William Marvel to Speak at Portsmouth Athenæum

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 — William Marvel, whose column appears in the Gazette, will speak Thursday, June 9th, at the Portsmouth Athenæum, on the topic, “New Hampshire to Normandy: The First Cruise of the Kearsarge,” in conjunction with the Athenæum’s current exhibit, “Fire on the Water: Portsmouth’s Kearsarge Sinks the Deadly Confederate Raider Alabama.”

In his talk Mr. Marvel will describe “the ship, the origin of the name of the ship, the history of the ship itself, the first crew, and certain members of the crew. It will be an exercise in trying not to bore an audience with the relatively boring experience of the crew, which must have been just deadly.”

“They only got ashore once in a while and consequently went wild when they did,” he said, “and some of that wildness may be part of the lecture.”

William Marvel is a lifelong resident of South Conway, NH, and an independent scholar specializing in 19th-century American history. He has written fourteen books about different aspects of the Civil War, including Andersonville: The Last Depot, second place winner in 1995 of the prestigious Lincoln Prize.

The talk will be held in Athenæum’s Research Library, beginning at 7:00 p.m. It will be free to the public, but reservations are required. For information and reservations call the Athenæum at (603) 431-2538.

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