McNabb library to host Putnam County 7th graders for Civil War program

Historian Jim Gibbons will lead a program Wednesday, April 24, on the American Civil War for Putnam County Junior High seventh graders only at the McNabb library.

The American Civil War is said to be one of the bloodiest wars in American history. The war, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, was between the Confederate States of America and the remaining states of the Union. In 1861, seven of the slave states in the South seceded from the U.S. and form the Confederate States. They attacked Fort Sumter and the confederacy grew to 11 of the 34 states.

Gibbons will discuss the events that took place before, during, and after the Civil War and how it claimed the lives of more than 700,000 American soldiers. Gibbons will explain how after the war, slavery was abolished in the country and national unity was restored. He also will discuss the importance of Juneteenth and how it commemorates the emancipation of African American slaves. Gibbons will explain the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, signed by President Joe Biden in 2021, to officially make June 19 a National Holiday of Freedom.