C In-Person Class: This class will be taught in person, in the classroom at the Vineyard Church.
Enrollment: Pandemic protocols may limit the enrollment for this class.
Registrants will be informed in advance, and a waitlist will be available.
The sounds of cannon fire, the stench of death, and the bugle call to charge have faded into the past, but the battle continues. Polarization remains. Statues of the commanding Confederate general at the Battle of Gettysburg, Robert E. Lee, are falling. Yet, 160 years later, the war's ghosts continue to haunt us. Michigan was one of the first states to answer President Lincoln’s call for volunteers. His response: “Thank God for Michigan.” Michigan troops fought in nearly 800 battles and suffered heavy casualties. After four long years, General George A. Custer received the flag of surrender, and another Michigan hero captured the Confederacy's fleeing president, Jefferson Davis. In a final act, the 'Iron Brigade,’ which included Michigan’s 24th Infantry, escorted President Lincoln’s funeral train home to Springfield.
Rochelle Balkam taught history and government at Ypsilanti High School for 36 years, and taught Michigan history at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) for 27 years. She holds an M.A. degree in history and an M.S. in historic preservation from EMU. Rochelle serves on the board of the Michigan One-Room Schoolhouse Association, and formerly served on the board of the Historical Society of Michigan and the Ann Arbor Historic Commission.
