– Join us on July 23rd, 2021 for our 8th Annual U.S. Grant Symposium commemorating the life and times of Civil War General and eventual President Ulysses S. Grant.
Our keynote address will feature Major General Byron Bagby (U.S. Army. Retired) and his presentation “Beyond City Point: African American Troops at Petersburg.”
Presented by Missouri Humanities, National U.S. Grant Trail Association, and Soldiers Memorial Military Museum, in partnership with Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, Missouri Athletic Club, and Campbell House Museum.
– 8th Annual U. S. Grant Symposium Schedule –
9:50 A.M. – Introductory remarks and welcome by Mark Sundlov
9:55 A.M. – Introduction by the Master of Ceremonies – Greg Wolk, Missouri Humanities
10:00 A.M. to 10:50 A.M. – Dan Fuller, Master Guide and Volunteer Coordinator at Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum in St. Louis / Monuments in Stone: A Walk with Ulysses Grant
- Synopsis: Dan conducts a virtual tour of Mid-America’s most historic civil burying ground, St. Louis’ Bellefontaine Cemetery. Learn more about military figures who helped Grant win the Civil War – and other people in Grant’s life – who lie here in eternal rest. John Pope and Don Carlos Buell are just the beginning of your journey.
11:00 A.M. to 11:50 A.M. – “Spotswood Rice, Soldier and Preacher,” written and performed by Marvin-Alonzo Greer, Lead Historic Interpretation & Community Engagement Officer for Prince George’s County (MD) Parks.
- Synopsis: Formerly associated with the Missouri Historical Society, Marvin-Alonzo Greer is a celebrated historian, genealogist and portrayer of historic characters. In this engagement, Marvin performs as Spotswood Rice, a Missouri slave who joined the Army after the Emancipation Proclamation and whose plea for the freedom of his daughter resonates across the decades.
– Lunch Break –
Persons attending virtually may access programming organized by Symposium partners the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site and Missouri History Museum.
1:10 P.M. – Welcome Back, with an introduction of the Keynote Speaker
1:15 P.M. to 2:10 P.M. – THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Major General Byron Bagby (United States Army, Retired), former Chief of Staff of U.S. Army, Europe, and Commandant, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia (2006-2008) / Beyond City Point: African American Troops at Petersburg.
- Synopsis: General Bagby explores the role of African American forces in the series of assaults upon the Confederate stronghold of Petersburg, Virginia from June, 1864 to April, 1865, which opened the door for the fall of Richmond. Now the supreme commander of the Armies of the United States, operating in the field at Petersburg, Lt. General Grant commanded the largest concentration of soldiers of African descent assembled during the War.
2:15 to 3:00 – Rob Mellon, Executive Director of the Historic Society of Quincy and Adams County (IL) and Major, U. S. Army Reserves / Called to Duty: Grant’s First March in the Civil War.
- Synopsis: Newly minted Colonel U. S. Grant set out from Camp Yates, Springfield, Illinois, on July 3, 1861, bound for Quincy. He rode at the head of the Twenty-First Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Grant decided to march his men to Quincy, rather than to use the railroad that was available to him. Learn what is fact and what is fiction during the first eight days Grant was in command.