Author Lecture Series in March and April 2003
Press Release · Friday, January 17, 2003

College Park, MD

In March and April, the National Archives and Records Administration presents a series of lectures relating to Irish American History, the Vietnam War, War of 1812 and a special symposium celebrating the centennial anniversary of aviation in the United States.

The programs are free and open to the public and will take place in Room 105 at the National Archives Building, Pennsylvania Avenue between 7th and 9th Streets, NW. Due to limited seating in Room 105 of the National Archives Building.

March

Tuesday, March 4 - Irish American History
Mr. Mel Sanchez will speak about the St. Patrick's Battalion. Mr. Sanchez will explain the historical forces of the famine, nativists' prejudices prevalent at the time, their desertions, the military campaigns of the Battalion in the Mexican American War, their capture and subsequent hangings and other punishments, the influence this battalion had on Civil War policies and the military cover-up all the way until 1972 when the transcripts for the court martial proceedings were finally allowed for public display in the National Archives. Mr. Sanchez teaches Mexican American Studies at Santa Ana High School, California. This co-sponsored by the Irish Arts Festival. 7 p.m.

Tuesday, March 11 - Vietnam War
Professor Howard Jones will discuss his book, Death of a Generation: How the Assassinations of Diem and JFK Prolonged the Vietnam War. Drawing on the recently declassified Church Committee hearings on the U.S. role in the assassinations of Diem and his brother Nhu, the newly released tapes of White House conversations, and personal interviews with Robert McNamara, John Kenneth Galbraith, Roger Hilsman, Dean Rusk and others from the president's inner circle, Professor Jones sheds new light on exactly what went on within the administration. 7 p.m.

Tuesday, March 18 - War of 1812
Colonel David Fitz-Enz USA (Ret.) will discuss his award-winning book, The Final Invasion: Plattsburgh, the War of 1812's Most Decisive Battle. Using diaries and battle orders, he examines the battle at Plattsburgh, which occurred when the British were attempting to reconquer the young United States by moving south from Canada through Lake Champlain in an attempt to cut off Maine from the rest of the country. Outnumbered and outgunned, the U. S. land and sea forces fought the British ships and troops to a standstill on September 11, 1814, allowing the leader of the American fleet, Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough, to carry out a brilliant maneuver which ensured an American victory. 7 p.m.

Thursday, March 27 - Cold War Espionage
Philip Taubman will discuss his book, Secret Empire: Eisenhower, the CIA, and the Hidden Story of America's Space Espionage. Veteran New York Times reporter and editor Philip Taubman interviewed dozens of participants and mined thousands of previously classified documents to tell this hidden, far-reaching story. He reconstructs the crucial meetings, conversations, and decisions that inspired and guided the development of the spy plane and satellite projects during one of the most perilous periods in our history, a time when, as Eisenhower said, the world seemed to be "racing toward catastrophe." Mr. Taubman is deputy editorial page editor of the New York Times. 7 p.m.

April

Wednesday, April 9 - Abraham Lincoln
Matthew Pinsker will discuss his forthcoming book, Lincoln's Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers' Home (due August 2003, Oxford University Press). After the heartbreaking death of his son Willie, Abraham Lincoln and his family fled the gloom that hung over the White House, moving into a small cottage outside Washington, on the grounds of the Soldiers' Home, a residence for disabled military veterans. In his forthcoming book, historian Matthew Pinsker offers a fascinating portrait of Lincoln's stay in this cottage and tells the story of the president's remarkable growth as a national leader and a private man. Based on research in rarely tapped sources, especially the letters and memoirs of people who lived or worked at the Soldiers' Home, Lincoln's Sanctuary offers the unexpected — a completely fresh view of Abraham Lincoln. This event is co-sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Institute of the Mid-Atlantic. Noon.

Tuesday, April 29 - 100 Years of Aviation
Symposium: "Love at First Flight: A Century of American Aviation." Speakers will include Tom Crouch, author of The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright; Dik Daso, author of Architects of American Air Supremacy: General Hap Arnold and Dr. Theodore Von Kormon; Dom Pisano, co-author of Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis; John Anderson, author of Fundamentals of Aerodynamics. Reservations are strongly recommended.

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