Author: A. L. Fluker

I am very pleased to announce the release of my newest book, Haunted by Memory: Ghost Stories of the American Civil War! Co-edited with my late mentor Dr. John R. Neff, Haunted is an annotated anthology of Civi War ghost stories–as told by the Civil War generation. The first book of its kind, it offers a new perspective on the experience of the American Civil War and the ways in which it “haunted” its survivors. For more information, and to order your copy, visit www.hauntedbymemory.com

The Reeder Endowment continued to sponsor YSU’s America250 celebrations with a variety of special events. In March, Abigail Adams reenactor Kim Hanley visited campus and spoke to students about women’s roles in the American Revolution. In April, the Reeder and Shipka endowments partnered to bring renowned historian Paul Finkelman to YSU for a special lecture entitled: “Native American Rights, Race, Slavery, and Religious Liberty: The Progressive Visions of the Northwest Ordinance.” The Reeder Endowment also sponsored the creation of a YSU250 time capsule, dedicated during Maag Library’s 50th anniversary celebration in April. To wrap up the semester, the endowment co-sponsored the  dedication of an America250 “Liberty Tree,” planted on Armed Forces Boulevard.

YSU joins in the celebration as the United States observes its 250th birthday! The Reeder Endowment is the primary sponsor of YSU’s 250 celebration, including a variety of special events that will be held over the 2026-2027 calendar year. Check the website for more information!

The festivities kicked off on January 9, with “Tavern Talk: An Evening with George Washington.” George Washington interpreter Curt Radabaugh gave a wonderful, first-presentation about Washington’s service in the Continental Army. Meanwhile, guests enjoyed the “George”–an authentic beer recipe recorded by George Washington and brewed special for the event by Noble Creature Wild Ales and Lager.

The fall semester was a busy one! Reeder programming got off to a slow start due to changes in state laws governing guest speakers on campus. Still, we welcomed Andrew Och in November. Och is an author and award-winning television and multimedia producer. His presentation, “First Ladies Man,” was an interactive lecture focusing on the roles played by First Ladies in wartime.

In December, the Reeder endowment supported a student bus trip to the annual Antietam Memorial Illumination. During this special and awe-inspiring event, the battlefield is lit by 23,000 candles–one for each casualty in the bloodiest single-day battle of the American Civil War. Students enjoyed a guided tour of the battlefield, as well as a side trip to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

I just returned from a summer lecture tour across Missouri, giving public presentations for the Civil War Roundtable of St. Louis and the U.S. Grant National Historic Site. I was also invited to speak at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield as part of the “This Hallowed Ground” speaker series sponsored by the American Battlefield Trust. The American Battlefield Trust is a national non-profit that seeks to educate the public about America’s military history and why it matters. My talk, “United in Death: The Remarkable History of the Springfield National and Confederate Cemeteries,” engaged park visitors in the stories of people and events that saved places hallowed by the sacrifices of soldiers and civilians alike during and after the Civil War. In this case, I shared the remarkable history of the first and only Confederate cemetery to be adopted by the US government and explained how and why that happened.

On April 5, 32 YSU students set off for the History Club’s annual student trip. This year, they revisited Gettysburg National Military Park. The trip is sponsored by the Darling and Reeder Endowments in History, which provide a charter bus and a private tour of the park with a licensed battlefield guide. This year’s guide led the students to Culp’s Hill, where a Mahoning Valley regiment fought.

The Reeder and Darling Endowments in History partnered to sponsor a special guest lecture by Dr. Linda Gordon, a pioneering historian of women’s and social history. Her lecture, “The Much Misunderstood Women’s Liberation Movement,” reviewed the origins and goals of the movement and reflected on its legacies today. Dr. Gordon is a two-time recipient of the distinguished Bancroft Prize for history.

We are pleased to announce that the annual Reeder Distinguished Lecture in Nineteenth-Century History will be held the evening of April 17, 2025. This year’s lecture will be delivered by Dr. Joseph M. Beilein, Jr., and is entitled “From Ohio Schoolmaster to Missouri Bushwhacker: The Strange Civil War of William Clarke Quantrill.”

Dr. Joseph M. Beilein, Jr., is a professor of history at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College where he teaches history courses on the Civil War, Revolutionary America, Gender, and Military History. He has authored or edited five books including A Man By Any Other Name: William Clarke Quantrill and the Search for American Manhood (2023) and Bushwhackers: Guerrilla Warfare, Manhood, and the Household in Civil War Missouri (2016).