Merry Masquerade

The song, Merry Masquerade, was developed by the fifth-grade students of Martin Luther King Elementary School during the 2015 spring semester as part of the America’s Civil War through Music sessions developed by Scott Schwartz and Marten Stromberg. This is the fourth year the students helped write a new song building on the knowledge that they have acquired through weekly history lessons and music performances by Scott and Marten, and copies of primary source documents pulled from the University’s Illinois History and Lincoln Collections. The students’ song this year builds on some of the more unusual stories about the mad-capped adventures of Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, Union General George McClellan, and the many soldiers who fought during America’s Civil War.Ope

A to Z to ! : An Exhibit About Alphabets, Letters, & Writing

This all-ages exhibition presented examples of alphabets and calligraphy from the collection of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. The catalog is designed for young readers.Published with the generous support of Elizabeth Rogerspublished or submitted for publicationnot peer reviewe

A Woman's Revenge

A Woman’s Revenge was developed by the fifth grade students of Martin Luther King Elementary School during the 2013 spring semester as part of the America’s Civil War through Music sessions developed by Scott Schwartz and Marten Stromberg. The students’ spy song was loosely based on the lives of two Civil War spies, Belle Boyd (1844 – 1900) who served as a Confederate spy and Sarah Emma Edmonds (1841-1898) who served as both a soldier in the 2nd Michigan Infantry and a spy for the Union Army. The third character of the song was based on the Staffordshire bull terrier, Sallie Anne Jarrett, who served as the mascot for the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry until she lost her life in 1865 during the battle of Hatcher’s Run

The Separation

Words and story developed by Matt Mockbee’s, Sally Thompson’s and Juliana Arazi’s 5th grade classes, King Elementary School, Urbana, Illinois, March 2012. Music, orchestration, and historical story line developed by Marten Stromberg and Scott Schwartz, University of Illinois, March 2012. The song’s story is based on a fictional account of two brothers, Joseph who is a slave with a young family, and the other, Christopher, a slave who has sought his freedom through the aid of the Underground Railroad. The brothers’ parents, Augustus and Caroline Bowman, were brought to America as child slaves in the 1820s and were eventually acquired by Pamelia Bowman who owned a small plantation in Louisville, Kentucky. Augustus and Caroline eventually fell in love, married and raised twelve children as servants of Miss Bowman’s household. Christopher was the oldest, followed by Issac who died at age 14, Elizabeth, Jonah and Harriet who were fraternal twins, Cain and Cyrus who were identical twins, George-Anne who died at age 8, Jacob, David, and Joseph who was the youngest of the family. While Miss Bowman tried to provide for the basic needs and well-being of her slaves, some sought freedom from their bondage and escaped to the North Country while others found some level of security in the care they received from their master. Christopher left his family in 1850 in response to the country’s new fugitive slave act, and traveled down the Ohio River to Cairo, Illinois and then up the Mississippi to Dr. Richard Eells home in Quincy, one stop on the Underground Railroad, before heading west toward Kansas City and new-found freedom. He eventually settles down in Osawatomie, Kansas and marries another runaway slave, Rachel, and begins making a family free from the turmoil of bondage. Unlike his oldest brother, Joseph finds comfort in his life as a slave because he always has food, clothes, and a roof over his head. As the county debates the inflammatory issues of states rights, slavery, and the 1860 presidential election, Joseph marries another young slave, Ruth, and begins building his family as a member of Miss Bowman’s household. With the fall of Fort Sumter to Beauregard’s southern army on April 12, 1861, Christopher joins Colonel James William’s First Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment in August 1862 to fight for the Northern Army and Joseph joins Colonel John Hunt Morgan’s 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment in April 1862 to fight for the Confederate Army. The two brothers wrote often to one another to express their concern for the other, and shared a mutual dread that they may one day be forced to fight until one or both were killed in battle. While Christopher’s regiment took him to battles at Island Mound, Reeder Farm, Cabin Creek, Honey Springs and Poison Springs, he never encountered Morgan’s Raiders; and while Joseph’s battle field encounters at Shiloh, Hartsville, Gettysburg, and Greeneville where he saw Morgan finally killed by the Northern Army, he never had to face his brother in battle.Office of Public Engagement, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaignunpublishe

Life on the Moon : Scientific and Literary Reflections : an Exhibition at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 30 August-13 December 2013

published or submitted for publicationnot peer reviewe

The Sorrows of Lincoln

"The Sorrows of Lincoln" was developed by Sally Thompson’s fifth-grade students of Martin Luther King Elementary School during the 2016 spring semester as part of the America’s Civil War through Music sessions developed by Hannah Jellen, Scott Schwartz and Marten Stromberg. This is the fifth year the students have helped write a new song building on the knowledge they acquired through weekly history lessons and music performances by Scott, Marten, Hannah Jellen, Aaron Romm, and Ryan Ross. The students’ song this year builds on several of the difficult challenges that Lincoln faced during his presidency as well as highlight some of the things that he either made fun of to keep his spirits up or his son’s youthful exploits which inevitably always made him laugh.Ope

From Babylon to Baseball: Recent Additions fo the Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Item list for exhibition of new acquisitions to the University of Illinois Rare Book & Manuscript Library.unpublishednot peer reviewe