Free Online Presentations

Announcements, Events
  • Date: Sunday, February 26, 2023
  • Time: 3:00 pm
  • Where: Zoom, pre-registration required (see below)

“A Splendid Specimen of Physical Manhood”: The Post-War Journey of a United States Colored Infantry Soldier

Presented by Dr. Robert Hicks

Prestley Dawson enlisted in the 43rd Regiment, United States Colored Infantry (USCI) in 1864 and trained at Camp William Penn. He participated in fighting at the siege of Petersburg, Virginia, and completed service in Brownsville, Texas. He was lamed from falling breastworks in the Petersburg trenches and contracted malaria while in service. After the war he settled in Maryland and raised a family as a farmer but endured lifelong health problems because of his war experiences. Many studies have examined the general experiences of USCI regiments, but a deeper story emerges when we examine the individual lives of African American veterans. Dawson’s story illustrates how wartime wounds and diseases shaped his post-war life, one example of how veterans defined themselves because of how wounds, disease, and healing altered their bodies.

About the Presenter

Senior Consulting Scholar and William Maul Measey Chair for the History of Medicine of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. For over a decade he served as director of the Mütter Museum and Historical Medical Library. He has worked with museum-based education and exhibits for over three decades.
His most recent book, Civil War Medicine: A Surgeon’s Experience, appeared in 2019 by Indiana University Press. This lecture is based on a book in progress, Wounded for Life: Seven Union Veterans of the Civil War.

Readings from Straight to the Point

Dr. Gail A. Dawson, Associate Professor of Management and Director of Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Tennessee, commenting and reading poems from her book Straight to the Point relating to her heritage as great granddaughter of Prestley Dorsey/Dawson.

Registration

To reserve a virtual seat for this event send an email to pt@usct.org. You will be sent a link with a password giving you access to the presentation.
We look forward to having you join us.

This program is funded in part by the Jenkinstown Lyceum.

Citizens for the Restoration of Historical La Mott, 1618 Willow Avenue, La Mott, PA 19027
Visit www.usct.org to learn more about Camp William Penn and to search USCT listings.

Camp William Penn and Historic La Mott Day

Announcements, Events

Join us in Honoring our Heritage, Saturday, September 17, 2022, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Opening ceremony: 10:00 at La Mott Community Center, 7420 Sycamore Ave., La Mott, 19027

We will remember the 1863 establishment of the USCT and CWP, the 160th anniversaries of the Battle of Antietam, the Allegheny Arsenal Explosion as well as Harriet Tubman’s 200th.  Note too, that it is Constitution Day.

  • Visit USCT encampment
  • Visit Camp William Penn Museum
  • Living History Demonstrations including ammunition making
  • Civil War Medical and Surgical instrument ‘show and tell’ 
  • Book signings, Lectures, Period Music, Films
  • La Mott History display
  • Civil War games and activities
  • Visit graves of CWP soldiers at Philadelphia National Cemetery
  • Local history organizations with tabletop displays and information

Closing ceremony: 3:45 at Flagpole (corner Sycamore and Willow)

Camp William Penn, located in what is now modern day La Mott, was the first and largest Federal training site for colored soldiers during the Civil War.

Note: Volunteers needed for help in all aspects of this event; some starting now and some the day of the event. Ideas and suggestions are also welcome. If you are able to help or participate, please use contact information below.

Email: pt@usct.org
Telephone: (215) 885-2258

Presentation: “The Ridley/Fox Shooting and Aftermath: An American Tragedy”

Announcements, Events

Presented by Dr.Thomas Wieckowski: Author, historian, educator

This unfortunate incident at Camp William Penn not only resulted in the death of a local resident, but altered the life of Private Ridley and affected the lives of the Fox family for generations.

This presentation will review current research on the circumstances of the shooting and the devastating impact on Ridley and the extended Fox family of La Mott.

Joe Becton, Antoine Watts and Crystal Kemp, musicians and USCT re-enactors, will bring Civil War era music.

Kerry Bryan in attendance as Lucretia Mott.

Sunday, February 23, 2020
3:00 PM
La Mott Community Center
7420 Sycamore Ave.
La Mott, PA 19027

This is a free event. Donations are welcome. For more information on in the case of severe weather conditions, call 215-885-2258, or email pt@usct.org.

1619: The Story of America’s First Documented Africans

Events

Citizens for the Restoration of Historical La Mott (CROHL) invite you to come and hear Ric Murphy. Ric is the National Vice President for History for the Afro-American Historical Genealogical Society, Inc., Author, and Educator. He will speak about 1619: The Story of America’s First Documented Africans. In 2019, Americans will celebrate the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the first recorded Africans in English North America. In early records, these men, women, and children were known as the “20 odd” Africans. They arrived in late August 1619 at Point Comfort, along the James River. This talk will offer details, documentation, and importance of the history to communities nationwide.

Kerry Bryan will be in attendance as Lucretia Mott.

Joe Becton, Antoine Watts, and Crystal Kem, musicians and USCT re-enactors, will a sing-along of Civil War era music.

Date: Sunday, February 24, 2019
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: La Mott Community Center, 7420 Sycamore Ave., La Mott, PA 19027

This is a free event. Donations are welcome.

For more information, or in case of severe weather conditions, call 215-885-2258, or email pt@usct.org