Matthew Skic will be the featured speaker at the Jan. 28
event
Registration and payment deadline is January 14
By Roscoe Barnes III
Special to The Natchez Democrat
 |
| Matthew Skic |
NOTE: This program is part of a lecture series that is
funded by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council through funding by
the National Endowment for the Humanities.
NATCHEZ, Miss. – Matthew Skic, curator of exhibitions at
the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will be
the featured speaker at the 2025 Annual Dinner of the Natchez Historical
Society. His topic for the evening is “Muskets Along the Mississippi: The
Revolutionary War in the West.”
The dinner will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 28,
at the Natchez Grand Hotel at 111
N. Broadway St. Reservation and payment deadline is January 14. Payment
will not be accepted at the door. Registration and cash bar will begin at 5:30
p.m.
During the dinner, society officials will present Lance
S. Harris, sites operation administrator for the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History, with the 2025 Historic Preservation Award.
Speaker’s topic
Daye Dearing, who chairs the program committee for the
Natchez Historical Society, said Skic’s presentation will include compelling
stories from the diverse people who experienced the Revolutionary War in the
region. “His lecture will highlight the significance of Natchez and New Orleans
and reflect upon the upcoming 250th anniversary of American independence,” she
said.
Skic said he looks forward to returning to Natchez.
“As we approach the 250th anniversary of the beginning of
the Revolutionary War, I am excited to come to Natchez to discuss crucial
military campaigns along the Mississippi River and to show how the region was
deeply involved in the war. This history is little known and often
forgotten," he said.
Skic is a native of New Jersey. He studied at American
University in Washington, DC, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in History.
Skic earned his Master of Arts from the University of Delaware’s Winterthur
Program in American Material Culture. His graduate thesis focused on
Philadelphia's gunsmiths during the Revolutionary War.
During his undergraduate, Skic completed two internships
at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. He joined the
curatorial team at the Museum of the American Revolution in 2016.
Skic has curated many award-winning exhibitions including
“Hamilton Was Here: Rising Up in Revolutionary Philadelphia (2018-2019),” “Cost
of Revolution: The Life and Death of an Irish Soldier (2019-2020),” and “Black
Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia (2023).”
2025 Historic Preservation Award
In November, the Natchez Historical Society named Harris
the winner of the 2025 Historic Preservation Award. He will be presented the
award at the dinner.
Harris’ work as a professional and volunteer in Natchez
has been notable, according to the leaders of the Natchez Historical Society.
He has organized archaeological, genealogical and museum conferences. He
has also participated in numerous panel discussions and given scores of
presentations on Native American history, among other topics.
Harris holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and
Anthropology from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he also
completed an internship during graduate school assisting the reinterpretation
of the American Indian basket collection at the Lauren Rogers Museum of
Art. He worked for the Louisiana Art & Science Museum, Louisiana
Department of State Museums, and the Hillard Art Museum before arriving in
Natchez in 2015.
In 2008, Harris won the Louisiana Association of Museums
Newcomers Award and has recently served as the president of the Mississippi
Museum Association and an accreditation peer reviewer for the American Alliance
of Museums.
Harris has served on many committees helping volunteer
groups throughout the local community. He has served on the boards of the
Natchez Chamber of Commerce, Natchez Tricentennial Commission, Southwest
Mississippi Center for Culture & Learning at Alcorn State, and the Natchez
Literary & Cinema Celebration.
Dinner details
Reservation and payment for the dinner may be made online
at natchezhistoricalsociety.org
or by mail at Natchez Historical Society, P. O. Box 49, Natchez, Miss. 39121.
Please include names and phone numbers with checks.
Dinner is $39 per person (regular and vegetarian options
available). Membership dues for 2025 also may be included: $20 per person or
$35 per couple. For more information, call 281-731-4433 or 601-492-3004.
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