Book A Speaker

The American Civil War Museum offers a menu of programs available for organizations to book or schedule. Explore the topic categories below, or contact us if you have a special request.

Unless otherwise noted, the programs listed below are lectures designed for adults and vary in length. All are designed to occur at your location or at the Museum. Programs are subject to availability, and most can be adapted to fit the needs of your group. Booking and pricing information is below.

Discover the women of Civil War Richmond, from daring spies and devoted nurses, to star-crossed lovers and captivating socialites. Learn about Rose O’Neal Greenhow, Elizabeth Van Lew, Mary Chesnut, Hetty Cary, Buck Preston and more.

She was called “General Tubman” and the “Moses” of her people, yet there is much we do not know about this heroic “conductor” of the Underground Railroad who risked all to rescue others. Join us for an intimate look at the woman who may one day be the face of the $20 bill.

The White House of the Confederacy’s household staff was a diverse group of African Americans, both enslaved and free, Irish immigrants, and a German florist. Using information obtained from letters, memoirs, and newspaper articles, this presentation investigates the lives of the Davis servants, including the mysterious Mary Elizabeth Bowser.

Hailed as the social event of the season, the January 19, 1865, wedding of one of the most beautiful belles in the South to a dashing brigadier general was one bright moment amid the gloom of 1865.  However, ill omens preceded the wedding and tragedy would follow soon on its heels.

One of Washington D.C.’s most charming and influential socialites, Rose O’Neale Greenhow used her connections to gain information on U.S. Army troop movements before the battle of Manassas.  Explore the story of this determined woman whose own family was divided by war.

Taylor was the only African-American woman to publish a memoir about her wartime experiences with the army. A former slave, educated in secret, Taylor served as a teacher, laundress, and nurse with the 33rd United States Colored Troops.

Learn how price controls, rising inflation, and wartime shortages led to the Richmond Bread Riot in the spring of 1863.  Meet the women involved in orchestrating the riot and explore the controversy over who ended it.

Discover why Richmond was chosen as the Confederate capital and how it changed as a result of it to become a city of hospitals and military prisons besieged by dangers from within and without.

During the American Civil War, woman defied social convention and volunteered by the thousands to serve as nurses in both the North and the South.  This talk explores the experiences of two of those women— Phoebe Yates Pember, chief matron of Hospital # 2 at Chimborazo, and Sally Tompkins, matron of Robertson Hospital.

Explore the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, examining the road they traveled from their births in Kentucky to their time in the White House.

Explore the lives of Varina Davis and Mary Todd Lincoln, examining them not only as First Ladies but also as wives, mothers, and widows. Discover the triumphs and tragedies of these two remarkable women.

The house built at the corner of 12th and Clay Streets in Richmond, Virginia, has a rich history as a private residence, Executive Mansion, military headquarters, school, and museum. Discover the transformations that have occurred since 1818 up to the present.

Explore the contributions of African Americans to the abolition movement, including individuals such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman.

When Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, White clergy in the Confederate States responded with a violent rebuke and a passionate defense of slavery as the cause of the Confederacy. Their 1863 Address to the Christians of the World reveals how these faith leaders understood slavery, and gives us an opportunity to explore what is meant by “Proslavery Christianity.” 

Find out how Americans sought to hold on to the ideal of the “good death” in the midst of a conflict that took the lives of over 600,000 soldiers.  Discover how funeral and mourning practices changed as a result of the war.

A story about Robert E. Lee kneeling in church next to a Black man “when no one else would” appeared in 1905. Over the 20th Century the story has been given different meaning by southern writers crowing about the defeat of Reconstruction, by Black historians calling for racial cooperation, by White religious leaders to satisfy political promises, by integration advocates to goad White moderates in the Civil Rights movement, and ironically, by folks today who do not want history to change. What does all this tell us about the historical power of stories, of Robert E. Lee, and of struggles for racial equality using Civil War memory? And did Lee actually kneel?

Christmas today is far removed from what it was in the mid-19^th century, yet it was during that period that many of our current-day traditions developed. Discover the origin of some of the most beloved elements of Christmas and hear accounts of Civil War Christmases.

Discover the history of Valentine’s Day, the start of Valentine’s Day traditions in America, and how the War affected those traditions in the South. The program includes images of original valentines in the Museum’s collections and excerpts from letters between soldiers and their loved ones.