By: Tyler
Aimee asked me to contribute a summary of my week in Washington, DC...
I returned a few days ago from a week in the nation's capital studying the Civil War. The institute that I attended was held at American University. I learned about it two summers ago while I was in Washington for the James Madison Fellowship program. One of the professors from the Civil War Institute was a guest speaker at the Madison summer institute and told me about the program that he does. I have wanted to attend ever since, so I wrote a grant to cover my expenses (tuition, travel, etc.) and I got it!
Because the cost of the institute was rather expensive, I assumed (wrongly) that housing would be provided on or near campus. When I discovered this wasn't the case, I asked my dear cousin Sara if I could stay at her apartment in Columbia Heights. Thanks to Sara, I was able to make it happen. I did have a long commute between her place and American University, which, coupled with the fatal metro crash on Monday, made my commute extra long.
We had morning lectures at American University followed by afternoon field excursions. Throughout the week, we visited places such as Antietam National Battlefield, Arlington National Cemetary, Ford's Theater, the Summer White House at the Old Soldier's Home, the White House of the Confederacy in Richmond, VA, and the Frederick Douglass home, among many others. The quality of the institute was exceptional and the professors were great. On Friday morning, professor Ed Smith delivered a very moving lecture on the important relationship between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. At the closing banquet, I asked him if he would be willing to travel to Vermont and repeat his talk to the Northeast Kingdom Civil War Roundtable. Without hesitation, he agreed. Now I have to figure out the logistics of where he'll stay, if we can afford to pay for his transportation, when he will come, etc. We have speakers booked for the rest of this year, so he wouldn't come until next year. Hopefully with persistence on my part, he won't forget my offer and will indeed make the effort to visit the Green Mountain State.
"Bloody Lane" at Antietam
"The Cornfield" at Antietam
Burnside's Bridge
Lincoln's Summer White House at the Old Soldier's Home
Professor Smith sitting on the only statue erected in Lincoln's honor in the entire south (Richmond, VA)
Aimee asked me to contribute a summary of my week in Washington, DC...
I returned a few days ago from a week in the nation's capital studying the Civil War. The institute that I attended was held at American University. I learned about it two summers ago while I was in Washington for the James Madison Fellowship program. One of the professors from the Civil War Institute was a guest speaker at the Madison summer institute and told me about the program that he does. I have wanted to attend ever since, so I wrote a grant to cover my expenses (tuition, travel, etc.) and I got it!
Because the cost of the institute was rather expensive, I assumed (wrongly) that housing would be provided on or near campus. When I discovered this wasn't the case, I asked my dear cousin Sara if I could stay at her apartment in Columbia Heights. Thanks to Sara, I was able to make it happen. I did have a long commute between her place and American University, which, coupled with the fatal metro crash on Monday, made my commute extra long.
We had morning lectures at American University followed by afternoon field excursions. Throughout the week, we visited places such as Antietam National Battlefield, Arlington National Cemetary, Ford's Theater, the Summer White House at the Old Soldier's Home, the White House of the Confederacy in Richmond, VA, and the Frederick Douglass home, among many others. The quality of the institute was exceptional and the professors were great. On Friday morning, professor Ed Smith delivered a very moving lecture on the important relationship between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. At the closing banquet, I asked him if he would be willing to travel to Vermont and repeat his talk to the Northeast Kingdom Civil War Roundtable. Without hesitation, he agreed. Now I have to figure out the logistics of where he'll stay, if we can afford to pay for his transportation, when he will come, etc. We have speakers booked for the rest of this year, so he wouldn't come until next year. Hopefully with persistence on my part, he won't forget my offer and will indeed make the effort to visit the Green Mountain State.
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| From Summer 2009 |
"Bloody Lane" at Antietam
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| From Summer 2009 |
"The Cornfield" at Antietam
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| From Summer 2009 |
Burnside's Bridge
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| From Summer 2009 |
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| From Summer 2009 |
Tyler, I loved reading a summary of your Civil War class down in DC. I was able to access Aimee's blog through Sandy's blog.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had such a good week despite the hardships of commuting daily.
I loved your pictures - so beautiful!
Love, Auntie Lisa