Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence
KHC Events 
in August

      


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The National Endowment for the Humanities and the State of Kansas help fund Kansas Humanities Council grants and programs. Please thank your legislators and members of Congress for their support. KHC also relies on donations from people like you.  Please thank the Friends of the Humanities who support KHC. 
Thank you, 
to all who contacted your member of Congress to speak out against the proposed 49% cut to the National Endowment for the Humanities. The House Appropriations Committee recessed for August before taking a final vote on FY 2014 Interior Appropriations bill.

It's not too late to contact your Congressional representative to tell him or her that a 49% cut to NEH is too much.
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History in 140 Characters or Less

  

At dawn on August 21, 1863, a band of pro-Confederate guerrillas from Missouri, led by William Quantrill, launched a surprise attack on Lawrence. The raid left approximately 200 citizens dead and the town in ruins. This month, two KHC-supported projects take to Twitter to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the raid and to explore the complexities and tragedy of life on the Kansas-Missouri border during the Civil War.

Twitter connects users through "tweets" -- updates written in 140 characters or less. By following hashtag #QR1863 or subscribing to the QR1863 list on Twitter, users can track Quantrill's Raid events in "real time" as they unfolded 150 years ago.

Today through August 21st, KHC is tweeting daily excerpts from the "Quantrill's Raid & Order Number 11" Shared Stories of the Civil War reader's theater script. Each tweet contains a link to the KHC Blog offering historical context and primary source materials about the raid in Lawrence and Order Number 11, the eviction of 20,000 people from four counties in Missouri.

KHC Tweet

 

In addition, a project coordinated by the Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area is bringing Lawrence community members and historians together to tweet the events of Quantrill's Raid through the voices of those who witnessed, participated in, or were victims of the raid.

Julia Lovejoy tweet

The Lawrence Twitter event will be followed by a public discussion about the events and aftermath of Quantrill's Raid and it's legacy 150 years later. Click here for more information. The Twitter event is supported by a KHC Mini Grant.

Follow KHC and #QR1863 on Twitter for Quantrill's Raid tweets.

 

Banner Image: "Destruction of the City of Lawrence," KansasMemory, Kansas Historical Society.

 

Bring Shared Stories to Life

Like what you read on Twitter? Consider presenting a live "Quantrill's Raid and Order Number 11" Shared Stories of the Civil War reader's theater at your school, workplace, or community organization to commemorate Quantrill's Raid. It's free and everything you need -- scripts, handouts, and setup instructions -- can be found here