History & Heritage: Delivered Under Fire – Absalom Markland and Freedom’s Mail, Candice Hooper
Wednesday, April 12, 2023Time 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
Delivered Under Fire: Absalom Markland and Freedom’s Mail
Candice Hooper, Author & Historian
Tuesday, April 12 | 4:30pm | Auditorium
Boca Grande’s own award-winning military historian, Candice Shy Hooper, returns to the Community Center to tell the tale of a forgotten Civil War hero. Her latest book, Delivered Under Fire: Absalom Markland and Freedom’s Mail, reveals the story of the courageous, innovative, self-made man who invented the United States military mail service during that war.
From Fort Donelson in 1862 to City Point in 1865, Markland traveled with Ulysses Grant’s armies, assuring the swiftest possible delivery of mail, sometimes even as bullets whizzed overhead. It was an enormous undertaking, essential to morale on the frontlines and on the home front. He visited regularly with Lincoln and aided Sherman’s March to the Sea. As Grant’s responsibilities grew to embrace the entire U.S. Army, so did Markland’s. Then, when Grant became President, he called on Markland again, to help him in the fight against the Ku Klux Klan — a story told here for the first time.
Individual Tickets go on sale September 1:
Sponsor $190 | Reserved $70 | General Admission $40 | Livestream $40
Sponsors will enjoy preferred seating in the auditorium and a private party afterward at the sponsor reception.
Sponsorship opportunities are currently available by calling the office, (941) 964-0827.