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Program Description
Event Details
The American Civil War
Danger on Northern Doorsteps
Not all of the important events of the Civil War took place south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
On November 10, 2025, at 6 p.m., local author Mary Frailey Calland will explore two significant but nearly-forgotten Civil War tragedies as she discusses her Pittsburgh-based historical novel, Consecrated Dust: A Novel of the Civil War North; and Our Lesser Angels, a Novel of the Elmira Civil War Prison Camp, set in western New York.
Consecrated Dust deals with the coincidental, same-day occurrence of the Battle of Antietam - the greatest single day loss of military life in the Civil War - and the violent explosion at the Allegheny Arsenal in Lawrenceville that killed 78 girls and young women rolling bullet cartridges for the Union Army - the greatest single day loss of civilian life in the Civil War. Our Lesser Angels delves into Elmira's history as a stop on the Underground Railroad, its selection as a training center for over 30,000 Union volunteers, and the reasons behind the nearly 25% death rate that occurred at the notorious Confederate prisoner of war camp established there in the last year of the war. Both books use vivid characters to immerse the readers in the time period and provide different viewpoints, while at the same time providing exacting historic details that invite readers to draw their own conclusions as to what happened and why.
Ms. Calland was born in Elmira, New York, and has a B.A. in American Studies from the University of Notre Dame and a J.D from Notre Dame Law School. She and her husband, Dean, live in Mt. Lebanon where they enjoy frequent visits from their five children and an increasing number of grandchildren.
Learn more about our Civil War series at our blog post! https://ptlibrary.org/exploring-the-civil-war/