BRATTLEBORO — On Friday and Saturday, the Vermont Historical Society (VHS) will be holding an expo themed around Vermont's involvement in the American Civil War at the Tunbridge fairgrounds.
The event is intended to examine the role Vermonters played in the war as well as the profound impact the conflict had on the development and history of the state.
“It's the 150th celebration of the civil war and most of the towns have done somuch work on their local history in the civil war, both the people in the war and the homefront,” said Tess Taylor, the VHS Director of Education and Public Programming, when asked how they had arrived at this year's theme.
“But it's not totally about our theme, it just gives people something to point at,” continued Taylor. “We like to have that critical number of exhibits and subjects for lectures, but we remember that what we're primarily showcasing is Vermont history.”
Vermont was an active supporter of the Union cause, and Vermont regiments fought in the vanguard at many of the most important engagements of the war.
In 2007, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., sponsored a bill commending the Second Vermont Brigade and Brigadier Gen. George Stannard for the pivotal role they played in the Battle of Gettysburg.
“…when General Robert E. Lee launched his frontal assault, known ever after as Pickett's Charge, the Vermonters responded by launching an attack... the sudden onslaught broke the flank of Pickett's Charge, the Confederates themselves saying it was the Vermonters' fire that defeated them,” reads the bill, before concluding “upon the occasion of the 144th anniversary of the Battle of the Gettysburg, the House of Representatives honors the heroic actions of the Second Vermont Brigade on the greatestbattlefield of the Civil War, recalling its sacrifices in preserving the Union and in giving the United States of America a 'new birth of freedom.'”
However, Vermont soldiers and civilians alike paid a severe price for their involvement in the war.
“That's the part most people miss,” said Williamstown historian Paul Zeller. “One European visitor remarked 'it was a country of cripples' after visiting the states. The war was devastating to Vermont.”
Zeller explained that many of the men who left for war returned too injured to work, while meanwhile their wives and children struggled to tend to their farms without help. Many did not return at all, as Vermont had the highest casualty rate of any state involved in the war. Furthermore, many of the men who left for the war and survived chose not to return.
“In droves they left. I don't want to say they left and saw other parts of the United States and decided it was better than a rocky hillside farm. That's the easy answer. But the government was giving out free land in the West and it was hard to make a living in Vermont,” said Zeller.
“That's what's so neat about the Civil War expo,” he continued. “I think you'll find there there's going to be an exploration of the impact of the war than a celebration of the war. But the war was a huge part of the history of the state.”
Taylor took a more optimistic view of the impact of the war on the state, pointing out that it led to technological achievements such as firearms with interchangeable parts, as well as humanitarian advancements such as the foundation of hospitals and the Red Cross organization.
“We had some exodus from Vermont, but we also had people coming back with new ideas,” she said.
Not all of the exhibits at the expo will concern themselves with the war directly. The event will also include live music and an exhibition of heritage and rare breed animals as well as workshops on traditional Vermont carpentry and brick making.
Many local historians have collaborated to present their research to the public, including Zeller himself, who explained “with our local historical society I'm going to do an exhibit about 15 men from Williamstown who went off to war, with photographs and bios, covering not only was happened in the war but what happened after the war. It's not glorifying the war because God knows it wasn't glorious. These men went off to do good things, but it was not all good.”