Welcome for "The Quartermaster: Montgomery C. Meigs, Lincoln鈥檚 General, Master Builder of the Union Army"
McGowan Theater, 威尼斯人娱乐场 Building, Washington, DC
October 28, 2016
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Good afternoon. I鈥檓 David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, and I鈥檓 happy to welcome you to the William G. McGowan Theater at the 威尼斯人娱乐场, whether you are here in the theater or joining us on YouTube and C-SPAN.
Today we鈥檙e pleased to have Robert O鈥橦arrow, Jr., with us to talk about his new book, The Quartermaster: Montgomery C. Meigs, Lincoln鈥檚 General, Master Builder of the Union Army.
General Meigs鈥檚 name may not be as familiar as Grant or Sherman, but he was instrumental to the victories won by those generals. But before we dig into the full story of 鈥渢he master builder of the Union Army,鈥� I鈥檇 like to tell you about two programs that we鈥檒l be hosting next month.
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On Thursday, November 3, at 7 p.m., Adam Rothman, professor of history at Georgetown University, will discuss the university鈥檚 roots in the slave economy of early America and their implications for today. This program is presented in partnership with the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., as the Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Lecture to open the 43rd Annual Conference on D.C. History.
And on Wednesday, November 9, at noon, in commemoration of Veterans Day and the 75th anniversary of the Tuskegee Airmen, we will show the film The Luft Gangster: Memoirs of a Second Class Hero, which tells the story of Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson. The film鈥檚 director, Mike Rott, will introduce the film and answer audience questions.
To learn more about these and all of our public programs and exhibits, consult our monthly Calendar of Events in print or online at Archives.gov. There are copies in the lobby鈥攁long with a sign-up sheet so you can receive it by regular mail or email. You鈥檒l also find brochures about other 威尼斯人娱乐场 programs and activities.
Another way to get more involved with the 威尼斯人娱乐场 is to become a member of the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Foundation. The Foundation supports the work of the agency, especially its education and outreach programs. Pick up your application for membership in the lobby or become a member online at archivesfoundation.org.
Montgomery Meigs鈥檚 documentary legacy is powerfully represented across several record groups here in the 威尼斯人娱乐场. Fortunately for us, we do not have to personally follow the winding paper trail to learn about the life and works of General Meigs. We have Robert O鈥橦arrow鈥檚 new biography to bring the details together in one place.
To give us a flavor of the archival connections to General Montgomery Meigs, and to introduce today鈥檚 speaker, I would like to bring up Trevor Plante to the stage. Trevor is the Chief of the Reference Services Branch in this building. He oversees the day-to-day operations of our reference staff and the research rooms at the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Building. Trevor is a supervisory archivist who specializes in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century military records. He is an active lecturer at the 威尼斯人娱乐场 and a frequent contributor to Prologue, our quarterly magazine. He has appeared on the History Channel and the Discovery Channel, and has been a guest on NPR, and Federal News Radio. He was also featured in 鈥淔irst Person Singular鈥� in the Washington Post Magazine.
Ladies and gentlemen: Trevor Plante.
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