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The Brown's Island Explosion of 1863, Tuesday, April 11, 2023 1:00PM
Event Summary
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Date
Tuesday, April 11, 2023 1:00PM
Name
The Brown's Island Explosion of 1863
,Description
Join historian Robert M. “Bert” Dunkerly for a talk on the worst home front disaster in the Confederacy, which killed 50 civilians at Brown’s Island in Richmond on March 13, 1863, most of them teenage girls. Brown’s Island on the James River was the site of an ammunition factory, known as the Confederate Laboratory. Bert will discuss the cause of the Brown’s Island explosion, as well as surrounding events, and the ongoing search to find the victims’ burial sites, of which only about half are known. This program will feature an opportunity to see items from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture’s collection related to Brown’s Island and the disaster which occurred there in 1863.
Bert Dunkerly is a historian, award-winning author, and speaker who is actively involved in historic preservation and research. He holds a degree in History from St. Vincent College and a Masters in Historic Preservation from Middle Tennessee State University. He has worked at nine historic sites and written nine books, including Redcoats on the Cape Fear, about the Revolution in Wilmington. His research includes archaeology, colonial life, military history, and historic commemoration. Bert currently works as a Park Ranger at Richmond National Battlefield Park.
Admission is free, but registration is required.
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