May 30 – “The New York Volunteer: Songs and Stories of the Civil War”

1-2pm, CNY Living HistoryCenter, 4386 US Rt. 11 (Homer Ave.), Cortland. A lecture by Linda Russell hosted by Cortland County Historical Society at CNY Living History Center. This presentation looks at New York’s involvement in the Civil War through eyewitness accounts – letters, diaries and songs. A girl writes of soldiers being recruited in her town. A young man fears he may not come home alive. These accounts offer personal perspectives of New Yorkers in the face of war. Songs like the Battle Cry of Freedom and Just Before the Battle give musical voice to these experiences and concerns. Other songs examine New York issues and regiments: Tunes of the Irish Brigade, parlor ballads and soldiers’ ditties. New York songwriters also contributed to the cause, including Brooklyn’s Henry Tucker who wrote Weeping Sad and Lonely and Ethel Lynn Beers whose All Quiet Along the Potomac was sung by both sides. The NationalConstitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office organized the exhibit with the help of a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): great ideas brought to life. The traveling exhibition is based on an exhibition of the same name developed by the National Constitution Center. Free admission. For more information call 607-756-6071, e-mail info@cortlandhistory.com or visit www.cortlandhistory.com.