Premiers Jan. 29 with Encore of 'Civil War Comes to St. Mary's County'
LA PLATA, Md. (Jan. 23, 2010) - The College of Southern Maryland is ready to kickoff its spring 2010 Friday Night Lecture Series featuring presentations by CSM President Dr. Bradley Gottfried, CSM Professor Rex Bishop and Tri-County Council Executive Director Wayne Clark.
The spring schedule starts Jan. 29 on the Leonardtown Campus featuring Dr. Gottfried's lecture, "The Civil War comes to St. Mary's County." The lecture will describe this turbulent time in the county's history, the landing of the Federal troops at Leonardtown, the occupation of St. Mary's County by Federal troops, smuggling activities, the economic hardships faced by the residents and the 1865 release of prisoners from the Point Lookout Prisoner of War Camp. This is an "encore performance" as Dr. Gottfried's presentation at the Sotterley Plantation was filled to capacity in November.
Bishop continues the series Feb. 26 on the La Plata Campus with a lecture about William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy, a deaf major league player who overcame many obstacles to achieve his dream of playing baseball. The series will conclude April 9 on the Prince Frederick Campus with Clark's lecture about the Algonquian-speaking Native Americans in the Patuxent River Valley. He will focus on tribal social customs, archaeological finds and recorded observations made by the European settlers of the time.
CSM's Friday Night Lecture Series is free, open to the public and features subject matter experts from the college and the community and provides an opportunity to build community through enriching discussions. All lectures begin at 7 p.m. For information, 301-934-7703 or visit www.csmd.edu.