“Bodies on the Brink: The Surgeon’s Dilemma and the Vicksburg Campaign”
Presented by Dr. Lindsay Rae Smith Privette
Thursday, March 19, 2026, from 6-7:30 p.m.
I.G. Greer Auditorium
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University's Department of History — with support from the College of Arts and Sciences — is pleased to welcome Dr. Lindsay Rae Smith Privette to campus for the 2026 Civil War Speaker Series. Dr. Privette will present "Bodies on the Brink: The Surgeon’s Dilemma and the Vicksburg Campaign" on Thursday, March 19, 2026, from 6-7:30 p.m. in the I.G. Greer Auditorium located at 401 Academy Street in Boone. This event is open to the public, and no registration is required.
Privette's presentation will explore the role that surgeons played in the Vicksburg campaign, a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, MS. For the Army of the Tennessee, the struggle to take Vicksburg was one of the most physically demanding operations to date. The terrain was impossible, the climate extreme, and surgeons' expertise seemingly limited. To make matters worse, the campaign for Vicksburg began after a year and a half of alarming medical setbacks. These factors shaped the interactions between soldiers and surgeons who regarded one another warily and, in many instances, seemed to forget that they fought for the same objective.
Privette is associate professor of history at Anderson University in Anderson, SC. Born and raised in Vicksburg, MS, she developed her interest in Civil War history at Vicksburg National Military Park, where she later went on to work. Privette received her bachelor's degree in history from Baylor University and her master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Alabama. The Surgeon’s Battle: How Medicine Won the Vicksburg Campaign and Changed the Civil War, published in September 2025 by University of North Carolina Press, is her first book.
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About the Civil War Speaker Series
The Civil War Speaker Series furthers the College of Arts and Sciences mission of fostering the development of knowledge and skills essential to continued learning, as well as cultivating habits of inquiry. The U.S. Civil War is perhaps the most popular American history topic among the general public—judging by book sales, TV programs and internet searches. These speakers allow the campus community and the greater community to learn more about current historical interpretations as well as expose them to new and creative ways of understanding the war and its aftermath. Learn more at history.appstate.edu/events/civil-war-speaker-series.
About the Department of History
The Department of History offers a broad curriculum in local, national, regional and world history at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, which encourages history majors to develop a comprehensive approach to human problems. The study of history is an essential part of a liberal arts education and offers valuable preparation for many careers, such as law, journalism, public history, public service and business, as well as in teaching and the advanced discipline of history. Learn more at history.appstate.edu.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at cas.appstate.edu.
Dr. Lindsay Rae Smith Privette is associate professor of history at Anderson University in Anderson, SC. Photo submitted
Dr. Lindsay Rae Smith Privette is associate professor of history at Anderson University in Anderson, SC. Photo submitted