled to participate. Civil War memorabilia will be on display.

All activities during the day are free and open to the public.

Here’s a look at the schedule of presentations and activities which are planned on Saturday:

9 a.m. Civil War Heroes, by Mike Estel, who is the author of 11 books and an historian.

10 a.m. Mr. U.S. Grant: A Man and a Patriot. The program will be presented by Dan Haughey of East Moline.

Haughey is an Illinois Humanities Road Scholar. He will present a first-person, one-act play which will focus on Grant’s early years and his rise to Civil War fame as general of the Union armies in the Western Theatre.

Noon. Lunch: barbeque sandwich, chips, soda, $5.

1 p.m. President Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by George Buss of Freeport. Buss most recently visited Union County to be a part of the City of Jonesboro’s bicentennial celebration.

2 p.m. Harriet Tubman, portrayed by Marlene Rivero, an Illinois Humanities Road Scholar.

3 p.m. “On the Altar of Their Country: The Volunteers in the War of the Rebellion,” by Glen S. Bishop Jr., a Civil War historian and lecturer.

4 p.m. Presentation of two videos loaned by Michael Jones, the director of the General John A. Logan Museum in Murphysboro.

The two videos which are scheduled to be shown are “Caught in the Sweep of History, 1861-1865, Egypt in the Civil War”; and “Caught in the Sweep of History, 1861-1865, Egypt in the Civil War: The Second Year.”

Sunday, Feb. 10

Local history will be featured as part of a bus tour which is planned at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10. Tickets for the 90-minute tour are $10. To make a reservation, call 833-8745.

The PAST organization of Union County plans to have an open house at Heritage House in Jonesboro from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Heritage House is located at 102 S. Main St.

For more information, or to make reservations, call Lee Hackney at 904-625-1109 or email vabchlee@gmail.com.

The Gazette-Democrat

112 Lafayette St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
Office Number: (618) 833-2158
Email: news@annanews.com

Sign Up For Breaking News

Stay informed on our latest news!

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
1 + 0 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Comment Here