Reunion: St. Augustine after the Civil War 1862-1888

Historic City News history buffs (which is everyone) will want to attend a discussion on the impact of the Civil War on St. Augustine during one of the most pivotal time periods in United States history, as part of Flagler College’s Community Lecture Series.

Flagler College’s Associate Professor, Tracy Upchurch, a professor of Law and History, will present “Reunion: St. Augustine after the Civil War 1862-1888” on December 1st.

“The American Civil War was arguably the most transformative event in our nation’s history,” Upchurch told Historic City News. “With the end of the war in spring of 1865, the nation, and particularly the South, was faced with the task of rebuilding after four years of staggering loss of life and property.”

Upchurch said the era generally known as “Reconstruction” is woefully inadequate to describe what happened on a human, social and cultural level.

His presentation will describe a number of events that occurred in St. Augustine during this period and will offer some ideas about how people in St. Augustine came back together after the Civil War.

After a 25-year career in the private practice of law, Upchurch began teaching law and history at Flagler in 2007. He is currently the director of the Frank D. Upchurch Sr. Endowed Law Program, named and endowed for his grandfather over 20 years ago. He teaches American history through the Reconstruction era as well as a variety of law courses; he has twice been honored at Flagler for his teaching. His research interests focus on the American Civil War and his work has been published by the St. Augustine Historical Society and the Florida Historical Society. He has a book review pending publication in the “Journal of the Civil War Era.”

This year marks the eighth anniversary of the popular Community Lecture Series, which was founded in 2007 to offer the St. Augustine community an opportunity to explore topics covering arts, religion, politics, culture, history, economics and more with experts on the Flagler College faculty. This year also marks the 450th year of our city’s official founding and presents an opportunity to examine what was occurring in our city and world 450 years ago through the present day. The 2015 Community Lecture Series presenters will be scholars who will focus on this year’s theme: Exploration: Passions, Implications and Reflections.

The programs take place monthly. Tickets are $5 per person for a single lecture, or $15 for four lectures. Active military personnel may attend at no charge. Lectures begin at 10 a.m. in the Solarium at Flagler College, 74 King St. Reservations are required, but space is limited. The lecture will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a coffee and pastry reception. Call (904) 826-8617 for reservations or more information.

If you are a person with a disability and need reasonable accommodations, please contact Lynn Francisco at 904-819-6460. Sign Language Interpreters are available upon request with a minimum of three days’ notice. Call (904) 819-6339 for more information.