Who was John A. Logan? Was he Gen. Grant's favorite Civil War
officer, or one of Illinois' most powerful senators, or the founder
of Memorial Day as a national holiday, or Mark Twain's favorite
public speaker... or all of the above? How did he go from a
small-town lawyer to a vice presidential candidate? What transformed
him from Abraham Lincoln's bitter rival to campaigning for Lincoln's
re-election? And how did an avowed racist and author of Illinois'
Black Codes become an advocate for African-American civil rights and
education? John A. Logan, portrayed by Brian "Fox" Ellis, will
come to life in this one-hour presentation that will examine Logan's
role in the Western Theater of the Civil War, his views on the
necessity of the Emancipation Proclamation to win the war, and the
re-election of President Abraham Lincoln. The performance will help
attendees better understand why Frederick Douglass said that if a
man like "Black Jack" Logan can have a change of heart, then there
is hope for everyone. A question-and-answer session will follow the
performance.
[to top of second column] |
The program was commissioned by the Gen. John A. Logan Museum in
Murphysboro, and museum director P. Michael Jones will be part of
the conversation after the show.
For more information about the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library and Museum, visit
www.presidentlincoln.org.
[Text from
Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
file received from the
Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency] |