American Civil War Exhibit & Events
Fire and Thunder: A Massachusetts Black Soldiers in the Civil War Exhibit
Tuesday, April 1st – Wednesday, April 30th
Adult Collections Room
For the month of April, the “Fire and Thunder” 16 panel exhibit will be on display in the Adult Collections Room for the public to view during library hours.
“The institution of slavery was a disease deeply embedded in the tissue of the new American republic. Though abolished in Massachusetts in the 1780’s, on the national stage it survived, to be destroyed only after a long and bloody civil war. “Fire and Thunder” tells the story of how black soldiers in Massachusetts fought – in the press, on the streets, from the pulpit, the lecture podium, and the battlefield – in defense of human dignity and freedom.”
This exhibit is free to the public and is on loan from the Commonwealth Museum.
Ken Burns ‘The Civil War’ Documentary Screening
Monday, April 14th – Friday, April 18th, 1pm
Hermann Meeting Room
‘The Civil War is an epic nine-episode series by the award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns. Heralded as an unforgettable introduction to a four-year conflict fought in 10,000 places, the film vividly embraces the entire sweep of the war: the complex causes and lasting effects of America’s greatest and most moving calamity, the battles and the homefronts, the generals and the private soldiers, the anguish of death in battle and the grief of families at home.
The library will be screening this entire Civil War documentary series over the course of a week from Monday, April 14th to Friday, April 18th. It is free to the public and is supported by the Friends of the Falmouth Public Library. If you can’t make it to our Ken Burns Civil War screening but still would like to watch it, you can watch the entire Civil War series from the convenience of your own home using Kanopy, a free streaming service with your Falmouth Public Library card.
Monday, April 14th: 1pm-2:45pm . . . . . CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
1861: Episode 1 ‘The Cause’
Tuesday, April 15th: 1pm-3:25pm . . . . . CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
1862: Episode 2 ‘A Very Bloody Affair’ & Episode 3 ‘Forever Free’
Wednesday, April 16th: 1pm-3:35pm . . . . . CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
1863: Episode 4 ‘Simply Murder’ & Episode 5 ‘The Universe of Battle’
Thursday, April 17th: 1pm-3:20pm . . . . . CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
1864: Episode 6 ‘Valley of the Shadow of Death’ & Episode 7 ‘Most Hallowed Ground’
Friday, April 18th: 1pm-3:20pm . . . . . CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
1865: Episode 8 ‘War is Hell’ & Episode 9 ‘The Better Angels of our Nature’
Bravery & Honor: Falmouth Soldiers & Sailors ~ A Walking Tour at Oak Grove Cemetery
Saturday, April 26th, 1pm
Oak Grove Cemetery (46 Jones Road) . . . . . CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
“When Abraham Lincoln sent out a call to arms Falmouth men bravely responded, reporting in large numbers to the Union army and navy. Many of these Veterans are buried in Oak Grove Cemetery. Come hear compelling stories of a select few as this tour stops by personal grave and the renovated Grand Army of the Republic plot – one of the few examples in Massachusetts of this early type of memorial.”
This approximately 75-minutes long tour will be on Saturday, April 26th at 1pm. It is free and open to the public and will be held rain or shine at the Oak Grove Cemetery located at 46 Jones Road in Falmouth. We will meet inside the chapel at the cemetery, which is handicap accessible. If the weather is inclement, we will stay inside the chapel; otherwise, plan on an easy stroll in the park-like setting.
Narrative Nonfiction Book Club
Saturday, May 1st, 11am
Hermann Meeting Room . . . . . . CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
The narrative nonfiction book club is back from hiatus and returns with our first book pick of the year The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson. Come pick up a copy of the book at the adult services desk, register to attend, and then join us at our book club meeting on Saturday, May 1st at 11am in the Hermann room to share your thoughts!
“On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one State after another seceding and Lincoln, powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter. Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln’s election and the Confederacy’s shelling of Sumter, a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals.”