FROM THE FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY PRESIDENT

TERRY JONES

FLAGLER READS TOGETHER - 2012: THE CIVIL WAR

Another exciting Flagler Reads Together is planned for you in March 2012! For this year, in recognition of the many celebrations of the Civil War anniversary, we have chosen to read, “The Red Badge of Courage”, an 1895 war novel by American author Stephen Crane. We also know there is always a strong interest in local Florida history, so we are encouraging reading a companion book, “Thunder on the River” by Daniel Schafer, which focuses on the impact Federal forces had on Jacksonville and surrounding areas. The city was taken four separate times and during the fourth invasion, was used as a staging ground for the ill-fated Union invasion of the Florida interior, ending in the bloody battle of Olustee in February 1864. We have some exciting programs and events planned that will focus on these authors and Civil War events.

It can be just as informative and important to be familiar with the author, the specific book as well as the subject, i.e. the Civil War. Based on that, we are going to have a kick-off which will acquaint you with our author, Stephen Crane, followed by some presentations that will then focus on the books and the civil war. There are many opportunities to explore and hear about the Civil War, so this offers one unique approach. While learning about Stephen Crane and his association with Daytona Beach and Lilian Place, you will also be able to learn about his book, “The Open Boat” as well as our main focus for this year’s FRT, “The Red Badge of Courage”. It will be an opportunity to learn about a well known author, his connection to our community as well as his story about a young man serving in the civil war.

Although there are many, many books covering the Civil War – both fiction and non-fiction - with the selection of Red Badge of Courage, we hope to explore the overall experience of the Civil War. We elected to include “Thunder on the River” so we could understand life as it was in our own local area of northeast Florida during the Civil War. It is our desire to bring these experiences to life during our many programs throughout the month of March.

We are also working on scheduling some additional programs such as a trip to Lilian Place in Daytona Beach which is the home Stephen Crane stayed in after his boat sank off the coast of Florida. And, since Florida frequently gets overlooked in its place in Civil War history, we would like to schedule a tour of some of the historical sites in St. Augustine. One such site to help us in the journey of learning how northeast Florida was involved and occupied by Union forces, is the Segui-Kirby Smith house. It is the childhood home of Edmund Kirby Smith, a confederate general born in St. Augustine in 1824. This house is part of the tour included in the guidebook, “The Florida Civil War Heritage Trail”. (There are copies of this trail book available at the Library.) There is a rich history of the early occupation of St. Augustine during the Civil War as well as its existence as a peaceful place during its occupation.

Please refer to the schedule of events in this newsletter to plan your FRT activities. And, for a current or updated version of scheduled events, please visit our website: www.flaglerlibraryfriend.com. We look forward to seeing you!

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