The next meeting of the Nashville (TN) Civil War Roundtable will be on Monday, March 15th, 2010, in the visitor’s center of Ft. Negley Park, a unit of Metro Parks, Nashville, TN. This is located off I-65 just south of downtown between 4th Avenue South and 8th Avenue South on Edgehill Avenue/Chestnut Avenue. Take Exit 81, Wedgewood Avenue, off I-65 and follow the signs to the Science Museum and Greer Stadium. The meeting begins at 7:00 pm and is always open to the public. There is no charge to attend.

This month's program:

“From the Pages of Harper’s Weekly: The Illustrations of Thomas Nast, Reconstruction Politics and Popular Consciousness”

The period of Reconstruction remains a point of contention among scholars, academics and amateur historians largely due to the biases and opinions passed down through
the generations. It is not until we step back and view the period from the context of the time that we can begin to understand the complexity of the issues involved. The illustrations
of Thomas Nast prominently displayed in Harper's Weekly reveal popular attitudes towards Reconstruction politics and emerging radical ideologies. Nast successfully illustrated
complicated political issues for illiterate members of society. His semi allegorical decorative drawings touched the souls of those suffering through the horrors and sorrows of war
both North and South. Through patriotic illustrations during the Civil War, Nast boosted enlistment numbers and ultimately Harper's Weekly subscriptions. In 1864, Nast played a
major role in the presidential election. During the turmoil of the Reconstruction period, Nast revealed the corruption of New York City's Tammany Hall deposing Boss Tweed.
Although Thomas Nast's reputation as an illustrator, caricaturist and political cartoonist faded into obscurity over the past one hundred years, most Americans easily recognize the
symbols he created such as the Democratic Donkey, the Republican Elephant and the most popular representation of Santa Clause. Nast's deeply rooted convictions and skill
transformed his pen into a weapon poised to eradicate injustice, characteristics that remain unmatched in his craft to this day.

Krista Castillo, raised by a history buff, grew up near Fort Laurens a Revolutionary War fort in Northern Ohio. An archaeological dig witnessed at eight years old, remaining vividly
in her memory, ultimately set the course for her future. In 2000, Krista graduated from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio with a BA in History/Art History Minor. One year later,
she moved to Fort Campbell with her husband Lee then a soldier with the 101st ABN and their daughter Vanessa. In 2002, Corrinne was born in Tennessee becoming the first
Southerner in a family of Yankees. Krista completed coursework for a MA in Military History in 2009 and hopes to graduate in the fall. Krista came to Fort Negley in November 2008
where she develops public programming and promotes the site. Recently, she was asked to serve on the Metro Historical Commission's Nashville Sesquicentennial Committee.
Krista resides in Clarksville with her family which has grown to include two spoiled dachshunds Morton and Roscoe. She is also the first president of the Nashville Civil War
Roundtable.

We hope you will join us for the March meeting of the Nashville Civil War Roundtable. The Nashville Civil War Roundtable is made possible by Nashville Metro Parks and the Tennessee Chapter of the Society of Military History.