VIRTUAL CONFERENCE 2021 "War on the Water"

The Virtual Conference idea is simple, there is a vast collection of Civil War related videos available on the web, all freely available. So on 15-16 May, sit and watch a selection of these videos in the comfort of your own home, and then discuss them with other members of the group on our Facebook page or our Whats App group (for full members of the ACWRT(UK) only).

This year’s theme is WAR ON THE WATER. Naval operations were critical to the outcome of the war, but are often overlooked.  The Union had vastly superior naval forces and shipbuilding capacity, but the Confederacy came up with innovative technical solutions to offset its numerical inferiority.  The videos include talks on blockade running, commerce raiding, the largest amphibious landing of the war, and forgotten river campaigns. We’ll also be simulating some other Conference favourites – an Icebreaker Quiz on Friday evening, and an online Auction (sorry, members only again). The full links will be published on our Facebook page after we open conference on Friday 14 May.

This year we will also be featuring a live presentation by John Messner of the Glasgow Riverside Museum on Scottish sea captain Johannes Wylie, captain of the blockade runner Ad-Vance and the subject of a new book to be published in May. Separate booking required .

https://www.acwrt.org.uk/event-details/a-better-commander-cannot-be-had-the-story-of-joannes-wyllie-commander-of-the-blockade-runner-ad-vance

Here is a list of some of  the other speakers we’ll be featuring:

Craig Symonds - US Naval Academy History Professor Emeritus, 2012 Civil War Institute

Greg Biggs - National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia.

John Quarstein - USS Monitor Center at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia

Dr Terry Beckenbaugh - United States Air Force Command and Staff College, Montgomery, Alabama

Christopher Kolakowksi - Emerging Civil War group

Rod Gragg – author of Confederate Goliath: The Battle of Fort Fisher

The event is free but we welcome donations to enable us to continue our education and conservation projects on both sides of the Atlantic.