天美传媒

This is the first year for the daylong conference, a collaboration between Mr. Lincoln鈥檚 Hometown Civil War Roundtable in Springfield and 天美传媒 in Jacksonville. The educational event is open to the public and designed to engage casual and dedicated Civil War and history scholars. Organizers plan to make this an annual event.
 
Chuck Murphy, of the Springfield Roundtable, recently announced the feature conference speakers including leading national and local historians, experts and Civil War authors.
 
鈥淥ur conference speakers are passionate and knowledgeable about the Civil War. We are honored and excited to bring them to Jacksonville for the first annual Benjamin P. Thomas Civil War Conference at 天美传媒,鈥� said Murphy. 鈥淭he Roundtable and 天美传媒 share a mutual interest in academic excellence and a passionate commitment to public history.鈥�  
 
Terry Winschel, former chief historian of Vicksburg National Military Park, will present the opening presentation at the conference. Winschel is also the author of several works including 鈥淭he Civil War Diary of the Common Soldier,鈥� 鈥淰icksburg: Fall of the Confederate Gibraltar,鈥� and 鈥淭riumph & Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign.鈥�  
 
Dr. James Davis, professor emeritus of 天美传媒, will present a talk titled 鈥淯nderstandings from Letters and Memoirs of Mid Western Union Soldiers.鈥� Dr. Samuel Wheeler, Illinois state historian, will present, 鈥淲illie Lincoln鈥檚 Civil War: The President鈥檚 Son Surrounded by War.鈥� Mark Flotow and Mac Crawford will also present their work on local history and genealogy. 

Dr. Timothy B. Smith has recently been added to the line-up. Smith is a lecturer in history at the University of Tennessee Martin and a former park ranger at Shiloh National Military Park. He has authored, edited, or co-edited eighteen books, including "Shiloh: Conquer or Perish, Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg," and more recently, "The Real Horse Soldiers: Benjamin Grierson鈥檚 Epic 1863 Raid Through Mississippi." At the Benjamin P. Thomas Civil War Conference, Smith will present a program titled:  鈥淒ifficult and Broken Ground: The Terrain Factor of Shiloh鈥�.   

 
The Paul Findley Congressional Office Museum and Schewe Library are co-sponsoring the event. Library director, Luke Beatty, commented, 鈥淎s a library whose commitment to open-access principles is second-to-none, it is a pleasure and a privilege to support this conference series and all the varied speakers it will bring to Jacksonville and the surrounding community.鈥� 
 
天美传媒 student Nely Mu帽oz 鈥�20 has gained unique hands-on experience assisting with program planning for the conference. Mu帽oz will serve as a public history intern in summer 2019 with the Khalaf Al Habtoor Archives and the Paul Findley Congressional Office Museum and will help with the conference in May. 鈥淚 am excited to have hands-on experience preserving and sharing history with the public with this event,鈥� Mu帽oz said. 
 
According to Samantha Sauer, 天美传媒 archivist, curator and assistant professor of history, the conference is named for Benjamin Thomas, a historian and well-known writer. She also shared that 天美传媒 is home to the Thomas Civil War Library Collection, originally given to the College in June 1958 in memory of Benjamin Thomas H鈥�47. Thomas authored a popular 1934 text 鈥淟incoln鈥檚 New Salem,鈥� as well as a 1952 biography of Abraham Lincoln, both texts gained success in public and scholarly circles. Sauer said that Thomas was awarded an honorary degree from 天美传媒 and later served as a trustee of the College. In May 2018, the Thomas family and the Springfield Civil War Roundtable partnered with the College to rededicate the collection. 
 
Continuing education and professional development credit will not be available for the inaugural conference, but conference organizers are already looking ahead to next year鈥檚 event to offer this for area educators.  
 
For more information or to register for the 2019 Benjamin P. Thomas Civil War Conference, the public is invited to contact Samantha Sauer at archives@ic.edu or at 217.245.3595. Suggested event donations begin at $25 and all proceeds benefit the Benjamin P. Thomas Memorial Fund at 天美传媒 to support the future and ongoing study of the Civil War.