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COMMUNITY DAY—Sunday, 10/2, 10am-3pm
At Tufts' annual Community Day, Tisch Library kicks off the Forever Free lineup with a preview of coming attractions. These events take place on the Tufts Quad, Upper Medford Campus. Living history performances throughout the day will afford Tufts Community the opportunity to travel back in time to meet such 1800's celebrities as:

Jan Turnquist as Louisa May Alcott
Harriet Beecher Stowe, bestselling author supposidely hailed by Abraham Lincoln as the “little lady who made this big war ”

Louisa May Alcott, one of America's most prolific writers, born to an unconventional New England family active in the abolition and women's suffrage movements

Frederick Douglass, the relentless anti-slavery orator who was born into slavery and escaped to become one of America's foremost black abolitionists

Abe Lincoln himself who, from the beginning of the Civil War until his assassination, evolved from a cautious moderate willing to see slavery continue to the “Great Emancipator” who ended slavery in the United States.

Civil War Camp Life
Lt. Colonel Paul Kenworthy and Private Patri Pugliese of the Union Army provide a glimpse of camp life during the American Civil War. A typical officers wall tent and enlisted man's "dog tent" will be displayed with typical furnishings and objects that one would have expected to see in a military camp.

Children's Games of the Civil War Period
Barbara Pugliese will teach a variety of running ("Fox and Geese", Dio Lewis' "Pin Running"), tossing ("Graces"), standing ("Copenhagen", "Hunt the Ring") and other games of the mid-nineteenth century to children and to the young at heart.

Manual of Arms & Bayonet Drill
Paul Kenworthy and Patri Pugliese will demonstrate Elmer Ellsworth's manual of arms for the rifled musket and George B. McClellan's bayonet drill. Volunteers will be recruited from the audience to learn some of the bayonet drill.

Dancing at the Time of the Civil War
Waltz, Polka and other popular ballroom dances of the Civil War era will be demonstrated and volunteers will be taught the nineteenth century version of the popular "Virginia Reel".

 

Civil War Encampment/Re-Enactment
This presentation by the 54th Massachusetts Glory Brigade is “…the
most accurate portrayal possible of the most famous regiment of the
Civil War”. The mini-encampment provides an inside look, and an
opportunity to discuss, the life of a soldier from the Civil War’s
first all-black volunteer company.
10/2, 10/16, 10/17, 10/25, 11/14 … and 6 other dates to be announced! Visit our
website for updates.
Held on the Tisch Library Lawn
Rain location for Monday morning encampments: Balch Arena Lobby, Aidekman Arts Center

 

Tuesday, 10/25, 4:30-6:30pm
Military Re-Enactment & Memories of War Roundtable Discussion
The Greater Boston Anthropology Consortium sponsors this discussion that includes faculty members from Tufts and Brandeis Universities, 1st Sergeant Benny White of the 54th Massachusetts Glory Brigade, as well as local re-enactors David Naumec and Greg Hurley.  Moderated by Tufts Lecturer of Anthropology Cathy Stanton, the discussion takes a general look at the whys and wherefores of reenactment, with a cross-cultural element. Reception to follow.
Lincoln-Filene Center, Rabb Room
Image: Greg Hurley