Bridgewater College hosts ninth annual Civil War Institute

The free Civil War Institute is an annual one-day event that is open to the public.
The free Civil War Institute is an annual one-day event that is open to the public. | File photo
Bridgewater College hosted its ninth annual Bridgewater College Civil War Institute on Saturday, bringing in a panel of expert speakers to discuss the ways in which the war has been remembered and memorialized.

“We are indeed privileged to offer this year’s array of speakers,” said Civil War Institute co-founder Nick Picerno. “The topic is certainly relevant as we witness a national dialogue that focuses on how we commemorate Civil War history, particularly the role of the South.”

The institute’s speakers for this year included Virginia Tech history professor Peter Wallenstein; American Civil War Museum Co-Executive Director Waite Rawls; author John Coski; and University of Virginia American history professor Elizabeth Varon.

Wallenstein’s talk was entitled “Remembering Reconstruction – and All the Ways It Never Was”; Rawls discussed “Burying the Dead, But Not the Past”; Coski spoke on “History of the Battle Flag to the Present Day”; and Varon’s talk addressed, “Legacies of Appomattox: Lee’s Surrender in History and Memory.”

The free institute is an annual one-day event that is open to the public.