Crater 150 Talk on C-SPAN3 Tonight

Just in case you have absolutely nothing else to do tonight C-SPAN3 will air (10:15pm) the talk I recently delivered in Petersburg as part of the 150th anniversary of the battle of the Crater. In fact, C-SPAN is going to re-run the commemorative ceremony that took place on July 30 as well as Emmanuel Dabney’s CWI talk on the Crater beforehand. Yes, it’s an entire evening devoted to the Crater in history and memory.

I thought my presentation was well received by the audience. It was a chance to share the overall theme of the book, but I also added more recent research on white Union soldiers and their reaction to serving alongside USCTs. I expand on the subject of white Union soldiers at the Crater in an essay that will appear in an edited volume slated for release some time in 2015. Hopefully, I will be able to share more about this exciting project in the very near future, but for now let’s just say that many of you will be very pleased to hear of the resurrection of this particular edited series.

The best part of the talk by far was the Q&A. The audience asked some incredibly thoughtful questions that touched on a number of topics not discussed in my talk. I do want to say a quick word about the final comment by Reverend Powell of Gillfield Baptist Church. The morning of my talk I attended a panel discussion that took place at the church. Rev. Powell hosted the event and as part of his opening remarks shared his interest in the history of Petersburg. One of the events that he touched on was a civil rights protest that took place at Petersburg’s Public Library in February 1960 – formerly the home of William Mahone. Before leaving I approached Rev. Powell to let him know that I would be discussing the protest in my talk and that I thought he might enjoy it. Well, he did attend and his remarks at the very end left me speechless. There is an awkward silence because I didn’t want to lose the moment. Thankfully, Chris Bryce stepped in to bring the night to a close.

I will post a link on this post once the video is archived and here as well. I want to thank everyone who attended and especially to the National Park Service for the invitation to take part in this important commemorative event.

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6 comments… add one
  • Pat Young Aug 23, 2014 @ 5:39

    Very good talk Kevin, I just watched it this morning. I think the questions and your answers were very enlightening.

  • ladybea42 Aug 21, 2014 @ 14:49

    Thank you for your program on C-Span about the Crater! In June 2005, I visited my Son and family outside of Petersburg, VA. My Son and I visited the site of the Crater – early in the am. We parked next to a vehicle in the parking lot with a man and his young son (6 – 8 years old) in the vehicle with the window rolled down on the driver’s side. When I opened the passenger door on my Son’s car, the man in the next car was saying to his son, “The only good Yankee is a dead Yankee!” He looked at me directly and said “I s’pose you are from up North!” I said, “Yes – I’m a Dam Yankee from Wisconsin!”

    • Kevin Levin Aug 21, 2014 @ 14:57

      Glad you enjoyed the talk. Good job on standing up for your Yankee heritage. 🙂

  • Andy Hall Aug 20, 2014 @ 18:57

    That was a great talk, Kevin. Thanks for the heads-up about it.

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