American Civil War Museum

Why Gettysburg Matters
2026-04-27 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York)
Why has Gettysburg always been the Civil War’s most famous battle and how has it shaped American national identity? In this talk, Professor of U.S. Political History Adam I.P. Smith argues that ever since the news of Confederate defeat spread on July 4, 1863, Gettysburg has been imagined as a place of national “rebirth”. In its own way, it has been — and continues to be — as vital to the story of American nationhood as anything that happened in the Revolution.

Adam Smith is the Edward Orsborn Professor of U.S. Political History and Director of the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford. His latest book is “Gettysburg”. Professor Smith is also the host of ‘The Last Best Hope’ podcast.

Members Reception at 5 pm

Opium Slavery with Jonathan S. Jones
2026-05-07 18:30 - 19:30
Join Jonathan S. Jones for a virtual talk on Civil War veterans, opiate addiction, and how its legacy connects to today’s opioid crisis.

During the Civil War, opium and morphine were widely used because they were easy to get, making them a big part of wartime medicine. After the war ended, thousands of sick and injured soldiers became addicted, or as nineteenth-century Americans phrased it, “enslaved” to the drug. Veterans, their families, and communities struggled to deal with the health and social effects that came with addiction.

Medical and government authorities didn’t always respond well, often saying addiction was caused by moral weakness, lack of manliness, or mental problems. Framing addiction as “opium slavery” limited the effectiveness of care and left many veterans to suffer needlessly for decades after the war ended.

Using veterans’ own accounts, along with hospital and asylum records, government reports, newspapers, and advertisements, Jonathan S. Jones brings attention to these stories. In doing so, Jones provides critical historical context for the modern opioid crisis, which bears a tragic resemblance to that of the post–Civil War era.

A Nation in Mourning with Derek D. Maxfield
2026-05-14 18:30 - 20:00 | American Civil War Museum – Appomattox, 159 Horseshoe Rd, Appomattox, Virginia, 24522, United States
Join us for Derek Maxfield’s talk on Victorian America, Civil War disruption, and how it reshaped 19th-century views of death.

By 1860, Victorians had come to dominate the American cultural landscape. The working class sought for most of the century to emulate them, while the wealthy used their advantages to set themselves apart with material goods and selectively followed Victorian rules to appear sophisticated. However, Victorian cultural dominance was severely challenged by the Civil War. The harsh realities of war changed Victorian values and left many searching for ways to cope. In few areas was this more apparent than in attitudes toward death. Victorians who entered the 1860s romanticizing death found themselves appalled by grim depictions of mangled corpses in photographs of the era. Looking for a new direction, they readily embraced the Industrial and Consumer Revolutions in the decades after the war to reshape how death and dying were observed, how corpses were cared for, and how cemetery art memorialized the dead.

Derek Maxfield, formerly an associate professor of history at Genesee Community College, received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (2019) and for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities (2013). His research focuses on Victorian deathways and 19th century politics and culture. He has written for Emerging Civil War since 2015 and is the author of Hellmira: The Union’s Most Infamous Civil War Prison Camp – Elmira, NY (2020) and Man of Fire: William Tecumseh Sherman in the Civil War (2023), both published by Savas Beatie.

Out of This Strife Will Come Freedom: Free People of Color & the Fight For Civil Rights in the Civil War Era
2026-05-28 18:00 - 20:00
Free people of color, through their military service and advocacy, used the political and social disruptions brought about by the Civil War to push for a second founding of the nation. Join us as Dr. Warren Eugene Milteer, Jr. shows how free people of color sought to reshape the United States into a place in which all Americans would enjoy freedom and equal access to a broad spectrum of rights, promoting equality and justice as fundamental features of American life during the Civil War era.

With Dr. Warren Eugene Milteer, Jr., Associate Professor of history at the George Washington University.

Member reception at 5pm

A Slumbering Serpent: George Washington on Slavery and Disunion
2026-06-30 18:00 - 19:00
In this engaging living history program, George Washington (portrayed by Brian Hilton) will reflect on the moral, economic, and political challenges of slavery in his time and the growing divisions threatening the young nation’s unity. The presentation offers a historically grounded and thoughtful exploration of Washington’s evolving conscience and leadership.

Following his remarks, the audience will be invited to engage in a question-and-answer session exploring these complex issues.

Members Reception at 5 pm
