Assistant Professor and Historian, Dr. Brianna Frakes from Ohio State’s Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society will present a free public lecture entitled, To the Gates of Richmond: The Civil War in Virginia, Tuesday, August 11, 5:30 p.m. at Bucci’s Italian Scratch Kitchen as part of the campus’s Buckeye Talks on Tap monthly community lecture series.
Frakes’ discussion will center on Richmond, Virginia as the cornerstone to both the Union and Confederate war objectives. Virginia boasts of the highest concentration of Civil War battlefields in the country. Considered the "gateway to the Confederacy" and home to the Confederate capital at Richmond, capturing Virginia or defending it was a paramount goal for both the Union and Confederate armies. The 1862 Peninsula Campaign marked the first significant action the Union Army took into Confederate heartland. Culminating in the Seven Days Battles, this campaign was the closest the Union Army came to capturing Richmond until the war's end in 1865. Their inability to take the Confederate capital in 1862 forced Lincoln to recalibrate the Union's military and political goals around emancipation, making this the most consequential campaign during the entire Civil War.
Brianna E. Frakes is an historian of the American Civil War, with an emphasis on the military, social, and political dimensions of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Her research and teaching center around how everyday Americans understand the change that inevitably comes during and after conflict.
She earned her Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia. She also holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree in history from Gettysburg College. Prior to joining the Chase Center, she taught at UVA, the University of Richmond, and in the Gettysburg College-Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s MA program. She also was a grant writer with the American Battlefield Trust, helping to acquire over $3.5 million in grants to preserve battlefield land from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.
Her first book, No Safety for Union Men, examines the challenges and evolution of Union military occupation policies in Virginia and how the on-the-ground experience of military occupation shaped the various approaches to Reconstruction at the local, state, and federal level by Virginia's diverse citizenry. This book will be published by Fordham University Press in its "Reconstructing America" series.
Buckeye Talks on Tap are free and open to all and offer community members a chance to explore timely issues in an accessible, conversational setting. Inspired by the international Science Café movement, the series brings scholars and citizens together in relaxed environments—pubs, restaurants, and cafés—to discuss topics that matter to our region and our nation.
The event will take place at Bucci’s Italian Scratch Kitchen inside Passenger & Rail Co., 320 W. Center St., Marion, Ohio. Doors open at 5 p.m., with the lecture at 5:30 p.m. followed by a short Q&A. Attendees will be entered into a door prize drawing provided by Marcie DeWitt of Anchor and Away Travel. Guests are welcome to purchase dinner or drinks during the program.
Ohio State Marion looks forward to welcoming the community to this timely conversation and reaffirming its commitment to open inquiry, civil dialogue, and shared learning.
The Ohio State University at Marion was established in 1957 in Marion, Ohio as one of four Ohio State regional campuses. The 187-acre campus provides an open access portal to Ohio's flagship university, faculty expertise, and the breadth and depth of opportunity synonymous with one of the country's top public universities. Students can earn a bachelor's degree in biology, business, education, engineering technology, English, history, leadership, psychology, or social work on the Marion campus or begin any of 200+ Ohio State degree programs. Ohio State Marion's caring community of world-renowned faculty scholars and researchers and dedicated staff are passionate about fostering the full potential of each student in an inclusive environment that embraces the idea of caring and personal attention. Ohio State Marion prepares students for meaningful careers through innovative, engaging, and inclusive learning experiences and seeks to be the destination of choice for those seeking a university education at a campus recognized for excellence in teaching, research, community outreach, and citizenship.