Our speaker for this evening’s meeting will be Dr. Bennett Parten, an assistant professor of history at Georgia Southern University.

He is a native of Royston, Georgia. He earned a B.A. in History from the University of Georgia in 2015, an M.A. in History from Clemson University in 2017, and a Ph.D. in History at Yale University, where he focused on 19th-century U.S. history, particularly the histories of race, slavery, abolition and emancipation. His area of expertise is the Civil War period, and he was named a Distinguished Lecturer by the Organization of American Historians. 

His presentation will be based on his 2025 book, "Somewhere Towards Freedom: Sherman's March and the Story of America's Largest Emancipation". 

One of the most controversial events of the Civil War, Sherman's March to the Sea has been studied, analyzed and written about from many different viewpoints. Bennett focuses on one which has not received much attention, namely. as a great Emancipation event. By the end of the March, as many as 20,000 enslaved people had attached themselves to Sherman's army, They endured tremendous hardships, marching as much as 20 miles a day, often without food or shelter from the winter weather. To add to their problems, at times the Union commanders discouraged and even prevented these self-emancipated slaves from staying with the army. Mr. Parten's work not only helps us understand what the March meant to the enslaved and how it impacted the war, but also discusses how it laid the foundation for the earliest efforts of Reconstruction. 

The meeting will take place on Monday, July 20th, at Draught 55, located at 245 East 55th Street, NY NY.  The cost of attendance plus dinner at our meetings is $65 per person. If you plan to attend please contact Ann Plogsterth at either 212-877-6814 or plogsterth@aol.com.