Howard Coffin presents "VT Women and the Civil War"
                  Saturday  ***  September 13  ***  2:30 - 3:30 pm
                           Old Congregational Church building

       Vermont’s remarkable Civil War battlefield record is well documented: breaking the flank of Pickett’s     
       Charge, the great stand at Wilderness, and the climatic assault at Petersburg.

       
       But little is known of how Vermont women sustained the home front. With nearly 35,000 of the
       state’s able-bodied men at war, the monumental tasks of keeping more than 30,000 farms in

       operation became very much a female enterprise.  
                
          Many women took on farming chores, but others also took on other responsibilities. Women took the   
          place of men in factories and worked after hours making items needed by the soldiers. A Vermont
          woman  edited anti-slavery newspapers and others spoke against slavery.  Some served as nurses in the
          state's  military hospitals and at least one Vermont woman appears to have secretly enlisted and fought
          in a Vermont regiment!

         Seventh generation Vermonter, historian Howard Coffin, tells their stories in their own words by
         drawing from letters and diaries. His engaging presentation given in the 1850 historical Old
         Congregational  Church building brings an added dimension to the description of life during the Civil War

         in Vermont.

         The building is accessible with a portable restroom nearby. Light refreshments will be served after the   
          program. All ages are welcome to attend this Vermont Humanities Council program!