It was 150 years ago this year when the first shots of the American Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. In commemoration of that anniversary, the Nantucket Historical Association presents a month-long series of programs related to the history of the Civil War. On Wednesday, October 19, at 7:00 PM, we welcome Nantucket summer resident Robert Monahan, director of the critically-acclaimed Fields of Freedom, in a screening of the film with a discussion to follow. Drawing on an amazing collaboration of state-of-the-art filmmaking techniques paired with exhaustive historical research of personal diaries written by the soldiers on the ground, Fields of Freedom presents an unforgettable account of the Battle of Gettysburg as told by the men who fought it.
On a steamy summer day in an isolated field in southern Pennsylvania in 1863, history was forever changed with the Northern victory over the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. The infamous Copse of Trees on the Gettysburg battlefield was the furthest north that Confederate troops would advance during the war. It was the single bloodiest battle in the bloodiest war in American history, with more than 57,000 men killed over the course of the three-day siege. Several months later in November of that year, President Abraham Lincoln would speak at the battlefield to dedicate it as a final resting place for soldiers from both sides, saying, “We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget what they did here.”
Feel the roar of the blasts from the cannons and smell the smoke from the rifles as the story of two soldiers – one Union, the other Confederate – unfolds in front of you in Gosnell Hall. Be there as Union soldiers – including many Nantucket-born men – repel Pickett’s Charge, the Confederate infantry assault ordered by General Robert E. Lee against the Northern fighters. The thirty-one minute movie offers a fresh perspective into this pivotal moment in American history, and you will, to paraphrase President Lincoln, never forget the experience. Following the movie, director Robert Monahan will be on-hand for a question-and-answer session, offering his own insight into the Battle of Gettysburg and the brave men who died on that hallowed ground.
Fields of Freedom has been hailed by critics as “the template for historical movies” with “perfect casting and outstanding cinematography.” The film will show on Wednesday, October 19, at 7:00 PM. Tickets for this event are $5 for NHA members and $10 for nonmembers, and may be purchased at the door beginning at 6:30 PM. For more information, go to www.nha.org or call 508-228-1894, ext. 0.
