An illustrated talk by Historian Mary Rhinelander McCarl. Using Winslow Homer’s Harper’s Daily illustrations as a backdrop, McCarl will trace how the war changed the ways that Northern women confronted the world. Pat Conlon and friends will play popular music of the time. This program is free for Museum members or with admission.

In 1861, Winslow Homer prepared a grand, two-page spread for Harper’s Weekly entitled, “Songs of the War.” McCarl will explore these images, along with popular music of the time, in order to pinpoint specific ways in which the role of women in society had been forever changed by the Civil War. Mandolin and harmonica player Pat Conlon will be joined by Linda Shields Swicker on guitar and banjo and David de la Barre on tin whistle. They will be playing songs of the era such as “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again,” “The Rogue’s March” and other favorites. 

Image: The July 20, 1861 Haper’s Weekly shows women making bullets for the Union cause in Watertown, MA.