Prices Starting At:
$233/night - Single Occupancy
$171/night - Double Occupancy
Great Camp Sagamore has always provided a phenomenal setting for learning new ideas and having deep conversations. The Sagamore Seminars in History provide guests the opportunity to learn about key historical ideas, issues, and events with expert instructors and historical guides. No prior expertise is required: while these are information-packed programs that approximate college learning, they are designed to welcome all levels of knowledge and experience. All you need to bring is an inquisitive mind!
This season's focus is The American Civil War.
Over the course of five days, guests will have the opportunity to engage in all the nuanced, in-depth, and honest discussions that should surround the greatest catastrophe in United States history. The Civil War killed more Americans than the Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, the Mexican American War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and every other one of our foreign wars combined.
Yet all was not lost: that impossibly high cost and its aftermath also caused a Second American Revolution: the immediate emancipation of four million men, women, and children, the abolition of slavery forevermore, and American citizenship for any person born on US soil. From the death and devastation of so many came, literally, a new birth of freedom for so many more.
For several hours each morning and afternoon, participants will discuss key moments and movements from the Civil War, informed by short readings and lectures created and curated for brevity, accessibility, and variety. Prominent Civil War historians will also Zoom in to discuss their own research and work. In the evenings, guests will have further opportunities to engage with the Civil War era in different ways, including Civil War stories around campfires, Civil War songs and discussions, and screenings of Civil War media. The program also provides ample downtime to enjoy all the natural recreation, space for reflection, and architectural beauty Sagamore so famously offers.
Topics will include the causes of the conflict, the battlefronts and homefronts of the war itself, and the end of the rebellion and beginning of Reconstruction. We will also investigate how Americans have remembered the Civil War at different times throughout our history, and what impacts those memories have had on American history, culture, and policy. The seminars will also examine issues of race and gender that too often disappear from the more broadstroke treatments of the war: our story is intentionally inclusive of as many experiences as possible.
Lastly, guests should note that this is not intended to be a program in debate: although disagreements may naturally arise over different interpretations or inquiries, this seminar is not about being "right." Instead, it focuses on fully informing guests on the current state of Civil War scholarship, and coming as close as possible to the people, politics, and problems of the past. Our measured metrics for success will be our ability to maintain respect for the historical experiences of all parties and all participants and to learn from each other's perspectives.
Instructor
Connor Williams is a 19th Century Historian, trained at Middlebury College (B.A), Dartmouth College (M.A.), and Yale University (Ph.D, soon forthcoming).
In 2021 and 2022, Connor served as the Lead Historian for the United States Congress’ “Naming Commission,” researching the history and context of Department of Defense assets that commemorated Confederates or the Confederacy. He directed the Commission’s historical initiatives, collaborated with other historians involved and invested in the Commission’s work, and engaged with both the general public and specific stakeholders. Connor advised the Commission through historical briefings and assisted in the research and presentation of potential new namesakes to the Naming Commissioners.
Charged by Congress to investigate the causes and consequences of Confederate commemorations, Connor's work also included a much broader discussion of how Americans have remembered, could remember, and perhaps should remember the American Civil War. Although part of his work included providing recommendations on changing Confederate commemorations, at a much broader scale he was tasked with considering the Civil War as it actually unfolded and the impacts that our memorials and memories of the war have had on our society ever since.
This work culminated with Connor’s direction in writing, revising, and editing the Naming Commission’s final reports to Congress, which were accepted, endorsed, and enacted by broad bipartisan majorities of both chambers. Since then, Connor has lectured on the Naming Commission throughout the nation, including at the American Civil War Museum, the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the Society for Military History, and for dozens of colleges, universities, and historical communities. A book on these experiences is under contract with Macmillan's St. Martin's Press imprint, and should be released by the end of 2024.
A native New Yorker and aspiring maritime mountaineer, Connor currently lives with his family along Lake Champlain in the Adirondack Park. He serves as the Historian for Great Camp Sagamore, where he directs all history programming for several thousand visitors each summer. Most broadly, and via a variety of formats, Connor uses this role to conceive and execute innovative ways to teach environmental history, Gilded Age history, and the history of class, capitalism and inequality to diverse public history audiences.
His quest to summit the 46 ADK High Peaks...continues.
Schedule Overview
Sunday:
4:00 to 6:00: Arrive, Check-In, Unpack
6:00 to 7:00: Dinner
7:00 to 7:30: Orientation
7:30 to 8:45: Opening Discussion
Monday:
8-9: Breakfast
9:15-11:45: Seminar Session 1: The Coming of The War and 1861 (short lecture, group discussions, and Zooming with other Historians to learn from their experiences. Refreshments and breaks included)
12-1:15 Lunch and Midday break
1:30-4:00: Seminar Session 2: 1862: Military History and the Emergence of Emancipation (short lecture, group discussions, and Zooming with other Historians to learn from their experiences. Refreshments and breaks included)
4:00-6:00: Free Time
6:00-7:00 Dinner
7:15 to 9:00: Optional Evening Fireside Chat: Civil War Memories
Tuesday:
8-9: Breakfast
9:15-11:45: Seminar Session 3 1863: Movements and Meanings of the Civil War (short lecture, group discussions, and Zooming with other Historians to learn from their experiences. Refreshments and breaks included)
12-1:15 Lunch and Midday break
1:30-4:00: Seminar Session 4 1864: Victory and Virtue, Defeat and Destruction (short lecture, group discussions, and Zooming with other Historians to learn from their experiences. Refreshments and breaks included)
4:00-6:00: Free Time
6:00-7:00 Dinner
7:15 to 9:00: Optional Evening Event: Music of the Civil War Era
Wednesday:
8-9: Breakfast
9:15-11:45: Seminar Session 5 1865: Revolution, Reconstruction, or a New Nation? (short lecture, group discussions, and Zooming with other Historians to learn from their experiences. Refreshments and breaks included)
12-1:15 Lunch and Midday break
1:30-4:00: Seminar Session 6 Reconstruction: Promises, Possibilities, Pitfalls and Legacies (short lecture, group discussions, and Zooming with other Historians to learn from their experiences. Refreshments and breaks included)
4:00-6:00: Free Time
6:00-7:00 Dinner
7:15 to 9:00: Optional Evening Event: Movies about the Civil War Era
Thursday:
8:00-9:00: Breakfast
9:00-10:00 Check-Out
10:00-3:00 Optional additional activities: Guided Tour of Great Camp Sagamore, Guided Nature Hike, Guided Paddle, or History Hike. (The tour, hike, and paddle are free to program participants. Lunch can be purchased for a supplemental fee, the History Hike is $49.95 per person, and includes lunch).