Dr. Ann M. Raab earned her PhD in archaeology from the University of Kansas, and her MA degree in Anthropology at California State University, Northridge. She is Anthropology Instructor at Metropolitan Community College Longview, and a lecturer at Johnson County Community College. She has research interests related to the Civil War/Border Wars, in particular The Battle of Island Mound and General Orders No. 11. Ann’s work has been featured in numerous newspapers and publications, including Archaeology Magazine (April 2010). Most recently she appeared in 2 episodes of season 2 (2018) of the PBS series, America from the Ground Up.
Email: Ann.Raab@mcckc.edu
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Available Presentations (h3 text)
Available Presentations
They Fought Like Tigers: The Skirmish at Island Mound and the First Engagement of African American Soldiers in the Civil War
While many people are familiar with the historical significance of the Massachusetts 54th, as depicted in the movie “Glory,” few people are aware that the very first engagement of African American soldiers in the Civil War occurred on Missouri soil, not far from Butler in Bates County. Dr. Raab worked as an archaeologist at the site of one of Missouri’s newest state historic sites (Battle of Island Mound State Historic Site), commemorating this momentous event in our country’s history. Much of what is known about this event comes from military records of the time, or oral histories. Dr. Raab will share her experience working on the archaeological piece of this fascinating puzzle, as well as the social and cultural considerations of properly memorializing this moment in time.
Unleashing the Wolf: General Order No. 11 and Civil War on the Western Border
Archaeologist Dr. Ann M. Raab’s research in the Bates County, MO area offers a unique context for understanding not only the destructiveness of the Civil War, but also how the survivors of General Order No. 11 were able to recover. The Missouri-Kansas Border War and General Order 11 were like no other American war. On August 25th, 1863 General Order #11 was issued by Brigadier-General Thomas Ewing of the Union Army. This order, which took effect on September 9th of the same year, ordered the depopulation and suspension of civil rights of all residents of four counties in the state of Missouri, along the Kansas border. More than one hundred and fifty years later, this devastating historical event has received some historical attention, but until recently almost no archaeology had been done to better understand this critical moment in time. This talk will provide historical context for the events which led up to General Order #11, and Dr. Raab’s archaeological work in the Bates County area will be outlined and discussed, emphasizing how this helps us to understand the ways this important event had an impact on the daily lives of ordinary people.
Program Underwriting
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Program Underwriting
Each speaker can provide up to four presentations to underserved rural communities at no cost to the hosting institution. For the presentation to be covered by program underwriting, the host organization must be nonprofit and located outside Boone, Greene, Jackson, and St. Louis counties and outside the city of St. Louis.
For presentations that qualify for program underwriting, there is no cost to the host organization. The number of underwritten presentations this speaker has remaining is indicated below.
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