Upcoming Events
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
The March 1865 arrival of Union troops to UVA and Charlottesville, the liberation of the area’s enslaved community, and the lives of local Black men who served as Union soldiers and sailors are at the center of this panel conversation commemorating Liberation and Freedom Day. Jalane Schmidt, director of the Memory Project, will introduce the expert panel moderated by Caroline E. Janney, history professor and director of UVA’s Nau Center for Civil War History. Ervin L. Jordan, Jr., associate professor and research archivist at UVA’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, will highlight items from the Library related to emancipation and citizenship initiatives among local African Americans. William B. Kurtz, managing director and digital historian at the Nau Center, will discuss the Civil War service and lives of the 256 Black Union soldiers and sailors from Albemarle County, Virginia.
Registration is free but required at the link below.
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Confederate Ambitions: Flawed Visions for a New Nation
Historians Adrian Brettle (Colossal Ambitions: Confederate Planning for a Post-Civil War World) and Ann Tucker (Newest Born of Nations: European Nationalist Movements and the Making of the Confederacy) share their deep research into contemporary resources—letters and diaries, domestic and international newspapers, government documents and more—to gain a Confederate nation world view. Their histories trace the earliest stirrings of southern nationalism, the arguments made to define and legitimize the Confederacy, and a vision of future world leadership that failed to resonate outside of the South. This event is hosted by the Nau Center for Civil War History.
As part of the all-virtual 2021 Virginia Festival of the Book, this event is FREE to attend and open to the public. To attend, please register below. The video recording from this event will also be available to watch after the event concludes, on VaBook.org/Watch.
You can buy a copy of either book directly from the UVA Bookstore.
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
The first day of our 2021 Signature Conference will be held on April 13 at 7 PM (ET) on Zoom. The Nau Center will officially launch its Black Virginians in Blue digital project. The project chronicles the experiences of 256 Black soldiers and sailors from Albemarle County, Virginia, before, during, and after the American Civil War. Join us for a conversation with historians Elizabeth Varon and William Kurtz as well as a short demonstration of BVIB’s website.
Registration is required and attendees need to register only once to attend one or both days of the conference.
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
The second day of our 2021 Signature Conference will take place on April 14 at 7PM (ET) on Zoom. The Nau Center will host a conversation between Director Caroline E. Janney and historians Holly Pinheiro, Amy Murrell Taylor, and Emmanuel K. Dabney about their research on the African American experience in the U.S. Civil War.
Registration is required and attendees need to register only once to attend one or both days of the conference.
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
On Tuesday, May 4, at 7 PM ET via Zoom the Nau Center will officially launch its second digital project, UVA Unionists. Editorial Assistant Brian Neumann and Digital Historian Will Kurtz will discuss the projects findings and give a short demonstration of the website. Registration is required and available at the link below.