"In Death Not Divided: Civil War Tombstones and the Stories They Tell" A Brown Bag Lecture by Cherel Henderson

East Tennessee History Center (ETHS) director Cherel Henderson will present a Brown Bag Lecture on Wednesday, November 28, based on the new ETHS exhibition "In Death Not Divided: Burial Places of East Tennessee Civil War Soldiers."

From bridge burners to hangings, heroes to villains, grand monuments to simple stones, "In Death Not Divided: Civil War Tombstones and the Stories They Tell" is an intensely personal look at East Tennessee's Civil War experience. "620,000 national casualties is a number," says Henderson, "but when you realize that this number represents death and suffering multiplied by 620,000, then the real impact on individuals, families, communities, the nation becomes almost incomprehensible."

The exhibition and lecture will also feature brief histories of the national cemeteries in the region and the attempt to locate and gather the remains of veterans from scattered graves for proper burial.

Henderson will also discuss the ETHS Civil War Sesquicentennial project to identify and compile a database of burial places of East Tennessee Union and Confederate soldiers. The project is funded in part by a grant from the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area.

Free and open to the public, the program is sponsored by 21st Mortgage Corp. The lecture will begin at noon at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. Guests are invited to bring a "Brown Bag" lunch and enjoy the lecture. Soft drinks will be available. For more information on the lecture, exhibitions, or museum hours, call 865-215-8824 or visit the website at www.EastTNHistory.org.

Published November 23, 2012