Admission:

Event: $10

Event & Dinner*: $39.95

*Extend your time with us and enjoy a meal in our historic Dining Hall. Click below to register for this event and see the option to add a meal reservation. Subject to availability.

Join us for a unique and engaging presentation exploring the music of the Civil War, co-presented by Sagamore Historian Connor Williams and Dean of Music Dan Berggren. As part of our Seminar in History on the American Civil War, this event delves into the powerful role music played in shaping and reflecting the emotions, struggles, and ideologies of the time. Through live examples, Williams and Berggren will examine popular songs of the era, analyzing them not only as musical compositions but also as historical artifacts. Attendees will gain insight into how these songs rallied troops, swayed public opinion, and captured the cultural spirit of a divided nation. Blending historical commentary with musical interpretation, the presentation offers a compelling look at how melody and message intertwined during one of America’s most defining conflicts. Don’t miss this rich exploration of history through sound.

Dan Berggren - Songwriter & Storyteller

A tradition-based songsmith, Dan writes with honesty, humor and a strong sense of place. His songs explore the many dimensions of home, hard-working folks, taking care of our planet and each other. 

While his roots are firmly in the Adirondacks where he was raised, Dan's music has branched out across many borders. The award-winning educator and musician has entertained audiences from Kentucky to Michigan, Belgium to Bulgaria, and Zimbabwe to Transylvania.

Connor Williams - Sagamore Historian

Connor Williams, Great Camp Sagamore’s Historian, has formally trained at institutions throughout the Northeast, including a B.A. in History from Middlebury College, an M.A. in Globalization Studies from Dartmouth College, and a soon-forthcoming Ph.D in History and African American Studies from Yale University. As a public historian, he is pleased to have had many years of teaching and public history experience, including service to the United States Congress.

And as fate would have it (and fittingly appropriate for the Durant's Great Camps program), Connor is also 1/16th Durant; this makes him first cousins, five times removed, with Adirondack Great Camp founder and leading architect William West Durant. On a broad scale and across the board, Connor loves sharing the ever-evolving histories of the Adirondack Great Camps to an ever-expanding group of visitors, members, patrons, and friends.