The Jackson Purchase Historical Society (JPHS) will meet on Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 10:30 am at the Fort Jefferson Memorial Park, Visitor’s Center, US 51, Wickliffe, Kentucky.This will be Society’ first meeting of the new year as it begins its sixty-sixth year of service to the Jackson Purchase region.
The speaker will be Bill Mulligan, JPHS President, and his topic will be “The Beginning of the End: The Western Rivers’ Significance in the American Civil War.” 
Mulligan will discuss the pivotal role control of the western rivers – the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland – played in the initial strategies of both armies at the onset of the Civil War. He will discuss how U.S. Grant’s success was more important to the outcome of the War then is generally recognized. He will also show how the region and its strategic challenges were an important catalyst for Grant’s development of modern warfare.
In addition to being Society president, Mulligan is Professor of History Emeritus at Murray State University. While at Murray State he received both the MSU Alumni Association’s Distinguished Researcher Award and the Board of Regents’ Award for Teaching Excellence. He was the founding president of the Kentucky Civil War Sites Association, In June 2023 he received the Frank Levstick Award for lifetime contribution to Kentucky history and historians. Every second Tuesday he discusses the work of JPHS and Purchase history on “Mornings in Murray” on WNBS. He has spoken and published extensively on the Civil War in western Kentucky and other topics.
The program will also be available by ZOOM for those unable to attend in person.
Register in advance to join ZOOM for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsceCgrzIvGNFyfgWTbQFnsAcaDn44cPQ-
Those attending the meeting are eligible for a 20 percent discount on ANY books published by the University Press of Kentucky — ordered from the press. www.kentuckypress.com This promo code provides 20% off all titles and has no expiration date: FA20. Thanks to the University Press of Kentucky for their support.
