Press Release: April 7, 2011

National Archives at Kansas City

National Archives to Host Historian and Lecturer Dr. Ethan Rafuse for Lee and Grant Speaker Series

For More Information Contact:
Kimberlee Ried, 816-268-8072

Kansas City, (MO)…On Tuesday, June 14, at 6:30 p.m. the National Archives will host historian and lecturer Dr. Ethan Rafuse for a lecture entitled Robert E. Lee Before the Civil War coinciding with the Lee and Grant exhibition. A 6:00 p.m. reception will precede the lecture.

In 1861, Colonel Robert E. Lee resigned his commission in the U.S. Army and accepted the call of his native state of Virginia to serve in its defense. Indeed, it was the rare man who came into contact with Lee before the Civil War who did not come away deeply impressed with his ability as an officer, which Lee demonstrated repeatedly on a variety of challenging assignments during his more than three decades of service, and his personal character. This talk will offer a survey of Lee's prewar life that illuminates the forces that shaped him as a man, as well as the qualities as an officer that made him probably the most respected person in the entire Army on the eve of the Civil War.

The exhibit Lee and Grant provides a major reassessment of the lives, careers, and historical impact of Civil War generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. It also encourages audiences to move beyond the traditional mythology of both men and rediscover them within the context of their own time—based on their own words and those of their contemporaries. Lee and Grant presents photographs, paintings, prints, coins, reproduction clothing, accoutrements owned by the two men, documents written in their own hands, and biographical and historical records to reveal each man in his historical and cultural context, allowing audiences to compare the ways each has been remembered for almost 150 years.

About the speaker
Ethan Rafuse received his Ph.D. in history and political science from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and since 2004 has been a member of the faculty at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, where he is a professor of military history. He has published over 250 articles, essays, and reviews, led dozens of battlefield staff rides and tours, and is the author, editor, or co-editor of eight books, including Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, 1863-1865 and Stonewall Jackson: A Biography.

For more information or to make a reservation for this free event call 816-268-8010 or email kansascity.educate@nara.gov.

Additional Information
Lee and Grant will be available for viewing at the National Archives at Kansas City, April 19, 2011 – October 22, 2011. To schedule a group tour or for additional information, call 816-268-8000 or visit www.archives.gov/central-plains/kansas-city.

Lee and Grant has been made possible by NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The exhibit was originally developed by the Virginia Historical Society and co-curated by Dr. William M. S. Rasmussen, Lora M. Robins Curator of Art at the Virginia Historical Society and Dr. Robert S. Tilton, Chairman of the Department of English, University of Connecticut, Storrs. This exhibit is toured by Mid-America Arts Alliance through NEH on the Road. NEH on the Road offers an exciting opportunity for communities of all sizes to experience some of the best exhibitions funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Mid-America Arts Alliance was founded in 1972 and is the oldest regional nonprofit arts organization in the United States. For more information, visit www.maaa.org or www.nehontheroad.org.

The National Archives at Kansas City is one of 13 facilities nationwide where the public has access to Federal archival records. It is home to more than 50,000 cubic feet of historical records dating from the 1820s to the 1990s created or received by nearly 100 Federal agencies. Serving the Central Plains Region, the archives holds records from the states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The facility is located at 400 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO 64108. It is open to the public Tuesday - Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for research, with the exhibits open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 816-268-8000 or visit us online.

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