Stay engaged with the MHS this year!
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“My Mother was an Angel upon Earth— She was a Minister of blessing to all human beings within her sphere of action. Her heart was the abode of heavenly purity. She had no feelings but of kindness and beneficence— Yet her mind was as firm as her temper was mild and gentle...She was the real personification of female virtue—of piety—of charity, of ever active, and never intermitting benevolence”
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Letter from Wilder Dwight to Elizabeth A. Dwight, 17 September 1862
Wilder Dwight, a lieutenant colonel in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry regiment, began writing this letter to his mother when fighting started at Antietam in Western Maryland on 17 September 1862. It begins:
Near Sharpsburg. Sept. 17th 1862.
On the field
Dear Mother,
It is a misty moisty morning. We are engaging the enemy and are drawn up in support of Hooker who is now banging away most briskly. I write in the saddle to send you my love and to say that I am very well so far.
During the battle Dwight was wounded, and he finished the letter while lying on the battlefield after the troops had withdrawn.
Dearest mother,
I am wounded so as to be helpless. Good bye if so it must be I think I die in victory. God defend our country. I trust in God & love you all to the last. Dearest love to father & all my dear brothers. Our troops have left the part of the field where I lay.
Mother, yrs
Wilder
All is well with those that have faith.
He died two days later. The letter is stained with his blood. Dwight’s mother learned of his death by telegram from his brother, Col. William Dwight, Jr.
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Calling All Members
Join us 16 to 21 May for our first annual MHS Member Week!
MHS Members are invited to special Members-only exhibition hours for the new presentation of Our Favorite Things.
Join us online on 19 May at 6:00 PM, for Writing On Juneteenth, featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian, Annette Gordon-Reed. The event is free for Members. Be sure to register!
Members who visit the MHS during Member Week will be gifted a copy of Gordon-Reed’s book, On Juneteenth.
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2022-2023 MHS Research Fellows
The MHS is pleased to announce the class of 2022-2023 research fellows. Director of Research Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai remarked, “We are excited to welcome this new class of MHS research fellows to our reading room. These projects represent the latest scholarship on a host of topics from poetry and literature to African American and disability history. These researchers and their projects showcase not just the strengths and versatility of the MHS collections but also the creative ways in which scholars can make use of different types of sources. They will all contribute to a better understanding of both American history and society.”
Explore the entire list of research fellows HERE.
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The Object of History Podcast New Episode on 15 May
On 15 May 2022, listen to episode 10, “The Letter of Phillis Wheatley.” In this episode, experts examine a group of letters written by the poet Phillis Wheatley to her friend Obour Tanner. These documents provide a window into a relationship between two young Black women during the age of the American Revolution. In Wheatley’s letters to Tanner, we catch a glimpse of their spiritual lives, their joint efforts to publish Wheatley’s books of poems, and the support they provided one another through hardship.
Set your calendars for the May release! Listen to it here on the MHS website, or wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.
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On Thursday, 19 May, at 6:00 PM, Annette Gordon-Reed presents, Writing On Juneteenth, in conversation with Catherine Allgor. A featured Member Week event. This is a virtual event.
On Thursday, 26 May, at 6:00 PM, Paul Lee, Retired Partner, Goodwin Procter LLP; Phil Tajitsu Nash, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Representative Tram Nguyen; and moderated by the Honorable Catherine Ham, Associate Justice, Massachusetts Superior Court, present Confronting Racial Injustice: Rising Asian American Voices, with prerecorded remarks by Mayor Michelle Wu. This is a virtual event.
On Monday, 6 June, at 6:00 PM, Danny Harris, Elite’s Gay Club; Jackson Davidow, Tufts University; Georden West, Emerson College; and Indee Mitchell, co-director, Last Call, present Hidden in Plain Sight: Remembering Queer Nightlife. This is a hybrid event.
On Saturday, 11 June, at 2:00 PM, Anthea Hartig, Smithsonian’s National Museum of History; Louise Mirrer, New York Historical Society; and Catherine Allgor, MHS, present Old Institutions, New Things. This is a hybrid event.
On Monday, 20 June, at 6:00 PM, Robert Gross, University of Connecticut; John Brooke, Ohio State University; David Waldstreicher, City University of New York; and Christine Heyrman, University of Delaware, present Reflecting on the Work of Robert Gross. This is a hybrid event.
2022 Conrad E. Wright Conference
From 14 to 16 July, Underrepresented Voices of the American Revolution. Registration now open!
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Interested in Viewing Past Programs?
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If you missed a program or would like to revisit the material presented, please visit www.masshist.org/video or our YouTube channel. A selection of past programs is just a click away.
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Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 7:45 PM
Saturday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Please note that the last admission for exhibition visitors will be 45 minutes prior to closing.
An advanced appointment is strongly encouraged for all researchers. Please visit our Appointment Request Form to select your preferred visit dates.
Please check our calendar for hours and closings due to holidays and other events.
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