Fri, Feb 20
|Central Penn College Conference Center
Sherman's March: A Journey Toward Freedom
Join us on Friday, February 20 as we celebrate Black History Month with a presentation by Dr. Bennett Parten based on his highly acclaimed book, Somewhere Toward Freedom: Sherman’s March and the Story of America’s Largest Emancipation.
Time & Location
Feb 20, 2026, 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM EST
Central Penn College Conference Center, 600 College Hill Rd, Summerdale, PA 17093, USA
About the event
Sherman's March: America's Largest Liberation Event
Join us for a groundbreaking presentation by Dr. Noah Andre Trudeau as he reframes one of the Civil War's most famous campaigns through an entirely new lens. In the fall of 1864, as Gen. William T. Sherman led his army through Georgia from Atlanta to Savannah, blazing a path of destruction across the state, an extraordinary story of courage and self-determination unfolded alongside the military campaign.
While plantation owners fled before Sherman's advance, enslaved people seized their moment—physically joining Union lines in a massive act of self-emancipation. By the time the army reached Savannah in December 1864, as many as 20,000 formerly enslaved individuals had attached themselves to Sherman's forces in expectation that the Union would help secure their freedom.
Dr. Parten's breakthrough book is the first comprehensive account to center the stories of these individuals who liberated themselves. Through compelling narrative and meticulous…