BOONE—Civil war historian Jaime Amanda Martinez will speak April 14 at Appalachian State University on “Slave Impressment and Political Dissent in Governor Zeb Vance’s North Carolina.” Her lecture begins at 6 p.m. in room 114 Belk Library and Information Commons. The public is invited to attend.
Martinez is an associate professor at UNC Pembroke. She teaches the U.S. Civil War, antebellum America and African-American history. She is the author of the book “Confederate Slave Impressment in the Upper South” published in 2013 by the University of North Carolina Press.
Slave impressment was a policy instituted by the Confederacy in which slave owners were forced to surrender control over portions of their slave populations to state authorities, military officials and the national government in order to defend the Confederate states.
Historian Aaron Astor wrote, “This is an important and deeply researched book that sheds important light on the process of state formation in the new Confederacy, the experience of slaves temporarily released from plantations and into the uncertain world of the battlefront, and the development of a counter-policy of confiscation, emancipation and enlistment by the Union.”
Martinez’s talk is sponsored by the Department of History, Center for Appalachian Studies Department, Department of Cultural, Global, and Gender Studies, and the College of Arts and Sciences Humanities Council.
About Appalachian State University
As the premier public undergraduate institution in the state of North Carolina, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls more than 19,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
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