Historian presents talk on Lee and Grant on July 9th at Hill Memorial Library

July 2, 2013

Historian Harry S. Laver, Ph.D., will present “Vicksburg, Gettysburg, and the Art of Command: Generalship and the Decisive Battle,” on Tuesday, July 9, at 5:30 in Hill Memorial Library at LSU.

The Siege at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, were major turning points of the Civil War, both taking place in the summer of 1863. Laver will discuss how the outcome of these two decisive battles can be attributed to generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee and examine whether their respective performances live up to their 21st-century reputations for generalship.

Laver is a professor of American history at Southeastern Louisiana University. His most recent book, The Leadership of Ulysses S. Grant: A General Who Will Fight (University of Kentucky Press, 2012), explores Grant’s uncommon personal determination and its role in his leadership style and military success. In addition, Laver is a co-editor of The Art of Command: Military Leadership from George Washington to Colin Powell, also published by UK Press.

His talk is held in connection with the current Special Collections exhibit “The Summer of 1863: Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Port Hudson", which is on view through September 7 in the Hill Memorial Library lecture hall. This small exhibition includes materials from Special Collections that reflect on these three pivotal and strategically significant events of the American Civil War that occurred 150 years ago this summer.

The talk and exhibit are free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served. Hill Memorial Library is located just east of the Indian Mounds and the intersection of Field House Drive and North Stadium Road. Free and unrestricted parking is available that evening behind Hill Memorial Library, just steps from the entrance. The parking lot entrance is located on Field House Drive.

For additional information, contact 225-578-6544 or email tzachar@lsu.edu.

Images from Library of Congress: Left: U. S. Grant, by Mathew B. Brady, 1864. Right: Robert E. Lee, by Julian Vannerson, 1863.

The LSU Libraries includes the LSU Library and the adjacent Hill Memorial Library. Together, the libraries contain more than 4 million volumes and provide additional resources such as expert staff, technology, services, electronic resources, and facilities that advance research, teaching, and learning across every discipline.