41st Annual Maritime History Symposium
April 6
8 a.m. — 5 p.m. Special Events
Maritime Maine and the Civil War
Reserve Your Seat Now!
The American Civil War, whose sesquicentennial we currently commemorate, was the deadliest war in American history with more than an estimated 750,000 soldiers killed. The conflict may have lasted only four years, but the war’s ashes would smolder within the American psyche for more than a century, impacting many aspects of American life and politics.
The Civil War was also one of the earliest industrial wars, with great advances in engineering, industrialization and medicine as byproducts. The mobilization of civilian factories, use of mines and advances in naval construction, transportation, logistics and battlefield medicine all foreshadowed World War I.
Symposium speakers will present a wide-ranging discussion of the intersection of Maine coastal residents and the Civil War in ways you may not have previously considered. Topics include: construction of famous naval vessels, such as USS Kearsarge at the naval shipyard in Kittery; Mainers directly involved in the war, such as Captain George Henry Preble; the experiences of Maine naval seamen; and Civil War maritime music. In addition, the war’s effects on Maine’s large merchant fleet will be examined in talks about Confederate privateers, changes in the management of merchant vessels and how Maine shipbuilders reacted to the turmoil.
Registration fees for the symposium are $60 for Museum members, $70 for nonmembers and $35 for students. The fee includes all lectures, continental breakfast, lunch, dessert, coffee and a fish house punch social at the end of the day.
Reserve Your Seat NOW.
Schedule of Events
8:00am - Registration, coffee
9:00am - Welcome, Amy Lent, Executive Director
9:05am - Introduction, Nathan R. Lipfert, Senior Curator
9:10am - Earle R. Warren, “On the Brink of War: The Sewall Family Fleet 1860-61”
10:10am - William Lowe, “Confederate Naval Strategy: Letters of Marque”
10:50am - Coffee and informal discussion
11:10am - John F. Battick, “Damned if You Don’t, Damned if You Do: The Civil War Adventures of Captain George Henry Preble, USN”
12:00pm - Lunch
1:30pm - Shipbuilding During the Civil War
Al Ross, “Warships: Developing Models of the USS Kearsarge and CSS Alabama”
Jon Johansen, “Maine-built Merchant Vessels”
2:30pm - Coffee and informal discussion
3:00pm - David Nelson, “Civil War Union Jacks: The Experience of Maine Sailors in Preserving the Union”
3:45pm - Stephen N. Sanfilippo, “Maritime Music of the Civil War”
4:30pm - Break
5:00pm - Fish house punch reception
View Speaker Biographies