A 2014 MOLLUS Congress Highlight
The Wayside Inn, Sudbury
Massachusetts Welcomes the
MOLLUS National Congress
October 3 - 5, 2014
Although far to the north of the battlefields, Massachusetts is rich in Civil War history. Companions from across the country will join together in the Bay State in October 2014 to celebrate the accomplishments of MOLLUS over nearly 150 years. The Congress will be held in the historic town of Framingham, which was home to General George Gordon, who created a "model" regiment and commanded troops in numerous battles, including Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run, Chantilly, and Antietam. Framingham is also the location of Plymouth Church, where the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was first sung, and Harmony Grove, where William Lloyd Garrison burned the Constitution during a fiery Abolitionist speech. The three-day program includes visits to the Framingham History Center, which displays beautifully preserved artifacts of the war within a restored 1872 Civil War memorial building; a bus tour of civil war related locations, including the monument to the first all African-American regiment (the 54th MA, subject of the film Glory) at the Bullfinch-designed state capital; Faneuil Hall, where Daniel Webster gave his great speech on "Liberty and Union"; and the Wayside Inn, in nearby Sudbury, celebrated in Longfellow’s famous "Tales of the Wayside Inn.
Directions from the Sheraton Hotel to the Wayside Inn
"Civil War Memorial Building and Exhibit
Late Friday afternoon, October 3, Congress attendees will be treated to a program at the Framingham History Center, now sole occupant of the Edgell Memorial Library, a restored Victorian Gothic-style building dedicated in 1873 to the town’s Civil War soldiers. Visitors will appreciate a guided tour led by a knowledgeable docent in period dress. The Center exhibit is especially distinguished by the resplendent uniform coat, and saddle, of Framingham’s own Gen. George H. Gordon; exhibits also include a variety of Civil War-related arms, equipment, and documents.
In the wake of Sumter, Gordon organized the 2nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry—he argued in his memoirs that it was actually the first one organized in the State—which became a model for the recruitment, training, and leadership of regiments that prefigured the U.S. War Department’s subsequent approach to unit organization nationally. He and his men fought against Stonewall Jackson—his West Point classmate—in the Shenandoah Valley. Promoted Brig. Gen. of Volunteers, he commanded a brigade at Antietam and took command of a division of XI Corps following Gettysburg. Gordon retired as commander of the Eastern District of Virginia. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated him Brevet Maj. Gen. The Framingham Town Historian, Frederick Wallace, who will attend the Congress, has Written Framingham’s Civil War Hero, The Life of General George H. Gordon (History Press, 2011); his book on Antietam is forthcoming (2014).
MOLLUS National Congress
October 3 - 5, 2014
Although far to the north of the battlefields, Massachusetts is rich in Civil War history. Companions from across the country will join together in the Bay State in October 2014 to celebrate the accomplishments of MOLLUS over nearly 150 years. The Congress will be held in the historic town of Framingham, which was home to General George Gordon, who created a "model" regiment and commanded troops in numerous battles, including Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run, Chantilly, and Antietam. Framingham is also the location of Plymouth Church, where the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was first sung, and Harmony Grove, where William Lloyd Garrison burned the Constitution during a fiery Abolitionist speech. The three-day program includes visits to the Framingham History Center, which displays beautifully preserved artifacts of the war within a restored 1872 Civil War memorial building; a bus tour of civil war related locations, including the monument to the first all African-American regiment (the 54th MA, subject of the film Glory) at the Bullfinch-designed state capital; Faneuil Hall, where Daniel Webster gave his great speech on "Liberty and Union"; and the Wayside Inn, in nearby Sudbury, celebrated in Longfellow’s famous "Tales of the Wayside Inn.
Directions from the Sheraton Hotel to the Wayside Inn
"Civil War Memorial Building and Exhibit
Late Friday afternoon, October 3, Congress attendees will be treated to a program at the Framingham History Center, now sole occupant of the Edgell Memorial Library, a restored Victorian Gothic-style building dedicated in 1873 to the town’s Civil War soldiers. Visitors will appreciate a guided tour led by a knowledgeable docent in period dress. The Center exhibit is especially distinguished by the resplendent uniform coat, and saddle, of Framingham’s own Gen. George H. Gordon; exhibits also include a variety of Civil War-related arms, equipment, and documents.
In the wake of Sumter, Gordon organized the 2nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry—he argued in his memoirs that it was actually the first one organized in the State—which became a model for the recruitment, training, and leadership of regiments that prefigured the U.S. War Department’s subsequent approach to unit organization nationally. He and his men fought against Stonewall Jackson—his West Point classmate—in the Shenandoah Valley. Promoted Brig. Gen. of Volunteers, he commanded a brigade at Antietam and took command of a division of XI Corps following Gettysburg. Gordon retired as commander of the Eastern District of Virginia. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated him Brevet Maj. Gen. The Framingham Town Historian, Frederick Wallace, who will attend the Congress, has Written Framingham’s Civil War Hero, The Life of General George H. Gordon (History Press, 2011); his book on Antietam is forthcoming (2014).
Banquet and Speaker
The Congress banquet, on Saturday, at the Framingham Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, will feature a presentation by William K. Martin, Jr., author of Letters to Lincoln.
Black Tie Preferred.
We expect 50 or more non-MOLLUS Civil War enthusiasts to join us for the program.
More information on the Congress will be forthcoming, but for now, save the dates, and plan to join us in Framingham on October 3–5, 2014
for information and early registration: bartscriv@verizon.net
The Congress banquet, on Saturday, at the Framingham Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, will feature a presentation by William K. Martin, Jr., author of Letters to Lincoln.
Black Tie Preferred.
We expect 50 or more non-MOLLUS Civil War enthusiasts to join us for the program.
More information on the Congress will be forthcoming, but for now, save the dates, and plan to join us in Framingham on October 3–5, 2014
for information and early registration: bartscriv@verizon.net
