Atlanta History Center’s Battle of Peachtree Creek Weekend Commemorates Significant Moment in Atlanta History
One hundred and fifty years ago, this weekend marked the eve of one of the most pivotal battles of the Civil War – the Battle of Peachtree Creek. The Atlanta History Center commemorates the occasion with a weekend of programs and activities designed to foster a comprehensive understanding of the war – especially Atlanta’s role within it.
The weekend kicks-off with a Friday evening performance by storyteller Dolores Hydock and music historian Bobby Horton, A Sweet Strangeness Thrills My Heart: The World of Sallie Independence Foster, 1861-1887. The commemoration continues with The Battle of Peachtree Creek Family Program during the day on Saturday, and extends into a unique evening program with Civil War After Dark. The weekend concludes with a modern re-telling of the events on that infamous summer day via the Atlanta History Center blog. Postings of real-time updates, personal accounts, images, and artifacts from the Battle of Peachtree Creek give followers a sense of how the conflict unfolded.
Throughout the weekend activities, guests to the Atlanta History Center travel back in time to the 1860s Smith Family Farm to meet soldiers, from both sides of the conflict, and residents of a small Georgia farm as they prepare for the Battle of Peachtree Creek. Inside the museum, enjoy tours of the signature exhibition Turning Point: The American Civil War as well as the new exhibition Confederate Odyssey: The George W. Wray Jr. Civil War Collection. Guest speaker Robert D. Jenkins, author of The Battle of Peach Tree Creek: Hood’s First Sortie, Civil War Improv, Meet the Past Museum Theatre performances, and a concert featuring Little Country Giants complete the experience.
Admission is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers; unless otherwise noted. For more information about these programs or to purchase admission tickets, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Battle.
BATTLE OF PEACHTREE CREEK COMMEMORATIVE WEEKEND SCHEDULE
FRIDAY – JULY 18, 2014
A Sweet Strangeness Thrills My Heart: The World of Sallie Independence Foster, 1861-1887, featuring Dolores Hydock and Bobby Horton
Atlanta History Center, Kennedy Theatre
8:00 – 10:00 pm
Sallie Independence Foster lived in a world of high-top shoes, inkwells, and mail carried on horseback. But storyteller Dolores Hydock and music historian Bobby Horton have brought her into the 21st century.
Sallie Independence Foster was 12 years old and living in Florence, Alabama in 1861 when the War Between the States began. This performance, based on Sallie's diaries, papers, and letters from her brothers off at war, presents a funny, musical, touching, and uniquely personal look at the life and times that Sallie shared with her paper "dear Companion."
This theatre program is $15 for members, $20 for nonmembers. For more information or to purchase admission tickets, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com or call 404.814.4000.
SATURDAY- JULY 19, 2014
BATTLE OF PEACHTREE CREEK FAMILY PROGRAM
Atlanta History Center
11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Atlanta History Center Museum Activities
The Music of the Civil War, Performed by “Bonnie Blue Briana”
11:00 am, 1:00 pm, and 3:00 pm
Local talent, Miss Briana Duensing, performs various selections of popular music from the Civil War era.
Meet the Past Museum Theatre Performances
11:30 am, Noon, and 3:30 pm
Listen to the stories of James Washington Smith, Avaline, and Celeste Johnstone as they share about their daily lives, concerns, and experiences unique to the Civil War era. Attendees walk away with a personal understanding of life during the 1860s.
Soldier Experience
11:30 am and 2:00 pm
Take on the role of Union or Confederate soldiers fighting in the battles that occurred in and around Atlanta. Both luck and decision-making affect the health and well-being of your soldier, as you learn about important people, places, and events in the Battle of Atlanta.
Lecture: Robert D. Jenkins, The Battle of Peach Tree Creek: Hood’s First Sortie, July 20, 1864
2:00 pm
Over the past twenty years, Robert Jenkins has meticulously researched the Western Theater of the
Civil War and he has uncovered many letters, diaries, articles, and accounts, which have remained out of the public's eye for 150 years. Now for the first time, the Battle of Peach Tree Creek can be told and fully understood.
Crafts
Ongoing
Children of all ages gather around the craft table to create their own keep-sakes by which to remember the day. Participants not only employ their creativity, but also learn about the historical significance behind the period crafts.
Smith Family Farm Activities
Atlanta at War
12:30 pm and 3:00 pm
Experience what it was like to live in Atlanta during the war. Meet civilians, enslaved workers, and soldiers and hear how the war affected these different groups during the summer of 1864.
Civil War Cooking Demonstrations
Every hour, on the hour, beginning at 11:00 am
Hear how food shortages and rising prices for stapled goods forced women on the home front to create innovative substitutions into their meals. Consider which substitutions you would be willing to try at home and which are just too much.
Civil War Encampment
Ongoing
Visit with the Civil War soldiers, from both sides of the conflict, and learn what it was like to fight during the Civil War. See how soldiers trained, drilled, cooked, and prepared themselves to march into battle.
Food for Sale
Ohio Hog BBQ
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Coca-Cola Café
Noon – 2:00 pm
SATURDAY EVENING - JULY 19, 2014
CIVIL WAR AFTER DARK
Atlanta History Center
6:30 – 9:30 pm
Atlanta History Center Museum Activities
Undressed: Civil War Clothing
7:00 pm, 8:00 pm, and 9:00 pm
Join Betsy Sprayberry in her boudoir as she prepares to meet her beau and offers a revealing insight on what it takes to be a lady in the Civil War.
Little Country Giants, Musical Performance
7:00 pm, 8:00 pm, and 9:00 pm
Sit and enjoy the musical stylings of two Georgia natives as they play traditional Americana music with Southern charm in our outdoor amphitheatre.
Weird History Civil War Tour
7:15 pm, 8:15 pm, and 9:15 pm
Join us for a guided tour of the Turning Point exhibition to learn weird superstitions and vices that soldiers had during the Civil War. Hear about the seedy underbelly of the war that texts books never taught you!
Civil War Improv
7:30 pm and 8:30 pm
The audience is in command during these Civil War improvisational performances. Participants select from themes that interpreters respond to with song and dance while maintaining a Civil War era personality.
Special Tour of Confederate Odyssey: The George W. Wray Jr. Civil War Collection
8:00 pm
Gordon Jones, Atlanta History Center Senior Military Historian and curator of Confederate Odyssey, leads guests through the incredible collection of Confederate artifacts assembled by Atlanta collector George W. Wray Jr. On public display for the first time, this collection includes the rarest of the rare: Southern–made uniforms, flags, firearms, bayonets, and small-caliber artillery pieces, many of which are one-of-a-kind items. This exhibition complements the History Center’s award-winning exhibition, Turning Point: The American Civil War.
Smith Family Farm Activities
“Crossroads”- Theatrical Performance
6:45 pm, 7:45 pm, and 8:45 pm
In the summer of 1864, thousands of Atlanta residents evacuated the city and surrounding areas in an effort to escape the advancing Union army. Follow the Howard family as they each struggle with their own decision to leave and select an evacuation route.
Civil War Encampment
Ongoing
Visit with the Civil War soldiers, from both sides of the conflict, and learn what it was like to fight during the Civil War. See how soldiers trained, drilled, and cooked the night before they risked their lives of the battlefield.
Food and Drinks for Sale
Sweet Auburn BBQ
Libations
Enjoy Moonshine themed cocktails and local beers, available for purchase.
SUNDAY- JULY 20, 2014
Battle of Peachtree Creek Live Blog
4:00 - 7:00 pm
Watch the drama of the Battle of Peachtree Creek unfold as the Atlanta History Center blog posts real-time updates, personal accounts, images, and artifacts from the Battle of Peachtree Creek.
To follow the battle, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter/Tumblr.com.
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