GCC Medina Announces Civil War Lecture Series

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Tom Bowers (right)

BATAVIA, NY (02/01/2013)(readMedia)-- Medina, New York-Genesee Community College's Medina Campus Center is pleased to offer a trio of special speakers in its Spring Civil War Lecture Series. Their presentations will cover an interesting range of topics related to the conflict that defined our future, from a typical soldier's life in the War to the firearms that impacted the fighting and how Native Americans experienced the War. All of the lectures are free and open to the public, and will be held in Room 4 at the Medina Campus Center.

On Tuesday, February 12th at 7 p.m., veteran Civil War reenactor Tom Bowers will present "Hardtack, housewives, coffee, and cowpies...the life of a Civil War Soldier". His talk will highlight a sometimes overlooked aspect of Civil War history-the average soldier. "The poor fellow who obeyed the orders and fought the battles, sacrificing all for honor, family, country, and counterpart never gets much attention or credit," said Bowers. He has lived what the average soldier's life might have been like during his more than three decades as a Civil War reenactor. Woven into his talk are some of his own experiences as a weekend warrior, both Union and Confederate. Bowers is also coordinator of reenactors for the GCC Civil War Encampment at the Medina Campus Center which will be held April 26th-28th, 2013.

During the first two years of the Civil War, the Union Cavalry was ill-equipped, ill-trained and ill-led. That changed when it acquired better weaponry. GCC adjunct history professor Peter Francione will discuss "The Union Cavalry, Modern Firearms, and the Development of Tactical Flexibility" during a talk set for Tuesday, March 5th at 7 p.m. Francione will recount the state of the Federal Army when the War started and how the debacle of Bull Run changed the War Department's initial decision to reject volunteer cavalry.

The lecture series concludes Friday, April 12th at 10 a.m. with GCC adjunct history professor Dan Hamner's "Among the Man Fires: Trials, Opportunities and Experiences of Native Americans in the Civil War". Hamner will explore how Native Americans used the War to advance their own agendas.

Following the lecture series, the three-day Civil War Encampment at the Medina Campus Center from April 26th-28th will feature authentic soldier costumes, Union and Confederate camps, a Saturday morning parade through downtown Medina, and many other events throughout the weekend.

For more information about Civil War activities at GCC, check out the College's Civil War blog at http://civilwaratgcc.worpress.com/.

GCC's Medina Campus Center is located at 11470 Maple Ridge Road, Medina, NY 14103, 585-798-1688.

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Editors Note:

A photograph of Tom Bowers (right) is available at:

http://marketing.genesee.edu/images/Sgt Bowers.jpg