ANNUAL CONFERENCE

ANNUAL CONFERENCE, 2011

"Wilmington at War: A Military Crossroad"

September 29 to October 1, 2011

The Council organizes a conference in a different region of the state each year. This year’s conference concentrates on the maritime history and culture of Wilmington, and is centered around the Battleship North Carolina Memorial and the downtown area.

The conference starts Thursday evening, September 29^th, with a reception at the Cape Fear Museum and a compelling program on Wilmington's wartime history. The conference opens on Friday morning at the battleship with a series of nautically related programs. The afternoon offers tours of the battleship and historic downtown Wilmington.

Friday evening’s dinner will be at the Hannah Block Historic USO. Dr. Spencer Tucker, a noted Civil War naval historian, will make the keynote address.

Saturday offers more intriguing history programs at the New Hanover County Library, including tours of Wilmington’s historic waterfront, the historic Oakdale Cemetery, and the Wrightsville Beach Museum.

Keynote Presentation

	"Confederate Commerce Raiding During the Civil War"
	Dr. Spencer Tucker

Dr. Spencer Tucker, author or editor of more than forty books, will be the keynote speaker at the North Carolina Maritime History Council's annual conference. Tucker’s talk, "Confederate Commerce Raiding During the Civil War," will look at the motivations behind and ramifications of commerce raiding during the war, treat some of the more notorious ships, and discuss Wilmington's role in this activity.

Spencer Tucker is one of the best known and prolific historians in the United States. He holds a B.A. in history from the Virginia Military Institute and M.A. and Ph.D. in Modern European History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After a Fulbright Fellowship in France and military service, he taught for thirty years at Texas Christian University, then held the John Biggs Chair of Military history at the Virginia Military Institute for six years before retiring in 2003. He continues to write and publish. Among his book awards is the Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt prize for his biography of Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr..

Among Dr. Tucker's long list of books on naval history are: Arming the Fleet: U.S. Naval Ordnance in the Muzzle-loading Era; The Jefferson Gunboat Navy; Blue and Gray Navies: The Civil War Afloat; Encyclopedia of the Civil War at Sea (2 vols); Raphael Semmes and the Alabama; Andrew Hull Foote, Civil War Admiral on Western Waters; and Encyclopedia of Naval Warfare (3 vols). His newest book, Encyclopedia of World War II at Sea (2 vols), will appear in November.

Registration

Registration for the conference costs $105.00. A special rate of $65.00 is available for full-time students and school teachers (supporting documentation required).

Conference Accommodations

Wilmington offers a long list of accommodations options. However, the Best Western at the Coastline Inn has offered a rate of $119.00 plus tax for Thursday September 29th and Friday September 30th. The hotel is on the Cape Fear River and close to all conference activities.

When calling to make reservations ask for Lynda Ballard at (910) 762-5184, extension 372, for this rate and identify yourself as being with the NC Maritime History Council's Annual Conference.

Directions

Information coming soon