LSU Special Collections is proud to co-sponsor “From Civil War to Civil Rights,” the 2013 Historic Natchez Conference, April 17-20, 2013.

Headquartered at the Eola Hotel in downtown Natchez, the meeting offers a full program of free lectures on centuries of Natchez and the Lower Mississippi Valley’s history, narrowing to a particular focus on the American Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement.

The keynote speaker, William C. Davis, will speak on the Civil War at its sesquicentennial. Setting the stage for the antebellum era, scholars will discuss the archeology of the Natchez area, steamboat transportation on the Mississippi River in the early 18th century, and empire in the Colonial Natchez period. Additional presentations examine political violence and armed conflict during the Civil War and post-bellum era, occupation of Natchez by federal troops, African American sailors serving in the Mississippi Squadron, merchants and the rebuilding of Natchez after the war, and plantation life. In relation to the latter, LSU Special Collections Assistant Curator of Books Michael Taylor will present “The Library of Rosedown Plantation: A Case Study in Researching Nineteenth-Century Private Libraries.” Further program highlights explore the 1965 Natchez boycott, the Mississippi Freedom Movement, and social and religious aspects of civil rights activism in Natchez. The conference will also feature a screening of the documentary film When I Rise.

Visit http://www.natchez.org/historic_natchez_conference.htm for full program information and to register. Though there is no charge to attend the talks, registration is requested and you must purchase a ticket for the receptions.

The Historic Natchez Conference fosters the study, preservation, and appreciation of the Natchez region by providing a forum for established scholars, graduate students, archivists, and the general public to share research, resources, and ideas. The meeting, which has been held almost biennially since 1994, continues its tradition of highlighting the role of archival collections in researching and interpreting the history of the American South. Natchez is heavily represented in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, which is the largest division within Special Collections. See our subject guide on Natchez for additional information about these collections.

Conference co-sponsors include California State University, Northridge; Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin; Historic Natchez Foundation; Mississippi Department of Archives and History; Natchez National Historical Park; and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Natchez Eola Hotel is offering a special conference rate of $89/night: (601 )445-6000 or www.natchezeola.com. For registration information and more details, contact the Historic Natchez Foundation: (601) 442-2500, hnf@natchez.org, www.natchez.org.