So, just as I was finishing packing for my trip to Louisville tomorrow when I received a phone call asking me to moderate a panel on Saturday morning. I will be filling in for Gary Gallagher on a session titled, “The Public Presentation and Interpretation of Slavery and Slave Resistance: A Roundtable Discussion.” It’s a topic that I am very interested in and I was more than happy to accept the request. I was pleased to see John Latschar’s name as one of the panelists, but unfortunately he has decided not to attend. That’s too bad. It would have given me the opportunity to thank him for all of his hard work at Gettysburg. I’ve read through plenty of commentary over the past week by people who have tried to minimize Latschar’s accomplishments at Gettysburg, but all you have to do is listen to those on the inside and you will understand just how important he was in helping to bring about some of the most significant to the physical landscape and interpretation at the park. Who better to talk about the importance of addressing difficult topics such as slavery at our Civil War battlefields and other public sites than John Latschar. Peter Carmichael will be filling in for Latschar.
