This year’s KYGMC community reading book is a Civil War story.
Combining reading and history is an annual event at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center, and this year’s book selection will capture the imagination of local residents as they delve into a facet of the Civil War they might not have thought about.
Tandy Floyd, the education curator at the museum, explained the community reading program.
“Every year we do a literary campaign, picking a theme around a book to enhance the history of a time period. This year’s choice is The Widow of the South, by Robert Hicks,” she said.
The Widow of the South is based on the true story of Carrie McGavock and is Hicks’ debut novel. The setting is Tennessee during the Civil War Battle of Franklin — a brutal fight that lasted only five hours with 9,200 casualties. McGavok’s plantation home was transformed into a field hospital where four generals died. Following the war, McGavock tended a private cemetery on her property where more than 1,000 soldiers were laid to rest.
The Widow of the South has garnered praise and rave reviews, with readers saying the author weaves equal amounts of emotion and history into a vivid story of life during that tumultuous time.
Hicks, a music publisher and artist is currently heading up Franklin’s Charge: A Vision and Campaign for the Preservation of Historic Open Space in the fight to secure and preserve both battlefields and other historic open spaces in Williamson County.
”The Widow of the South was born out of many years of work at Carnton and my passion for the preservation of the remaining fragments of the battlefield. In writing my novel, my hope was to bring national attention back to this moment in our nation’s history, the impact those five bloody hours played in making us a nation, and the preservation for the sites tied to the story,” Hicks said in his Amazon biography.
Floyd hopes this particular story will inspire more families to read together in the month of October.
“We want to bring good adult literature to the public to read and discuss with their family and friends,” Floyd said.
The experience was made possible by sponsors, The Josephine Ardery Foundation, The Hayswood Foundation, International Paper, The McNeill Series and The Charles E. & Mary Elizabeth Scripps Foundation.
Fifteen hundred books will be presented to the public for free and copies are being distributed to area high schools, colleges and community adult book clubs. You can grab your book beginning Sept. 30 at the Washington Opera House or the Mason County and Fleming County public libraries. Copies will be available throughout October or until they run out.
The KYGMC is hosting a variety of supporting exhibits and activities throughout the month of October that goes nicely with the Civil War theme.
Kicking off the reading event is “Songs and Stories of the Civil War Hospital” on Sept. 30 at the Washington Opera House. The songs, letters, diary excerpts and poems were compiled by historian, Ed Lodwick of Brown County, Ohio. The performance is based on the happenings at the small church near Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, only a few miles from the Battle of Shiloh, giving a history of the Civil War through music. The show begins at 7 p.m.
On Sunday, Oct. 2, you’ll be inspired by the collection of authentic historical men’s and women’s clothing from the Civil War Era during the Street Smart Fashion Show at the Washington Opera House at 1 p.m.
Another activity you don’t want to miss is Phillip’s Folly Civil War Tea on Oct. 11 at 6:30 p.m. Afternoon and high teas were made popular by Anna Russell the Duchess of Bedford in the mid-1840s as a means to take the edge off of hunger as it became more fashionable to delay dinnertime until later in the day. The tea is limited to 40 people and you can make reservations at 606-564-5865.
Another highlight is on Oct. 15 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Albert Sydney Johnston House in Old Washington where you can hear Jim “Doc” Shires as Albert Sydney Johnston and Russell Dixson as William “Bull” Nelson, generals on opposite sides of the conflict. On this day, you can tour the childhood home of famous Confederate Civil War General Albert Sidney Johnston, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, who was killed in the Battle of Shiloh while leading a charge against General Grant’s men. William “Bull” Nelson attended the Maysville Academy while living here and graduated from Norwich Academy University in Vermont. He is buried in the Maysville cemetery. The museum recreates the family home with period furniture, photos and documents.
Also on Oct. 15, Keith Caudill will be discussing blacksmithing which played a pivotal role in the war machine.
A month-long Civil War Scavenger Hunt is also planned at the Fleming County Public Library.
Here’s a full list of events:
Sept. 30 — “Songs and Stories from the Civil War Hospital” at the Washington Opera House, 7 p.m.
Oct. 2 — The Street Smart Civil War Fashion Show at the Washington Opera House at 1:30 p.m.
Oct.4 — Widow of the South Barbecue Kick Off on the Lee House Grounds, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 6 — Seminar, Cincinnati in the Civil War at Kenton Stories with Spirit, 5 p.m.
Oct. 7 — Concert, Victorian Era Music with Nick Denham at the Mason County Public Library, 5 p.m.
Oct. 8 — Seminar, Morgan’s Raid with a panel discussion at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center, 10 a.m.
Oct. 11 — Civil War Tea at Phillip’s Folly, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 12 — Seminar, Hankies, Parasols and the Language of Flowers by Jaclyn Theis at the Mason County Public Library, 5 p.m.
Oct. 13 — Seminar, Cemeteries and the Civil War at the Fleming County Public Library, 6 p.m.
Oct. 15 — Meet Albert Sidney Johnston and William “Bull” Nelson at the Albert Sidney Johnston House, Old Washington 10 – 12 p.m.
Oct. 15 — Blacksmithing with Keith Caudill at the Mason County Public Library, 2 p.m.
Oct. 21 — Civil War Presentation by Bill Foley at the Mason County Public Library, 6 p.m.
Oct. 29 — Civil War Reenactments at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center.
For more information visit, www.kygmc.org or call 606-564-5865.
