Ohio Wesleyan to Host Civil War Historian Mark Grimsley
Mark Grimsley, Ph.D.
DELAWARE, Ohio – Students of the Civil War almost unanimously view Union Army Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s 1864 “March to the Sea” from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia, solely in terms of its destruction of Southern property. But this was only a secondary aspect of the operation, says military historian Mark Grimsley.
Grimsley, Ph.D., a specialist in Civil War military history and an associate history professor at The Ohio State University, will discuss the event’s primary purpose when he presents “Sherman’s March to the Sea: A Reconsideration,” at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 in the Benes Rooms of Ohio Wesleyan’s Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware. His free presentation is the university’s 2014 Richard W. Smith Lecture in Civil War History.
Grimsley earned his master’s degree in war studies from Kings College London and his doctorate in history from The Ohio State University. His books include “And Keep Moving On: The Virginia Campaign, May-June 1864” and “The Hard Hand of War: Union Military Policy Toward Southern Civilians, 1861-1865,” which won the prestigious Lincoln Prize.
Grimsley also is a co-author of “Warfare in the Western World,” the military history textbook used at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and he maintains WarHistorian.org, a website focused on military history and national security. Learn more about Grimsley at history.osu.edu/directory/grimsley1.
Ohio Wesleyan’s annual Smith Lecture is named in honor of emeritus history professor Richard W. Smith, who taught at the university between 1950 and 1986. Past speakers in the series, which began in 2002, have included Pulitzer Prize-winners James M. McPherson, author of “Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era,” and Eric Foner, author of “The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery.” Learn more about the OWU Department of History and the annual Smith Lecture at https://www.owu.edu/academics/departments-programs/department-of-history/.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 86 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,750 students represent 46 U.S. states and territories and 43 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.