The NYS Library will offer two noontime programs in January. On Thursday, January 14th, Christopher Morton will present “A Banner Decade: Ten Years of the New York State Battle Flag Preservation Project.” Morton, who is the Flag Project curator, will discuss the history of the Battle Flag Collection and highlight the Flag Project’s accomplishments to date while showcasing a number of interesting and historic flags from the collection. And on Friday, January 22nd, historian Michael Russert will present “The Edward McPherson Farm and the Battle of Gettysburg.” Russert will discuss how the battle, fought on the McPherson farm and on surrounding land on July 1st, 1863, had a life-changing effect not just on the family that lived on that farm, but on rural Adams County of Pennsylvania and its inhabitants. The programs will be held in the Librarians Room, 7th floor, Cultural Education Center, Madison Avenue, Albany. Those interested in participating can register online here.
A Banner Decade: Ten Years of the New York State Battle Flag Preservation Project
In 2000, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) initiated a preservation campaign and developed plans for archival long-term housing of the New York State Battle Flag Collection administered by the Division of Military & Naval Affairs (DMNA). This inter-agency partnership, known as the New York State Battle Flag Preservation Project, is responsible for the flag collection’s conservation, storage, research, and interpretation. The year 2010 marks the tenth anniversary of the Flag Project. Over the last decade, OPRHP textile conservators from the Peebles Island Resource Center, with assistance from the Flag Project curator, have preserved and placed into temporary storage over 500 flags from the collection and have provided educational and interpretive services for the interested public. Christopher Morton, the Flag Project curator, will discuss the history of the Battle Flag Collection and highlight the Flag Project’s accomplishments to date while showcasing a number of interesting and historic flags from the collection.
The Edward McPherson Farm and the Battle of Gettysburg
War often has a profound effect on the civilian population in its path. This talk will examine how the battle fought on the land of the Edward McPherson farm and on surrounding land on July 1st, 1863 had a life changing effect on the family that lived on that farm. The talk will make use of primary documents such as census records, personal remembrances, and military accounts to personalize how families in the path of warfare are altered. The focus will be on the antebellum history of the property and how the Battle of Gettysburg changed the rural Adams County of Pennsylvania and its inhabitants. Historian Michael Russert will give this presentation.