Apr 29, 2014 -
History majors Colby Benefield and Allie Durham presented papers at the Union University Scholarship Symposium on April 29, 2014. Dr. David Thomas served as the chair of their session which also included papers on literature and music. Some 30 people attended the history segment of the program.
Benefield’s paper was titled “The American Civil War in Madison County, Tennessee.” He pointed out that Jackson, the Madison County seat, experienced a yearlong Union military occupation because of the city’s importance in the transport of supplies to General Ulysses Grant’s forces that laid siege to and finally captured the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in mid-1863. Madison County was also the site of the battle of Britton’s Lane in September, 1862, and Nathan Bedford Forrest’s raid to disrupt Union supply lines in December, 1862. The county’s importance in the war faded as 1863 advanced, with the last Union soldiers leaving Jackson at the end of July.
Durham talked about “Rendering Freedom: The Works of Winslow Homer and the Condition of the Emancipated Slave” in her paper. Homer was an artist who represented the school of American Realism in his paintings. One of the subjects of Homer’s paintings after the American Civil War was recently emancipated African Americans. Durham argued that Homer’s paintings illustrated the plight of former slaves who, though freed from slavery, were still subject to the social and economic standards of the white majority who largely ignored the African Americans’ situation.
Dr. David Thomas introduces history major Allie Durham at the Scholarship Symposium on April 29, 2014. Thomas was the session chair for student paper presentations in history, English, and music. Photo by Morris Abernathy
History major Allie Durham presents a paper titled "Rendering Freedom: The Works of Winslow Homer and the Condition of the Emancipated Slave" at the Union University Scholarship Symposium on April 29, 2014.
A large contingent from Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity wait for fellow fraternity member Colby Benefield to begin his paper on "The American Civil War in Madison County, Tennessee" at the Union University Scholarship Symposium on April 29, 2014. In the lower right corner are librarian Savannah German and Dr. Terry Lindley, who is talking with history major Luke Trammell behind him.
History major Colby Benefield presents a paper entitled "The American Civil War in Madison County, Tennessee" at the Union University Scholarship Symposium on April 29, 2014.