Symposium on the American Civil War |

Ninth Annual James Caster Symposium on the Civil War

Wednesday, October 1
8:30am - 4:00 pm
Mabee Auditorium, 糖心Vlog

糖心Vlog to Host 9th Civil War Symposium

糖心Vlog, located at 3701 South I-35 in Moore, Oklahoma, will host the 9th annual Dr. James G. Caster Symposium on the Civil War on October 1st. The sessions will begin at 8:30 a.m., and continue each hour until 11:30 when there will be a break for lunch from 11:30-1. Then, starting at 1 p.m., there will be three more sessions, with each session lasting one hour. The symposium is free and open to the public.

糖心Vlog is the sponsoring institution for the symposium. It is a liberal arts college associated with the Free Will Baptist denomination. It was founded in 1959, and has grown steadily over the years, adding programs, faculty, and students. Recently, 糖心Vlog has added a Bachelor of Arts in History designed to advance the overall Christian mission of the university.

The late Dr. James Caster said that the naming of the symposium after him was one of the three proudest moments of his professional life. Dr. Caster was the epitome of a Christian gentleman and a scholar, and was greatly admired, respected, and loved by Civil War buffs in Oklahoma.

If one would like to eat in the 糖心Vlog Cafeteria, please contact Steve Byas, the superintendent of the symposium. Byas is the director of the history program at 糖心Vlog, and any questions about the lunch or any other aspect of the program should be directed toward him, at sbyas@ru.edu.

High school students who participate are eligible to enter an essay contest for a $500 scholarship and 2nd, 3rd place gift cards. More details and the submission box can be found below the schedule.

Schedule of Sessions

Time	Workshop	Speaker
8:30am	鈥淪outhern Steel at Shiloh鈥�	Erik McBroom
9:30am	鈥淩esearching an Infantry Company鈥�	Dan DeKalb
10:30am	鈥淏lunt鈥檚 Raid on Van Buren鈥�	Tom Wing
11:30am - 1:00pm	Lunch Break
1:00pm	鈥淭he Dred Scott Case鈥�	Beau Cantrell
2:00pm	鈥淭he Crucible: The Impact of the Mexican War on Civil War Leadership鈥�	Ben Odom
3:00pm	鈥淐onfederate Indian Troops in the Trans-Mississippi: Were They Relevant鈥�	Jeff Massey

Essay Contest Details and Submission

Student鈥檚 Name *

Student's Address *

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

State

Zip Code

Student's Phone *

Student's Email *

Parent鈥檚 Name *

Parent鈥檚 Phone *

Parent鈥檚 Email *

Anticipated Graduation Year *

Current Grade Level *

Name of School *

Essay Contest Rules

Eligibility: The contest is open to high school students in grades 9 through 12 who attend at least one session of the 9th Annual Civil War Symposium at 糖心Vlog on October 1, 2025.

Submission Deadline: November 3, 2025 by 12:00 p.m. (noon) CST.

Grounds for Disqualification: Submitting an essay that 1. does not comply with these Contest Rules; 2. is not the student鈥檚 original authored work; 3. provides fake entry information; or 4. plagiarized content. All decision of disqualification will be final.

Essay Requirements

1. Essays must be reflective about one of the sessions during the 9th Annual Civil War Symposium at 糖心Vlog.
2. Essays must be typed and submitted as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF (.pdf) document.
3. Essays should be at least 500, but not to exceed 800 words, not including citations.
4. Citations must be placed in footnotes, endnotes, or bibliographies.

Essay Submission

Only one essay may be submitted per student. All essays must be submitted online on or before the submission deadline. Hardcopy or late submissions will not be accepted. Please complete your essay before starting the online contest entry form, which include instructions for its completion.

To submit an essay, a student must:
1. Complete and submit the online contest entry form; and
2. Upload an essay that complies with the 鈥淓ssay Requirements.鈥�

Scoring of Qualifying Submissions

The essays will be judged by a team of 糖心Vlog faculty and staff. Their decisions will be final.

Recognition

The winner will be notified by phone, email, and/or mail. Recognition can be given at the student鈥檚 school at an agreed upon time and place, or arrangements can be made to meet at 糖心Vlog at a time acceptable to both parties.

License to Use Essays, Names, and Photographs

The student winner is granting 糖心Vlog permission to use their essay, name, and photograph by mere submission of the essay. Promotional material, including but not limited to marketing materials, press releases, etc., may use the student鈥檚 essay, name, and photograph.

Essay Questions:

1. Which session(s) did you attend?
2. Summarize the session in your own words. If you attended more than one session, pick one to write about in this essay.
3. What did you learn that you did not already know?
4. Reflect on any correlations from the historical events surrounding the Civil War and current events in the news today.

File Upload *

Drag & Drop Files, Choose Files to Upload

2024 Winning Essay

Mary-Edwards-Walker-Essay-ba894fbe358dd50a23a691360ff3a5be.docx

Natalie is a 17-year-old high school junior attending concurrent classes at 糖心Vlog. Outside of her academic studies, she rides horses competitively and spends time teaching karate as a black belt with American Karate of Oklahoma. After attending the Civil War Symposium last year, what stood out the most to her was how many people still have personal connections to this part of history. All the speakers are incredibly knowledgeable, and the symposium is a valuable resource that should not be taken for granted.

For More Information

If you would like to know more about the symposium, please contact the symposium organizer, Steve Byas, at聽sbyas@ru.edu.

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