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Historic lecture series offered
During John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, the United States Marines were called in to respond. On Thursday, Jan. 28, the Prince William County Department of Public Works Historic Preservation Division is hosting the first lecture in the Winter Lecture Series, ALWAYS READY! The United States Marine Corps Involvement at Harpers Ferry, at 7:00 p.m. at the Old Manassas Courthouse located at 9248 Lee Avenue, Manassas, Virginia.
Gunnery Sgt. Thomas E. Williams of the U. S. Marine Corp Historical Company will take the audience back to Oct. 16, 1859 when John Brown and his raiders struck the United States weapons arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. The raiders intended to capture the weapons stored there and use the guns to incite a slave rebellion in the south.
Williams will focus on Army Colonel Robert E. Lee and the Marines, who were called from the Washington Barracks and nearby Naval Yard to put down Brown’s insurrection. On the morning of Oct. 18, 1859 the Marines rescued Brown’s civilian hostages and captured or killed raiders that were blockaded with Brown in the Harpers Ferry Engine House. Williams will describe upcoming exhibitions at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
The 2010 Winter Lecture Series includes:
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Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010 – The Birth of Virginia’s Aristocracy , a lecture by author and historian James Thompson
Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010 – The Underground Railroad in Northern Virginia, a lecture by historian Deborah Lee, Ph.D.
Thursday, March 25, 2010 – If They Build It, Supplies Will Come – The Centreville Railroad and Its Importance During the American Civil War, a lecture by local historian Art Candenquist
Thursday, April 29, 2010 – Faces of the American Civil War, a lecture by historian and author Ron Coddington.
All lectures begin at 7 p.m. at the Old Manassas Courthouse, 9248 Lee Avenue in Manassas. Lectures are free, but donations are appreciated and are used to support historic preservation efforts in our community. For more information, call (703) 367-7872 or visit www.pwcgov.org/historicsites.
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