Historic Somerville

A talk by Professor Daniel Breen in memory

of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War

Captain Frederick Kinsley of the 39th Mass.



One hundred and fifty years after it began, the Civil War remains the bloodiest single event in American history.  Somerville shared in the terrible losses that afflicted the nation.  Ninety-two men joined the "Somerville Company" when it was formed in the summer of 1862; within two years, less than a dozen were still fit for duty.  The worst losses were experienced outside of Petersburg in August of 1864, when the 39th Massachusetts Infantry, of which the Somerville Company was a part, found itself locked in a savage and ill-fated attempt to cut off General Lee's supply line by seizing the Weldon Railroad.  A large percentage of the regiment was captured, and sent to the Confederate prison in Salisbury, NC.  In this talk, we will trace the story of these men from their beginning on Prospect Hill, where the Somerville Company first encamped, to the Petersburg  campaign, where they lived through their most trying times. 

Come Join Us!

Monday, November 12th, 2012

2:00-3:30PM

The Somerville Museum

One Westwood Road

Somerville

Free to Members, Non-members $8.00

The presentation will be followed by a short

wreath-laying ceremony at the 1863 Civil War Monument

 Milk Row Cemetery

400 Somerville Avenue, next to Demoulas Market Basket

at 4:00PM. 

For more information or to reserve your seat, contact info@historicsomerville.org



Tickets will be sold at the door.  Individual membership to Historic Somerville is $25 and guarantees free entrance to all 6 historic lectures of the series.

The HS lecture series is supported in part by a grant from the Somerville Arts Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency



About the Speaker:

Dr. Daniel Breen is professor of History at Newbury College.  He also teaches Legal Studies at Brandeis University.  After receiving a Bachelors Degree in History at the University of Wisconsin, he returned to his native Georgia, where he received a law degree from the University of Georgia.  He was awarded a Ph.D. in History from Boston College in 2003.  His current area of research is Federalist party politics in Massachusetts during the Jefferson Administration.