Civil Warriors

If you are in Kansas City on Wednesday, 19 October 2011, and have an interest in the gentlemen on the poster, check this out:

National Archives and Records Administration at Kansas City presents:
A Conversation on Lee and Grant, featuring Gregory S. Hospodor and Ethan S. Rafuse of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth; moderated by Bryan LeBeau, from the University of Saint Mary.

This is the final program in a series of lectures in support of the exhibit Lee and Grant, which provides a major reassessment of the lives, careers, and historical impact of Civil War generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. It also encourages audiences to move beyond the traditional mythology of both men and rediscover them within the context of their own time—based on their own words and those of their contemporaries. Lee and Grant presents photographs, paintings, prints, coins, reproduction clothing, accoutrements owned by the two men, documents written in their own hands, and biographical and historical records to reveal each man in his historical and cultural context, allowing audiences to compare the ways each has been remembered for almost 150 years.

“Visitors will enjoy discovering similarities and differences between Lee and Grant that are rarely pointed out,” said Dr. William M. S. Rasmussen, exhibition co-curator and the Lora M. Robins Curator of Art at the Virginia Historical Society. “These generals have been explored by historians for decades, but Lee and Grant is the first exhibition to present the two men together so that visitors can make decisions about them, side by side, based on facts. We hope that after they view Lee and Grant, visitors will give more thought to the legacies of both generals.”

Lee and Grant has been made possible by NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The exhibit was originally developed by the Virginia Historical Society and co-curated by Dr. William M. S. Rasmussen, Lora M. Robins Curator of Art at the Virginia Historical Society and Dr. Robert S. Tilton, Chairman of the Department of English, University of Connecticut, Storrs. This exhibit is toured by Mid-America Arts Alliance through NEH on the Road. NEH on the Road offers an exciting opportunity for communities of all sizes to experience some of the best exhibitions funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

The exhibit runs through October 22, 2011. The program on October 19 starts at 6:30 p.m., with a reception preceding it beginning at 6:00. These events are free, open to the public, and take place at the Kansas City branch of the National Archives and Records Administration, located at 400 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO 64108.

More information is available here.