American Civil War
Stories to Highlight Society Meeting

by Kay Teetor

Well-known local resident Dan Cole previously brought Charlotte Civil War stories to fortunate audiences, a spin-off of his long-standing research of that conflict. The title of his talk this year at the Charlotte Historical Society is “Demons Sometimes Live in Fog: A Civil War Veteran’s Story.” The Society will meet at the Charlotte Senior Center at 7 p.m. on the evening of Tuesday, July 1. The public is encouraged to attend, and Charlotte will be joined by the Ferrisburgh Historical Society, a co-participant throughout the year.
Last year, Dan presented “Andersonville,” a chilling, morbid account of horrors in the infamous Southern prisoner-of-war prison. In a previous program the Society heard the personal Civil War history,”The Body in Great-Grandmother’s Backyard.” This year, to augment the “Demons” talk, he will use slides and reference the Civil War chapter in Around the Mountains sub-titled “Stirring History of a Time When War was the Paramount Interest.”
In the 45 columns written by W. W. Higbee, compiled and edited by the Charlotte Historical Society and published as a hardcover book, this chapter is unique. A complete copy was made from the UVM libraries for the book and no other has been found. The Society is indebted to Dan Cole for expanding the limited material in town history about the Civil War.
The speaker has always encouraged audience participation, a form of bravery in itself, as questions and answers may come from history buffs who have immersed themselves in other aspects of war history. The Historical Society welcomes everyone and we extend thanks to the Senior Center for making the facility available for our meetings. Refreshments will be provided.